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Demographics of Poland

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Demographics of Poland
Population pyramid of Poland in 2021
Population37,636,508[1]
 • Year31 December 2023
Density120/km²[1]
Growth rate-0.34% (as of 31 December 2023)[1]
Birth rate7.2 births/1,000 population[1]
Death rate10.9 deaths/1,000 population[1]
Life expectancy78.76 years
 • male75.02 years
 • female82.73 years
Fertility rate1.16 children per woman (2023)
Infant mortality rate3.9 deaths/1,000 live births[1]
Net migration rate-0.33 migrant(s)/1,000 population
Age structure
0–14 years15.1%[1]
15–64 years64.9%[1]
65 and over20.1%[1]
Sex ratio
Total107 females per 100 male[1]
Nationality
NationalityPole
Major ethnicPolish — 98.6%
Language
OfficialPolish

The demographics of Poland constitute all demographic features of the population of Poland including population density, ethnicity, education level, the health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations, and other aspects of the population.

As of 31 December 2023, the population of Poland was 37,636,508,[1] while the usually resident population was 36,620,970.[2] The population has exhibited a negative growth rate of −0.34% per year. The population density was 120 people per square kilometer. The proportion of the population residing in urban areas was 59.45%, a figure that has been declining as a consequence of suburbanization. The sex ratio was 107 women per 100 men, 112 per 100 in urban areas, and 101 per 100 in rural areas. The median age was nearly 43 years (over 41 years for males and over 44 years for females).[1]

According to the 2021 census by the Polish Central Statistical Office (GUS), as of March 31, 2021, Poland had an official population of 38,036,118,[3] a decrease of 0.9% since the 2011 census, and a usually resident population of 37,019,327,[4] a 2.7% decrease since the 2011 census. The difference between official and usually resident population comes from two different methodologies used by GUS for population counts.[5] In addition, Poland is home to a large number of foreigners, most of whom are not counted towards the official population of the country. As of the 2021 census, there were 1,433,779 of them in Poland.[6]

Poland's population has been growing quickly after World War II, during which the country lost millions of citizens. Population passed 38 million in the late 1980s and has since then stagnated within the 38.0-38.6 million range until the 2020s where the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the baby boom generation starting to die out and a baby boost started to overlap.

In 2018, the average life expectancy was 77.9 years; 74.1 for men and 82 for women. Population distribution is uneven, with densely populated south, moderately populated center and south-east and scarcely populated north.

Ethnically, Poland used to be one of the most multi-ethnic countries in Europe before World War II. It hosted the largest Jewish community in Europe, with Warsaw being the largest concentration of Jews in the world besides New York City. In the eastern parts of the country, Ukrainians and Belarusians often outnumbered Poles, while in the west there were large German communities. After the war, Poland became an ethnically homogeneous country. However, in the last decade Poland witnessed a mass-scale migration to the country, mostly from the neighboring Ukraine and Belarus and increasingly from Central, South Asia and the Middle East.

In connection with the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, as part of the Russo-Ukrainian War, by 2 August 2022, more than 10.4 million Ukrainian refugees left the territory of Ukraine, moving to the countries closest to the west of Ukraine, of which more than 5.1 million people fled to neighboring Poland initially.[7] As of September 2023, 958,120 Ukrainian refugees continue to reside in Poland.[8] They are also not counted towards official or usually resident population.

History

Further information: Historical demography of Poland

For many centuries, until the end of World War II in 1945, the population of Poland included many significant ethnic minorities.

[9]

1945-1989

The population of Poland decreased from more than 35 million in 1939 to less than 24 million in 1946. Of that, around 6 million were killed during the Holocaust, Porajmos, and German and Soviet occupations, while the remaining decline can be mostly attributed to altered borders and associated population expulsions of Germans and Ukrainians and resettlement of Poles. As a result, Poland became one of the most ethnically homogeneous areas in Europe.

Poland's population has been rising consistently in the 1945-1989 period, to 37.96 million in 1989. This growth has been fully fueled by positive natural change (more births than deaths), as net international migration was negative for Poland every year between 1966 and 1989, even despite the socialist government's restrictions on leaving the country for any reason. 578,405 people emigrated from Poland between 1966 and 1989,[10] with the main destination countries being Germany (388,137) and United States (50,453).

1990–present

Since 1990, Poland's population stagnated at 38.0-38.6 million, with the median age rising due to low birth rates. Official population statistics are a point of debate in Poland,[11] though, with many academics criticizing the Polish Central Statistical Office (GUS) for failing to adapt to successfully capture internal and international migration in particular.[12][5] Already the 2002 census revealed Poland had 402,000 residents less than expected,[13] and subsequent censuses reflected neither the mass emigration of Poles after Poland's admission to the European Union in 2004, nor the mass immigration to Poland since 2014.[14]

Population

Population of Poland 500–2023
Total fertility rate varies significantly by county in Poland. In 2021, Kashubia and Nowy Sącz regions had the highest fertility rate, along with metropolitan areas of Warsaw and Poznań. The lowest, sub-1 fertility was recorded in the Sudetes.

Demographic statistics according to the World Population Review in 2019.[15]

  • One birth every 2 minutes
  • One death every 1 minutes
  • Net loss of one person every 7 minutes
  • One net migrant every 53 minutes

Fertility

TFR of Poland overtime to 2016

The total fertility rate is the number of children born per woman. It is based on fairly good data for the entire period. Sources: Our World In Data and Gapminder Foundation.[16]

Years 1800 1801 1802 1803 1804 1805 1806 1807 1808 1809 1810[16]
Total Fertility Rate in Poland 6.28 6.26 6.25 6.23 6.22 6.2 6.19 6.17 6.16 6.14 6.12
Years 1811 1812 1813 1814 1815 1816 1817 1818 1819 1820[16]
Total Fertility Rate in Poland 6.11 6.09 6.08 6.06 6.05 6.03 6.03 6.16 6.3 6.03
Years 1821 1822 1823 1824 1825 1826 1827 1828 1829 1830[16]
Total Fertility Rate in Poland 6.3 6.03 5.76 5.49 6.83 6.16 6.3 6.22 6.14 6.06
Years 1831 1832 1833 1834 1835 1836 1837 1838 1839 1840[16]
Total Fertility Rate in Poland 5.98 5.9 6.43 6.83 5.9 6.3 6.57 6.03 6.43 6.57
Years 1841 1842 1843 1844 1845 1846 1847 1848 1849 1850[16]
Total Fertility Rate in Poland 6.16 6.43 6.3 6.03 5.36 5.49 5.09 4.82 5.49 5.63
Years 1851 1852 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860[16]
Total Fertility Rate in Poland 5.63 5.49 5.63 5.36 4.82 5.36 5.76 6.3 6.57 6.57
Years 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 1866 1867 1868 1869 1870[16]
Total Fertility Rate in Poland 6.43 6.97 6.57 6.2 5.83 5.46 5.09 5.63 5.63 6.16
Years 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880[16]
Total Fertility Rate in Poland 5.76 5.49 5.76 5.76 5.49 5.49 5.23 5.23 5.36 5.23
Years 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890[16]
Total Fertility Rate in Poland 5.09 5.23 5.23 5.09 5.36 5.36 5.36 5.49 5.76 5.63
Years 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900[16]
Total Fertility Rate in Poland 5.63 5.36 5.63 5.9 5.9 5.76 5.63 5.49 5.49 5.49
Years 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910[16]
Total Fertility Rate in Poland 5.36 5.36 5.09 5.09 4.96 5.09 5.09 4.96 4.96 4.82
Years 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920[16]
Total Fertility Rate in Poland 4.69 4.56 4.69 4.82 3.89 3.62 3.22 3.22 4.42 4.69
Birth rate
Birth and death rates of Poland in 1950-2008
9.3 births/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 202nd
Total fertility rate
1.36 children born/woman (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 214th
Mother's mean age at first birth
27.4 years (2014 est.)

Life expectancy

Life expectancy at birth in Poland
Period Life expectancy in Years
1950–1955 61.4
1955–1960 65.9
1960–1965 68.3
1965–1970 69.8
1970–1975 70.3
1975–1980 70.4
1980–1985 70.7
1985–1990 70.7
1990–1995 71.2
1995–2000 72.7
2000–2005 74.6
2005–2010 75.6
2010–2015 77.0
2015–2020 77.6

Source: UN World Population Prospects

Population pyramid of Poland from 1950 to 2020

Age structure

0-14 years: 14.8% (male 2,924,077 /female 2,762,634)
15-24 years: 10.34% (male 2,040,043 /female 1,932,009)
25-54 years: 43.44% (male 8,431,045 /female 8,260,124)
55-64 years: 13.95% (male 2,538,566 /female 2,819,544)
65 years and over: 17.47% (male 2,663,364 /female 4,049,281) (2018 est.)
Median age
total: 41.1 years. Country comparison to the world: 44th
male: 39.4 years
female: 42.8 years (2018 est.)

Vital statistics

Vital statistics from 1921 to 1938

[17][18][19]

Year [20] Average population Live births Deaths Natural change Crude birth rate (per 1000) Crude death rate (per 1000) Natural change (per 1000) Total fertility rates[fn 1][16]
1921 27,224,000 890,400 568,300 322,100 32.7 20.9 11.8 4.40
1922 27,846,000 983,100 554,600 482,500 35.3 19.9 15.4 4.73
1923 28,480,000 1,014,700 493,800 520,900 35.6 17.3 18.3 4.82
1924 29,007,000 1,000,100 519,200 480,900 34.5 17.9 16.6 4.69
1925 29,475,000 1,036,600 492,200 544,400 35.2 16.7 18.5 4.74
1926 29,906,000 989,100 532,700 456,400 33.1 17.8 15.3 4.44
1927 30,302,000 958,733 525,633 433,100 31.6 17.3 14.3 4.23
1928 30,693,000 990,993 504,207 486,786 32.3 16.4 15.9 4.29
1929 31,084,000 994,101 518,929 475,172 32.0 16.7 15.3 4.26
1930 31,490,000 1,022,811 488,417 534,394 32.5 15.5 17.0 4.33
1931 31,935,000 964,573 493,703 470,870 30.2 15.5 14.7 4.05
1932 32,394,000 934,663 486,548 448,115 28.9 15.0 13.8 3.87
1933 32,823,000 868,675 466,210 402,465 26.5 14.2 12.3 3.55
1934 33,223,000 881,615 479,684 401,931 26.5 14.4 12.1 3.56
1935 33,616,000 876,667 470,998 405,669 26.1 14.0 12.1 3.50
1936 34,020,000 892,320 482,633 409,687 26.2 14.2 12.0 3.51
1937 34,441,000 856,064 481,594 374,470 24.9 14.0 10.9 3.34
1938 34,849,000 849,873 479,602 370,271 24.4 13.8 10.6 3.26
Years 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945[16]
Total Fertility Rate in Poland 3.23 3.21 3.18 3.16 3.13 3.11 3.08

After World War II

[21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26][16][27][28][29][30][31][32][3][4]

Average population (December 31) Live births Deaths Natural change Crude birth rate (per 1000) Crude death rate (per 1000) Natural change (per 1000) Crude migration change (per 1000) Crude population change (per 1000) Total fertility rates Life expectancy (males) Life expectancy (females) Share of births outside marriage Immigration Emigration Net external migration
1946 23,777,000 570,000 335,000 235,000 24.0 14.1 9.9 3.06
1947 23,970,000 630,000 271,000 359,000 26.3 11.3 15.0 -6.9 8.1 3.51
1948 23,980,000 704,772 268,000 436,772 29.4 11.2 18.2 -17.8 0.4 3.93
1949 24,410,000 725,061 284,000 441,061 29.7 11.6 18.1 -0.5 17.6 3.94
1950 24,824,000 763,108 288,685 474,423 30.7 11.6 19.1 -2.4 16.7 3.71 56.07 61.68
1951 25,271,000 783,597 312,314 471,283 31.0 12.4 18.6 -1 17.7 3.75 55.11 60.67
1952 25,753,000 778,962 286,730 492,232 30.2 11.1 19.1 -0.4 18.7 3.67 57.59 63.07
1953 26,255,000 779,000 266,527 512,473 29.7 10.2 19.5 -0.4 19.1 3.61 59.58 65.05
1954 26,761,000 778,054 276,406 501,648 29.1 10.3 18.7 0.2 18.9 3.58 59.80 65.06
1955 27,281,000 793,847 261,576 532,271 29.1 9.6 19.5 -0.4 19.1 3.61 60.82 66.19
1956 27,815,000 779,835 249,606 530,229 28.0 9.0 19.1 19.2 3.61 62.29 67.52
1957 28,310,000 782,319 269,137 513,182 27.6 9.5 18.1 -0.6 17.5 3.49 61.20 66.70
1958 28,770,000 752,600 241,435 511,165 26.2 8.4 17.8 -1.8 16 3.36 63.08 68.57
1959 29,240,000 722,928 252,430 470,498 24.7 8.6 16.1 0 16.1 3.22 62.71 68.30
1960 29,561,000 669,485 224,167 445,318 22.6 7.6 15.1 -4.2 10.9 2.98 64.94 70.60
1961 29,965,000 627,624 227,759 399,865 20.9 7.6 13.3 0.1 13.5 2.83 64.91 70.78
1962 30,324,000 599,505 239,199 360,306 19.8 7.9 11.9 0 11.8 2.72 64.53 70.49
1963 30,691,000 588,235 230,072 358,163 19.2 7.5 11.7 0.3 12 2.70 65.41 71.52
1964 31,161,000 562,855 235,919 326,936 18.1 7.6 10.5 4.6 15.1 2.57 65.78 71.60
1965 31,496,000 546,362 232,421 313,941 17.3 7.4 10.0 0.7 10.6 2.52 66.58 72.40
1966 31,698,000 530,307 232,945 297,362 16.7 7.3 9.4 -3.0 6.4 2.33 66.87 72.85
1967 31,944,000 520,383 247,705 272,678 16.3 7.8 8.5 -0.8 7.7 2.30 66.44 72.61
1968 32,426,000 524,174 244,115 280,059 16.2 7.5 8.6 6.2 14.9 2.24 67.04 73.55
1969 32,555,000 531,135 262,823 268,312 16.3 8.1 8.2 -4.2 4 2.20 66.50 73.09
1970 32,526,000 545,973 266,799 279,174 16.8 8.2 8.6 -9.5 -0.9 2.22 66.62 73.33 5.0
1971 32,805,000 562,341 283,702 278,639 17.1 8.6 8.5 0 8.5 2.25 66.13 73.25
1972 33,068,000 575,725 265,250 310,475 17.4 8.0 9.4 -1.4 8 2.24 67.32 74.17
1973 33,363,000 598,559 277,188 321,371 17.9 8.3 9.6 -0.8 8.8 2.24 67.15 74.30
1974 33,691,000 621,080 277,085 343,995 18.4 8.2 10.2 -0.5 9.7 2.26 67.80 74.64
1975 34,022,000 643,772 296,896 346,876 18.9 8.7 10.2 -0.5 9.7 2.27 67.02 74.26 4.7
1976 34,362,000 670,140 304,057 366,083 19.5 8.8 10.7 -0.8 9.9 2.31 66.92 74.55
1977 34,698,000 662,582 312,956 349,626 19.1 9.0 10.1 -0.4 9.7 2.33 66.49 74.50
1978 35,010,000 666,336 325,104 341,232 19.0 9.3 9.7 -0.8 8.9 2.30 66.36 74.53
1979 35,257,000 688,293 323,048 365,245 19.5 9.2 10.4 -3.4 7 2.39 66.79 74.91 4.8
1980 35,578,000 692,798 350,203 342,595 19.5 9.8 9.6 -0.6 9 2.42 66.01 74.44
1981 35,902,000 678,696 328,923 349,773 18.9 9.2 9.7 -0.7 9 2.34 67.10 75.24
1982 36,227,000 702,351 334,869 367,482 19.4 9.2 10.1 -0.4 9 2.38 67.24 75.20
1983 36,571,000 720,756 349,388 371,368 19.7 9.6 10.2 -0.7 9.4 2.41 67.04 75.16
1984 36,914,000 699,041 364,883 334,158 18.9 9.9 9.1 0.2 9.3 2.36 66.84 74.97
1985 37,203,000 677,576 381,458 296,118 18.2 10.3 8.0 -0.2 7.8 2.33 66.50 74.81 5.0
1986 37,456,000 634,748 376,316 258,432 16.9 10.0 6.9 -0.1 6.8 2.21 66.76 75.13
1987 37,664,000 605,492 378,365 227,127 16.1 10.0 6.0 -0.5 5.5 2.15 66.81 75.20
1988 37,862,000 587,741 370,821 216,920 15.5 9.8 5.7 -0.5 5.2 2.12 67.15 75.67
1989 37,963,000 562,530 381,173 181,357 14.8 10.0 4.8 -2.1 2.7 2.08 66.76 75.45
1990 38,119,000 545,817 390,343 155,474 14.3 10.2 4.1 0 4.1 2.04 66.23 75.24 6.2
1991 38,245,000 547,719 405,716 142,003 14.3 10.6 3.7 -0.4 3.3 2.05 65.88 75.06 6.6
1992 38,365,000 515,214 394,729 120,485 13.4 10.3 3.1 0 3.1 1.91 66.47 75.48 7.2
1993 38,459,000 494,310 392,259 102,051 12.9 10.2 2.7 -0.3 2.4 1.86 67.17 75.81 8.2
1994 38,544,000 481,285 386,398 94,887 12.5 10.0 2.5 -0.3 2.2 1.78 67.50 76.08 9.0
1995 38,588,000 443,109 386,084 57,025 11.5 10.0 1.5 -0.3 1.1 1.65 67.62 76.39 9.5
1996 38,618,000 428,203 385,496 42,707 11.1 10.0 1.1 -0.3 0.8 1.58 68.12 76.57 10.2
1997 38,659,979 [33] 412,635 380,201 32,434 10.7 9.8 0.8 0 0.8 1.52 68.45 76.99 11.0
1998 38,666,983 395,619 375,354 20,265 10.2 9.7 0.5 -0.1 0.4 1.44 68.87 77.34 11.6
1999 38,634,799 382,002 381,415 587 9.9 9.9 0.0 -0.3 -0.3 1.37 68.83 77.49 11.7
2000 38,623,119 378,348 368,028 10,320 9.8 9.5 0.3 -0.4 -0.1 1.35 69.74 78.00 12.1
2001 38,572,026 368,205 363,220 4,985 9.5 9.4 0.1 -1.9 -2.0 1.32 70.21 78.38 13.1
2002 38,548,360 353,765 359,486 -5,721 9.2 9.3 -0.2 -0.6 -0.8 1.25 70.40 78.80 14.4 6,587 24,532 -17,945
2003 38,520,437 351,072 365,230 -14,158 9.1 9.5 -0.4 -0.4 -0.7 1.22 70.50 78.90 15.8 7,048 20,813 -13,765
2004 38,503,664 356,131 363,522 -7,391 9.2 9.4 -0.2 -0.2 -0.4 1.23 70.70 79.20 17.1 9,495 18,877 -9,382
2005 38,486,884 364,383 368,285 -3,902 9.5 9.6 -0.1 -0.3 -0.4 1.24 70.80 79.40 18.5 9,364 22,242 -12,878
2006 38,455,308 374,244 369,686 4,558 9.7 9.6 0.1 -0.9 -0.8 1.27 70.90 79.60 18.9 10,802 46,936 -36,134
2007 38,445,470 387,873 377,226 10,647 10.1 9.9 0.3 -0.5 -0.3 1.31 71.00 79.70 19.5 14,995 35,480 -20,485
2008 38,465,705 414,499 379,399 35,100 10.8 9.9 0.9 -0.4 0.5 1.39 71.30 80.00 19.9 15,275 30,140 -14,865
2009 38,497,158 417,589 384,940 32,649 10.8 10.0 0.8 0 0.8 1.40 71.50 80.10 20.2 17,424 18,620 -1,196
2010 38,529,866 413,300 378,478 34,822 10.7 9.8 0.9 -0.1 0.8 1.38 72.10 80.60 20.6 15,246 17,360 -2,114
2011 38,538,447 388,416 375,501 12,915 10.1 9.7 0.3 -0.1 0.2 1.30 72.40 80.90 21.2 15,524 19,858 -4,334
2012 38,533,299 387,858 384,788 3,070 10.1 10.0 0.1 -0.2 -0.1 1.30 72.70 81.00 22.3 14,583 21,200 -6,617
2013 38,495,659 369,576 387,312 -17,736 9.6 10.1 -0.5 -0.5 -1 1.26 73.10 81.10 23.4 12,199 32,103 -19,904
2014 38,478,602 375,160 376,467 -1,307 9.7 9.8 -0.0 -0.4 -0.4 1.29 73.80 81.60 24.2 12,330 28,080 -15,750
2015 38,437,239 369,308 394,921 -25,613 9.6 10.3 -0.7 -0.4 -1.1 1.29 73.60 81.60 24.6 12,330 28,080 -15,750
2016 38,432,992 382,257 388,009 -5,752 9.9 10.1 -0.1 0 -0.1 1.36 73.90 81.90 25.0 13,475 11,970 1,505
2017 38,433,558 401,982 402,852 -870 10.5 10.5 -0.0 0 0 1.45 74.00 81.80 24.1 13,324 11,888 1,436
2018 38,411,148 388,178 414,200 -26,022 10.1 10.8 -0.7 0.1 -0.6 1.44 73.80 81.70 26.4 15,461 11,849 3,612
2019 38,382,576 374,954 409,709 -34,755 9.8 10.7 -0.9 0.2 -0.7 1.42 74.10 81.80 25.4 16,909 10,726 6,183
2020 38,088,564 355,309 477,355 -122,046 9.3 12.5 -3.2 0.1 -3.1 1.39 72.60 80.70 26.4 13,263 8,780 4,483
2021 37,907,704 331,511 519,517 -188,006 8.7 13.6 -5.0 0.1 -9.3 1.33 71.80 79.70 26.7 15,409 12,005 3,404
2022 37,766,327 305,132 448,448 -143,316 8.1 11.9 -3.8 0.1 -3.7 1.26 73.40 81.10 28.1 15,572 13,633 1,939
2023 37,636,508 272,451 409,036 -136,585 7.2 10.9 -3.7 0.1 -3.6 1.16 74.70 82.00 28.7 16,707 9,941 6,766

Current vital statistics

[34]

Period Live births Deaths Natural increase
January - August 2023 187,700 272,100 -84,400
January - August 2024 170,200 269,800 -99,600
Difference Decrease -17,500 (-9.3%) Positive decrease -2,300 (-0.8%) Decrease -15,200

Structure of the population

Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.VII.2012) (Data refer to usually resident population.): [35]
Age Group Male Female Total %
Total 18 651 441 19 882 348 38 533 789 100
0–4 1 058 874 1 005 069 2 063 943 5.36
5–9 945 643 897 723 1 843 366 4.78
10–14 974 509 925 506 1 900 015 4.93
15–19 1 158 367 1 108 267 2 266 634 5.88
20–24 1 394 761 1 341 393 2 736 154 7.10
25–29 1 623 072 1 575 546 3 198 618 8.30
30–34 1 602 736 1 558 622 3 161 358 8.20
35–39 1 470 751 1 432 822 2 903 573 7.54
40–44 1 231 083 1 209 751 2 440 834 6.33
45–49 1 196 548 1 192 952 2 389 500 6.20
50–54 1 369 258 1 414 996 2 784 254 7.23
55–59 1 404 141 1 522 140 2 926 281 7.59
60–64 1 163 935 1 350 684 2 514 619 6.53
65–69 675 573 861 584 1 537 157 3.99
70–74 529 739 776 722 1 306 461 3.39
75–79 424 407 720 249 1 144 656 2.97
80–84 278 428 566 126 844 554 2.19
85–89 115 213 311 388 426 601 1.11
90–94 28 565 91 223 119 788 0.31
95–99 4614 18 265 22 879 0.06
100+ 224 1320 1544 <0.01
Age Group Male Female Total %
0–14 2 979 026 2 828 298 5 807 324 15.07
15–64 13 615 652 13 707 173 27 322 825 70.91
65+ 2 056 763 3 346 877 5 403 640 14.02
Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (30.VI.2015) (Data refer to usually resident population.): [35]
Age Group Male Female Total %
Total 18 607 417 19 847 159 38 454 576 100
0–4 982 639 928 662 1 911 301 4.97
5–9 1 047 830 996 205 2 044 035 5.32
10–14 924 671 877 780 1 802 451 4.69
15–19 1 028 884 979 585 2 008 469 5.22
20–24 1 257 703 1 209 498 2 467 201 6.42
25–29 1 464 438 1 417 040 2 881 478 7.49
30–34 1 647 147 1 602 930 3 250 077 8.45
35–39 1 561 396 1 522 202 3 083 598 8.02
40–44 1 354 899 1 329 476 2 684 375 6.98
45–49 1 166 358 1 160 878 2 327 236 6.05
50–54 1 211 294 1 238 398 2 449 692 6.37
55–59 1 386 303 1 489 816 2 876 119 7.48
60–64 1 256 035 1 443 985 2 700 020 7.02
65–69 917 893 1 147 725 2 065 618 5.37
70–74 501 311 716 224 1 217 535 3.17
75–79 426 059 715 629 1 141 688 2.97
80–84 287 908 573 415 861 323 2.24
85+ 184 649 497 711 682 360 1.77
Age Group Male Female Total %
0–14 2 955 140 2 802 647 5 757 787 14.97
15–64 13 334 457 13 393 808 26 728 265 69.51
65+ 2 317 820 3 650 704 5 968 524 15.52
Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.I.2021) (Provisional Estimates): [35]
Age Group Male Female Total %
Total 18 307 488 19 532 513 37 840 001 100
0–4 978 526 926 796 1 905 322 5.04
5–9 979 042 925 737 1 904 779 5.03
10–14 1 049 403 997 556 2 046 959 5.41
15–19 911 890 866 575 1 778 465 4.70
20–24 1 000 405 957 358 1 957 763 5.17
25–29 1 221 584 1 177 960 2 399 544 6.34
30–34 1 420 368 1 367 645 2 788 013 7.37
35–39 1 594 620 1 543 389 3 138 009 8.29
40–44 1 515 234 1 482 301 2 997 535 7.92
45–49 1 328 852 1 316 404 2 645 256 6.99
50–54 1 116 244 1 130 951 2 247 195 5.94
55–59 1 115 823 1 176 530 2 292 353 6.06
60–64 1 246 589 1 407 097 2 653 686 7.01
65–69 1 114 311 1 374 477 2 488 788 6.58
70–74 806 003 1 102 945 1 908 948 5.04
75–79 388 818 621 315 1 010 133 2.67
80–84 291 685 571 202 862 887 2.28
85–89 159 279 376 980 536 259 1.42
90–94 56 278 164 806 221 084 0.58
95–99 10 821 38 970 49 791 0.13
100+ 1 713 5 519 7 232 0.02
Age Group Male Female Total %
0–14 3 006 971 2 850 089 5 857 060 15.48
15–64 12 471 609 12 426 210 24 897 819 65.80
65+ 2 828 908 4 256 214 7 085 122 18.72

Employment and income

In 2016, more than 3 million Poles commuted to work across municipalities, including 1 million commuting to the 22 main job markets (defined as municipality to which at least 15,000 people commute from outside). Warsaw and Katowice were the largest commuter hubs, at 251,021 and 113,830 people, respectively.

As of June 2023, there were 16,228,195 people in employment in Poland. Men were 51.5% of the workforce while women were 48.5%. Employment has been steadily rising in Poland - growing by exactly 0.5 million since June 2018.[36]

Unemployment, youth ages 15–24
total: 17.7%. Country comparison to the world: 74th
male: 17.4% female: 18% (2016 est.)

Population density and distribution

Population density in Poland in a 1x1 km square grid, 2021 census
Warsaw is the financial and commercial center of Poland

With an estimated usually resident population of 37 million, Poland is the 5th most-populous country in the European Union and 7th or 8th most-populous one in Europe (depending on how many people live in Ukraine, to which there are various estimates).

Depending on whether one uses the official population or usually resident population as a base, population density of Poland was 122 or 118.7 people per square kilometer (315.9 or 307.4 people per square mile) as of the 2021 census.

Population distribution is unequal. The south, particularly the area along the A4 highway between Gliwice and Rzeszów, is densely populated with over 250 people per square kilometer, while population density drops below 50 people per square kilometer in much of the north of the country. Silesian voivodeship is the densest, at over 350 people per square kilometer.

Urban areas

Poland is relatively rural for a country of its population and economic development. As of the 2021 census, 59.8% of total population lived in cities and town, a percentage well below European average. Poland has historically been a rural and agricultural country and while cities started rapidly growing in neighboring countries in the second half of the 19th century, many Polish cities were artificially limited in growth by the partitioners due to military reasons. After regaining independence in 1918, Polish authorities have started investment in urbanizing the country but it was quickly interrupted by World War II. Therefore, Poland has not started fully urbanizing until after the war.

Urbanization rate has also been declining, at an annual rate of -0.25% between 2015 and 2020 due to suburbanization. In Poland, many suburbs are officially rural areas even despite in reality might resemble a town or even a city neighborhood, such as the Poznań suburb of Koziegłowy.

New high-rises and cultural institutions on the former site of a coal mine near downtown Katowice are a testament to the city's successful economic transformation

In the Eurostat's urban-rural typology, Poland's urbanization rate is slightly higher, however still below the European average.[37] Eurostat estimates 61.2% of Poland's population to live in urban clusters (including 28.9% in dense urban centers), compared to the 70.4% average across the EU.

Metropolitan areas

There is no one official delimitation of metropolitan areas in Poland, and various institutions use different definitions. However, both central institutions and academics are in agreement that the following are the major metropolitan areas of Poland:

  1. Warsaw - the capital and largest city of Poland, with 1.9 million official residents in city proper and 2.7-3.1 million in the metropolitan area. Warsaw is the largest economy in Poland, with the Warsaw Stock Exchange, most major financial institutions, and CEE headquarters of international companies. Warsaw is also an important educational center, with the University of Warsaw, Warsaw School of Economics and Polish Academy of Sciences located there. Warsaw metropolitan area has been growing rapidly in recent decades, eclipsing the previously larger Katowice metropolitan area around 2015.
  2. Kraków's old town is listed on the UNESCO World Heritage Site list and attracts millions of tourists every year
    Katowice - the center of the large Katowice urban area, with 2.2-2.7 million in the metropolitan area. Katowice area developed initially as a hub of heavy industry and coal mining. Most of the industry has been closed since. Katowice and some other cities (Gliwice, Tychy) managed to successfully transform its economies becoming a major Polish hubs of information technology, healthcare, education, finance and manufacturing, however many other cities (Bytom, Sosnowiec) experience depopulation. Katowice metropolitan area is bordering Rybnik, Bielsko-Biała and Ostrava metropolitan areas from the south and southwest, which combined create a large Upper Silesian-Moravian metropolitan area with 4.5-5.2 million people.
  3. Kraków - the historical capital of Poland, with 0.8 million residents in city proper and 1.2 million in the metropolitan area. Kraków is one of the main tourist destinations in Poland and a is often called a cultural capital of the country. In recent decades, Kraków emerged as a major international center of back office operations through the SSC/BPO industry. Kraków is also the second largest college city in Poland after Warsaw, with the Jagiellonian University dating back to the Middle Ages.
  4. Łódź - a post-industrial city in the middle of Poland, with 0.7 million people in the city proper and 1-1.2 million in the urban area. Łódź has developed in the 19th century as a center for textile manufacturing, and has been a major manufacturing hub exporting mostly towards Russia and then Soviet Union. Following the market transformations in the early 1990s, most of the industry has collapsed and Łódź struggled with high unemployment rate. In recent years, the city has embraced its industrial past and exploits its location close to Warsaw.
  5. Gdańsk - one of the three major cities of the Tricity area, Gdańsk has around 0.5 million people in the city proper and 1-1.2 million in the urban area. Gdańsk has been the largest cities in Poland for most of the Middle Ages, thanks to its seaside location that fostered trade with other cities and countries in the Baltic and North Seas. Being the largest urban area in the north of the country, Gdańsk benefits from internal migration from neighboring regions.
  6. Poznań - with its 0.5 million residents in city proper and 0.8-1.1 million in the metropolitan area, Poznań emerged as one of the main hubs of trade and manufacturing in Poland. Poznań area is the most entrepreneurial part of Poland, with more than 1 in 10 residents running a business. Poznań is also the prime example of suburbanization in Poland, with the suburbs around as populous as the city proper.
  7. Wrocław - in recent years emerged a major immigration center, with more than 100,000 immigrants residing in the city in addition to its official population of 0.7 million and 0.9-1.1 million in the metropolitan area. Similarly to Kraków, Wrocław is a major tourist destination thanks to its medieval old town, as well as a hub of back office operations particularly in the financial industry.
  8. Szczecin - with a population of 0.4 million in the city proper and 0.7-0.9 million in the metropolitan area (partially stretching to Germany), Szczecin is the second-largest city in the country's north and a major port.
Main article: Metropolitan areas in Poland
Population numbers by database
Area ESPON [38] Eurostat LUZ [39] Ministry of Regional Development[40] United Nations [41] Demographia.com[42] Citypopulation.de[43] Scientific study by T. Markowski [pl][44] Scientific study by Swianiewicz, Klimska [45]
Katowice (Katowice urban area) 3,029,000
(5,294,000[46]) 		2,710,397 3,239,200 3,069,000 2,500,000 2,775,000 2,746,000 2,733,000
Warsaw 2,785,000 2,660,406 2,680,600 2,194,000 2,030,000 2,375,000 2,631,900 2,504,000
Kraków 1,236,000 1,264,322 1,227,200 818,000 750,000 Not listed 1,257,500 1,367,000
Łódź 1,165,000 1,163,516 1,061,600 974,000 950,000 1,060,000 1,178,000 1,129,000
Gdańsk 993,000 1,105,203 1,220,800 854,000 775,000 No data 1,098,400 1,210,000
Poznań 919,000 1,018,511 1,227,200 No data 600,000 No data 1,011,200 846,000
Wrocław 861,000 1,031,439 1,136,900 No data 700,000 No data 1,029,800 956,000
Szczecin 721,000 878,314 724,700 No data 500,000 No data No data 755,806

Regions

Poland is divided into 16 administrative divisions called voivodeship (województwa). These regions vary vastly in size, as the largest Masovian voivodeship is more than 5 times as populous and 3 times as big as the smallest Opole voivodeship.

Voivodeship Capital Area (km2) Official population (2021) Population density (ppl/km2) Foreigners (2021) Ukrainian refugees (2022) Population density with foreigners (ppl/km2)
Lower Silesian Wrocław 19,947 2,904,894 145.6 156,278 108,023 158.9
Kuyavian-Pomeranian Bydgoszcz, Toruń 17,972 2,027,261 112.8 50,434 31,520 117.4
Lublin Lublin 25,122 2,052,340 81.7 44,970 35,810 84.9
Lubusz Zielona Góra, Gorzów Wielkopolski 13,988 991,213 70.9 58,219 31,654 77.3
Łódź Łódź 18,218 2,410,286 132.3 101,531 60,658 141.2
Lesser Poland Kraków 15,184 3,432,295 226.0 92,261 87,365 237.9
Masovian Warszawa 35,559 5,514,699 155.1 365,054 204,838 171.1
Opole Opole 9,411 954,133 101.4 31,348 21,033 107.0
Subcarpathian Rzeszów 17,845 2,093,360 117.3 22,571 29,742 120.2
Podlaskie Białystok 20,187 1,154,283 57.2 26,190 14,464 59.2
Pomeranian Gdańsk 18,336 2,357,320 128.6 92,538 69,519 137.4
Silesian Katowice 12,334 4,402,950 357.0 119,780 94,444 374.3
Świętokrzyskie Kielce 11,709 1,196,557 102.2 15,815 14,812 104.8
Warmian-Masurian Olsztyn 24,174 1,382,232 57.2 21,126 18,464 58.8
Greater Poland Poznań 29,827 3,504,579 117.5 165,221 88,730 126.0
West Pomeranian Szczecin 22,907 1,657,716 72.4 70,443 47,044 77.5
Poland Warsaw 312,720 38,036,118 121.6 1,433,779 958,120 129.3

Immigration and foreign nationals

Foreigners in Poland mostly settle in the largest metropolitan areas and in the western part of the country

Historically an emigrant country, Poland has seen an uptick in immigration only after 2014, when the growing economy started attracting foreign workforce, particularly from neighboring Ukraine whose economy has been affected by the 2014 war. Poland's official statistics regarding immigration are scattered and incomplete, and the complicated immigration system with many different routes to immigrate makes assessing true size of immigration to Poland challenging.[47]

Census data

Główny Urząd Statystyczny (GUS), the Polish central statistics office, published multiple separate counts of foreign nationals living in Poland for the 2021 census. GUS counted 445,176 foreign nationals towards Poland's usually resident population (1.2% share) and 111,814 foreign nationals towards Poland's official population (0.3% share).[48] It also counted 1,433,779 foreign nationals as temporarily living in Poland (of whom 309,309 lived in Poland for more than 12 months).[49] It is unclear what is the overlap of these populations.

Largest groups of foreigners residents in 2023 [50]
Nationality Usually resident population
 Ukraine 420,299
 Belarus 104,024
 Georgia 24,943
 India 18,011
 Russia 17,951
European Union Germany 16,710
 Vietnam 10,780
 Turkey 9,378
European Union Italy 8,147
 Moldova 8,044
 Uzbekistan 7,838
 China 6,125
European Union Spain 5,434
European Union Romania 5,126
European Union France 4,946
European Union Bulgaria 4,933
 Philippines 4,615
 Azerbaijan 4,190
 Armenia 4,025
 South Korea 3,660

Work-based migration

Most foreigners from outside of the European Union immigrate to Poland via various kinds of work schemes. There are two primary types are a work permit (zezwolenie na pracę)[51] and a "declaration of entrusting work to a foreigner" (oświadczenie o powierzeniu wykonywania pracy cudzoziemcowi).

Work permits

Work permits can be issued to any foreigner from outside of the European Union who is not a refugee and does not already have a residence permit in Poland. Work permits require a labor market test and can be issued for up to 3 years. In 2022, 61.1% of work permits were issued for at least 12 months (including 49.2% issued for 24 months and more) while 38.5% were issued for 6–12 months. Less than 0.4% were issued for less than 6 months.

Work permits issued each year by country of citizenship[52]
Country 2011 (Men/Women) 2012 (Men/Women) 2013 (Men/Women) 2014 (Men/Women) 2015 (Men/Women) 2016 (Men/Women) 2017 (Men/Women) 2018 (Men/Women) 2019 (Men/Women) 2020 (Men/Women) 2021 (Men/Women) 2022 (Men/Women) 2023 (Men/Women) 2024 (Men/Women) (half a year) Total (Men/Women)
 Ukraine 18,669 (11,293/7,376) 20,295 (11,866/8,429) 20,416 (11,460/8,956) 26,315 (16,015/10,300) 50,465 (35,317/15,148) 106,223 (75,839/30,384) 192,547 (137,495/55,052) 238,334 (173,946/64,388) 330,495 (235,889/94,606) 295,272 (204,343/90,929) 325,213 (229,699/95,514) 85,074 (60,943/24,131) 7,298 (4,148/3,150) 2,369
 India 1,055 (995/60) 1,090 (999/91) 1,300 (1,184/116) 1,242 (1,096/146) 1,425 (1,272/153) 1,772 (1,538/234) 3,938 (3,539/399) 8,362 (7,775/587) 8,063 (7,412/651) 8,184 (7,696/488) 15,326 (14,348/978) 41,640 (39,706/1,934) 45,998 (44,238/1,760) 18,632
 Belarus 1,725 (1,427/298) 1,949 (1,597/352) 2,004 (1,641/363) 1,834 (1,540/294) 2,037 (1,852/185) 4,870 (4,557/313) 10,518 (9,684/834) 19,233 (17,700/1,533) 27,130 (24,216/2,914) 27,304 (23,847/3,457) 34,830 (30,343/4,487) 18,418 (15,868/2,550) 6,383 (5,083/1,300) 2,452
   Nepal 1,202 (928/274) 486 (384/102) 525 (412/113) 402 (343/59) 596 (507/89) 1,211 (1,077/134) 7,075 (6,239/836) 19,912 (17,758/2,154) 9,175 (7,996/1,109) 5,708 (4,917/791) 10,853 (9,424/1,429) 20,045 (17,685/2,360) 35,287 (30,339/4,948) 19,580
 Uzbekistan 619 (606/13) 958 (893/65) 948 (859/89) 1,060 (970/90) 1,433 (1,293/140) 836 (796/40) 1,409 (1,338/71) 2,634 (2,539/95) 6,309 (6,048/261) 5,873 (5,593/280) 15,002 (14,191/811) 33,373 (31,481/1,892) 27,959 (26,623/1,336) 14,068
 Philippines 277 (130/147) 181 (79/102) 227 (61/166) 246 (128/118) 179 (67/112) 249 (116/133) 733 (330/403) 2,057 (1,317/740) 6,317 (3,796/2,521) 7,391 (4,165/3,226) 13,279 (6,886/6,393) 22,557 (11,066/11,491) 29,154 (15,589/13,565) 20,337
 Bangladesh 680 (667/13) 233 (225/8) 314 (308/6) 283 (280/3) 319 (311/8) 721 (714/7) 2,412 (2,342/70) 8,341 (8,207/134) 6,986 (6,873/113) 3,758 (3,680/78) 7,524 (7,457/67) 13,539 (13,415/124) 27,896 (27,645/251) 11,368
 Turkey 1,187 (1,130/57) 1,063 (1,022/41) 967 (905/62) 689 (644/45) 550 (506/44) 672 (615/57) 1,228 (1,131/97) 1,481 (1,378/103) 2,936 (2,824/112) 2,641 (2,520/121) 7,351 (6,967/384) 25,004 (23,827/1,177) 25,934 (24,162/1,772) 8,734
 Indonesia 77 (46/31) 88 (44/44) 100 (25/75) 94 (21/73) 75 (22/53) 111 (48/63) 148 (52/96) 352 (227/125) 2,023 (1,669/354) 3,885 (3,438/447) 7,899 (6,651/1,248) 10,011 (8,489/1,522) 9,405 (7,808/1,597) 6,565
 Moldova 1,017 (716/301) 616 (463/153) 699 (501/198) 1,027 (696/331) 1,488 (985/503) 2,844 (1,967/877) 3,792 (2,766/1,026) 6,035 (4,499/1,536) 8,341 (6,138/2,203) 7,616 (5,548/2,068) 7,958 (5,968/1,990) 1,828 (1,441/387) 245 (210/35) 94
 Kazakhstan 282 (256/26) 104 (66/38) 118 (72/46) 126 (80/46) 74 (46/28) 112 (82/30) 321 (229/92) 803 (634/169) 1,689 (1,255/434) 2,464 (1,780/684) 4,585 (3,362/1,223) 8,883 (6,796/2,087) 10,298 (7,584/2,714) 5,740
 Georgia 157 (114/43) 174 (131/43) 203 (165/38) 225 (172/53) 88 (68/20) 142 (113/29) 398 (355/43) 2,752 (2,488/264) 7,438 (6,479/959) 8,213 (7,033/1,180) 9,267 (7,798/1,469) 4,285 (3,792/493) 819 (753/66) 274
 Azerbaijan 55 (47/8) 78 (65/13) 96 (80/16) 103 (90/13) 116 (99/17) 193 (167/26) 1,336 (1,101/235) 3,302 (2,906/366) 3,183 (2,939/244) 2,125 (1,937/188) 3,782 (3,401/381) 7,769 (7,118/651) 8,206 (7,584/622) 3,447
 Colombia 23 (20/3) 32 (24/8) 30 (21/9) 28 (22/6) 25 (18/7) 29 (20/9) 48 (38/10) 91 (77/14) 156 (121/35) 190 (138/52) 243 (183/60) 4,129 (3,187/942) 11,945 (9,041/2,904) 15,780
 Vietnam 2,504 (1,610/894) 2,302 (1,475/827) 2,230 (1,422/808) 2,369 (1,595/774) 732 (530/202) 439 (327/112) 658 (496/162) 1,313 (1,032/281) 3,367 (2,793/574) 2,992 (2,323/669) 3,427 (2,575/852) 5,908 (4,354/1,554) 9,854 (7,378/2,476) 4,995
 Turkmenistan 2 (1/1) 3 (2/1) 4 (3/1) 6 (6/0) 5 (4/1) 4 (4/0) 16 (14/2) 42 (35/7) 317 (296/21) 961 (891/70) 2,648 (2,317/331) 11,919 (10,258/1,661) 8,779 (7,795/984) 5,479
 Kyrgyzstan 28 (14/14) 36 (27/9) 68 (40/28) 133 (93/40) 42 (29/13) 19 (14/5) 81 (57/24) 654 (565/89) 1,283 (828/455) 1,095 (710/385) 2,464 (2,032/432) 8,051 (7,136/915) 6,487 (5,531/956) 5,331
 Russia 549 (324/225) 719 (409/310) 822 (483/339) 654 (385/269) 579 (386/193) 1,008 (738/270) 1,433 (1,028/405) 1,903 (1,402/501) 2,862 (2,135/727) 3,371 (2,466/905) 6,228 (4,493/1,735) 2,330 (1,817/513) 2,407 (1,697/710) 1,121
 Pakistan 184 (172/12) 366 (354/12) 233 (223/10) 274 (264/10) 184 (174/10) 187 (179/8) 427 (403/24) 1,065 (1,026/39) 911 (877/34) 815 (799/16) 1,526 (1,476/50) 4,645 (4,555/90) 7,393 (7,291/102) 4,709
 Tajikistan 91 (87/4) 51 (48/3) 45 (42/3) 103 (93/10) 59 (56/3) 98 (92/6) 353 (335/18) 868 (846/22) 1,323 (1,277/46) 1,186 (1,134/52) 2,527 (2,429/98) 5,380 (5,194/186) 3,395 (3,284/111) 1,747
 China 5,854 (4,137/1,717) 3,247 (2,105/1,142) 3,089 (2,041/1,048) 2,133 (1,439/694) 1,288 (880/408) 1,205 (885/320) 1,179 (895/284) 1,473 (1,135/338) 1,935 (1,447/488) 1,380 (1,065/315) 1,720 (1,295/425) 2,233 (1,664/569) 2,618 (1,933/685) 884
 South Korea 550 (492/58) 508 (448/60) 520 (441/79) 301 (253/48) 153 (136/17) 150 (124/26) 219 (195/24) 720 (676/44) 1,838 (1,737/101) 2,967 (2,837/130) 2,057 (1,951/106) 1,884 (1,758/126) 1,618 (1,510/108) 726
 Kosovo 46 (46/0) 24 (21/3) 3 (3/0) 40 (40/0) 24 (23/1) 88 (82/6) 640 (571/69) 522 (490/32) 740 (680/60) 1,045 (940/105) 943 (831/112) 1,730 (1,600/130) 725 (667/58) 74
 Serbia 164 (143/21) 188 (162/26) 274 (239/35) 613 (518/95) 650 (599/51) 804 (705/99) 878 (804/74) 930 (867/63) 911 (841/70) 811 (747/64) 5 (4/1) 1,311 (1,199/112) 884 (821/63) 430
 Ethiopia 10 (7/3) 14 (4/10) 4 (1/3) 2 (2/0) 1 (1/0) 0 17 (15/2) 328 (224/104) 505 (348/157) 1,033 (812/221) 2,165 (1,713/452) 535 (425/110) 431 (330/101) 258
 Sri Lanka 54 (49/5) 39 (27/12) 47 (43/4) 16 (14/2) 42 (35/7) 42 (32/10) 73 (65/8) 302 (274/28) 835 (782/53) 281 (248/33) 541 (485/56) 1,627 (1,471/156) 3,174 (2,807/367) 1,973
 Zimbabwe 7 (7/0) 12 (12/0) 12 (12/0) 9 (9/0) 3 (3/0) 9 (8/1) 12 (8/4) 13 (11/2) 40 (27/13) 116 (57/59) 360 (244/116) 815 (658/157) 5,017 (4,634/383) 3,882
Others
Total 40,808 (28,346/12,462) 39,144 (26,296/12,848) 39,078 (25,488/13,590) 43,663 (29,282/14,381) 65,786 (47,616/18,170) 127,394 (93,413/33,981) 235,626 (174,351/61,275) 328,768 (253,907/74,861) 444,738 (333,541/111,197) 406,496 (297,694/108,802) 504,172 (379,648/124,524) 365,490 (302,725/62,765) 320,630 (272,636/47,994) 173,541

Declarations of entrusting work to a foreigner

In addition to work permits, there is a secondary, easier work migration scheme called declarations of entrusting work to a foreigner. Compared to the work permit system, employers seeking to entrust work to a foreigner do not need to subject the job to a labor market test. However, the work visa is only valid for up to 24 months instead of 36 months. Prior to 2022, the time limits were even stricter, with a 6-month maximum stay that had to be accompanied by a 6-month period outside of Poland until a new work visa could be obtained.[53][54] This system is only open to citizens of 5 post-Soviet countries,[55][56] though business leaders have called for an extension to other post-Soviet republics. Russian citizens are excluded from the program since October 2022,[57] following the invasion of Ukraine. Between 2007 and 2017, this scheme was known as a declaration of intention to entrust work to a foreigner, though it led to numerous abuses, since after submitting the statement, employers were not obliged to report whether the foreigner had come, and whether they had taken the job. Migrants would sometimes take up different work than previously indicated, use the permit to move to Western Europe, or not arrive at all. On 1 January 2018, it was replaced by the current scheme. Since then, employers are obliged to report the fact that the migrant has taken up employment. The change limits the comparability of the data from the previous periods.[58]

Registered declarations of entrusting work to a foreigner[59]
Country 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
 Ukraine 1,446,304 1,475,923 1,329,491 1,705,709 618,503
 Belarus 62,805 66,045 78,905 103,749 217,374
 Georgia 28,008 45,137 44,270 135,743 147,847
 Moldova 36,742 39,414 45,281 76,506 47,269
 Russia 6,718 11,262 19,246 36,214 16,084
 Armenia 1,648 2,302 2,406 7,314 7,475
Total 1,582,225 1,640,083 1,519,599 2,065,416 1,054,640

Seasonal work permits

Since January 2018, employers may hire foreigners on a seasonal work permit, used specifically for agricultural and tourism-related work.[60] In 2020, 60.8% of hired foreigners were women, 42% were under 35 years old, and most worked in Poland from 31 to 90 days.[61] The vast majority of migrants come from Ukraine, as well as Belarus, Moldova, and Georgia, since the law doesn't require the employer to look for potential Polish workers before hiring a foreigner from said countries.

Seasonal work permits by country of citizenship
Country 2018 2019 2020
 Ukraine 119,926 129,683 135,482
 Belarus 607 659 625
 Moldova 359 380 342
 Georgia 199 302 291
 Uzbekistan 3 66 122
 Philippines 15 78 78
 Russia 45 79 62
 Indonesia 0 3 44
Others 35 97 175
Total 121,436 131,446 137,403

Social insurance data

Polish social insurance provider, Zakład Ubezpieczeń Społecznych (ZUS), reported 1,094,148 foreigners paying towards pension insurance in Poland at the end of June 2023, an 8.1% increase since the year prior and more than double compared to 5 years ago. Foreigners were 6.74% of all insured in Poland, an increase from basically 0 just a few years earlier. Ukrainians and Belarusians were the largest groups of foreigners, at 68.4% and 11.1%, respectively. Other nationalities with more than 10,000 people insured in the Polish insurance system include: Georgians (27,434), Indians (18,620), Moldovans (14,654), and Russians (12,709).[62]

Education

In light of a lack of centralized and trustworthy population statistics, the education system is another source of information about immigrants and foreign nationals in Poland. As of September 2022, there were 352,923 students with a foreign nationality in Poland in non-college education,[63] approximately 6.8% of all students in the country. The vast majority were Ukrainians - 307,944 (of which 200,734 were in a refugee status), followed by Belarusians (19,647).

There were also 85,897 foreign college students in Poland as of 2021 (excluding those studying on short-term study programs such as Erasmus).[64]

Ukrainian refugees

For more information, see Ukrainian refugee crisis (2022–present)#Poland.

Poland has been at the forefront of the Ukrainian refugee crisis from the very beginning, as the country shares a long border with Ukraine and many Ukrainians have family members working or studying in Poland. As the refugee crisis became apparent, Polish authorities waived certain entry restrictions for people fleeing Ukraine, such as requirements for passports[65] and, along with millions of private citizens,[66] organized food and shelter for the arriving refugees. Poland's response to the Ukrainian refugee crisis has won the country international praise.[67][68] Recent research results from a field experiment showed negative attitudes towards foreigners but a positive shift towards Ukrainians.[69]

As of September 2023, 958,120 refugees remain in Poland, of which 408,884 are under 18. More than 1 in 10 refugees lives in Warsaw (103,476), followed by Wrocław (45,942), Kraków (31,795) and Poznań (24,312).[70] Refugees are not counted towards the official population number by GUS as they are in a temporary residence status and temporary residents are not reported.[71]

Ethnic groups

Main article: Ethnic minorities in Poland

Poland was a diverse country before World War II, with only around 2/3 of the population being ethnically Polish. Due to German and Soviet war-time resettlements and genocides, and after-war population transfers, post-war Poland was one of the most ethnically homogenous countries in Europe and stayed that way until the 21st century.

Map of at least 10% non-Polish areas
Population background %1 Population (1st declaration) Population (any declaration)
Total 100.00 38,036,118 38,036,118
European Union 99.53 37,858,105 38,690,651
Autochthonous to Poland 99.34 37,785,173 38,423,818
Poles 98.59 37,499,700 37,595,069
Silesians 0.62 236,588 596,224
Kashubians 0.04 15,177 179,685
Lemkos 0.02 9,226 13,607
Romani 0.02 9,026 13,303
Jews 0.02 8,064 17,156
Tatars 0.01 4,009 5,295
Karaites 0.01 3,383 3,479
Other EU member states (primarily Germans) 0.19 72,932 266,833
Other Europe (primarily Ukrainian and Belarusian) 0.34 130,903 232,165
Other (primarily Vietnamese) 0.08 30,051 102,746
Unspecified 0.03 11,128 11,128
1 In the 2021 census responders were allowed to pick up to 2 nationalities/ethnicities. Percentages are calculated for the first choice only.
National and ethnic composition of Poland by census
Ethnicity 1921 1931 1946 2002 20111 20211
Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number %
Poles 17,789,287 69.23 21,993,444 68.91 20,520,178 85.75 36,983,720 96.74 37,310,300 96.88 37,499,700 98.59
Silesians 173,153 0.45 435,800 1.13 236,588 0.62
Ukrainians 3,898,428 15.17 3,221,975 10.10 30,957 0.08 38,400 0.10 64,909 0.17
Belarusians 1,035,693 4.03 989,852 3.10 48,737 0.13 36,400 0.09 43,693 0.11
Germans 769,392 2.99 740,992 2.32 2,288,300 9.56 152,897 0.40 74,500 0.19 42,558 0.11
Kashubians 5,062 0.01 17,700 0.05 15,177 0.04
Russians 48,920 0.19 138,713 0.43 6,103 0.02 8,200 0.02 10,977 0.03
Lemkos 5,863 0.02 7,100 0.02 9,226 0.02
Romani 12,855 0.03 12,600 0.03 9,026 0.02
Lithuanians 24,044 0.09 83,116 0.26 5,846 0.02 5,600 0.01 8,088 0.02
Jews 2,048,878 7.97 2,732,573 8.56 1,133 0.00 2,500 0.01 8,064 0.02
Armenians 1,082 0.00 3,000 0.01 5,586 0.01
Slovaks 2,001 0.01 2,300 0.01 4,508 0.01
Vietnamese 1,808 0.00 3,600 0.01 4,198 0.01
Czechs 30,628 0.12 38,097 0.12 831 0.00 1,300 0.00 4,035 0.01
Ruthenians 1,219,647 3.82
Local 38,943 0.15 707,088 2.22
Others 9,856 0.04 11,119 0.03 399,526 1.67 69,785 0.18
Unknown 631 0.00 39,163 0.12 417,431 . 774,885 2.03 521,500 1.35 11,128 0.03
Total 25,694,700 31,915,779 23,929,757 38,230,080 38,511,824 38,036,100
1 In 2011 and 2021 censuses responders were allowed to pick up to 2 nationalities/ethnicities. Only first choices are shown here.

Religions

See also: Religion in Poland and Catholic Church in Poland

Historically, Poland has been a religiously diverse country. However, after the Holocaust during World War II and population transfers after the war, Poland became predominantly Catholic, with small Orthodox, Protestant and Jewish communities.

Religious makeup of Poland

  Roman Catholic (71.30%)
  Orthodox (0.40%)
  Jehovah's Witnesses (0.29%)
  Other denominations (0.58%)
  No denomination (6.87%)
  Refused to state (20.53%)
  Unknown (0.04%)

The most recent census has shown a Catholic majority again, however with a significant drop in self-declared Catholics compared to a census 10 years earlier.[72] Roman Catholics constitute 71.3% of the population, down from 87.58% in 2011.[73]

Percentage of population Number of adherents
Denomination 2011 census 2021 census 2011 census 2021 census
Roman Catholic Church 87.6 71.3 33,728,734 27,121,331
Polish Orthodox Church 0.4 0.4 156,284 151,648
Jehovah's Witnessess 0.4 0.29 137,308 108,754
Lutheranism 0.2 0.17 70,766 65,407
Greek Catholic Church 0.1 0.09 33,281 33,209
Pentecostal Church 0.1 0.08 26,433 30,105
Catholic Mariawite Church 0.0 0.03 9,990 12,248
Old Catholic Church of Poland 0.0 0.02 8,807 6,942
Baptist Christian Church of the Republic of Poland 0.0 0.01 5,982 5,181
Buddhism 0.0 0.01 5,981 3,236
Seventh Day Adventist Church 0.0 0.01 4,947 3,129
Pastafarianism 0.0 0.01 492 2,312
Islam 0.0 0.01 5,108 2,209
Christ's Church in Poland 0.0 0.01 860 2,072
Slavic Native Faiths 0.0 0.01 914 2,039
God's Church in Christ 0.0 0.01 1,350 2,007
Other denominations 0.1 0.11 24,716 40,343
Not belonging to any denomination 2.4 6.87 929,420 2,611,506
Refusing to state a denomination 7.1 20.53 2,733,843 7,807,553
Denomination unknown 1.6 0.04 626,608 16,059

Languages

Main article: Languages of Poland
Polish 97.8%, other and unspecified 2.2% (2002 census)

See also

Notes

  1. ^ In fertility rates, 2.1 and above is a stable population and has been marked blue, 2 and below leads to an aging population and the result is that the population decreases.

References

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