RURAL SETTLEMENTS OF THE MIL-MUGHAN ECONOMIC REGION AND THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE RURAL POPULATION

M.R. Valiyev  

Institute of Geography PLE, Ministry of Science and Education, Baku, Azerbaijan

musavaliyev@outlook.com

DOI: 10.59423/gnr.2026.82.30.012

Abstract. Rural settlement plays an important role in the spatial distribution of the population across regions. For many years, the rural population was the main source of population growth in the republic. However, at present, as in the total population of the country, natural increase among the rural population has sharply declined. Difficulties that have emerged in agriculture – the economic base of villages during the years of independence – have also negatively affected the development of rural settlement. As a result, the growth rate of the rural population has significantly decreased; medium-sized and large villages, which play an important role in settlement patterns, are unable to maintain their demographic potential, and migration processes continue. Taking these factors into account, the study of rural settlement is becoming increasingly relevant. In the Mil-Mughan economic region—one of Azerbaijan’s key rural settlement regions-identifying ways to preserve the demographic potential of medium-sized and large villages, to enhance their role within the settlement system, to develop agricultural sectors, and to improve the organisation of socio-cultural services for the population is of significant scientific and practical importance. To this end, it is necessary to carry out a classification of villages and to examine the changes that have occurred based on population census data conducted at ten-year intervals. The study of rural settlement is also essential for determining directions for regulating its development.

Keywords: rural settlements, rural settlement patterns, economic region, administrative district, rural population size, village groups, regional development.

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Accepted for publication: November 20, 2025

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M.R. Valiyev – Rural settlements of the Mil-Mughan economic region and the classification of the rural population. Geography and Natural Resources, №2 (24), 2025, pp. 87-97.