Poland’s demography still a problem – GUS

According to the latest data released by Poland’s Statistics Office, at end-2016 there were 38.433 million people living in Poland, 4k less than in the previous year. It was the fifth year in a row in which the population decreased. This, along with the declining number of working age population, which contracted by 234k people compared to 2015, poses some concerns for the country’s future. “The recently observed demographic changes suggest that the demographic situation of Poland is still disadvantageous but slightly more favorable than at the turn of the century. Although, we should not expect any considerable changes, which could guarantee a stable demographic development in the nearest perspective. The low number of marriages and the changes in the fertility trend observed over the quarter of a century will have a negative impact on the future number of birth as well, due to the significantly lower number of women at reproductive age in the future. This phenomenon is further compounded by the high scale of Poles' emigration abroad (especially the temporary emigration of young persons). The ongoing process of population ageing in Poland resulting from a positive phenomenon of an increasing life expectancy is intensified by the low fertility rate. In the future,” GUS said in its report. The ratio of Poles in the post-working age has reached 20.2 percent last year, compared to 15 percent in 2000.