Throughout the 19th century, what we know today as Poland was not a united, independent country; apart from a brief period during the Napoleonic Wars, Polish land was split between the Austro-Hungarian, Prussian (later German) and Russian empires. During the 1800s, the population of Poland grew steadily, from approximately nine million people in 1800 to almost 25 million in 1900; throughout this time, the Polish people and their culture were oppressed by their respective rulers, and cultural suppression intensified following a number of uprisings in the various territories. Following the outbreak of the First World War, it is estimated that almost 3.4 million men from Poland served in the Austro-Hungarian, German and Russian armies, with a further 300,000 drafted for forced labor by the German authorities. Several hundred thousand were forcibly resettled in the region during the course of the war, as Poland was one of the most active areas of the conflict. For these reasons, among others, it is difficult to assess the extent of Poland's military and civilian fatalities during the war, with most reliable estimates somewhere between 640,000 and 1.1 million deaths. In the context of present-day Poland, it is estimated that the population fell by two million people in the 1910s, although some of this was also due to the Spanish Flu pandemic that followed in the wake of the war.

Poland 1918-1945

After more than a century of foreign rule, an independent Polish state was established by the Allied Powers in 1918, although it's borders were considerably different to today's, and were extended by a number of additional conflicts. The most significant of these border conflicts was the Polish-Soviet War in 1919-1920, which saw well over 100,000 deaths, and victory helped Poland to emerge as the Soviet Union's largest political and military rival in Eastern Europe during the inter-war period. Economically, Poland struggled to compete with Europe's other powers during this time, due to its lack of industrialization and infrastructure, and the global Great Depression of the 1930s exacerbated this further. Political corruption and instability was also rife in these two decades, and Poland's leadership failed to prepare the nation for the Second World War. Poland had prioritized its eastern defenses, and some had assumed that Germany's Nazi regime would see Poland as an ally due to their shared rivalry with the Soviet Union, but this was not the case. Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, in the first act of the War, and the Soviet Union launched a counter invasion on September 17; Germany and the Soviet Union had secretly agreed to do this with the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact in August, and had succeeded in taking the country by September's end. When Germany launched its invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941 it took complete control of Poland, which continued to be the staging ground for much of the fighting between these nations. It has proven difficult to calculate the total number of Polish fatalities during the war, for a variety of reasons, however most historians have come to believe that the figure is around six million fatalities, which equated to almost one fifth of the entire pre-war population; the total population dropped by four million throughout the 1940s. The majority of these deaths took place during the Holocaust, which saw the Nazi regime commit an ethnic genocide of up to three million Polish Jews, and as many as 2.8 million non-Jewish Poles; these figures do not include the large number of victims from other countries who died after being forcefully relocated to concentration camps in Poland.

Post-war Poland

The immediate aftermath of the war was also extremely unorganized and chaotic, as millions were forcefully relocated from or to the region, in an attempt to create an ethnically homogenized state, and thousands were executed during this process. A communist government was quickly established by the Soviet Union, and socialist social and economic policies were gradually implemented over the next decade, as well as the rebuilding, modernization and education of the country. In the next few decades, particularly in the 1980s, the Catholic Church, student groups and trade unions (as part of the Solidarity movement) gradually began to challenge the government, weakening the communist party's control over the nation (although it did impose martial law and imprison political opponent throughout the early-1980s). Increasing civil unrest and the weakening of Soviet influence saw communism in Poland come to an end in the elections of 1989. Throughout the 1990s, Poland's population growth stagnated at around 38.5 million people, before gradually decreasing since the turn of the millennium, to 37.8 million people in 2020. This decline was mostly due to a negative migration rate, as Polish workers could now travel more freely to Western Europea...

In 2023, the population of Poland was over **** million, the majority of who were living in the urban areas. The diagram shows that the number of people of post-working age is steadily increasing and the number of children aged zero to two is decreasing.

About this dataset

Context

The dataset tabulates the population of Poland by race. It includes the population of Poland across racial categories (excluding ethnicity) as identified by the Census Bureau. The dataset can be utilized to understand the population distribution of Poland across relevant racial categories.

Key observations

The percent distribution of Poland population by race (across all racial categories recognized by the U.S. Census Bureau): 95.72% are white, 0.43% are Black or African American and 3.85% are multiracial.

Content

When available, the data consists of estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.

Racial categories include:

• White
• Black or African American
• American Indian and Alaska Native
• Asian
• Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
• Some other race
• Two or more races (multiracial)

Variables / Data Columns

• Race: This column displays the racial categories (excluding ethnicity) for the Poland
• Population: The population of the racial category (excluding ethnicity) in the Poland is shown in this column.
• % of Total Population: This column displays the percentage distribution of each race as a proportion of Poland total population. Please note that the sum of all percentages may not equal one due to rounding of values.

Good to know

Margin of Error

Data in the dataset are based on the estimates and are subject to sampling variability and thus a margin of error. Neilsberg Research recommends using caution when presening these estimates in your research.

Custom data

If you do need custom data for any of your research project, report or presentation, you can contact our research staff at research@neilsberg.com for a feasibility of a custom tabulation on a fee-for-service basis.

Inspiration

Neilsberg Research Team curates, analyze and publishes demographics and economic data from a variety of public and proprietary sources, each of which often includes multiple surveys and programs. The large majority of Neilsberg Research aggregated datasets and insights is made available for free download at https://www.neilsberg.com/research/.

Recommended for further research

This dataset is a part of the main dataset for Poland Population by Race & Ethnicity. You can refer the same here

Total current population for Poland in 2025 is 39,616,730, a 1.5% decline from 2024.

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<li>Total population for Poland in 2024 was <strong>40,221,726</strong>, a <strong>9.63% increase</strong> from 2023.</li>
<li>Total population for Poland in 2023 was <strong>36,687,353</strong>, a <strong>0.36% decline</strong> from 2022.</li>
<li>Total population for Poland in 2022 was <strong>36,821,749</strong>, a <strong>0.43% decline</strong> from 2021.</li>
</ul>Total population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship. The values shown are midyear estimates.

This statistic shows the total population of men and women in Poland from 1900 until 2020. When this graph begins in 1900, Poland was not a united and independent country, and was split between the Austro-Hungarian, German and Russian empires. Poland eventually became a state in 1918, after the events of the First World War, however it's borders were further to the east than they are today. This statistic shows the populations of Poland within todays borders, and from it we can see that the population of men and women were relatively similar at 12.5 and 12.6 million respectively. In the inter-war years the difference in the number of men and women grew as a result of the First World War and the subsequent conflict to the east, where there were approximately 0.9 million more women.

The next entries in the graph come in 1946, where Poland's population falls to 23.9 million. The number of men falls by almost 5 million and the number of women falls by over 3.5 million. Poland was one of the most devastated countries during the Second World War, due to it's location it was the staging ground for much of the violence during Germany's war against Russia, and the civilian population was devastated during both occupations. With up to 5.8 million total deaths, approximately 17 percent of the total Polish population died during the Second World War, which is a higher proportion than any other country involved in the war.

After the war, Poland's population grew from 1946 onwards until the turn of the century, the difference in the number of men and women remained at around one million people, and the total population exceeded its pre-war levels in the late 1960s. Like many other Eastern European countries, with the fall of the iron curtain in the early 1990s, the population had greater freedom of movement and growth began to slow. By 2000 the population growth was declining, the number of men was and women were at 18.7 and 19.4 million respectively, and both populations then fell by 2015, with the number of men declining at a slightly faster rate than the number of women.

The total population in Poland was estimated at 36.5 million people in 2025, according to the latest census figures and projections from Trading Economics. This dataset provides - Poland Population - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Graph and download economic data for Population, Total for Poland (POPTOTPLA647NWDB) from 1960 to 2024 about Poland and population.

Poland population growth rate for 2023 was -0.37%, a 2.11% increase from 2022.

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<li>Poland population growth rate for 2022 was <strong>-2.48%</strong>, a <strong>2.08% decline</strong> from 2021.</li>
<li>Poland population growth rate for 2021 was <strong>-0.40%</strong>, a <strong>0.23% decline</strong> from 2020.</li>
<li>Poland population growth rate for 2020 was <strong>-0.18%</strong>, a <strong>0.15% decline</strong> from 2019.</li>
</ul>Annual population growth rate for year t is the exponential rate of growth of midyear population from year t-1 to t, expressed as a percentage . Population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship.

Poland PL: Population: Growth data was reported at 0.015 % in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of -0.043 % for 2016. Poland PL: Population: Growth data is updated yearly, averaging 0.363 % from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 3.336 % in 1960 and a record low of -1.044 % in 2000. Poland PL: Population: Growth data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Poland – Table PL.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Annual population growth rate for year t is the exponential rate of growth of midyear population from year t-1 to t, expressed as a percentage . Population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship.; ; Derived from total population. Population source: (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2017 Revision, (2) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, (3) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, (4) United Nations Statistical Division. Population and Vital Statistics Reprot (various years), (5) U.S. Census Bureau: International Database, and (6) Secretariat of the Pacific Community: Statistics and Demography Programme.; Weighted average;

Poland Population: Annual data was reported at 37,489.000 Person th in 2024. This records a decrease from the previous number of 37,637.000 Person th for 2023. Poland Population: Annual data is updated yearly, averaging 37,340.467 Person th from Dec 1946 (Median) to 2024, with 79 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 38,538.000 Person th in 2011 and a record low of 23,640.000 Person th in 1946. Poland Population: Annual data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Statistics Poland. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Poland – Table PL.G001: Population.

The statistic shows the total population of Poland from 2020 to 2024, with projections up until 2030. In 2024, the total population of Poland amounted to around 36.62 million inhabitants. Population and economy of Poland Poland is the sixth most populated country in the EU, and the ninth most populated one in Europe. After experiencing a minor decline in population from the mid to late 2000s, Poland’s populace has gradually risen annually. Based on current trends, it is estimated that Poland will suffer a population decrease of roughly 4 million in 2050, an estimate that is highly plausible due to the ongoing financial crisis in Europe. A reason for the country’s slow but certain growth in population could be its economic upturn that has seen momentous improvements over the past decade. Due to industrialization during Russian-ruled Congress Poland as well as the Great Depression, Poland suffered from high amounts of unemployment. However, demand for jobs dramatically increased during the mid 21st century, causing unemployment to plummet. Interestingly, Poland is one of the few countries that reported an unemployment rate which was lower than during the years prior to the global financial crisis. A further indication of economic upturn is evident in the country’s gross domestic product, which is primarily an indicator of economic strength and production in a country. Poland’s GDP trend coincides with its unemployment rate, having doubled in value and maintained a higher GDP compared to the years prior to the financial crisis of 2008.

Graph and download economic data for Population Ages 0 to 14 for Poland (SPPOP0014TOZSPOL) from 1960 to 2024 about 0 to 14 years, Poland, and population.

Poland Population: Male data was reported at 18,583,636.000 Person in Jun 2018. This records a decrease from the previous number of 18,593,175.000 Person for Dec 2017. Poland Population: Male data is updated semiannually, averaging 18,416,000.000 Person from Dec 1946 (Median) to Jun 2018, with 88 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 18,654,577.000 Person in Dec 2011 and a record low of 11,053,000.000 Person in Dec 1946. Poland Population: Male data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Central Statistical Office. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Poland – Table PL.G001: Population.

The population of Poland at the end of 2023 amounted to more than **** million people. The most significant number of people lived in the Mazowieckie Voivodeship. This region recorded a slight decrease in population compared to the previous year.

According to the Polish Statistical Office, there were over **** million inhabitants in Poland in 2024, a decrease of *** percent compared to the previous year.

Poland - Population was 36620970.00 in December of 2024, according to the EUROSTAT. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Poland - Population - last updated from the EUROSTAT on July of 2025. Historically, Poland - Population reached a record high of 38666983.00 in December of 1999 and a record low of 29479900.00 in December of 1960.

Poland - Active population, aged 15-64 was 17280.00 Thousand in December of 2024, according to the EUROSTAT. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Poland - Active population, aged 15-64 - last updated from the EUROSTAT on July of 2025. Historically, Poland - Active population, aged 15-64 reached a record high of 17363.00 Thousand in December of 2023 and a record low of 16373.00 Thousand in December of 2010.

Poland Population: Working: Female: 18 to 59 Years data was reported at 10,981,498.000 Person in Jun 2018. This records a decrease from the previous number of 11,046,895.000 Person for Dec 2017. Poland Population: Working: Female: 18 to 59 Years data is updated semiannually, averaging 11,446,424.000 Person from Dec 1988 (Median) to Jun 2018, with 39 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 11,914,120.000 Person in Dec 2006 and a record low of 10,553,000.000 Person in Dec 1988. Poland Population: Working: Female: 18 to 59 Years data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Central Statistical Office. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Poland – Table PL.G001: Population.

Poland Population: Working: Male: 18 to 64 Years data was reported at 12,410,465.000 Person in Jun 2018. This records a decrease from the previous number of 12,470,748.000 Person for Dec 2017. Poland Population: Working: Male: 18 to 64 Years data is updated semiannually, averaging 12,567,550.000 Person from Dec 1988 (Median) to Jun 2018, with 39 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 12,970,846.000 Person in Dec 2011 and a record low of 11,269,000.000 Person in Dec 1988. Poland Population: Working: Male: 18 to 64 Years data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Central Statistical Office. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Poland – Table PL.G001: Population.

Population ages 65 and above (% of total population) in Poland was reported at 20.14 % in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Poland - Population ages 65 and above (% of total) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.