The aim of the study is to identify and analyze the most important areas shaping the quality of life of the population. The subject of research in this study are basic categories related to the demographic situation, the labour market, income and expenditure of the population, prices, housing conditions, technical infrastructure, education, health care and social welfare, sports and recreation, security and economic activity of the region.

The elaboration is enriched with charts and maps that illustrate the course of the most important social and economic phenomena, enabling comparisons between voivodships, as well as between powiats in the region, and in the case of poverty and social exclusion indicators – also against the background of other European regions.