Poles
Skłodowska-Curie • Pope John Paul II • Chopin • Copernicus Wałęsa • Kościuszko • Polański • Piłsudski
Total population
50 million (est.)[1]
Regions with significant populations
Poland 38,860,000 [2]  United States 9,385,233  Brazil 1,500,000 [3]  Canada 820,000 [4]  Argentina 500,000 [5]  Belarus 400,000 [6]  Germany 290,000  Lithuania 250,000 [7]  Australia 150,900  Ukraine 144,130 [8]  Russia 73,000  Ireland 63,276 [9]  Latvia 57,000 (est.) [10]  Czech Republic 52,000 (2001)  Italy 50,790 [11]  Kazakhstan 47,293  Spain 44,147 (2006) [12]  Netherlands 39,500  Austria 21,000  Iceland 7,000  Mexico 5,000 [13]  Turkey 5,000 [14] Rest of World 1,145,000 (est.) [15]
Languages
Polish
Religions
Predominantly Roman Catholic (+90%), with other Christian[16], Jewish, and secular minorities.
Related ethnic groups
West Slavs

Polish people, or Poles, (Polish: Polacy) are a western Slavic ethnic group of Central Europe, living predominantly in Poland. Poles are sometimes defined as people who share a common Polish culture and are of Polish descent. Their religion is predominantly Roman Catholic. The Poles can also be referred to as the inhabitants of the Republic of Poland and Polish emigrants irrespective of their ethnicity. A wide-ranging Polish diaspora exists throughout Western and Eastern Europe, the Americas and Australia.

There is no commonly accepted definition of the Poles. According to the preamble of the Constitution of Poland, the Polish Nation consists of all citizens of Poland. However, like in most European countries, many people limit the group to native speakers of the Polish language, people that share certain views or traditions, or people who share a common ethnic background originating from Poland. As to the ethnicity, the name of the nation comes from a western Slavic ethnic group primarily associated with Poland and the Polish language. Poles belong to the Lechitic subgroup of these ethnic people. The Polans of Giecz, Gniezno, and Poznań were one of the most influential tribes of Greater Poland and managed to unite many other West Slavic tribes in the area under the rule of what became the Piast dynasty, thus giving birth to a new state. The Polish name for a Pole is Polak (male) and Polka (female).

Statistics

Estimates vary greatly, though most data suggests a total number around 50 million. There are 38 million Poles in Poland alone as well as autochthonous Polish minorities in the surrounding countries such as Germany, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Ukraine, and Belarus. There are some smaller minorities in other nearby countries like Moldova and Latvia. Note that there is also a Polish minority in Russia which included autochthonous Poles as well as some forcibly deported Poles. The total number of Poles in what was the former Soviet Union is estimated at 3 million.

The term "Polonia" is usually used in Poland to refer to people of Polish origin who live outside Polish borders, officially estimated at around 10-12 to 20 million. There is a notable Polish diaspora in the United States (Polish-American), Canada and Brazil (see Polish Brazilian). In the United States a significant number of Polish immigrants settled in Chicago, Detroit, New York City, and Buffalo. In recent years, since joining the European Union, many Polish people have emigrated to countries such as Ireland; where an estimated 150,000 Polish people have entered the labour market. It is estimated that three quarters of a million have in the United Kingdom.

Polish tribes

The following is the list of Polish tribes - tribes which constituted the lands of Poland in the early Middle Ages, at the beginning of the Polish state. Some of them have remained a separate ethnicity while others have been assimilated into the culture of Poland.

Mazurians (Masovians, Masurians) Polans (Polanes, Polanians) Silesians Warmiaks Pomeranians Kashubians (Cassubians) Slovincians Kociewiacy Borowiacy Bieżuńczanie Bobrzanie

Dziadoszanie Golęszyce Goplans Lędzianie Opolanie Kujawianie Pyrzyczanie Ślężanie Trzebowianie Vistulans

European Union

for ethnic Poles living abroad see Polonia

Following Poland's entry into the EU in May 2004 it is estimated that as of September 2006, 307,670 Poles have registered to work in the United Kingdom alone.^[17] Many Poles work in seasonal occupations and a large number is likely to move back and forth including between Ireland and other EU nations.

Notes

See also

List of Poles Polonia Pole, Hungarian, two good friends List of Polish Jews Polish Americans Polish British Polish Australians Polish Canadians Polish Brazilians

Polish Germans Polish minority in the Czech Republic Polish minority in Lithuania Polish minority in Romania Polish minority in the Soviet Union Demographics of Poland Genetic history of Europe Haplogroup R1a1 (Y-DNA) Name of Poland (etymology of the demonym)

External links

• History of Polish war veterans being admitted to Canada after World War II
• Federation of Poles in Great Britain
• Polonia Świata (Free Poles - Polonia Directory)
• Polish Heritage Trust of New Zealand
• Polacy w Wielkiej Brytanii, Polish Community in the UK