A Decade Revealed by NPO Financial Data in a Depopulating Region — Tottori Prefecture, Japan, 2014–2023

This paper examines the quantitative scale, field composition, and financial structure of nonprofit organizations (NPOs) in rural regions experiencing population decline and aging at three levels—the nonprofit sector as a whole, policy fields, and individual organizations—and explores their adaptation and sustainability under demographic change. The empirical setting is certified NPO corporations located in Tottori Prefecture. Drawing on publicly available financial data for fiscal years 2014–2023, the study constructs ratio indicators and per-capita indicators and, in particular, depicts recent trends through a two-point comparison between FY2014 and FY2023 together with a description of year-by-year changes. The analysis shows that, although the number of organizations changed little, the total amounts of ordinary revenue and ordinary expenditure, as well as their averages per organization, increased, and the sector’s overall monetary scale expanded. The composition of fields remained broadly stable, yet absolute amounts diverged across fields, with growth in “children” and “social education” and contraction in “environment.” From a per-capita perspective, spending increased in major fields addressing children and older adults. At the organizational level, the funding mix comprising membership fees, donations, and grants, as well as the share of organizations with a surplus, remained generally stable; at the same time, personnel expenses as a share of ordinary revenue rose, while the ratio of administrative expenses to total costs declined. Key indicators of financial soundness, such as liquidity and equity ratio, did not exhibit statistically significant deterioration. Taken together, the findings suggest that NPOs, as intermediary organizations that substitute for and complement government services, have expanded their monetary scale and increased field-specific emphasis in line with demographic structure, while maintaining financial sustainability and adjusting their cost allocation toward personnel expenses without major reconfiguration of external funding sources.