OECD Regions at a Glance

In most member nations of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), national growth is strongly concentrated in a few regions. Thus, national growth is largely determined by the performance of only a few regions, according to a new OECD report.

The report OECD Regions at a Glance shows that about three-quarters of Canadian job growth was concentrated in 10% of Canada's 288 census divisions between 1996 and 2001.

In contrast, in the average OECD nation, over one-half (56%) of job growth was concentrated in 10% of the regions. The report used census data for Canada.

The report also showed that compared to the average predominantly rural region in other OECD countries, Canada's predominantly rural regions report the highest share of their population with "tertiary" (that is, some post-secondary) education.

In Canada, the proportion was nearly one-third (31%), which was the same share as predominantly rural regions in the United Kingdom.

In most countries, including Canada, job growth was fastest in predominantly urban regions, on average. However, in some nations, the fastest growing region was a predominantly rural region, and this was the case in Canada, Australia, Austria, Hungary, Ireland, Mexico, Turkey and the United Kingdom.

Globalization is eroding the influence of national borders. The competitiveness of sub-national regions is becoming more important in determining the well-being of citizens. The value of OECD Regions at a Glance is that the performance of a region can be compared to a similar region in any other OECD member country.

OECD Regions at a Glance was published on September 12, 2005 by the OECD and is available online (http://new.sourceoecd.org).

For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Ray Bollman (306-379-4431; RayD.Bollman@sasktel.net), Agriculture Division.