Talk:Poland

Semi-protected edit request on 6 April 2026

The article has contained an incorrect population figure for some time. The latest estimate from Eurostat for 2025 is 36,497,495. (not 37,893,970 as currently stated in the infobox)

Source: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/tps00001/default/table?lang=en&category=t_demo.t_demo_pop

Someone has already added the Eurostat source to the infobox, but the figure hasn't been updated. Please update it. ~2026-21262-11 (talk) 18:10, 6 April 2026 (UTC)

Not done for now: The source you have provided states that that number is an estimate – LuniZunie_(talk) 16:18, 10 April 2026 (UTC)

wow! ~2026-45770-97 (talk) 23:01, 20 August 2026 (UTC)

Pop stats revert war

+134/-134. What's up with this revert war. What are the rules about pop stats in the infobox? --Altenmann >talk

OK. {{Infobox Country}} allows both options:

|population_estimate =

|population_estimate_year =

|population_census =

|population_census_year =

It even has an example:

{{Infobox country

|conventional_long_name = Republic of Cameroon

|population_estimate = 20,129,878

|population_estimate_rank = 58th

|population_estimate_year = July 2012

|population_census = 17,463,836

|population_census_year = 2005

So merge instead ow revert war. --Altenmann >talk 20:53, 8 April 2026 (UTC)

I suggest we stick to the census figure as it's more reliable than a flash estimate based on partial data (iirc the estimate before the 2022 census was lower than the eventual census figure, too) -nonInscritSupporter (talk) 22:18, 14 April 2026 (UTC)

Hmm… censuses only happen about every ten years in Poland. Are you saying we should not update Poland's population until 2032? Every other country article I have looked at includes a recent estimate in the infobox. And this article did too for a long time until it was removed by someone a short while ago.. Silverberge (talk) 17:25, 18 April 2026 (UTC)

I'm aware of a problem with Statistics Poland, it's unique for only counting citizens registered in the country as population. In 2022, I think it was the World Bank, that bumped up Poland's population estimate to 41.7 million temporarily, owing to the refugees and what not. Now there's fewer refugees than in 2022 but it's still around 1 million. And that's just the refugees, there's also 1 million Ukrainian economic migrants and at least 0.5 million and up to 1 million other migrants. Now, there's the problem that not all citizens registered within Poland are actually residing here. I remember seeing a statistic that the actual number of Polish citizens residing in Poland is 36 million at any given time. Adding the refugees and immigrants to this figure, we end up with between 38.5 million and 39 million people actually living in Poland. This is why the flash estimates are double unreliable in Poland's case. Agreed that for other countries estimates are used but this is not a rule, when I've just shown the peculiarity of this case, an exception should apply. The census figure is at least in line with the real number of people living in Poland, which is "over 38 million people." -nonInscritSupporter (talk) 22:17, 18 April 2026 (UTC)

Lead changes

@Shoshin000: - the lead summary at present is optimal and of the ideal weight/size. No need to list names of a monarch if other significant people are not summarised in the intro. Secondly, Poland's borders have changed so many times in history that mentioning only post WW2 changes is not truly encyclopedic, and there is no need for redundant detail. I suggest that after the word "millions of Polish casualties" we add "and extensive border changes" as a solution. No need to mention so early in the article who took what and whether it was westward. It is explained in detail in the history section. I'd also like to point out that only writing on post WW2 border changes would falsely suggest or hint that the current lands in Silesia and elsewhere were never part of Poland, and that the most recent shifts in the country's boundaries are contentious and subject to discussion. Merangs (talk) 11:12, 26 May 2026 (UTC)

I appreciate you opening a thread to discuss with a "new user" wielding a 2 year old account carrying 1000+ edits.

Your point of view is now clearer to me.

I'm not sure that my version ever implied that these lands weren't ever part of Poland; I just stated objective facts without trying to twist it into this or that narrative.

Your proposal nevertheless doesn't sound bad, can you give a preview of it? The massive population changes should be mentioned however. Poland shifted westwards for the first time in – I believe – over 600 years, and switched almost overnight from multiculturalism to an ethnostate, with sensitive pre-war existential questions accordingly "solved": Hitler got rid of the Jews, Stalin got rid of the Germans, Ukrainians, Belarusians and Lithuanians.

I also see you restored that one Gary Cooper poster further down, that I had replaced by a map detailing territorial changes, which certainly carries more historical weight, don't you think? Shoshin000 (talk) 12:53, 26 May 2026 (UTC)

Thanks for your message, and apologies for the epithet; I have limited visibility over user activity. Regarding content, I actually do think it would send across the wrong message, especially for first time readers that would think contemporary Poland's borders are a matter of controversy. I would suggest altering the sentence to "In September 1939, the invasion of Poland by Germany and the Soviet Union marked the beginning of World War II, which resulted in the Holocaust, millions of Polish casualties, extensive border changes and cultural homogeneity [or we can say homogenisation]." Alternatively, "In September 1939, the invasion of Poland by Germany and the Soviet Union marked the beginning of World War II, which resulted in the Holocaust, millions of Polish casualties as well as extensive border and population changes." I'd like to point out that other country articles, for instance Germany, do not mention border shifts.

On the Gary Cooper poster, it represents the free elections and the end of communism. It is an icon. I agree that a map of border changes could be included, but the section is simply too small. Isn't there one in the History of Poland article? Merangs (talk) 19:32, 26 May 2026 (UTC)

regarding the map of border changes, you can check my earlier version for the way i did it before you blanket reverted.

cultural homogeneity is perhaps an interesting topic of discussion on a talk page, but too vague for an encyclopedic lede; i prefer to talk about demographic changes. which remains perhaps quite euphemistic, as many would see all these population transfers in central europe for what they really are. (though, admittedly, this lede is not the place for such debates) Shoshin000 (talk) 21:40, 27 May 2026 (UTC)

"In September 1939, the invasion of Poland by Germany and the Soviet Union marked the beginning of World War II, which resulted in the Holocaust, millions of Polish casualties as well as extensive border and demographic changes."Merangs (talk) 22:34, 27 May 2026 (UTC)

sounds ok. also make sure to check my revision regarding the border map Shoshin000 (talk) 12:58, 28 May 2026 (UTC)

I did see that revision; but the Gary Cooper poster was deleted also? Do we really need such detailed maps in the main Poland article? For example, the previous map about Holocaust locations; I thought just to limit the picture to the most infamous (Auschwitz) that could represent all the death camps, but that necessitates a separate discussion. Morever, the map of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is barely readable/legible due to small text and uniform colouring. Merangs (talk) 18:59, 28 May 2026 (UTC)

If anything the map of Poland's territorial changes is more relevant than the Holocaust one; even though they are both more important than some Gary Cooper poster raising awareness for some internal political issue. Shoshin000 (talk) 10:23, 29 May 2026 (UTC)

Statistics Poland: 38.8 million people reside in Poland, including 2.3 million immigrants (EOY 2025)

This figure should replace the 37.3 million "estimate" figure in the infobox ~2026-37461-95 (talk) 19:03, 3 July 2026 (UTC)

Map of the religion

@Merangs: What's your problem with the map?

In my opinion, it's much more informative, as it shows the distribution of religions in the country, than a photo of John Paul II, which adds no value to the article. Because I'll ask again - where in the infobox do you find information about the distribution of religions? This map was only thing in this article to show it.
And argument that the map is huge is very dumb, because rest of the maps is also "huge" - you also want to delete them? Szturnek_¿odp? 14:03, 27 August 2026 (UTC)

If you truly believe that such a graph/map should exist for what is still a very homogenous country (religion wise too), then include it below or above the image of Pope John Paul II, but please do not delete it. Regardless of perceptions, he was a significant figure. Personally, I'd leave the graphs in the separately dedicated Religion in Poland article, unless we are talking about megadiverse countries where multiculturalism and various faiths are present. Moreover, in my opinion, the map you suggest is not too informative either due to lack of diversity (only limited to three religions). Merangs (talk) 14:08, 27 August 2026 (UTC)