Demography / Demografia

POPULATION

According to the report produced by the Główny Urząd Statystyczny (GUS/Polish Central Statistical Office), in 2012 the population of Poland was around 39 millions (122 people/km²). This number ranks Poland in the first 33 most populous countires in the world, and 6th in Europe. Overall, Poland has around 6% of all European citizens. 

More than 65%  of Poles lives in urban areas, however according to some experts this number is due to diminish in the years to come. Average life expectancy for men is 72.2 and for women it is slightly higher at 80,5. (World Health Rankings, 2015). The median age for males is slightly below 37 years and for females it is 38.5 years.

As the above age structure graph presents the majority of Polish males are in their 20s and 30s, similarly the majority of females are in their 20s, 30s and 50s. Again, according to some Polish experts and the GUS, in the next 30 years the majority of both males and femals will be in their 50s and 60s, and this could bring some massive economic issues to the country. 


ETHNICITY

According to most recent statistics released by GUS 97.7% of people living in Poland declare themselves to be Polish. Around 0.5% are members of other EU countires - mainly Germans, and 0.4% came from the eastern part of Europe (Ukraine and Belarus). Less than 0.1% of the population are being represented mainly by immigrants from Vietnam and other Asian countires. As much as 1.4% of people are either mixed or prefer not to reveal their nationality.

The map below presents the occurance of ethnic minorities in each of Polish voivodeship.

LANGUAGE

The official language in Poland is Polish. Polish is widely spoken with over 98% of Poles using the official language. Polish is divided into 4 main dialects: Greater Polish (used in the western parts of Poland), Lesser Polish (used in the southern and south-eastern parts of Poland), Masovian (used in the central Poland) and Silesian (used in the south-western parts of Poland). Many Silesian activists are 'fighting' for Silesian to be recognised as a separate language in Poland. 

As well as the official language, there are a number of other languages being used in Poland, including: Kashubian, German, Belarusian, Rusyn, Lithuanian, Slovak, Ukrainian, Romani, Armenian and Hungarian. 

This video presents some of the Silesian songs.

RELIGION

The main religion in Poland is Christianity with over 34 million followers (93%). Another 5% are atheists and 2% following other religions (Judaism and Islam).

This picture shows a Roman Catholic Cathedral in Legnica.

This picture shows a Jewish synagogue in Warsaw.

This picture shows a Muslim mosque in Warsaw.