Since about 1999, Poland’s population has slowly been declining. Poland’s population peaked at 38.57 million people and has since then decreased to about 37.85 million people. Poland’s population is expected to decline at a much faster rate in the coming decades, shrinking to 23.17 million people at the end of the century. This means that Poland will lose almost 40% of its population by the end of the century.
Poland’s population is shrinking at a rate of 0.11%. The fertility rate in Poland is 1.439 births per woman, too low to replace the population. Additionally, Poland has negative net migration, especially as some of the country’s best and brightest have left to other countries for better job opportunities (known as “brain drain”).
| Poland Population (as of 11/19/2024) | 38,405,046 |
| Last UN Estimate (July 1, 2024) | 38,539,200 |
| Births per Day | 848 |
| Deaths per Day | 1,141 |
| Migrations per Day | -652 |
| Net Change per Day | -945 |
| Population Change Since Jan. 1 | -306,180 |
Net decrease of 1 person every 1.52 minutes
Population estimates based on interpolation of data from World Population Prospects
| One birth every 1.7 minutes | |
| One death every 1.27 minutes | |
| One emigrant every 2.22 minutes | |
| Net loss of one person every 1.52 minutes |
City | 2024 Pop. |
|---|---|
| Warsaw | 1,702,139 |
| Lodz | 768,755 |
| Krakow | 755,050 |
| Wroclaw | 634,893 |
| Poznan | 570,352 |
| Gdansk | 461,865 |
| Szczecin | 407,811 |
| Bydgoszcz | 366,452 |
| Lublin | 360,044 |
| Katowice | 317,316 |
According to figures calculated by the Polish Central Statistical Office, Poland had a population of 37,115,000 people by the end of 2007. This made the average population density equal to 122 people / km². Of this number, 61.5% of the people belonged to urban areas. The male population of the country is about 48.2%, and the remaining 51.8% belongs to the female population.
The capital of Poland is Warsaw, and its official language is Polish. Another language that exists on a more regional basis is Kashubian. The population of Warsaw, which is the only city with over a million residents, currently has a population of 1,708,139.
Other cities with notable populations between 500,000 and 1,000,000 are Krakow, Lodz, Wroclaw, and Poznan.
Year | Population | Change | Density (/km²) | Population Rank | Density Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 38,539,200 | 0.16% | 126 | 39 | 96 |
| 2023 | 38,762,800 | 0.27% | 127 | 39 | 95 |
| 2020 | 38,171,000 | -0.14% | 125 | 39 | 91 |
| 2019 | 38,225,900 | -0.04% | 125 | 37 | 91 |
| 2018 | 38,241,100 | -0.04% | 125 | 37 | 91 |
| 2017 | 38,255,000 | -0.02% | 125 | 37 | 91 |
| 2015 | 38,266,300 | 0.09% | 125 | 35 | 91 |
| 2010 | 38,095,400 | -0.01% | 124 | 33 | 88 |
| 2005 | 38,124,400 | -0.07% | 124 | 32 | 85 |
| 2000 | 38,258,100 | -0.06% | 125 | 30 | 80 |
| 1995 | 38,364,700 | 0.16% | 125 | 29 | 75 |
| 1990 | 38,055,500 | 0.46% | 124 | 28 | 72 |
| 1985 | 37,200,900 | 0.9% | 121 | 26 | 70 |
| 1980 | 35,576,500 | 0.93% | 116 | 25 | 69 |
| 1975 | 33,964,400 | 0.86% | 111 | 24 | 68 |
| 1970 | 32,542,600 | 0.79% | 106 | 23 | 68 |
| 1965 | 31,288,300 | 1.13% | 102 | 21 | 66 |
| 1960 | 29,576,000 | 1.79% | 97 | 19 | 60 |
| 1955 | 27,063,600 | 1.78% | 88 | 19 | 60 |
Year | Population | Change | Density (/km²) | Population Rank | Density Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 38,539,200 | 0.16% | 126 | 39 | 96 |
| 2025 | 38,140,900 | -0.02% | 125 | 42 | 97 |
| 2030 | 37,198,500 | -0.5% | 121 | 47 | 100 |
| 2035 | 36,243,800 | -0.52% | 118 | 52 | 105 |
| 2040 | 35,179,600 | -0.59% | 115 | 53 | 111 |
| 2045 | 34,031,100 | -0.66% | 111 | 57 | 114 |
| 2050 | 32,814,100 | -0.73% | 107 | 59 | 118 |
| 2055 | 31,520,100 | -0.8% | 103 | 61 | 122 |
| 2060 | 30,139,200 | -0.89% | 98 | 62 | 128 |
| 2065 | 28,661,500 | -1% | 94 | 66 | 130 |
| 2070 | 27,103,600 | -1.11% | 89 | 68 | 135 |
| 2075 | 25,533,700 | -1.19% | 83 | 69 | 140 |
| 2080 | 24,037,700 | -1.2% | 78 | 69 | 142 |
| 2085 | 22,670,500 | -1.16% | 74 | 74 | 148 |
| 2090 | 21,452,600 | -1.1% | 70 | 74 | 150 |
| 2095 | 20,356,000 | -1.04% | 66 | 75 | 153 |
41.9
Total
40.3
Male
43.6
Female
There are people over age 18 in Poland.
Year | Date |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 30 June 2021 |
| 2011 | 30 June 2011 |
| 2002 | 20 May 2002 |
| 1988 | 6 December 1988 |
Poland, which is called the Republic of Poland in the official books, is located in Central Europe. To its west is Germany, to its south are Slovakia and the Czech Republic, and to the east are Ukraine and Belarus. The northern border is comprised of the Baltic Sea, Kaliningrad Oblast, Lithuania and the Russian exclave. The country constitutes a total area of 120,726 square miles (312,679 square kilometers) , which makes it the 69th largest country of the world and the ninth largest in Europe. Poland is a unitary state comprised of 16 voivodeships.
The sex ratio at the time of birth between men and women is 1.06 males / female. For the age group under 15 years, it is 1.06 males / female. For the next age group, which is 15-64 years, it is 0.99 male / female. For the last age group, which is 65 years and over, the sex ratio is calculated to be about 0.62 male / female. When combined, this data gives an overall ratio of 0.94 male per female.
The infant mortality rate is estimated to be 6.42 deaths / 1000 live births for the total, with 7.12 deaths for the males and 5.67 deaths for the females per 1000 live births.
87% of the population follows a Catholic religious path, while small percentages follow Protestant, Orthodox, and other religions.
The life expectancy rate has often been in the favor of deaths, especially during the World War. The growth rate also stayed negative until around 2007, but recently the stats have changed. The growth rate has now become 1.19%, which is the estimate calculated in 2012. The birth rate in 2012 was estimated to be 9.96 per 1000 people. The death rate was calculated as 9.24 deaths per 1000 deaths, which is still very close to the birth rate. The fertility rate has been decreasing since 2008, which at that point was 1.39 children born per woman and has now reached 1.31 children born per woman.
In 2018, these numbers are now updated to reflect a median age of 40.7 years of age, with a total life expectancy of 77.8 years of age. The death rate is at 10.4 per 1,000 individuals, over a full point up from previous calculations. The birth rate is now at 9.5 births per 1,000 individuals, indicating another decrease in the natural growth rate. The fertility rate is currently at 1.35 children per woman, which is a much smaller decrease than similar recent statistics in this arena.
The population of the Republic of Poland was at only 1 million around the year 1000. This figure doubled by 1370 and gave Poland a population density of 8.6 people per square km. The country was affected comparatively little by the Black Death than the rest of Western Europe, which is why its population didn’t fall as much and continued to rise. By 1490, Poland’s population had jumped up to about 8 million inhabitants. Urbanization in the country further increased the population due to the innumerous migrations. By 1815, there were 11 million Poles in the territory; but due to the 3 partitions after 1772, the population was distributed among different countries.
However, the population still struggled to revive. Even after the millions of deaths in the Second World War, the census held in 1946 indicated a total population of 23,930,000. Out of this, 32% of the people were living in cities and towns and in urban areas, whereas 68% of the people were living in the countryside. The population further grew until recently, when it finally started decreasing because of a negative growth rate.