How many Poles in the world?

To say that Poland is presently in a demographic spiral is not to say anything. The birth rate in 2024 was lower than in even the most pessimistic CSO population forecast published barely in 2022. Last year and through the foreseeable future, Poland will be reduced by 150-250 1000 people each year. The consequence of this dramatic situation is increased immigration to Poland, which patches the labour gaps in the economy.

From 2014 to 2021, immigrants came mainly from Ukraine, Belarus, Georgia and Moldova, and perhaps, with the exception of Georgians, did not stand out in the street. However, these 4 countries are already flushed out of possible migratory resources — to the point that they themselves have begun to import immigrants. Poland besides began to scope for the workforce further and further, especially on the Indian subcontinent. At the same time, Polish universities passed a akin process — in order to last after the decline of Polish students, then Ukrainian and Belarusian, began recruiting in Africa and Asia. The consequence of both processes is increased visibility of immigrants on the Polish streets, which evidently raised the right disgusting comments and the atmosphere of the pogrom.

Interestingly, however, even any politicians and right-wing commentators seem to realize that the Polish economy will collapse without filling the gaps caused by besides fewer young Poles entering the labour market. However, they have a fantastic solution for this idea, which does not require assimilation of immigrants — we will bring back Poles from abroad, whom It's expected to be 20 million.Oh, my God! So let's see how much fact is in this, and how much wishful thinking.

Former USSR

Poles from Kazakhstan have a peculiar place in this communicative about millions of Poles abroad. I want half a million of them.who have been looking at Poland for 80 years with a rosary in their hand and waitinguntil individual lets them return to their homeland.

But what does reality look like? Kazakhstan read very accurate national data in its census. The last, from 2021, showed 35.3 1000 Poles in this country. Of this, 7.7,000 people declared their cognition of the Polish language (for this they know almost everyone) and 8 out of 10 of them professes Orthodoxy. Especially this second fact should light a informing lamp – the Orthodox religion is not peculiarly common in Poland, and it would have been unusual for Polish families in the erstwhile East Borders, where it was alternatively the Roman Catholic religion that was identical to being Polish in contrast to Greek Catholic Ukrainians or Orthodox Belarusians. It is not, of course, that Polonia does not be in this country – there are Polish churches, Polish houses, activists. But it is simply a full of respective 1000 people, not respective 100 thousand.

The same is actual in another countries of the erstwhile USSR. Most Poles are of course in Belarus and Lithuania, right next to the Polish border. The Lithuanian census showed in 2021 183.4 1000 Poles, of which 143.9 1000 declared that their native language was Polish. It is worth noting that any (although basic) Polish cognition declares as many as 221,8 1000 people in Lithuania (including Former President). Belarusian census of 2019 showed 287,7 1000 Poles, but with Polish cognition there was a much bigger problem – only 20,7 1000 people declared that Polish is their native language, and even less, due to the fact that 4.5 thousand, declared that it speaks Polish all day.