Poland: Population and Key Statistics

EuropeCapital: Warsaw#34 by population

With 38.5 million people, Poland is the European Union's sixth-largest economy. Having grown almost without interruption since 1990, it is considered Central and Eastern Europe's most successful case of economic transformation, and it has become a European production base in manufacturing, logistics, and information technology services.

Its unemployment rate, below 3 percent, is among the lowest in the EU, and income per capita is converging rapidly with Western Europe in purchasing power parity terms.

Population (2025)
36.4 million
36,435,861 people
GDP (2025)
$1,035bn
nominal, current US dollars
GDP per capita
$28,420
Life expectancy
78.4
years
Area
313,930
km²
Population density
116
people/km²
Median age
42.1
Internet usage
88.6%

Military Strength

Military expenditure (2024)
$38.0bn
38,001 million dollars
Share of GDP
4.15%
NATO guideline: 2%
Share of government spending
8.47%
Spending per capita
$1,043
per year, per person
Armed forces (2020)
189 thousand
189,000 active personnel
Armed forces per 1,000 people
5.2
1.04% of the labor force

Expenditure figures come from SIPRI and personnel counts from the IISS, both distributed through the World Bank. Source years differ by indicator, so each figure is shown with its own year.

How Poland compares

Poland and Germany — core indicators
020 b40 b60 b80 bGDP per capita ($)Life expectancy (years)Internet usage (%)GDP per capita ($) — Poland: 28.420Life expectancy (years) — Poland: 78,4Internet usage (%) — Poland: 88,6GDP per capita ($) — Germany: 60.496Life expectancy (years) — Germany: 80,8Internet usage (%) — Germany: 93,5
PolandGermany

The indicators use different scales, so the chart is a rough visual comparison only. For exact figures see the full side-by-side comparison.

Data sourcesPopulation and social indicators: UN World Population Prospects, World BankEconomy: IMF World Economic Outlook, World BankMilitary: SIPRI and IISS, distributed through the World BankLast refreshed: 2026-08-26