Małopolska had 3.43 million residents at the end of 2025, but almost the entire region recorded a natural population decline. The positive migration balance was highly uneven, with Kraków and the Wieliczka and Kraków counties attracting most new residents, while Tarnów, Nowy Sącz and peripheral counties continued to lose population. These widening demographic disparities could increasingly affect labour availability and corporate investment decisions in the coming years.
At the end of 2025, the Małopolskie Voivodeship had 3.429 million residents, accounting for 9.2% of Poland’s population. The region recorded a natural population decline of 2.0 per 1,000 residents, but a positive net migration rate of 1.8 per 1,000. Almost all population inflows were concentrated in and around Kraków, while peripheral counties were losing residents through both natural decline and migration.
At the end of December 2025, Małopolska was home to 1.663 million men and 1.766 million women. Working-age residents accounted for 59.1% of the region’s total population, but the structure differed considerably by sex. Among men, 63.9% were of working age and only 16.3% were of post-working age. Among women, just 54.6% were of working age, while 27.7% were of post-working age—almost twice the male share. For employers, this means the region’s potential female labour pool is structurally smaller, mainly because women are much more strongly represented in age groups above 65.
| Economic age group | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-working age | 19.8% | 17.7% |
| Working age | 63.9% | 54.6% |
| Post-working age | 16.3% | 27.7% |
The age pyramid shows a clear concentration in the 30–54 age groups. These generations, born during the demographic boom of the 1970s and early 1980s, now form the core of the region’s labour force. At the same time, the youngest age groups, from 0 to 14, are smaller than those aged 30–49. Over the next 15–20 years, this is likely to reduce the number of young people entering the labour market unless migration offsets the decline.
A total of 25,608 children were born in Małopolska in 2025, while the natural population change stood at -1.97 per 1,000 residents, rounded to -2.0. This means deaths outnumbered births across the region. The trend affected almost the entire voivodeship: only Limanowa County (+1.28) and Nowy Sącz County (+1.13) recorded positive natural change, while Wieliczka County was close to zero at +0.43. The deepest declines were reported in Miechów County (-7.56) and Chrzanów County (-7.54), more than three times the regional average.
Kraków clearly led in the number of live births, with 6,980 births representing 27.3% of all births in the voivodeship. It was followed by Kraków County with 2,131 births, Nowy Sącz County with 1,773 and Nowy Targ County with 1,505. Kraków therefore accounted for more than one-quarter of all births in the region, although the city represents less than 23% of the voivodeship’s population.
| County | Live births |
|---|---|
| City of Kraków | 6980 |
| Kraków County | 2131 |
| Nowy Sącz County | 1773 |
| Nowy Targ County | 1505 |
| Wieliczka County | 1330 |
| Tarnów County | 1316 |
| Limanowa County | 1257 |
The voivodeship’s overall net permanent migration rate was +1.8 per 1,000 residents, but this figure concealed major differences within the region. Wieliczka County recorded the strongest population inflow at +9.5 per 1,000, followed by Kraków County at +7.2 and the City of Kraków at +5.0. This is a classic suburbanisation pattern, with residents moving from the metropolitan centre to surrounding municipalities while the wider Kraków area continues to attract people from outside the region. At the other end of the ranking were the cities of Tarnów (-3.4) and Nowy Sącz (-3.2), as well as Gorlice County (-3.1), which lost residents both to Kraków and to destinations outside the voivodeship.
Net international migration for the entire voivodeship reached +1,894 people. Kraków alone attracted 1,290 of them, or 68.1% of the total. Kraków County (+194) and Wieliczka County (+138) followed, confirming that the Kraków metropolitan area is the region’s main destination for international migration. The only areas with negative international migration balances were the City of Tarnów (-29), Gorlice County (-24) and Dąbrowa County (-19).
| County | Net International Migration |
|---|---|
| City of Kraków | +1290 |
| Kraków County | +194 |
| Wieliczka County | +138 |
| Nowy Targ County | +63 |
| Myślenice County | +37 |
| City of Tarnów | -29 |
| Gorlice County | -24 |
Management perspective: Companies planning investments or team relocations in Małopolska should recognise that labour availability is growing almost exclusively within several dozen kilometres of Kraków, particularly in Wieliczka, Kraków and Myślenice counties. In peripheral areas—including Miechów, Chrzanów, Gorlice and Dąbrowa counties, as well as the cities of Tarnów and Nowy Sącz—both the number of births and the inflow of new residents are declining.
This creates a risk of increasing labour-market polarisation: stronger competition for employees around Kraków, combined with staff shortages and an ageing local workforce in areas farther from the metropolitan centre.
- Małopolska had 3.429 million residents at the end of 2025, representing 9.2% of Poland’s population. Women outnumbered men, at 1.766 million compared with 1.663 million.
- The region recorded natural population decline of 2.0 per 1,000 residents. Only Limanowa and Nowy Sącz counties reported positive natural change.
- The working-age share differed significantly by sex: 63.9% among men and 54.6% among women, mainly because the proportion of women of post-working age was much higher, at 27.7% compared with 16.3% for men.
- Kraków accounted for 27.3% of all births in the region and 68.1% of the voivodeship’s positive net international migration.
- Migration was strongly polarised geographically: positive in Kraków’s suburban zone, including Wieliczka County (+9.5) and Kraków County (+7.2 per 1,000), but negative in the cities of Tarnów (-3.4) and Nowy Sącz (-3.2), and in Gorlice County (-3.1).
- Miechów and Chrzanów counties combined the deepest natural population declines, at -7.56 and -7.54 per 1,000 respectively, with negative or near-zero migration balances, creating a double demographic risk for their local labour markets.
