Depopulation in Rural Areas of the Warmia and Mazury Voivodeship

Abstract

The aim of the article was to analyse and evaluate the situation of rural municipalities and rural areas located in urban-rural municipalities in the Warmia-Mazury voivodeship in terms of the phenomenon of depopulation in 2012-2022. The study uses the method of classification of territorial units created by J. W. Webb (1963). The phenomenon of depopulation intensified in rural municipalities and in rural areas in urban-rural municipalities. The element mainly influencing depopulation during these years was population emigration. The deterioration of the population situation in the study areas was also associated with a decline in natural increase. Considering the changes that took place in the years under study and their intensity, it can be concluded that in the coming years the phenomenon of depopulation will begin to develop with even greater force and dynamism.