Quality of Housing Conditions in Rural Areas in Poland at Voivodeship Level

The aim of the research was to conduct a multidimensional assessment of the quality of housing conditions in rural households of different voivodeships (provinces) in comparison to households in Poland overall. The research involved separate evaluations of the quality of internal and external housing conditions. Internal housing conditions pertained to the dwellings themselves and included the standards of their use and the presence of sanitary and technical installations. External housing conditions characterized the housing environment, including nuisances related to noise, crime, and deficiencies in technical and service infrastructure. The overall assessment of the quality of housing conditions encompassed both internal and external indicators. These assessments were based on the values of synthetic indicators determined using the TOPSIS method. The analyses were conducted using individual non-identifiable data from the “Household Budget Survey” carried out by the Central Statistical Office in 2021. For half of the voivodeships, the quality of internal housing conditions in rural households was assessed as average, while in the Łódzkie Voivodeship, it was assessed as low. A very high rating was obtained for seven voivodeships: Śląskie, Opolskie, Podkarpackie, Małopolskie, Lubuskie, Wielkopolskie, and Pomorskie. On the other hand, the quality of external conditions was assessed as high only in the Małopolskie and Podkarpackie Voivodeships, while in the Łódzkie Voivodeship, it was also assessed as low.