From the Region Attracting to the Region Pushing Out the Population (on the Example of the Silesian Voivodeship)

Subject and purpose of work: The subject of the research is the Silesian Voivodeship, identified with the region which, almost until the end of the 20th century, was characterized by a positive balance of population migration in interregional flows. Since 1999, it has become a runoff area. The aim of the article is to present the size of the links in terms of permanent migration of the Silesian region population with other voivodeships and the resulting demographic losses that this region has suffered over 20 years. Materials and methods: The research method is reduced to the analysis of data on the migration of people to and from the Silesian region in 1999-2018 with the use of statistical methods. The basic source of data that formed the basis for the analysis of inter-voivodeship population flows were the numbers included in the Demographic Yearbooks 2000-2019. Results: The demographic processes taking place over 20 years caused a decrease in the region’s population by 251,934, of which 60,956 were inter-voivodeship flows, 97,059 for a negative increase, 93,919 for a negative foreign balance. Conclusions: From the analysis of population flows between the Silesian region and the rest of the country, the following correlations can be seen: – in the analyzed period of research, the attractiveness of settlement in the Silesian region decreased, – the Silesian region showed the strongest migration ties with its immediate surroundings, which would be in line with Ravenstein’s law, – the ties between the population of the Silesian region and voivodeships with a higher level of development, especially in the outflow, are tightening, and it is weakening with underdeveloped regions, – the migration efficiency of the population of the Silesia region was the lower, the higher level of development was represented by a given group of voivodeships.