The difference between urban centres and rural areas may seem so obvious that definitions should not be an issue. However, there can be major variations in the ways in which different nations define what is an urban centre. The criteria used include population size and density, and availability of services such as secondary schools, hospitals and banks. However, the combination of criteria applied can vary greatly. Even the population thresholds used can be different: for many African nations it is 5,000 inhabitants, while for most Latin American and European nations it can be as low as 2,000 or 2,500 or even just a few hundreds inhabitants. The contents of the book mean comprehensive implications to educative and socio-economic planning endeavours.
