Geographia Polonica (2026) vol. 99, iss. 3
Old wine in new bottles: A pan-European regional dataset of population and GDP since 1960
Geographia Polonica (2026) vol. 99, iss. 3, pp. 333-357 | 
Full text
doi: https://doi.org/10.7163/GPol.0330
Abstract
This article presents a harmonised procedural framework for constructing a new open-access pan-European regional database covering population, GDP, and derived GDP per capita for 1546 regions over the period1960-2021; the empirical illustrations presented in the article cover the period 1960-2020. The resulting resource is distributed in three supplementary Excel workbooks, one for each variable. Drawing on national and regional sources, including the Maddison Project Database as the main GDP anchor, ARDECO, the Rosés–Wolfregional GDP database, database.earth, and country-specific sources, it provides continuous annual time-series coverage and broad cross-country comparability. Its main contribution lies in combining pan-European spatial coverage, a six-decade temporal span, and the systematic harmonisation of heterogeneous national and regional data sources. The resource enables analyses of regional income convergence, spatial dynamics,and long-term demographic and economic polarisation across Europe. By extending beyond the European Union, it fills major spatial and temporal gaps in existing resources and creates new opportunities for spatial economic and regional research.
Keywords: Pan-European spatial coverage, regional population, GDP per capita, NUTS3, GDP retropolation, Maddison Project Database, ARDECO
[rosik@twarda.pan.pl], Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization Polish Academy of Sciences Twarda 51/55, 00-818 Warsaw: Poland
[m.mazur@twarda.pan.pl], Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization Polish Academy of Sciences Twarda 51/55, 00-818 Warsaw: Poland
[rafwis@twarda.pan.pl], Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization Polish Academy of Sciences Twarda 51/55, 00-818 Warsaw: Poland
[p.duma@twarda.pan.pl], Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization Polish Academy of Sciences Twarda 51/55, 00-818 Warsaw: Poland
