Demographic history of Poland

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The Poles come from different West Slavic tribes living on territories belonging later to Poland in the early Middle Ages.

Kingdom of Poland (966–1569)[]

Around the year 1000, the population of the Duchy of Poland is estimated at about 1,000,000[1] to 1,250,000.[2] Around 1370 Poland had 2 million inhabitants with a population density of 8.6 per square kilometre.[3] Poland was less affected by the Black Death than western Europe.[3]

Although the population of the Kingdom of Poland in late Middle Ages consisted mostly of Poles, influx of other cultures was significant: particularly notable were Jewish and German settlers, who often formed significant minorities or even majorities in urban centers. Sporadically migrants from other places like Scotland, Netherlands settled in Poland as well. At that time other notable minorities included various incompletely assimilated people from other Slavic tribes (some of whom would eventually merge totally into the Polish people, while others merged into neighboring nations).

Around 1490, the combined population of Poland and Lithuania, in a personal union (the Polish–Lithuanian union) since the Union of Krewo a century before, is estimated at about 8 million.[4] An estimate for 1493 gives the combined population of Poland and Lithuania at 7.5 million (including 3.9 million in the Kingdom of Poland[5]), breaking them down by ethnicity at 3.25 million Poles, 3.75 million Ruthenians and 0.5 million Lithuanians.[6] The Ruthenians composed most of the population of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania: this is the reason that the late GDL is often called a Slavic country, alongside Poland, Russia etc. In time, the adjective "Lithuanian" came to denote a Slav of the Grand Duchy.[7]

Eventually the Lithuanian speakers came to be known as Samogitians (see also Samogitian nobility), after the province in which they were the dominant majority.[7] Another estimate for the combined population at the beginning of the 16th century gives 7.5 million, roughly split evenly, due to much larger territory of the Grand Duchy (with about 10-15 people per square km in Poland and 3-5 people per square km in the Grand Duchy, and even less in the south-east Cossack borderlands).[3][8] By 1500, about 15% of Poland's population lived in urban centers (settlements with over 500 people).[9]

Number of inhabitants of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth per voivodeship in 1790
Population density per voivodeships in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1790

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569–1795)[]

By 1600, about 25% of Poland's population lived in urban centers (settlements with over 500 people).[9] Major towns in Poland included: Gdańsk (Danzig in German) (70,000), Kraków (Cracow) (28,000), Warszawa (Warsaw) (20,000-30,000), Poznań (Posen in German) (20,000), Lwów (Lviv) (20,000), Elbląg (Elbing) (15,000), Toruń (Thorn) (12,000), Sandomierz (4,000-5,000), Kazimierz Dolny (4,000-5,000) and Gniezno (4,000-5,000).[9]

The population of the Commonwealth of both nations was never overwhelmingly either Roman Catholic or Polish. This resulted from Poland's possession of Ukraine and federation with Lithuania; in both these countries ethnic Poles were a distinct minority. The Commonwealth comprised primarily three nations: Poles, Lithuanians, and Ukrainians and Belarusians (the latter two usually referred to together as Ruthenians). Shortly after the Union of Lublin (1569), at the turn of the 16th to 17th century, the Commonwealth population was around 7 million, with a rough breakdown of 4.5m Poles, 0.75m Lithuanians, 0.7m Jews and 2m Ruthenians.[10] In 1618, after the Truce of Deulino the Commonwealth population increased together with its territory, reaching 12 million that could be roughly divided into: Poles - 4.5m, Ukrainians - 3.5m, Belarusians - 1.5m, Lithuanians - 0.75m, Prussians - 0.75m, Jews - 0.5m, Livionians - 0.5m; at that time nobility formed 10% and burghers, 15%.[11] Population losses of 1648-1667 are estimated at 4m.[11] Coupled with further population and territorial losses, by 1717 the Commonwealth population had fallen to 9m: roughly 4.5m Poles, 1.5m Ukrainians, 1.2m Belarusians, 0.8m Lithuanians, 0.5m Jews, 0.5m others[11] The urban population was hit hard, falling to below 10%.[12]

To be Polish, in the non-Polish lands of the Commonwealth, was then much less an index of ethnicity than of religion and rank; it was a designation largely reserved for the landed noble class (szlachta), which included Poles but also many members of non-Polish origin who converted to Catholicism in increasing numbers with each following generation. For the non-Polish noble such conversion meant a final step of Polonization that followed the adoption of the Polish language and culture.[13] Poland, as the culturally most advanced part of the Commonwealth, with the royal court, the capital, the largest cities, the second-oldest university in Central Europe (after Prague), and the more liberal and democratic social institutions has proven an irresistible magnet for the non-Polish nobility in the Commonwealth.[14]

As a result, in the eastern territories a Polish (or Polonized) aristocracy dominated a peasantry whose great majority was neither Polish nor Roman Catholic. Moreover, the decades of peace brought huge colonization efforts to Ukraine, heightening the tensions among nobles, Jews, Cossacks (traditionally Orthodox), Polish and Ruthenian peasants. The latter, deprived of their native protectors among the Ruthenian nobility, turned for protection to cossacks that facilitated violence that in the end broke the Commonwealth. The tensions were aggravated by conflicts between Eastern Orthodoxy and the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church following the Union of Brest, overall discrimination of Orthodox religions by dominant Catholicism,[15] and several Cossack uprisings. In the west and north, many cities had sizable German minorities, often belonging to Reformed churches. The Commonwealth had also one of the largest Jewish diasporas in the world.

Until the Reformation, the szlachta were mostly Catholic or Eastern Orthodox. However, many families quickly adopted the Reformed religion. After the Counter-Reformation, when the Roman Catholic Church regained power in Poland, the szlachta became almost exclusively Roman Catholic, despite the fact that Roman Catholicism was not a majority religion (the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches counted approximately 40% of the population each, while the remaining 20% were Jews and members of various Protestant churches).[16] The Counter-Reformation in Poland, influenced by the Commonwealth tradition of religious tolerance, was based mostly on Jesuit propaganda, and was very peaceful when compared to excesses such as the Thirty Years' War elsewhere in Europe.[17][18]

In the late 18th century, the first statistical estimates of Commonwealth population appeared. estimated the number of Commonwealth population for 8.5 million; Józef Wybicki in 1777 for 5,391,364; Stanisław Staszic in 1785 for 6 million; and in 1789 for 7,354,620.[19] Modern estimates tend to be higher; by 1770, on the eve of the partitions, Commonwealth had a population of about 11m[20]-14m,[21][22] about 10% of that - Jewish.[20] The nobility constituted about 10%, the burghers, about 7-8%.[20]

Partitions (1795–1918)[]

By the First Partition in 1772, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth lost about 211 000 km2 (30% of its territory, amounting at that time to about 733 000 km2),[23] with a population of over four to five million people (about a third of its population of 14 million before the partitions).[22]

After the Second Partition, Commonwealth lost about 307 000 km2, being reduced to 223 000 km2.[23] Only about 4 million people remained in Poland at that time, which makes for a loss of another third of its original population, about a half of the remaining.[24]

After the Third Partition, overall, Austria had gained about 18 percent of the former Commonwealth territory (130,000 km2) and about 32 percent of the population (3.85 million people).[25] Prussia had gained about 20 percent of the former Commonwealth territory 149,000 km2) and about 23 percent of the population (2.6 million people).[25] Russia had gained about 62 percent of the former Commonwealth territory (462,000 km2) and about 45 percent of the population (3.5 million people).[25]

An estimate for 1815 gives 11.5 million Poles, out of which 5m were under Russian control (4 million in Congress Poland and 1 million in the territories incorporated into the Russian Empire), 3.5m in the Prussian partition territories and 3m in the Austrian partition territories.[26]

Congress Poland had a population of about 4.25 million around 1830.[27] In the Russian partition, the Pale of Settlement resulted in resettlement of many Russian Jews to the western fringes of Russian Empire, which now included part of Poland. This further increased the sizable community of Polish Jews. By 1914, about 31 million people inhabited the territories that would become the Second Polish Republic, the First World War saw the population of those territories drop to 26 million.[21]

Mother tongue in Poland, based on 1931 census

Second Polish Republic and World War II (1918–1945)[]

Before World War II, the Polish lands were noted for the variety of their ethnic communities. Following the Polish-Soviet War, a large part of its population belonged to national minorities. The census of that year allocates 30.8% of the population in the minority.[28] In 1931, the population of Poland was 31,916,000, including 15,428,000 males and 16,488,000 females. By January 1939, the population of Poland increased to 35,100,000. This total included 240,000 in Zaolzie which was under Polish control from October 1938 until August 1939.[29] The population density was 90 persons per square km. In 1921, 24% of the population lived in towns and cities, by 1931 the ratio grew to 27%. Altogether, in 1921, there were 611 towns and cities in the country, by 1931 there were 636 municipalities. The six biggest cities of Poland (as for January 1, 1939) were Warsaw, Łódź, Lwów, Poznań, Kraków and Vilnius (Wilno). In 1931, Poland had the second largest Jewish population in the world, and one-fifth of all Jews resided within Poland's borders (approx. 3,136,000, roughly 10% of the entire Polish population).[28]

According to historian Norman Davies the Polish census of 1931 listed the nationalities by language as Polish, 69% of the population, Ukrainian, 15%, Jews 8.5%, Belarusian, 4.70%, German, 2.2%, Russian 0.25%, Lithuanian, 0.25%, Czech 0.09%,[30] Norman Davies included the Ruthenians with the Ukrainians however the Polish census figures list them as separate group with 3.82% of the population. The classification of the ethnic groups in Poland during the Second Polish Republic is a disputed topic, Tadeusz Piotrowski maintains that the 1931 Polish census "involved questionable methodology, especially the use of mother tongue as an indicator of nationality", noting that it had underestimated the number of non-Poles. The official figures for nationality from the 1931 Polish census based on the mother tongue put the percentage of ethnic Poles at 68.9%, Jews 8.6% and other minority groups 22.5%., Piotrowski cited a study by the Polish historian Jerzy Tomaszewski that puts that the adjusted census figures (taking religious affiliation into account) of ethnic Poles at 64.7%, Jews 9.8% and other minority groups 25.5% of Poland's population.[31] Polish demographer Piotr Eberhardt maintains that it is commonly agreed that the criterion of declared language to classify ethnic groups led to an overestimation of the number of Poles in pre-war Poland. He notes that in general, the numbers declaring a particular language do not mesh with the numbers declaring the corresponding nationality. Members of ethnic minority groups believe that the language criterion led to an overestimation of Poles.[32]

The detailed figures for the census published by the Polish government provided a breakout by religion for the various language groups, the details of the Polish census of 1931 published by the Central Statistical Office the Polish Republic according to language and religion are as follows.:[33]

Breakout of Total 1931 Polish Population by Language and Religion

Language Total Roman Catholics Greek Catholics Eastern Orthodox Protestant Other Christian Jewish Other
Polish 21,993,444 20,333,333 487,034 497,290 218,993 55,148 371,821 4,410
Ukrainian 3,221,975 12,617 1,676,763 1,501,308 6,705 23,241 255 31
Ruthenian 1,219,647 12,914 1,163,749 38,754 541 2,694 292 84
Belarusian 989,852 77,790 2,303 903,557 519 4,153 200 1,020
Russian 138,713 18,777 908 99,636 5769 34,957 444 105
Lithuanian 83,116 82,723 5 105 200 11 18 1
Czech 38,097 8,984 251 21,672 5,769 1,237 95 2
German 740,992 118,470 284 64 598,944 15,863 6,827 8
Yiddish 2,489,034 - - - - - 2,487,844 0
Hebrew 243,539 - - - - - 243,527 0
Local 707,088 1,477 524 696,397 786 7,678 75 42
Other 11,119 6,088 581 1,157 1384 269 454 940
Not Declared 39,163 13,778 3,762 2,544 758 167 2081 107
Total 31,915,779 20,670,051 3,336,164 3,762,484 835,258 145,418 3,113,933 6,750

Figures may not add due to omitted answers and those not practicing or declaring a religion. Source: Polish Main Statistical Office (1931)

Breakout of Total 1931 Polish Population by Language and Religion Figures as % of Total Population

Language Total Roman Catholics Greek Catholics Eastern Orthodox Protestant Other Christian Jewish Other
Polish 68.91% 63.71% 1.53% 1.56% 0.69% 0.17% 1.17% 0.01%
Ukrainian 10.10% 0.04% 5.25% 4.70% 0.02% 0.2% - -
Ruthenian 3.82% 0.04% 3.65% 0.12% - - - -
Belarusian 3.10% 0.24% - 2.83% - 0.01% - -
Russian 0.43% 0.06% - 0.31% 0.02% 0.2% 0.11% -
Lithuanian 0.26% 0.26% - - - - - -
Czech 0.12% 0.03% - 0.07% 0.02% - - -
German 2.32% 0.37% - 1.88% 0.05% 0.1% 0.02% -
Yiddish 7.8% - - - - - 7.8% -
Hebrew 0.76% - - - - - 0.76% -
Local 3.10% - - 2.18% - 0.02% - -
Other 0.03% 0.02% - - - - - -
Total 100% 64.76% 10.45% 11.79% 2.62% .46% 9.76% 0.02%

Figures may not add due to omitted answers and those not practicing or declaring a religion. Source: Polish Main Statistical Office (1931)

In the southeast, Ukrainian settlements were present in the regions east of Chełm and in the Carpathians east of Nowy Sącz. The three main native highlander populations were Łemkowie, Bojkowie and Huculi. In all the towns and cities there were large concentrations of Yiddish-speaking Jews. The Polish ethnographic area stretched eastward: in eastern Lithuania, Belarus, and western Ukraine, all of which had a mixed population, Poles predominated not only in the cities but also in numerous rural districts. There were significant Polish minorities in Daugavpils (in Latvia), Minsk (in Belarus), Bucovina (in Romania), and Kyiv (in Ukraine) (see Polish minority in the Soviet Union, Polish Autonomous District).

Second World War (1939–1945)[]

See supplements: Occupation of Poland, World War II crimes in Poland, Holocaust in Poland
Population of Poland 1900-2010

In the beginning of the war (September 1939) the territory of Poland was divided between the Nazi Germany and the USSR. By late-1941 following Operation Barbarossa Nazi Germany controlled the entire territory of the former Second Polish Republic, but in 1944-1945 the Red Army's offensive claimed the region for the USSR.

After both occupiers divided the territory of Poland between themselves, they conducted a series of actions aimed at suppression of Polish culture and repression of much of the Polish people. In August 2009 the Polish Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) researchers estimated Poland's dead (including Polish Jews) at between 5.47 and 5.67 million (due to German actions) and 150,000 (due to Soviet), or around 5.62 and 5.82 million total.[34] About 90% of Polish Jews were killed during the Holocaust; many others emigrated in the succeeding years.

Poland's Population Balance (1939–1950)[35][36]
Description (see: Legend) Total Poles Jews Germans Others
(Ukrainians/Belarusians)
1. Population 1939 (by Language Spoken) 35,000,000 24,300,000 3,200,000 800,000 6,700,000
2. Natural Increase 1939-1945 1,300,000 1,000,000 300,000
3. Transfer of German Population (760,000) (760,000)
4 A. Deaths Due to German Occupation (5,670,000) (2,770,000) (2,800,000) (100,000)
4 B. Deaths Due to Soviet Occupation (150,000) (150,000)
5. Population Remaining in the USSR (7,800,000) (1,000,000) (100,000) 0 (6,700,000)
6. Emigration to the West (480,000) (280,000) (200,000)
7. Population gain Recovered Territories 1,260,000 1,130,000 0 130,000 0
8. Re-Immigration 1946-50 200,000 200,000 0 0 0
9. Natural Increase 1946-1950 2,100,000 2,100,000 0 0 0
10. Population 1950 25,000,000 24,530,000 100,000 170,000 200,000

1. Population 1939 -Polish sources allocate the population by the primary language spoken, not by religion. Most Jews spoke Yiddish, however included with the Poles are about 200,000 Polish speaking Jews who are classified with the Polish group. Included with the Poles are 1,300,000 Eastern Orthodox & Greek Catholic adherents who are sometimes classified with the Ukrainian and Belarusian groups.[37]

2. Natural Increase October 1939-December 1945 -After the war Polish demographers calculated the estimated natural population growth that occurred during the war.[38]

3. Transfer of German Population Most of the ethnic German population fled during the war. Many of them were sent to forced labour.[39][circular reference]. In 1950 only about 40,000 of the pre-war ethnic German group remained in Poland in 1950, most of whom emigrated later in the 1950s.[40] Others were also expelled [41][circular reference].

4. War Dead In August 2009 the Polish Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) put the figure of Poland's dead at between 5,620,000 and 5,820,000. The IPN's figures include 3 million Polish Jews who were murdered in the Holocaust (200,000 included with Polish speakers); as well as Poles killed in 1943-44 during the massacres of Poles in Volhynia.[42][43][44] The figures also include 150,000 victims of Soviet repression.

Deaths Due to German Occupation
Poles-The Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) figure for deaths of Poles due to the German occupation is 2,770,000. This figure includes "Direct War Losses" -543,000; "Murdered in Camps and in Pacification" -506,000; "Deaths in prisons and Camps" 1,146,000; "Deaths outside of prisons and Camps" 473,000; "Murdered in Eastern Regions" 100,000; "Deaths in other countries" 2,000. These figures include about 200,000 Polish speaking Jews who are considered Poles in Polish sources.[45]

Jews-Polish researchers have determined that the Nazis murdered 1,860,000 Polish Jews in the extermination camps in Poland, plus another 1.0 million Polish Jewish deaths in prisons and ghettos. In addition 970,000 Jews from other nations were murdered in the Nazi extermination camps in Poland.[46]

In the Polish figures of war dead are included 2.0 million Polish citizens of the Polish areas annexed by the Soviet Union, that were occupied by German Nazy forces after 22 June 1941.[47] Contemporary Russian sources include these losses with Soviet war deaths.[48]

Deaths Due to Soviet Occupation

The Polish Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) researchers estimated that 150,000 Polish citizens were executed due to Soviet repressions or died during deportations. Since the collapse of the USSR, Polish scholars have been able to do research in the Soviet archives on Polish losses during the Soviet occupation.[49] Andrzej Paczkowski puts the number of Polish deaths at 90–100,000 of the 1.0 million persons deported and 30,000 executed by the Soviets.[50]

5. Population Remaining in the USSR The number of Poles and Jews who remained in the USSR after the war was estimated at about 1.4 million by Polish scholar and historian Krystyna Kersten. Included with the Poles remaining in the USSR are about 700,000 Eastern Orthodox & Greek Catholic adherents who are sometimes classified with the Ukrainian and Belarusian groups.[47]

6. Emigration to the West Poles and Jews who remained in non communist countries after the war.

7. Population gain Recovered Territories Germans remaining in Poland after the war in the Recovered Territories. This group included 1,130,000 bi-lingual Polish-German persons who declared their allegiance to Poland. Also remaining in 1950 were 94,000 German nationals, 36,000 Germans from pre-war Danzig and 1,500 ethnic Germans of other nations. Most of this group emigrated to Germany after 1956. The ethnic German population remaining in the 1990s was about 300,000.[51]

8. Reimmigration 1946-50 Poles resident in western Europe before the war, primarily in Germany and France, who returned to Poland after the war.[52]

9. Natural Increase 1946-1950 This is the official Polish government data for births and natural deaths from January 1946 until the census of December 1950.[52]

10. Population December 1950 Per Census The total population per the December 1950 census was 25 million. A breakdown by ethnic group was not given. However, we can estimate the Jewish population based on the postwar census taken by the Jewish community. Data for the Germans and others who remained in Poland after the war can be estimated using the 1946 Polish census[52]

Post-Second World War (1945–present)[]

Early post-war period[]

Before World War II, a third of Poland's population was composed of ethnic minorities. After the war, however, Poland's minorities were mostly gone, due to the 1945 revision of borders, and the Holocaust. Under the National Repatriation Office (Państwowy Urząd Repatriacyjny), millions of Poles were forced to leave their homes in the eastern Kresy region and settle in the western former German territories. At the same time approximately 5 million remaining Germans (about 8 million had already fled or had been expelled and about 1 million had been killed in 1944-46) were similarly expelled from those territories into the Allied occupation zones. Ukrainian and Belarusian minorities found themselves now mostly within the borders of the Soviet Union; those who opposed this new policy (like the Ukrainian Insurgent Army in the Bieszczady Mountains region) were suppressed by the end of 1947 in the Operation Vistula.

The population of Jews in Poland, which formed the largest Jewish community in pre-war Europe at about 3.3 million people, was all but destroyed by 1945. Approximately 3 million Jews died of starvation in ghettos and labor camps, were slaughtered at the German Nazi extermination camps or by the Einsatzgruppen death squads. Between 40,000 and 100,000 Polish Jews survived the Holocaust in Poland, and another 50,000 to 170,000 were repatriated from the Soviet Union, and 20,000 to 40,000 from Germany and other countries. At its postwar peak, there were 180,000 to 240,000 Jews in Poland, settled mostly in Warsaw, Łódź, Kraków and Wrocław.[53]

According to the national census, which took place on February 14, 1946, population of Poland was 23 930 000, out of which 32% lived in cities and towns, and 68% lived in the countryside. The 1950 census (December 3, 1950) showed the population rise to 25 008 000, and the 1960 census (December 6, 1960) placed the population of Poland at 29 776 000.[54] In 1950, Warsaw was the biggest city of the country, with population of 804 000. Second was Lodz (pop. 620 000), third Kraków (pop. 344 000), fourth Poznan (pop. 321 000), and fifth Wroclaw (pop. 309 000).

Females were in the majority in the country. In 1931, there were 105.6 women for 100 men. In 1946, the difference grew to 118.5/100, but in subsequent years, number of males grew, and in 1960, the ratio was 106.7/100.

Current situation[]

Demographics of Poland, Data of FAO, 1961-2010 ; Number of inhabitants in millions.
Further information: Demographics of Poland

Most Germans were expelled from Poland and the annexed east German territories at the end of the war, while many Ukrainians, Rusyns and Belarusians lived in territories incorporated into the USSR. Small Ukrainian, Belarusian, Slovak, and Lithuanian minorities reside along the borders, and a German minority is concentrated near the southwestern city of Opole and in Masuria. Groups of Ukrainians and Polish Ruthenians also live in western Poland, where they were forcefully resettled by communists.

As a result of the migrations and the Soviet Unions radically altered borders under the rule of Joseph Stalin, the population of Poland became one of the most ethnically homogeneous in the world. Virtually all people in Poland claim Polish nationality, with Polish as their native tongue. Ukrainians resp. Rusyns, the largest minority group, are scattered in various northern districts. Lesser numbers of Belarusians and Lithuanians live in areas adjoining Belarus and Lithuania. The Jewish community, almost entirely Polonized, has been greatly reduced. In Silesia a significant segment of the population, of mixed Polish and German ancestry, tends to declare itself as Polish or German according to political circumstances. Minorities of Germans remain in Pomerania, Silesia, East Prussia, and Lubus.

Small populations of Polish Tatars still exist. Some Polish towns, mainly in northeastern Poland have mosques. Tatars arrived as mercenary soldiers beginning in the late 14th century. The Tatar population reached approximately 100,000 in 1630 but is less than 500 in 2000. See also Islam in Poland.[55]

A recent large migration of Poles took place following Poland's accession to the European Union and opening of the EU's labor market; with an approximate number of 2 million primarily young Poles taking up jobs abroad.[56]

General statistics. Tables[]

Demographics estimates for period before statistics and reliable data collection from censuses should be seen as giving only a rough order of magnitude, not any precise number.[3]

Changes of Poland's population through centuries[]

Date Population Population density
km2		 State
2009 38,130,302[57] Poland
2006 38 125 000 122,0 Poland
2000 38 253 955 122,0 Poland
1995 38 610 000 Poland
1990 38 183 000 Poland
7 XII 1988 37 879 000 121,1 People's Republic of Poland
7 XII 1978 35 061 000 112,2 People's Republic of Poland
8 XII 1970 32 642 000 104,4 People's Republic of Poland
6 XII 1960 29 776 000 95,3 People's Republic of Poland
3 XII 1950 25 008 000 80,0 People's Republic of Poland
14 II 1946 23 930 000 76,6 People's Republic of Poland
31 XII 1938 34 849 000 89,7 Second Polish Republic
9 XII 1931 32 107 000 82,6 Second Polish Republic
30 IX 1921 27 177 000 69,9 Second Polish Republic
1911 21 220 000 Partitioned Poland
1846 11 107 000 Partitioned Poland
c. 1772 14 000 000 19 Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
c. 1650 11 000 000 Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
c. 1500 7 500 000 15 in Poland
5 in Grand Duchy		 Polish–Lithuanian union
1370 2 500 000 9,3 Kingdom of Poland
1320 1 750 000 8 Kingdom of Poland
c. 1000 1 800 000 7 Kingdom of Poland

Sources: GUS, The World Factbook

Urban demographics statistics[]

Changes in the population of major Polish cities.

Note that this table contains information on some cities that are not within the borders of modern Poland, and others that have not been within those borders for many centuries. See Territorial changes of Poland for more details on that issue.
Year
/City		 Warszawa
(Warsaw)		 Kraków Poznań[58] Wrocław
(Breslau)		 Gdańsk
(Danzig)		 Toruń Szczecin
(Stettin)		 Lublin Wilno
(Vilnius)		 Lwów
(Lviv)		 Kijów
(Kyiv)		 Ryga
(Riga)		 Łódź Bydgoszcz
1150 7000[59]
1200 30000
1242 12000[59]
1300 14000[59] 14000[59] 6000[59] 20000[59]
1325 15000[59]
1329 16000[59]
1348 22000[59] 10000
1367 7700[59]
1378 8500[59] 12000
1387 13000 30000[59]
1400 18000[59] 21000[59] 10000[59] 20000[59]
1430 20000[59] 10000
1470 21000[59]
1500 6500[9] 18000[9]
-22000[59]		 6500[9]
-20000[59]		 21000[59] 30000[9][59] 8000[9]
-10000		 25000[59] 8000[9]
1525 22000[59]
1534 650
1549 22000[59]
1550 9000[59] 35000[59] 30000[59]
1564 10000[59]
1579 34200[59]
1595 20000[59]
1600 25000[9]
-35000[59]		 26000[59]
-28000[9]		 20000[9][60]
-25000[59]		 33000[59] 49000[59]
-70000[9]		 12000[9]
-15000		 12000[59] 40000[59] 10000[59]
-20000[9]
1609 37000[59]
1622 70000 18000 8400 10500[59]
1624 48000[59]
1647 15000
1650 6025 45000[59]
1653 21000[59]
1655 14000[60]
1669 14500[59] 12000
1700 21000[59] 30000[59] 40000[59] 50000[59] 40000[59] 20000[59]
1709 12000[60] 11000[59]
1711 41000[59]
1727 41000[59] 11000[59]
1742 41000[59] 20000[59]
1747 50000[59]
1750 28000[59] 51000[59] 48000[59] 13000[59] 21000[59] 25000[59] 22000[59]
1756 55000[59]
1760 30000[59]
1766 29000[59]
1772 15000[59] 21000[59] 30000[59] 700
1775 10000 39000[59]
1791 23591
1792 120000[59] 15000[60]
1796 22000 16000[60] 6200 19000[59] 191
1797 12000[59]
1798 24500[59]
1800 75000[59] 25000[59] 19000[60] 65000[59] 41000[59] 18500[59] 6900 25500[59] 42000[59] 19000[59] 29500 428 4691
1802 27000[59]
1803 16000[59]
-18000[60]		 7000 44500
1811 62504 23000[59]
1817 6910
1824 22000[60] 8500
1829 140000[59]
1830 139700 4343
1831 31000[60] 8600
1843 42900
1845 11000 50000[59]
1848 42000[60]
1849 48000[59] 111000[59] 64000[59] 10500 47000[59] 45000[59] 75000[59] 10263
1850 163000[59] 42000[59] 43000[59] 115000[59] 64000[59] 48000[59] 56000[59] 71000[59] 60000 15764
1851 164000[59] 121000[59] 80000[59]
1852 44000[59] 121052 67000[59] 11592 52000[59] 56000[59] 12900
1860 158000 50000 43000[60]
-51000		 60000 68000 32639
1870 66000 54400[60]
1880 65713[61] 272912[62] 108551[63] 20617[64] 91756[65] 34044[66][67]
1882 383000
1886 232000
1890 383000 69100 69627[61]
-69900[60]		 335186[62] 120338[63] 27018[64] 116228[65] 90000 110000 41399[66]
1895 73200[60] 46400
1897 46301 255879 283206
1900 593800 85000 110000[60]
-117033[61]		 422709[62] 140563[63] 29635[64] 210702[65] 53600 139000 150000 314020 52204[66]
1905 136800[60] 343944
1910 781000 143000 156691[61] 512105[62] 170337[63] 46227[64] 236113[65] 181000 196000 57696[66]
1917 156400[60]
1921 936700 184000 169400[60] 37400 94412 129000 219000 452000 90095
1931 1179500 219000 246700[60] 54280 112539 195071 312000 586000 605467 117528
1939 1289000 259000 275000[60] 629565 80000 287419 122000 209000 318000 846724 672000 143100
1946 478755 299396 268000[60] 170656 117894 68000 72948 99400 496929 134614
1950 822036 343638 320670 308925 194633 80600 178907 116629 482300 620273 162524
1960 1139189 481296 408100[60] 430522 286940 104900 269318 181304 709698 232007
1970 1315648 583444 471900[60] 526000 365600 129900 338000 238500 372100 553500 1631908 731800 762699 282200
1975 1436122 684600 516000[60] 575890 420977 149200 369690 271955 795600 798263 322657
1980 1596073 715707 552900[60] 617687 456707 174400 388322 304424 2191500 835658 348631
1985 1659385 740122 575134 637207 468616 191305 392309 326991 544400 2461000 847864 366424
1990 1655661 750540 590000 643218 465143 202200 413437 351353 909135 848258 381534
1995 1653112 744987 578900 641974 463019 204700 418156 354552 824988 823215 386056
2000 1610471 758715 571600 633857 456574 204300 416485 358933 2615300 764329 793217 375676
2004 1692854 757430 570778 636268 459072 208278 411900 355998 541180 735241 774004 368235
2010 1720398 756183 555614 632996 456967 208278 405606 348450 548835 757600 2786518 705703 730633 364443
2015 698086[68]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Jerzy Lukowski, Hubert Zawadzki, A Concise History of Poland, Cambridge University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-521-55917-0, Google Print, p.6
  2. ^ Henryk Łowmiański, Economic problems of the early feudal Polish State, Acta Poloniae Historica, III (1960), p.7-32. ISSN 0001-6829
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Aleksander Gieysztor, Kingdom of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania, in Christopher Allmand (ed.), The New Cambridge Medieval History, Cambridge University Press, 2005, ISBN 0-521-38296-3, Print, p.727
  4. ^ Jerzy Lukowski, Hubert Zawadzki, A Concise History of Poland, Cambridge University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-521-55917-0, Google Print, p.6
  5. ^ Samsonowicz, Henryk (1997). "Probe einer demograpischen Einschätzung Polen um das Jahr 1500". Studia Historiae Oeconomicae (in German). 22: 17–24.
  6. ^ Based on 1493 population map (p.92) from Iwo Cyprian Pogonowski, Poland a Historical Atlas, Hippocrene Books, 1987, ISBN 0-88029-394-2
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b Stephen R. Burant and Voytek Zubek, Eastern Europe's Old Memories and New Realities: Resurrecting the Polish–Lithuanian Union, East European Politics and Societies 1993; 7; 370, online, p.4
  8. ^ Amdrzej Janeczek, Town and Country in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, in S. R. Epstein, Town and Country in Europe, 1300-1800, Cambridge University Press, 2004, ISBN 0-521-54804-7, Google Print, p.156
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Robert Bideleux, Ian Jeffries, A History of Eastern Europe: Crisis and Change, Routledge, 1998, ISBN 0-415-16112-6, Google Print, p.129
  10. ^ Total and Jewish population based on Frazee; others are estimations from Pogonowski (see following reference). Charles A. Frazee, World History the Easy Way, Barron's Educational Series, ISBN 0-8120-9766-1, ISBN 0812097661&id=Br-ElA3OpEMC&pg=PA50&lpg=PA50&ots=tguZsY7DB0&dq=demographics+Poland+Lithuania+7000000&sig=wNm4yPFP_PNvqrfFb6BKUp9hZxA Google Print, 50
  11. ^ Jump up to: a b c Based on 1618 population map Archived 2013-02-17 at the Wayback Machine (p.115), 1618 languages map (p.119), 1657-1667 losses map (p.128) and 1717 map Archived 2013-02-17 at the Wayback Machine (p.141) from Iwo Cyprian Pogonowski, Poland a Historical Atlas, Hippocrene Books, 1987, ISBN 0-88029-394-2
  12. ^ Robert Bideleux, Ian Jeffries, A History of Eastern Europe: Crisis and Change, Routledge, 1998, ISBN 0-415-16112-6, Google Print, p.151
  13. ^ Linda Gordon, Cossack Rebellions: Social Turmoil in the Sixteenth Century Ukraine, SUNY Press, 1983, ISBN 0-87395-654-0, ISBN 0873956540&id=qq0c9viLrB4C&pg=PA51&lpg=PA51&dq=Polish-Lithuanian+Commonwealth+religious+tolerance&sig=3v4uvh1FEUBxZm3RAlxuvOtfmPA Google Print, p.51
  14. ^ , Development of Class Structure in Eastern Europe: Poland and Her Southern Neighbors, SUNY Press, 1998, ISBN 0-88706-833-2, ISBN 0887068332&id=8keIXDyF_EoC&pg=PA13&lpg=PA13&dq=Polish-Lithuanian+Commonwealth+%22federation%22+Gella&sig=7scGhSOWNHxZm7xKeUimB9Cr4D0 Google Print, p.13
  15. ^ "Poland, history of" Encyclopædia Britannica from Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service. [1] [Accessed February 10, 2006]. and "Ukraine" Encyclopædia Britannica from Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service. [2] [Accessed February 14, 2006].
  16. ^ Edward Fram, Ideals face reality: Jewish law and life in Poland, 1550-1655, Hebrew Union College Press, 1997, ISBN 0-87820-420-2, Google Print, p.16-18
  17. ^ Haig A. Bosmajian (2006). Burning Books. McFarland. p. 103. ISBN 978-0-7864-2208-1.
  18. ^ Robert Bideleux; Ian Jeffries (10 April 2006). A History of Eastern Europe: Crisis and Change. Routledge. pp. 150–154. ISBN 978-1-134-71984-6.
  19. ^ Czesław Domański Zasłużeni statystycy dla nauki
  20. ^ Jump up to: a b c Robert Bideleux, Ian Jeffries, A History of Eastern Europe: Crisis and Change, Routledge, 1998, ISBN 0-415-16112-6, Google Print, p.155
  21. ^ Jump up to: a b Norman Davies, God's Playground: A History of Poland in Two Volumes, Oxford University Press, 2005, ISBN 0-19-925340-4, Google Print, p.132
  22. ^ Jump up to: a b Jerzy Lukowski; W. H. Zawadzki (2001). A Concise History of Poland: Jerzy Lukowski and Hubert Zawadzki. Cambridge University Press. pp. 96–98. ISBN 978-0-521-55917-1. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
  23. ^ Jump up to: a b Davies, Norman (2005). God's Playground. A History of Poland. The Origins to 1795. I (revised ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 394. ISBN 978-0-19-925339-5.
  24. ^ Jerzy Lukowski; W. H. Zawadzki (2001). A Concise History of Poland: Jerzy Lukowski and Hubert Zawadzki. Cambridge University Press. pp. 101–103. ISBN 978-0-521-55917-1. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
  25. ^ Jump up to: a b c Piotr Stefan Wandycz, The Price of Freedom: A History of East Central Europe from the Middle Ages to the Present, Routledge (UK), 2001, ISBN 0-415-25491-4, Google Print, p.133
  26. ^ Based on 1815 population map (p.161-163) from Iwo Cyprian Pogonowski, Poland a Historical Atlas, Hippocrene Books, 1987, ISBN 0-88029-394-2
  27. ^ Jerzy Lukowski, Hubert Zawadzki, A Concise History of Poland, Cambridge University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-521-55917-0, Google Print
  28. ^ Jump up to: a b , Social and Political History of the Jews in Poland, 1919-1939, Mouton Publishing, 1983, ISBN 90-279-3239-5, ISBN 9027932395&id=82ncGA4GuN4C&pg=PA15&lpg=PA19&vq=Pilsudski&dq=Pilsudski,+re-establishment&sig=N32sSixr_MPeFwZ-UQhHUA_0qB4 Google Books, p. 17
  29. ^ London Nakl. Stowarzyszenia Prawników Polskich w Zjednoczonym Królestwie [1941], Polska w liczbach. Poland in numbers. Zebrali i opracowali Jan Jankowski i Antoni Serafinski. Przedmowa zaopatrzyl Stanislaw Szurlej. The Polish government in exile also included the 240,000 inhabitants of Cieszyn with the Polish population.
  30. ^ Norman Davies, Gods Playground Vol 2, p. 460.
  31. ^ Tadeusz Piotrowski Poland's Holocaust: Ethnic Strife, Collaboration with Occupying Forces and Genocide in the Second Republic, 1918-1947 McFarland & Company, 1997 ISBN 0786403713 page 294
  32. ^ Piotr Eberhardt, Ethnic Groups and Population Changes in Twentieth-Century Central-Eastern Europe: History, Data, Analysis M.E. Sharpe, 2002ISBN 0-7656-0665-8 p. 112
  33. ^ "Główny Urząd Statystyczny Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, drugi powszechny spis ludności z dn. 9.XII 1931 r. - Mieszkania i gospodarstwa domowe ludność" [Central Statistical Office the Polish Republic, the second census dated 9.XII 1931 - Abodes and household populace] (PDF) (in Polish). Central Statistical office of the Polish Republic. 1938. p. 15. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-03-17.
  34. ^ Wojciech Materski and Tomasz Szarota (eds.).Polska 1939–1945. Straty osobowe i ofiary represji pod dwiema okupacjami.Institute of National Remembrance(IPN) Warszawa 2009 ISBN 978-83-7629-067-6 (Introduction reproduced here Archived 2012-03-23 at the Wayback Machine)
  35. ^ Piesowicz, Kazimierz. Demographic effects of World War II. [Demograficzne skutki II wojny swiatowej.] Studia Demograficzne, No. 1/87, 1987. 103-36 pp. Warsaw, Poland. (Piesowicz put the total war dead at 6.0 million. He also notes that all the figures are approximated.)
  36. ^ Wojciech Materski and Tomasz Szarota. Polska 1939–1945. Straty osobowe i ofiary represji pod dwiema okupacjami.Institute of National Remembrance(IPN) Warszawa 2009 ISBN 978-83-7629-067-6
  37. ^ U.S. Bureau of the Census The Population of Poland Ed. W. Parker Mauldin, Washington-1954
  38. ^ U.S. Bureau of the Census The Population of Poland Ed. W. Parker Mauldin, Washington-1954. ( In 1938 the birth rate was 2.45%, natural deaths 1.4%. The birth rate (1938 =100)in 1939=98,1940=93, 1941=88,1942=84,1943=78,1944=80 1945=90 If we take these birth rates and the 1.4% natural death rate of 1938 as being constant, we will derive an increase of 1.300 million from 1939-45.)
  39. ^ pl:Deportacje z terenów Śląska do Związku Radzieckiego w 1945 roku[circular reference]
  40. ^ Stanisław Jankowiak, Wysiedlenie i emigracja ludności niemieckiej w polityce władz polskich w latach 1945-1970, p.211-212, Instytut Pamięci Narodowej, Warszawa 2005, ISBN 83-89078-80-5
  41. ^ Upper Silesia
  42. ^ Wojciech Materski and Tomasz Szarota. Polska 1939–1945. Straty osobowe i ofiary represji pod dwiema okupacjami. Institute of National Remembrance(IPN) Warszawa 2009 ISBN 978-83-7629-067-6,
  43. ^ "Thenews.pl :: News from Poland". Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  44. ^ Gniazdowski, Mateusz. Losses Inflicted on Poland by Germany during World War II. Assessments and Estimates—an Outline The Polish Quarterly of International Affairs, 2007, no. 1. This article is available for purchase from the Central and Eastern European Online Library at http://www.ceeol.com
  45. ^ Wojciech Materski and Tomasz Szarota. Polska 1939–1945. Straty osobowe i ofiary represji pod dwiema okupacjami. Institute of National Remembrance(IPN) Warszawa 2009 ISBN 978-83-7629-067-6, Pages 29-30
  46. ^ Wojciech Materski and Tomasz Szarota. Polska 1939–1945. Straty osobowe i ofiary represji pod dwiema okupacjami. Institute of National Remembrance(IPN) Warszawa 2009 ISBN 978-83-7629-067-6, Page 32
  47. ^ Jump up to: a b Krystyna Kersten, Szacunek strat osobowych w Polsce Wschodniej. Dzieje Najnowsze Rocznik XXI- 1994.
  48. ^ Rossiiskaia Akademiia nauk. Liudskie poteri SSSR v period vtoroi mirovoi voiny: sbornik statei. Sankt-Peterburg 1995 ISBN 5-86789-023-6.
  49. ^ Wojciech Materski and Tomasz Szarota. Polska 1939–1945. Straty osobowe i ofiary represji pod dwiema okupacjami. Institute of National Remembrance(IPN) Warszawa 2009 ISBN 978-83-7629-067-6, Pages 201-327
  50. ^ Stephane Courtois, The Black Book of Communism: Crimes, Terror, Repression, Harvard Univ Pr, 1999 ISBN 0-674-07608-7 Page 372
  51. ^ Stanisław Jankowiak, Wysiedlenie i emigracja ludności niemieckiej w polityce władz polskich w latach 1945-1970, Instytut Pamięci Narodowej, Warszawa 2005, ISBN 83-89078-80-5 p.211-212
  52. ^ Jump up to: a b c Ludnosc Polski w XX wieku / Andrzej Gawryszewski. Warsaw 2005.
  53. ^ "Jews in Poland Since 1939" (PDF) Archived November 7, 2006, at the Wayback Machine, YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, The YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe, Yale University Press, 2005
  54. ^ [Statistical Yearbook of Poland, Warsaw, 1965]
  55. ^ (in Polish) Mniejszości narodowe i etniczne w Polsce on the pages of Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration. Retrieved on 9 September 2007.
  56. ^ http://wiadomosci.onet.pl/swiat/sueddeutsche-zeitung-polska-przezywa-najwieksza-fale-emigracji-od-100-lat/yrtt0"Sueddeutsche Zeitung": Polska przeżywa największą falę emigracji od 100 lat
  57. ^ "Eurostat: Country Profiles: Poland". Statistical Office of the European Communities. 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-28.
  58. ^ See details: Historical population of Poznań
  59. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br bs bt bu bv bw bx by bz ca cb cc cd ce cf cg ch ci cj ck cl cm cn co cp cq cr cs ct cu cv cw cx cy cz da db dc dd de df Tertius Chandler, 1987, Four Thousand Years of Urban Growth: An Historical Census. Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellon Press
  60. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y Jerzy Topolski (ed.) Dzieje Poznania, Warszawa-Poznań 1988-, Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe ISBN 83-01-08194-5
    Maria Trzeciakowska, Lech Trzeciakowski, W dziewiętnastowiecznym Poznaniu. Życie codzienne miasta 1815-1914, Poznań 1982, Wydawnictwo Poznańskie ISBN 83-210-0316-8
  61. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Michael Rademacher. "Deutsche Verwaltungsgeschichte Provinz Posen, Kreis Posen". Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  62. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Michael Rademacher. "Deutsche Verwaltungsgeschichte Schlesien, Breslau". Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  63. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Michael Rademacher. "Deutsche Verwaltungsgeschichte Westpreuen, Danzig". Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  64. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Michael Rademacher. "Deutsche Verwaltungsgeschichte Westpreuen, Thorn". Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  65. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Michael Rademacher. "Deutsche Verwaltungsgeschichte Pommern, Kreis Stettin". Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  66. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Michael Rademacher. "Deutsche Verwaltungsgeschichte Provinz Posen, Kreis Bromberg". Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  67. ^ Christian Aschoff. "retro-bib – Seite aus Meyers Konversationslexikon: Bromberg – Bromelia". Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  68. ^ [3]

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