Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Poland
Poland: Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents was 1.86 million people in 2020. ▲ Rising
Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Poland, 1950–2020
Source: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in people.
Analysis
The most recent figure for number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Poland is 1.86 million people, measured in 2020.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 7.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Poland peaked at 2.75 million people in 1990 and was at its lowest, 0 people, in 1950.
That places Poland 92nd out of 182 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 15 years of available data.
Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Poland, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 0 people | — |
| 1955 | 0 people | — |
| 1960 | 1.12 million people | — |
| 1965 | 1.22 million people | +8.8% |
| 1970 | 2.33 million people | +90.9% |
| 1975 | 2.50 million people | +7.3% |
| 1980 | 2.68 million people | +7.3% |
| 1985 | 2.72 million people | +1.3% |
| 1990 | 2.75 million people | +1.1% |
| 1995 | 2.73 million people | -0.5% |
| 2000 | 2.73 million people | -0.2% |
| 2005 | 1.71 million people | -37.5% |
| 2010 | 1.74 million people | +1.7% |
| 2015 | 1.79 million people | +3.4% |
| 2020 | 1.86 million people | +3.7% |
Poland compared with similar countries
- Poland's 1.86 million people is above the median for high income countries, which is 1.35 million people, 1.4× the median. (60 countries reporting)
- Poland's 1.86 million people is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 1.14 million people, 1.6× the median. (49 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Poland changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | +90.9% | 1.22 million people | 2.33 million people |
| 2005 | -37.5% | 2.73 million people | 1.71 million people |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 0 people | 0 people | 0 people | 2 |
| 1960s | 1.17 million people | 1.12 million people | 1.22 million people | 2 |
| 1970s | 2.42 million people | 2.33 million people | 2.50 million people | 2 |
| 1980s | 2.70 million people | 2.68 million people | 2.72 million people | 2 |
| 1990s | 2.74 million people | 2.73 million people | 2.75 million people | 2 |
| 2000s | 2.22 million people | 1.71 million people | 2.73 million people | 2 |
| 2010s | 1.77 million people | 1.74 million people | 1.79 million people | 2 |
| 2020s | 1.86 million people | 1.86 million people | 1.86 million people | 1 |
Countries ranked near Poland
More reference data data for Poland
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 2.62 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.499 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 9.36 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.8896 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 9.36 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 8.77 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 5.77 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 2.57 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 43.86 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 4.84 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Poland?
- Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Poland was 1.86 million people in 2020, according to European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents recorded in Poland?
- The highest recorded value was 2.75 million people in 1990.
- What is the lowest number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents recorded in Poland?
- The lowest recorded value was 0 people in 1950.
- How does Poland rank for number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents?
- Poland ranks 92nd out of 182 countries with data for 2020.
- Is number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents rising or falling in Poland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 7.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Poland data come from?
- The figures come from European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 15 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Total population living in cities with 1 million or more people. City boundaries are defined using a consistent global approach based on satellite imagery and population data.