Summary:

Rural areas are characterized by considerable diversity in terms of natural conditions and socio-economic indicators. Very great influence on their current functional and spatial structure also had systemic transformation and now Polish membership in the European Union. This article is an attempt to show the status and trends in the development of rural non-agricultural activities of the Warmia and Mazury in the period between 2000 and 2009. The analysis of non-agricultural business development indicates that the economic potential of rural areas the voivodship is concentrated in the highest degree in the municipalities adjacent to the major cities of the region Olsztyn and Elblag. High economic potential are characterized by the municipality with strong tourist located in the central and eastern parts of the region and a high proportion of private farms located in its western part. The lowest concentration of economic entities present in the northern province, which are municipalities with low levels of socio-economic development