The economic potential of Polish voivodeships and Ukrainian oblasts

The purpose of this chapter is to discuss the spatial diversity of the economic potential of Polish and Ukrainian administrative regions. This descriptive analysis includes the absolute economic potential, understood as the amount of GDP, and relative economic potential, identified with GDP per capita. Northern Ukrainian oblasts, mainly due to the City of Kyiv and to some extent the Kyiv Oblast, generated the largest share of Ukrainian GDP (nearly 29.3%). Next in line were the most industrialized oblasts of eastern Ukraine (24.4% share of GDP), the oblasts of central Ukraine (20.6%) and those of western Ukraine (14.7%). However, the oblasts of southern Ukraine had the lowest economic potential, which was rated at 11.1%. The largest part of the Polish GDP in 2004-2016 was generated by the voivodeships of central Poland (36.9%), followed by western Poland (26.2%), the Mazowieckie Voivodeship (21.5%) and the smallest part by the voivodeships of eastern Poland (15.4%).