According to the report on the preliminary results of the 2021 National Census of Population and Housing, which was published by the Central Statistical Office (GUS) there are fewer children, adolescents, people of working age and more seniors in Poland. There are almost 2 million more of them in 10 years period.

The preliminary results of the 2021 National Census of Population and Housing showed that on March 31, 2021, the population of Poland was 38,036.100 people. Since the last census, i.e. from March 31, 2011, the country’s population has decreased by 475.700 people. At the same time, there was a decrease in the urban population – by 657.000 people, while the number of rural residents increased by 181.300.

The authors of the study point out that the results of the 2021 census indicate large changes in the population structure by economic age groups. In the 2021 census, the share of the population aged 0-17 was 18.4% compared to 18.7% in the 2011 census. Compared to 2011, both the number (by over 2.2 million people) and the percentage (by 3.0 pp) of the working-age population decreased. On the other hand, the share of the retirement age population clearly increased – from 16.9% to 22.3%, i.e. by over 5%. This means that within the decade, nearly 2 million people have appeared in the age group 60/65.

Among the permanent residents of Poland, 99.7% (37,923.900) were citizens of the Republic of Poland and their share remains at a similar level, compared to 2011. The number of people with citizenship in another country in 2021 amounted to 111.800. (0.3%), which means a twofold increase in comparison to 2011. Among the permanent residents of Poland with the citizenship of another country, 13.9% were citizens from the European Union countries. Their number amounted to 15.500 and decreased slightly, compared to 2011. The citizens of Ukraine constituted 47.4% of permanent residents of Poland with citizenship other than Polish.

Adrian Andrzejewski