地域おこし隊、最多７２００人　２３年度、１１６４自治体で―総務省

　総務省は５日、都市から過疎地域などに移り住んでまちづくりに取り組む「地域おこし協力隊」について、２０２３年度の隊員数が前年度比７５３人増の７２００人だったと発表した。受け入れ自治体も４８増えて１１６４団体。隊員、受け入れ自治体ともに最多を更新した。背景には、地方移住への関心の高まりがあるとみられる。
　政府は、２６年度までに隊員数を１万人へ引き上げる目標を掲げている。総務省は、協力隊のＰＲに力を入れるとともに、自治体の受け入れ態勢づくりを支援して、目標達成を目指す。
　都道府県別の隊員数は、北海道の１０８４人が最多で、長野４６１人、福島３１３人と続いた。男女比は男性６割、女性４割。３人に２人が２０～３０代で、４０代が２割、５０代が１割弱だった。
　２３年３月末までに任期を終えた隊員１万１１２３人の定住状況も調査。約６５％に当たる７２１４人が、活動した市町村やその近隣に住んでいることが分かった。（2024/04/05-10:28）

A record 7,200 people in Japan served as members of a government-subsidized squad who move from urban to nonurban areas to work on promoting regional revitalization in fiscal 2023, up by 753 from the previous year, the internal affairs ministry said Friday.
   The number of municipalities that accepted members of the Community-Reactivating Cooperator Squad also hit a record high of 1,164, up by 48, apparently reflecting growing interest in migration to rural areas.
   The government aims to increase the number of such cooperators to 10,000 by fiscal 2026. To achieve this goal, the ministry plans to put energy into publicizing the squad's activities and support municipalities' efforts to accept squad members.
   Of the country's 47 prefectures, Hokkaido, northernmost Japan, accepted the largest number of community-reactivating squad members in fiscal 2023, at 1,084, followed by Nagano, central Japan, at 461, and Fukushima, northeastern Japan, at 313. Some 60 pct of the squad members were men and about 40 pct were women. Two out of three were in their 20s or 30s, 20 pct were in their 40s and less than 10 pct were in their 50s.
   Of 11,123 people who finished their terms as members of the squad by the end of March 2023, 7,214, or around 65 pct, continue to live in municipalities that accepted them or in nearby areas, according to the ministry.