Where Poles move
4.6M Poles live abroad — #15 largest source of emigrants worldwide
Considering a move from Poland? — See top destinations, regional flows, and how it's changed since 1990.
Where emigrants go
The top 3 countries receive 70% of all emigrants
↑↓ — change vs 2020
| Country | Emigrants |
|---|---|
| Germany | 1883559 |
| United Kingdom | 902193 |
| United States | 396647 |
| Netherlands | 210981 |
| Canada | 123819 |
| Norway | 111728 |
| Sweden | 102889 |
| Ireland | 102708 |
| Italy | 92115 |
| France | 84406 |
| Belgium | 79624 |
| Austria | 79557 |
| Israel | 62789 |
| Switzerland | 53044 |
| Spain | 51651 |
| Denmark | 49767 |
| Australia | 45945 |
| Iceland | 31868 |
| Czechia | 18652 |
| Greece | 16970 |
| Russia | 9615 |
| Slovakia | 8008 |
| Finland | 5907 |
| Luxembourg | 5835 |
| Hungary | 3991 |
| Ukraine | 3170 |
| Kyrgyzstan | 3060 |
| Bulgaria | 2676 |
| New Zealand | 2511 |
| Lithuania | 2002 |
| Egypt | 1970 |
| Argentina | 1870 |
| South Africa | 1849 |
| Uruguay | 1792 |
| Japan | 1756 |
| Malta | 1302 |
| Portugal | 1255 |
| Paraguay | 1006 |
| Mexico | 910 |
| Venezuela | 819 |
| China | 798 |
| Serbia | 783 |
| Libya | 764 |
| Estonia | 758 |
| Cyprus | 744 |
| Latvia | 706 |
| Croatia | 658 |
| Kazakhstan | 631 |
| Chile | 599 |
| Belarus | 465 |
| Slovenia | 452 |
| Peru | 437 |
| Costa Rica | 436 |
| Panama | 359 |
| Bolivia | 271 |
| Colombia | 217 |
| Namibia | 186 |
| Georgia | 185 |
| Faroe Islands | 153 |
| Romania | 102 |
| North Macedonia | 99 |
| Moldova | 96 |
| Montenegro | 96 |
| Liechtenstein | 81 |
| Ghana | 58 |
| Dominican Republic | 49 |
| Bermuda | 40 |
| Tajikistan | 35 |
| San Marino | 34 |
| Greenland | 29 |
| Brazil | 28 |
| Bahamas | 21 |
| Mongolia | 13 |
| Cuba | 8 |
| Puerto Rico | 6 |
| Guinea | 0 |
By destination region
Europe is the leading destination region at 86%
3.9M
520.5K
63.7K
48.5K
8.8K
6.3K
4.8K
Interesting facts
Notable statistics about emigration from Poland.
Iceland is the fastest-growing major destination
Emigration to Iceland has increased by 191% since 2015, rising from 11K to 31.9K in 9 years.
Germany is the primary destination for emigrants
Germany attracts 41% of all emigrants from Poland, while the second-largest destination receives just 20%.
The share of emigrants going to Europe has grown since 1990
The share of emigrants going to Europe has shifted from 63.4% to 85.7% since 1990.
Top emigration destinations have shifted significantly since 1990
4 new countries have entered the top 20 destinations: Norway, Ireland, Spain — Norway rose from outside the top 20 to rank #6.
How emigration changed over time
Total emigrant population by year
| Year | Emigrants |
|---|---|
| 1990 | 2317607 |
| 1995 | 2546193 |
| 2000 | 2502866 |
| 2005 | 2798776 |
| 2010 | 3673715 |
| 2015 | 4154666 |
| 2020 | 4365879 |
| 2024 | 4572613 |
Top destinations over time
Emigration to the 5 largest destination countries
| Year | Germany | United Kingdom | United States | Netherlands | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 989687 | 74813 | 410180 | 10219 | 184063 |
| 1995 | 1100461 | 67979 | 555299 | 13221 | 192650 |
| 2000 | 1201741 | 61534 | 459971 | 16763 | 182439 |
| 2005 | 1299499 | 165337 | 456004 | 27403 | 171592 |
| 2010 | 1513519 | 558210 | 470032 | 62077 | 156702 |
| 2015 | 1718230 | 728332 | 440335 | 113415 | 150280 |
| 2020 | 1797038 | 826408 | 421348 | 159749 | 137366 |
| 2024 | 1883559 | 902193 | 396647 | 210981 | 123819 |
Fastest-changing destinations
How emigration to each country has changed since the selected year
Poland as an emigration source
Share of immigrants in each country who originate from Poland