European integration as an important factor in shaping the demographic potential of border regions in Germany and Poland

Abstract Border regions constitute the periphery of individual countries. Their location far from economic centres is often associated with an unfavourable economic structure, low technical and social infrastructure, and poor quality of life. However, border regions should not always be associated with the negative characteristics of peripheral regions. The question of whether a given border region is attractive for living largely reflects its demographic potential. The aim of this study was to identify demographic diversity in border regions in the context of the changing function of the state border associated with European integration. The study area comprised border regions in Germany and Poland, analyzed against the national background in 1995 and 2023. To capture the direction and pace of demographic changes, diagnostic indicators were used, and a demographic potential index was constructed using the zerounitization method. The research conducted has shown that the changes that have occurred in the demographic potential of border regions in the context of the evolving function of the state border associated with European integration are visible spatially. This applies particularly to the border that historically ran between two political and economic systems. The current diversity in demographic potential is influenced by the external border of the European Union. The research results have shown that the ongoing demographic processes in the spatial dimension were influenced by historical conditions, superimposed on the core-periphery system, which plays an increasingly important role.