Summary:

Rural areas account for a large part of the surface of the Polish. These areas are home to almost 39% of the population. In Poland, rural areas for many reasons often developed much more slowly than urban. They are largely neglected. This situation has improved significantly after the Polish accession to the EU and raising funds for the development of agriculture. These actions caused the rural areas began to grow much faster. Their structure has been corrected. This document presents a comparative analysis showing the changes that have occurred in these areas in Poland, Austria and the Czech Republic. The article also made reflections on the essence of the concept of rural areas. In the paper the method of logical analysis and narrative based on Polish and foreign literature.