World Factbook
Poland
Rzeczpospolita Polska
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Languages
note
note 1: shares of languages sum to more than 100% because some respondents gave more than one answer on the census; data represent language spoken at home note 2: Poland also recognizes Kashub as a regional language; Czech, Hebrew, Yiddish, Belarusian, Lithuanian, German, Armenian, Russian, Slovak, and Ukrainian as national minority languages; and Karaim, Lemko, Romani (Polska Roma and Bergitka Roma), and Tatar as ethnic minority languages
Languages
Polish (official) 98.2%, Silesian 1.4%, other 1.1%, unspecified 1.2% (2011 est.)
major-language sample(s)
Księga Faktów Świata, niezbędne źródło podstawowych informacji. (Polish) The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Religions
Roman Catholic 70.7%, refused to answer 20.9%, no religion 6.9%; less than 1 percent: Orthodox, Jehovah Witness, Evangelic of Augsburg, Greek Catholic, Pentecostal, other Protestant, not stated, old Catholic Mariavite Church, other Christians, Islam, Buddhist, Polish Catholic Church, other, Baptist Union of Poland, Pagan, Seventh Day Adventist, Hindu, other Catholic (2021 est.)
Sex ratio
at birth
1.06 male(s)/female
0-14 years
1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years
0.96 male(s)/female
total population
0.91 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
65 years and over
0.67 male(s)/female
Birth rate
8.03 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Death rate
11.56 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Median age
male
41.5 years
total
43.4 years (2025 est.)
female
44.3 years
Population
male
18,441,415
total
38,746,310 (2024 est.)
female
20,304,895
Nationality
noun
Pole(s)
adjective
Polish
Tobacco use
male
25.6% (2025 est.)
total
21.6% (2025 est.)
female
17.8% (2025 est.)
Urbanization
urban population
60.2% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization
-0.16% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Age structure
0-14 years
14.2% (male 2,830,048/female 2,676,300)
15-64 years
65.9% (male 12,513,402/female 13,036,977)
65 years and over
19.8% (2024 est.) (male 3,097,965/female 4,591,618)
Ethnic groups
Polish 96.9%, Silesian 1.1%, German 0.2%, Ukrainian 0.1%, other and unspecified 1.7% (2011 est.)
note: represents ethnicity declared first
Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio
51.6 (2024 est.)
youth dependency ratio
21.6 (2024 est.)
potential support ratio
3.3 (2024 est.)
elderly dependency ratio
30.1 (2024 est.)
Physician density
4.03 physicians/1,000 population (2023)
Health expenditure
Health expenditure (as % of GDP)
6.7% of GDP (2022)
Health expenditure (as % of national budget)
10.7% of national budget (2022 est.)
Net migration rate
-6.26 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Hospital bed density
6.1 beds/1,000 population (2020 est.)
Total fertility rate
1.33 children born/woman (2025 est.)
Drinking water source
improved: rural
rural: 82.2% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 90.4% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 95.8% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 17.8% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 9.6% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 4.2% of population (2022 est.)
Education expenditure
Education expenditure (% GDP)
4.3% of GDP (2022 est.)
Education expenditure (% national budget)
10% national budget (2022 est.)
Infant mortality rate
male
5.3 deaths/1,000 live births
total
4.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)
female
4.4 deaths/1,000 live births
Population growth rate
-0.98% (2025 est.)
Gross reproduction rate
0.65 (2025 est.)
Population distribution
population concentrated in the southern area around Krakow and the central area around Warsaw and Lodz, with an extension to the northern coastal city of Gdansk
Life expectancy at birth
male
72.8 years
female
80.9 years
total population
76.7 years (2024 est.)
Maternal mortality ratio
2 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)
Sanitation facility access
improved: rural
rural: 100% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 100% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 100% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 0% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 0% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 0% of population (2022 est.)
Alcohol consumption per capita
beer
5.72 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine
0.88 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
total
10.96 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits
4.36 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols
0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Major urban areas - population
1.798 million WARSAW (capital), 769,000 Krakow (2023)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate
23.1% (2016)
Mother's mean age at first birth
27.9 years (2020 est.)
Currently married women (ages 15-49)
58.6% (2021 est.)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight
0.7% (2019 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
male
16 years (2023 est.)
total
17 years (2023 est.)
female
18 years (2023 est.)