The research undertaken in the article concerns the regional diversification of rural areas at NUTS 2 level in the European Union in the context of quality of life measures and the evolution of territorial development. A modified HDI index was used to allow for the determination of the regional synthetic indicator of the quality of life. Thus, a huge gap between the most developed and underdeveloped areas was shown. The results indicate a real need for a variety of instruments to support rural areas in the EU.