Rural Areas as the Origin and Destination of Permanent Internal Migrations between 2002 and 2017 in Poland. A Local-Level Analysis (Nuts 5)

The main aim of the study is to identify the main streams of permanent migration and determine their reach. Special attention has been paid to rural areas (a rural commune, the rural area of an urban–rural commune) as the origin and destination of migration. The study has been conducted at the lowest level of territorial division in Poland (NUTS 5 – cities and communes). The analysed data cover the period between 2002 and 2017 and come from the online database Demografia GUS [Demography, Statistics Poland]. While presenting the volume and directions of migrations, the total and maximum values of migration have been considered. This approach allowed identifying the catchment areas as well as the areas of migratory attractiveness. These areas are highly similar in terms of their spatial extent. However, they differ significantly in terms of magnitude and reach of the main migration streams. Permanent internal migrations within rural areas are the least significant among all migration directions. One of their characteristics is the fact that they are short–distance migrations, occurring between neighbouring units. Permanent internal migrations appear to be a good indicator of urbanisation of suburban zones and the shaping of functional urban–rural–urban connections.