thumb|350px|Population pyramid of Poland in 2017 thumb|450px|Largest cities and towns in Poland (over 20,000 citizens; 2010 data) [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kartogram_ludnosci_Polski.png Alternative map]
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 2011 census by the Polish Central Statistical Office (GUS), at the end of 2011, Poland had a population of 38,538,447, which translates into an average population density of 123 people/km2 (urban 1105 per , rural 50 per ).
61.5% of the Polish population lives in urban areas, a number which is slowly diminishing.
Poland is the 37th most populous country in the world (8th in Europe, with 5.4% of the European population).
The total population of Poland is almost stagnant (population growth was 0.08%).
In 2018, the average life expectancy was 77.9 years; 74.1 for men and 82 for women.
Population distribution is uneven.
Ethnically, Poland is a very homogeneous country, with 96.7% of population being Polish.
A number of censuses have assessed this data, including a national census in 2002, and a survey by the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights (HFHR), which confirmed there are numerous autochthonous ethnic groups in Poland.
Estimates by INTEREG and Eurominority present a similar demographic picture of Poland, but they provide estimates only for the most numerous of these ethnic groups.
Like many nations with falling birth rates and considerable emigration, Poland is ageing.
In 1950, the median age was 25.8: half of the Polish population was younger, half older.
Today it is 41.7.
If current trends continue, it may be 51 by 2050.
As the population is ageing, it also started to decline in the 1990s mainly due to low birth rates and continued emigration overseas, which impacted the local economy; however, this has started to change, with the Polish government encouraging citizens to return to Poland with increased wage incentives.
The number of children born in Polish families (TFR of 1.31, down from 2 in 1990) is one of the lowest in Central Europe, but has started to increase in recent years.
Historical population
thumbnail|right|300px|Population of Poland 1900-2010
For many centuries, until the end of World War II in 1945, the population of Poland included many significant ethnic minorities.
Twentieth century
The population of Poland decreased by about six million due to the losses sustained during the Holocaust and German occupation during World War II (1939-1945), and Poland became one of the most ethnically homogeneous areas in Europe (next to the populations of Slovakia and the Czech Republic) as a result of radically altered borders and population expulsions at the end of and after the war.
The post-war population movements were accompanied by waves of forced migrations ordered by the Soviet and Polish communist authorities, including the transfers of sizable Polish populations (1944–1946) from Poland's pre-war eastern territories, which were incorporated into the Soviet Union, the expulsion of ethnic Ukrainians to the USSR (1944–1946), Operation Vistula (1947), and the expulsion of Germans (1945–1950) from former German provinces awarded to Poland.
Recent trends
According to GUS, about 38,325,000 people live in Poland; however, the same report states that the number of residents living in the country all the time is approximately 37,200,000, with 1,125,000 people living abroad for 6 to 7 months or more.
It means that the permanent population may be correspondingly smaller.
(2018 est.) male: 4.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2018 est.) a=v&q=cache:FPKzOUeamXsJ:www.stat.gov.pl/cps/rde/xbcr/gus/PUBL_lu_wyniki_wstepne_NSP_2011.pdf+wyniki+spisu+powszechnego+2011&hl=pl&gl=pl&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESg_wnDuuA5l8omr6wwucTp9PzbFgKvIPAosqkXslBy7g5DBp1LFgMTYqZg_uHPD6m_S4UX_azmFLvVmDdGfgzgmFfRkWwBu2hkSOcfcA2uCQxmF_eadAEufCM91H96y2Rmct7QB&sig=AHIEtbRBTGAFs8jCrfMfgrRMkLh21z1V3g
In the 21st century, many Poles migrated following Poland's accession to the European Union in 2004 and the opening of the EU's labor market, with approximately 2 million (primarily young) Poles taking up jobs abroad.
Vital statistics
B.R. Mitchell.
European historical statistics, 1750-1975.
Total fertility rate from 1800 to 1920
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.
Vital statistics from 1921 to 1938
thumb|Birth and death rates in Poland between 1921 and 1938|alt=|400x400px
After World War II
Główny Urząd Statystyczny / Obszary tematyczne / Inne opracowania / Informacje o sytuacji społeczno-gospodarczej / Informacja o sytuacji społeczno-gospodarczej kraju w 2017 r Statistics Poland / Topics / Other studies / Informations on socio-economic situation / Statistical Bulletin No 2/2020Eurostat - Tables, Graphs and Maps Interface (TGM) table
Current vital statistics
Life expectancy
Source: UN World Population Prospects Structure of the population
Demographic statistics
thumb|350px|Birth and death rates of Poland in 1950-2008 Demographic statistics according to the World Population Review in 2019.
One birth every 2 minutes
One death every 1 minutes
Net loss of one person every 7 minutes
One net migrant every 53 minutes
Demographic statistics according to the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.
;Population:
38,420,687 (July 2018 est.)
38,476,269 (July 2017 est.)
;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.)
0-14 years: 14.76% (male 2,919,353/female 2,757,923)
15-24 years: 10.7% (male 2,113,358/female 2,003,033)
25-54 years: 43.48% (male 8,447,418/female 8,283,757)
55-64 years: 14.21% (male 2,586,097/female 2,880,031)
65 years and over: 16.86% (male 2,560,847/female 3,924,452) (2017 est.)
0–14 years: 14.8% (male 2,931,732/female 2,769,021)
15–64 years: 71.7% (male 13,725,939/female 13,863,103)
65 years and over: 13.5% (male 1,971,763/female 3,202,131) (2010 est.)
;Median age:
total: 41.1 years.
Country comparison to the world: 44th
male: 39.4 years
female: 42.8 years (2018 est.)
total: 40.7 years.
Country comparison to the world: 47th
male: 39 years
female: 42.4 years (2017 est.)
total: 38.5 years
male: 36.8 years
female: 40.3 years (2011 est.)
;Birth rate:
9.3 births/1,000 population (2018 est.)
Country comparison to the world: 202nd
9.5 births/1,000 population (2017 est.)
;Death rate:
10.5 deaths/1,000 population (2018 est.)
Country comparison to the world: 29th
10.4 deaths/1,000 population (2017 est.)
;Total fertility rate:
1.36 children born/woman (2018 est.)
Country comparison to the world: 214th
;Population growth rate:
-0.16% (2018 est.)
Country comparison to the world: 206th
-0.13% (2017 est.)
;Net migration rate:
-0.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2017 est.)
Country comparison to the world: 124th
;Mother's mean age at first birth:
27.4 years (2014 est.)
;Infant mortality rate:
total: 4.4 deaths/1,000 live births.
Country comparison to the world: 182nd
male: 4.8 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 4 deaths/1,000 live births (2017 est.)
total: 6.42 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 7.12 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 5.67 deaths/1,000 live births (2012 est.)
;Dependency ratios:
total dependency ratio: 43.9 (2015 est.)
youth dependency ratio: 21.4 (2015 est.)
elderly dependency ratio: 22.5 (2015 est.)
potential support ratio: 4.5 (2015 est.)
;Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 77.9 years
male: 74.1 years
female: 82 years (2018 est.)
total population: 75.85 years
male: 71.88 years
female: 80.06 years (2010 est.)
total population: 76.25 years
male: 72.31 years
female: 80.43 years (2012 est.)
;Urbanization:
urban population: 60.1% of total population (2018)
rate of urbanization: -0.25% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)
;Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write (2015 est.)
total population: 99.8%
male: 99.9%
female: 99.7% (2015 est.)
;School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 16 years
male: 16 years
female: 17 years (2013)
;Unemployment, youth ages 15–24:
total: 17.7%.
Country comparison to the world: 74th
male: 17.4%
female: 18% (2016 est.)
total: 20.8%
male: 20.7%
female: 20.9% (2015 est.)
;Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.62 male(s)/female
total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2012 est.)
;Population distribution: Population concentrated in the southern area around Krakow and the central area around Warsaw and Lodz, with an extension to the northern coastal city of Gdansk.
;Ethnic groups: Polish 96.9%, Silesian 1.1%, German 0.2%, Ukrainian 0.1%, other and unspecified 1.7% note: represents ethnicity declared first (2011 est.)
;Languages: Polish (official) 98.2%, Silesian 1.4%, other 1.1%, unspecified 1.3% note: data represents the language spoken at home; shares sum to more than 100% because some respondents gave more than one answer on the census; Poland ratified the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in 2009 recognizing Kashub as a regional language, Czech, Hebrew, Yiddish, Belarusian, Lithuanian, German, Armenian, Russian, Slovak, and Ukrainian as national minority languages, and Karaim, Lemko, Romani (Polska Roma and Bergitka Roma), and Tatar as ethnic minority languages (2011 est.)
;Religions: Catholic 87.2% (includes Roman Catholic 86.9% and Greek Catholic, Armenian Catholic, and Byzantine-Slavic Catholic .3%), Orthodox 1.3% (almost all are Polish Autocephalous Orthodox), Protestant 0.4% (mainly Augsburg Evangelical and Pentecostal), other 0.4% (includes Jehovah's Witness, Buddhist, Hare Krishna, Gaudiya Vaishnavism, Muslim, Jewish, Mormon), unspecified 10.8% (2012 est.)
Nationalities
97.10% of the people of Poland claim sole or partial Polish nationality, and 98.19% declare that they speak Polish at home (2011).
Among minority groups, the largest numbers of respondents claimed Silesian nationality, followed by Kashubian, German, Ukrainian, and Belarusian.
The statistics on Ukrainians do not include recently arrived migrant workers, which a report by the National Bank of Poland estimated at around 1 million in 2015.
Largest metropolitan and urban areas
Population numbers by database
Demographics by town
Demographics by voivodeship
Immigration
Immigration to Poland has only picked up recently after 2014, when unemployment started falling and more workforce was needed.
Most migration is temporary, with workers arriving for 3 to 12 months and then returning home with the earned money.
Some of them stay long enough to acquire permanent and long-term stay permits (table below), but the actual amount of migrants in Poland is far higher.
Largest groups of foreign residents<ref>https://migracje.gov.pl/en/statistics/scope/poland/type/statuses/view/tables/year/2021/</ref>
Work permits issued each year by country of citizenship<ref>https://psz.praca.gov.pl/web/urzad-pracy/-/8180075-zezwolenia-na-prace-cudzoziemcow</ref>
Most immigrants are hired using short-term work registrations, which are an easier way for employers to hire foreigners, than work permits, and only apply to workers from 6 former CIS countries.https://psz.praca.gov.pl/web/urzad-pracy/-/8180205-rejestracja-oswiadczen-pracodawcow-o-zamiarze-powierzenia-pracy-cudzoziemcowihttps://psz.praca.gov.pl/web/urzad-pracy/-/8180211-oswiadczenia-o-powierzeniu-wykonywania-pracy-cudzoziemcowi-wpisane-do-ewidencji-oswiadczen-obowiazujace-od-2018-r- Between 2007 and 2017, they figured 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 he 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 "Declaration of entrusting work to a foreigner".
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.https://stat.gov.pl/obszary-tematyczne/ludnosc/migracje-zagraniczne-ludnosci/sytuacja-demograficzna-polski-do-roku-2019-migracje-zagraniczne-ludnosci,16,1.html
Work registrations by country of citizenship
Since January 2018, employers may hire foreigners on a seasonal work permit, used specifically for agricultural and tourism-related work.https://www.gov.pl/web/rodzina/zezwolenie-na-prace-sezonowa1 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.https://psz.praca.gov.pl/web/urzad-pracy/-/8180228-zezwolenia-na-prace-sezonowa-cudzoziemca 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
Ethnic groups
thumb|Map of at least 10% non-Polish areas
Religions
Languages
Polish 97.8%, other and unspecified 2.2% (2002 census)
See also
Health in Poland
Polish diaspora
Statistics Poland
Notes
References
External links
Statistics Poland
CIA World Factbook 2004
The Protection of National Minorities in Poland report by Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights
Internationales Institut für Nationalitätenrecht und Regionalismus
