Poland is facing a deepening population decline and a rapidly aging society, outpacing the European average in this regard, according to the Statistical Office in Warsaw on the occasion of World Population Day. In 2025, a total of 238,300 live births were recorded across the country – 5.4 percent fewer than the previous year. According to analysts, Poland is becoming one of the oldest societies in the world.
In 2025, Poland’s population stood at 37.3 million, representing a 0.4 percent decline compared with the previous year.
“In 2025, Poland’s population reached 37.3 million people, representing a 0.4 percent decrease compared with the previous period,” said Marcin Kałuski of the Masovian Regional Research Centre.
Poles Older Than the Average European
Data released by the Statistical Office in Warsaw indicate that the key factor behind this trend is the declining number of live births.
“In 2025, a total of 238,300 live births were recorded across Poland, which is 5.4 percent fewer than a year earlier,” Kałuski explained.
According to analysts, Poland is becoming one of the oldest societies in the world. The country’s median age has now reached 43.8 years. This means that the average Pole is older not only than the average resident of South America (31.7 years), Asia (32.5 years), and North America (38.7 years), but also older than the average European, whose median age stands at 42.8 years. By comparison, in Africa, half of the population is still younger than 19.3 years of age.
Exceptionally Low Fertility Rate
The country’s most pressing demographic challenge remains its fertility rate, which has fallen to just 1.07 – one of the lowest levels in the world. By comparison, the average fertility rate is 1.41 in Europe, 1.87 in Asia, 2.13 in Australia and Oceania, and 3.95 in Africa.
Every year on July 11, the United Nations General Assembly’s World Population Day is observed. According to estimates from the United Nations Population Division (UNDPD), the UN agency responsible for monitoring global demographic trends, the world’s population now exceeds 8.2 billion people.
Asia remains the world’s most populous continent with 4.8 billion inhabitants, followed by Africa with 1.5 billion. Europe’s population stands at 744.4 million, South America’s at 667.9 million, North America’s at 382.5 million, and Australia and Oceania together are home to 46.6 million people.