Poland Records EU’s Largest Population Decrease
(MENAFN) Poland experienced the largest population decrease among all European Union countries in 2024, dropping by 123,000, marking the second consecutive year of the steepest decline, according to data published Tuesday by Eurostat.
Between January 1, 2024, and January 1, 2025, Poland’s population shrank from 36,620,970 to 36,497,495, a reduction of 123,475 residents. This figure represents the sixth straight year of population loss in the country, Eurostat statistics reveal.
In contrast, most EU nations saw population growth during 2024, with the bloc’s total population expanding by 1.07 million individuals, a 0.24% rise. Hungary and Italy followed Poland with population declines of 45,125 and 37,053 respectively. On the other hand, Spain (up 458,289), France (up 292,567), and Germany (up 121,095) posted the largest increases.
“Since 2012, the negative natural change (more deaths than births) in the EU population has been outnumbered by the positive net migration,” Eurostat officials explained.
While Poland has welcomed a significant influx of Ukrainian refugees, the influx has failed to counterbalance the ongoing demographic challenges caused by declining birth rates and elevated excess mortality linked to the pandemic.
According to Poland’s central statistics office, GUS, the country’s population could plummet to as low as 26.7 million by 2060, which would represent a 27% decrease from current levels.
Since joining the EU, Poland and other former communist nations in Central and Eastern Europe have rapidly transitioned from developing to developed market economies over the last two decades. This economic advancement brings investment but also introduces typical Western issues such as aging demographics, labor shortages, accelerating wage growth, and a pressing demand for immigration—particularly in key sectors like industry, healthcare, transportation, and IT.
Data from the European Employment Services (EURES) highlight that nearly all Central and Eastern European countries have seen population declines between 2010 and 2021. Poland’s social security authority, ZUS, reported that the dependency ratio—the balance between non-working and working-age populations—has increased significantly. To maintain workforce levels, Poland will need to attract between 200,000 and 400,000 foreign workers annually, ZUS stated.
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