CHANGES IN MIGRATION TO RURAL REGIONS IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC: POSITION AND PERSPECTIVES

Migration trends in the Czech Republic after 1990 are discussed in this paper. To evaluate the migration trends, the databases of immigrants and emigrants from the Czech Statistical Office from 1990 to 2010, are used. While migration from rural areas to urban areas prevailed in the past, after 1990 the direction changed: the population in rural areas with good natural and socio-cultural environments has been increasing due to migration. Small municipalities have a positive migration balance. We can conclude that these trends could be influenced primarily by social and environmental problems in cities, the increase in automobile use and the development of communication technologies, the migration of pensioners who settle in second homes, and the changing residential preferences of people and entrepreneurs.