Socio-economic situation of rural municipalities in Mazowieckie Voivodeship in selected aspects of sustainable development

The aim of this article is to analyse the socio-economic situation of rural municipalities in Mazowieckie Voivodeship, based on selected indicators across areas corresponding to the goals of sustainable development (social, economic, and environmental). The research focuses on 215 rural municipalities within Mazowieckie Voivodeship. The findings indicate a consistent trend of growing disparities in the socio-economic situation of rural municipalities between the two regions of Mazowieckie Voivodeship: the Warsaw Capital Region (Polish: warszawski stołeczny) and the Mazovian Regional Region (Polish: mazowiecki regionalny). Rural municipalities in the Warsaw Capital Region are the leaders in terms of demographic potential and socio-economic development. In contrast, rural municipalities in the Mazovian Regional Region are characterised by a lower level of socioeconomic development and weaker demographic potential. The disparities between the regions of Mazowieckie Voivodeship also point to an intensifying process of abandoning agricultural activity. One potential opportunity for strengthening development initiatives in municipalities with large areas of legally protected land is support in the form of ecological subsidies. Keywords: environmental needs, socio-economic development, sustainable development.