Poland records EU's largest population decline for second consecutive year
Poland's population dropped by over 123,000 in 2024, the largest decline among all EU member states for the second consecutive year. In relative terms, accounting for the size of countries’ populations, Poland experienced the EU's joint-third-largest decrease at 0.34%.
The data for 2024 mark the sixth consecutive year that Poland’s population declined amid a demographic crisis that the country’s statistical agency has forecast will continue in the coming decades, News.Az reports citing foreign media.
By contrast, most EU member states noted a population increase in 2024, with the bloc’s overall population growing by 1.07 million, or 0.24%.
Between 1 January 2024 and 1 January 2025, Poland’s population declined from to 36,620,970 to 36,497,495, a decrease of 123,475, new Eurostat data show.
That was the largest figure in the EU, ahead of Hungary (-45,125) and Italy (-37,053). At the other end of the scale, the largest population increases were recorded by Spain (458,289), France (292,567) and Germany (121,095).
In terms of relative decline, Poland’s population drop of 0.34% was the joint third highest alongside Estonia. Latvia (-0.99%) and Hungary (-0.47%) had the biggest falls. The largest proportional increases were recorded in Malta (+1.9%), Ireland (+1.6%) and Luxembourg (+1.47%).
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