EN
The 1990s brought economic, social and cultural change in Poland's rural areas. There are rural areas in which a dynamic development of new economic functions has Liken root, as well as those in which there has been stagnation or even decline. The highest growth rates have in general been characteristic of rural areas in the hinterlands of large cities. The further towards the periphery one moves, the slower is the rate of change, to the point where elements of depression have even arisen. The period has been a very difficult one for agriculture. The collapse of the state sector led to the overnight emergence of extreme unemployment black-spots, while narkets evaporated and cheap food came flooding in from abroad. Investment was very nuch abandoned. Farmers are thus considered the group that has lost most from Poland's economic transformation. An analysis of the pluses and minuses to the processes ongoing in rural areas inclines the observer to conclude that rural areas have paid a much higher price for the tansformation than the city. Nevertheless, the last decade of the 20th century did bring nany new and favourable elements to socioeconomic life in rural areas. Certain economic functions have grown in strength, while the quality of life in the countryside has inproved overall.