Warsaw - With a rise in the standard of living and European Union membership, fewer Poles now feel nostalgia for the days of communism, the daily Rzeczpospolita reported on Monday.

Twenty-seven per cent say communism was the best period for Poland, according to a survey in the daily of 1,004 people. The number is down from seven years ago, when 42 per cent reported they remembered that period fondly.

Older Poles aged 50 and above have the highest sentiment for communism - the 1945 to 1989 period - the daily said, while younger people feel more nostalgia for the
1990s.

The change comes from a rise in the standard of living, sociologist Andrzej Rychard told the daily, and Poland's entry into the European Union in 2004.

Younger people, who hardly remember communism, are also now playing a bigger role in society, Rychard said. (dpa)