Global InformationDemographics of Poland information
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| Demographics of Poland | |
|---|---|
 Population pyramid of Poland in 2021 | |
| Population | 37,940,000 (2022 est.) |
| Growth rate | -0.26% (2022 est.) |
| Birth rate | 8.7 births/1,000 population |
| Death rate | 13.6 deaths/1,000 population |
| Life expectancy | 78.76 years |
| • male | 75.02 years |
| • female | 82.73 years |
| Fertility rate | 1.26 children |
| Infant mortality rate | 4.16 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Net migration rate | -0.33 migrant(s)/1,000 population |
| Nationality | |
| Nationality | Pole |
| Major ethnic | Polish - 98.6% |
| Language | |
| Official | Polish |
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.
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,[1] a decrease of 0.9% since the 2011 census, and a usually resident population of 37,019,327,[2] 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.[3] 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.[4]
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.
59.8% of the Polish population lives in urban areas, a number which is continuously declining due to suburbanization. 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 and Southern Asia.
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.[5] As of September 2023, 958,120 Ukrainian refugees continue to reside in Poland.[6] They are also not counted towards official or usually resident population.
- ^ GUS. "Informacja o wynikach Narodowego Spisu Powszechnego Ludności i Mieszkań 2021 na poziomie województw, powiatów i gmin". stat.gov.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2023-09-13.
- ^ GUS. "Ludność rezydująca – dane NSP 2021". stat.gov.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2023-09-13.
- ^ Pawłowska, Danuta (February 1, 2022). "Spis powszechny. Liczba ludności to sprawa polityczna, czyli jak GUS doliczył się 38 mln mieszkańców". Biqdata. Retrieved September 12, 2023.
- ^ GUS. "Migracje zagraniczne na pobyt czasowy - wyniki NSP 2021". stat.gov.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2023-09-13.
- ^ "Refugees fleeing Ukraine (since 24 February 2022)". UNHCR. 2022.
- ^ "Otwarte Dane". dane.gov.pl. Retrieved 2023-09-13.