Poland’s Population Falls to 37.33 Million in 2026

Population by voivodeship: growth only in Małopolskie

Compared with the beginning of 2025, the population fell in 15 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships. The only region to record a slight increase was Małopolskie, where the population rose by 0.3 thousand. The largest declines were recorded in Śląskie (−29.6 thousand), Łódzkie (−17.1 thousand) and Lubelskie (−15.7 thousand). The smallest decreases occurred in Pomorskie (−1.1 thousand) and Mazowieckie (−2.5 thousand). Mazowieckie nevertheless remains Poland’s most populous voivodeship.

Population by type of municipality

Urban municipalities had 17.72 million residents, rural municipalities 10.33 million, and urban-rural municipalities 9.29 million.

Over the year, the population declined both in urban areas (−121.7 thousand) and in rural areas (−34.9 thousand). Administrative changes should be taken into account when comparing these categories, as some residents were reclassified from the rural to the urban population.

Population growth is concentrated around metropolitan areas

At county level, population growth was recorded in only 37 of 380 units. The largest increases occurred in Kraków (+7.4 thousand), Poznań County (+5.1 thousand) and Wrocław County (+3.4 thousand), as well as in Warsaw (+2.9 thousand) and the neighbouring counties of Piaseczno (+2.6 thousand) and Wołomin (+2.1 thousand).

The same pattern is visible at municipality level. Growth was recorded, among other places, in Grodzisk Mazowiecki, Lesznowola, Raszyn and Radzymin around Warsaw; Kosakowo, Żukowo, Szemud and Wejherowo around the Tri-City; Długołęka, Czernica and Miękinia near Wrocław; Dopiewo, Kórnik, Rokietnica and Tarnowo Podgórne near Poznań; and Wieliczka near Kraków.

Data source: Statistics Poland, data as of 1 January 2026. Prepared by ceo.com.pl.