In some ways South Tyrolean society resembles the plural society outlined by John Furnivall many years ago: groups mingle, but do not mix. Furnivall saw the groups mingle in the marketplace, but in South Tyrol one could rather say that groups meet in the economic sphere. Segregation there is apparently lowest and cooperation unproblematic. In all other spheres of society, a clear, but amicable segregation persists. Mixed marriages do occur, but not on a large scale which may be due also to the settlement pattern, where Germans still reside in their majority in rural areas. Few people claim to have friends in the other ethnic group.