The Key Factors Affecting Rural Development

This study aimed to identify key factors affecting rural development in Egypt and China. It simultaneously focused on identifying people’s attitudes toward rural development and priority rural issues within these two countries. The study was conducted during the period extending from September 2012 to May 2015. Data were collected from a total of 540 respondents from eight villages: 270 respondents in four Chinese villages and 270 respondents in four Egyptian villages. The data were subsequently analyzed using appropriate statistical methods. Two models were used for this study: principal component analysis(factor analysis) and multiple regression analysis. In addition, the simple correlation coefficient of Pearson and a T-test were applied. The results showed that within Egyptian villages, the most important factors affecting rural development were: agriculture, small projects, and nonfarm work. In the Chinese villages, these factors were: farmers’ cooperative organizations, livestock production, and nonfarm work. In the Egyptian villages, a positive significant relationship existed between family size and income levels, and a negative significant relationship existed between income levels and the distance of the nearest urban center from the village, While a positive significant relationship existed between family size and jobs, and income levels, in the Chinese villages, here too a negative significant relationship existed between income levels and the distance of the nearest urban center from the village. A further finding was that the degree of satisfaction regarding the level of rural development in the Egyptian villages was low for the majority of respondents, whereas in the Chinese villages the majority of respondents expressed a medium degree of satisfaction toward the level of rural development. Furthermore, a positive significant relationship existed between family size, age, and income, and the degree of satisfaction of rural people toward levels of rural development in both Egypt and China. However, a negative significant relationship existed between the level of education and the degree of satisfaction of rural people toward the level of rural development in China. Last, the results indicated that priority issues in Egyptian villages were: the lack of a sewage system, poor road networks, and lack of irrigation water. Priority issues in the Chinese villages were: high prices of animal feed, lack of support for health insurance, and lack of irrigation water.