A Herman Ottó Múzeum évkönyve 47. (2008)

Kápolnai Iván: A mezőkövesdi kistérség népességi és lakásviszonyai a 20. század második felében

rapid growth of the predominantly Hungarian speaking Gipsy minority, which also became highly conscious of its ethnic origins. Their proportion in the region's population is estimated around 5 per cent, corresponding more or less to their overall proportion in the country's population, although the latter is also based on estimates. The economic activity of the region's population is reflected by the fact that around 1900, 100 earners had to support at least 140-150 dependants (or perhaps even more earlier). The broadening of social security, childcare allowance, etc. in the mid-20th century meant that fairly large social groups enjoyed some sort of income without labour. The proportion of inactive earners rose to 13 per cent by 1970 and to 40 per cent by the turn of the millennium owing to an expanding ageing population, whose number now exceeds one-half of the population and that of active earners. According to the 2001 population data, 4.5 per cent of the region's population is unemployed (a figure higher than the national average, but lower than the county average). In 1990, over 40 per cent of the region's population fell into the category of active earners; this figure dropped to 28 per cent by 2001. In the early 20th century, the main source of livelihood was agriculture (to a higher proportion than the national average). The agrarian population still accounted for two-thirds of the entire population in the mid-20th century, but declined to one-third by 1980, while the proportion of the population working in industry rose to over 40 per cent. Roughly 20 per cent of the active earners were engaged in agriculture in 1990, dropping to 8 per cent by the turn of the millennium. The number employed in the industrial-construction industry sector decreased to around 35 per cent. The servicing sector became dominant, even though this sector only employed roughly 10 per cent of the population before World War 2. The number of earners engaged in intellectual work in the non-material servicing sector has grown significantly: about one-third of the earners were engaged in intellectual activity. The housing conditions of the declining population living in one of the most ageing microregions of Hungary, a country with one of the most unfavourable demographic conditions in Europe, has improved significantly during the past fifty years. The number of houses/apartments grew by 30 per cent compared to the mid-20th century, meaning that there is an average of 2-3 persons to a home. This figure was roughly five individuals per home around 1900, an improvement compared to the 6-7 individuals crowding in a small house in the late 18th century. Compared to the earlier one-room houses with beaten earthen floor, most houses have three or more rooms, their average floor area is 80 m

2 (the national average is 75 m

2

). Most homes are provided with electricity since the 1970s and their provision with various conveniences has also grown during the past 2-3 decades. The use of gas, predominantly network (piped) gas, can be regarded as general at this time. The proportion of homes with plumbing (and running warm water) is slightly below the national average of 92 per cent. The proportion of homes with sewage disposal is above 80 per cent, although the ratio of home solutions was higher than of public sewage disposal in 2001. The proportion of homes equipped with a bathroom is 80 per cent, higher than the average in most of the county's other micro-regions. One-third of the homes have central heating, a proportion below the 50 per cent national and county average. Every fourth home lacks a flushing water closet, meaning that the number of homes without this convenience is relatively high compared to the national and county average. About one-half of the homes in the settlements whose population has declined to the greatest extent are well below the average of the micro-region. In some villages, the proportion of emergency housing units is around 5-7 per cent. Iván Kápolnai