Nationality:
noun: Pole(s)
adjective: Polish

Ethnic groups:
Polish 96.9%, Silesian 1.1%, German 0.2%, Ukrainian 0.1%, other and unspecified 1.7%
note: represents ethnicity declared first (2011 est.)

Languages:
Polish (official) 96.2%, Polish and non-Polish 2%, non-Polish 0.5%, unspecified 1.3%
note: Kashub is recognized as a regional language under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (2011 est.)

Religions:
Catholic 87.2% (includes Roman Catholic 86.9% and Greek Catholic, Armenian Catholic, and Byzantine-Slavic Catholic .3%), Orthodox 1.3% (almost all are Polish Autocephalous Orthodox), Protestant 0.4% (mainly Augsburg Evangelical and Pentacostal), other 0.4% (includes Jehovah's Witness, Buddhist, Hare Krishna, Gaudiya Vaishnavism, Muslim, Jewish, Mormon), unspecified 10.8% (2012 est.)

Population:
38,346,279 (July 2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 35
[see also: Population country ranks ]

Age structure:
0-14 years: 14.6% (male 2,876,264/female 2,716,569)
15-24 years: 11.9% (male 2,333,627/female 2,235,228)
25-54 years: 43.8% (male 8,459,153/female 8,355,491)
55-64 years: 14.7% (male 2,658,106/female 2,973,933)
65 years and over: 14.5% (male 2,224,569/female 3,513,339) (2014 est.)
population pyramid:

Dependency ratios:
total dependency ratio: 42.3 %
youth dependency ratio: 21.4 %
elderly dependency ratio: 21.2 %
potential support ratio: 4.7 (2014 est.)

Median age:
total: 39.5 years
male: 37.9 years
female: 41.3 years (2014 est.)

Population growth rate:
-0.11% (2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 203
[see also: Population growth rate country ranks ]

Birth rate:
9.77 births/1,000 population (2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 200
[see also: Birth rate country ranks ]

Death rate:
10.37 deaths/1,000 population (2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 43
[see also: Death rate country ranks ]

Net migration rate:
-0.47 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 134
[see also: Net migration rate country ranks ]

Urbanization:
urban population: 60.9% of total population (2011)
rate of urbanization: -0.04% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)

Major urban areas - population:
WARSAW (capital) 1.723 million; Krakow 756,000 (2011)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.62 male(s)/female
total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2014 est.)

Mother's mean age at first birth:
26.9 (2011 est.)
[see also: Mother's mean age at first birth country ranks ]

Maternal mortality rate:
5 deaths/100,000 live births (2010)
country comparison to the world: 175
[see also: Maternal mortality rate country ranks ]

Infant mortality rate:
total: 6.19 deaths/1,000 live births
country comparison to the world: 168
male: 6.88 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 5.45 deaths/1,000 live births (2014 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 76.65 years
country comparison to the world: 76
male: 72.74 years
female: 80.8 years (2014 est.)

Total fertility rate:
1.33 children born/woman (2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 212
[see also: Total fertility rate country ranks ]

Health expenditures:
6.7% of GDP (2011)
country comparison to the world: 91
[see also: Health expenditures country ranks ]

Physicians density:
2.07 physicians/1,000 population (2010)
[see also: Physicians density country ranks ]

Hospital bed density:
6.6 beds/1,000 population (2010)
[see also: Hospital bed density country ranks ]

Drinking water source:
improved:
urban: 100% of population
unimproved:
urban: 0% of population (2012 est.)

Sanitation facility access:
improved:
urban: 95.7% of population
rural: 79.7% of population
total: 89.5% of population
unimproved:
urban: 4.3% of population
rural: 20.3% of population
total: 10.5% of population (2008 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.1%; note - no country specific models provided (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 168
[see also: HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
27,000 (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 74
[see also: HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS country ranks ]

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
fewer than 200 (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 108
[see also: HIV/AIDS - deaths country ranks ]

Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk: intermediate
vectorborne disease: tickborne encephalitis
note: highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been identified in this country; it poses a negligible risk with extremely rare cases possible among US citizens who have close contact with birds (2013)

Obesity - adult prevalence rate:
25.3% (2008)
country comparison to the world: 56
[see also: Obesity - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]

Education expenditures:
5.2% of GDP (2010)
country comparison to the world: 65
[see also: Education expenditures - percent of GDP country ranks ]

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.7%
male: 99.9%
female: 99.6% (2011 est.)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 16 years
male: 15 years
female: 16 years (2012)

Unemployment, youth ages 15-24
total: 26.5%
country comparison to the world: 36
male: 24.1%
female: 30% (2012)