Variation of Polish voivodships according to selected indicators referring to people aged 65 and over

Abstract

The aim of the study is the assessment of the spatial variation of voivodships (the largest administrative units in Poland) in terms of selected indicators describing the situation of people aged 65 and over. The study used data from the Local Data Bank of Statistics Poland (Główny Urząd Statystyczny) for the years 2005, 2010, 2015 and 2019. From the obtained set of diagnostic variables, five were used for the final analysis, including those relating to demographics, the pension security system and health infrastructure. The applied empirical method was based on the Euclidean metric as well as cluster analysis with Ward’s method. The performed analyses indicated a variation of voivodships which is reflected by the computed distances and components of the created clusters. The results revealed a spatial variation of voivodships which is consistent with the demographic ageing in Poland. Moreover, the observed distinction of Śląskie Voivodship may have been affected by the fact that variables related to the pension security system were also considered.