The number of Poles abroad is decreasing for the second year in a row

The number of Poles abroad is decreasing for the second year in a row

According to the Central Statistical Office report, at the end of 2025, approximately 1.513 million citizens of our country were temporarily staying outside Poland. This is nearly 21,000 fewer than in 2024. The downward trend continues for the second year in a row. In the years 2020-2023, the number of temporary emigrants fluctuated around 1.55 million, and began to slowly decline in the following years.

There were approximately 1.373 million Polish emigrants living in Europe in 2025, which is almost 19,000 fewer than a year earlier. European countries remain the most popular destination - as many as 91 percent of Polish emigrants decide to live on the Old Continent.

Where do most of our compatriots live?

The vast majority of Polish emigrants choose European Union member states. In 2025, it was approximately 835,000 people. The most frequently chosen countries are still dominated by Great Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Ireland.

Most Poles lived in Great Britain - 412,000. The second most popular destination was Germany, where 386,000 of our compatriots stayed. Third place was taken by the Netherlands with 130,000 emigrants. 76,000 Poles lived in Norway and 67,000 in Ireland.

These are the new favorites of Poles

The Central Statistical Office analysis shows that in the years 2020–2025 the largest increase in the number of long-term emigrants was recorded in the Netherlands and Switzerland. In the Netherlands, the number of Poles increased by approximately 20,000 (18 percent), and in Switzerland by nearly 7,000 (29.4 percent).

At the same time, the largest decreases in the number of Polish emigrants were recorded in Great Britain - by 42,000 (9.2 percent) and in Germany - by 33,000 (7.8 percent). In other European countries, the changes were much smaller and did not exceed 5,000 people throughout the analyzed period.

Emigration for a while