Quality of Human Capital in the Rural Areas of Poland

The aim of the article is an attempt to define a level of the human capital in rural areas in comparison with urban areas in Poland in 2006 or 2007 (depending on the data availability), and factors forming the capital. Two main information sources statistic data of GUS (Central Statistical Office in Poland) and the data from "Social Diagnosis" showing conditions and quality of life of Poles were used in the article. Literature presents different measures of the human capital level. The present research defines the quality of the human capital mainly using the level of education. However since the use of only one factor is insufficient, apart from this measure the following other factors were also considered: level of professional activity, extent up to which people over 20 years of age use educational services, and ability to use computer. The article presents also the calculation of the so-called human capital resources index in rural areas of the following five provinces in Poland: Lodzkie, Mazowieckie, Slaskie, Zachodniopomorskie and Warminsko-Mazurskie. Human capital resources index is based on education, employment, enterprise, and professional activity indexes. Mazovia is a central province in Poland, but the level of human capital in the rural areas is not the highest possible. The level of human resources quality is the lowest in Warminsko-Mazurskie province, while in Zachodniopomorskie province the level of enterprise index is the highest in Poland.