The standard of living and its spatial differentiation in border districts of eastern Poland

The aim of the study was to evaluate the spatial diversity in living standards in the districts, which are the eastern border of the European Union. The variables of demography, housing, social and economic infrastructure, as well as access to culture and tourism were into account. The study included 25 counties Polish of the four provinces (Warman-Masurian, Podlaskie, Lublin and Subcarpathian). To assess the spatial differentiation in standard of living the cluster analysis (Hellwig method) was used, (using data for 2005 and 2012). The study shows that the highest standard of living has become the participation of the inhabitants of Podkarpackie districts (Krosno, Jaroslaw, Sanok), and the lowest recorded in the counties Hajnówka, Hrubieszów and Sejny. It was also noticed that only minor changes were observed in the ranking list, and synthetic indicator of the standard of living was relatively low.