Poland has a serious demographic problem. What is behind the dramatic decline in fertility in Poland?

In 2023, only 272,000 children were born, which is the lowest result since World War II. This trend continues – in the first six months of 2024, around 126.5 thousand births were registered, which is 12.5 thousand fewer than in the same period of the previous year. This data, published by the Central Statistical Office, highlights increasingly serious demographic challenges, including, above all, the problem of low fertility and the growing problem of reproductive health. As noted by the WHO, the fertility of both women and men is an issue of key importance to public health. Professor Elżbieta Gołata, chairwoman of the Committee on Demographic Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences, points out that reproductive health is still omitted from the debate. In her opinion, the health of citizens, including reproductive health, should be one of the most important topics that should be addressed urgently.

Depopulation of Poland

Poland is one of the fastest depopulating countries in Europe. The number of births fell by 11 percent compared to 2022, and the fertility rate was only 1.158. This is a value well below the level ensuring the replacement of generations, which is 2.10. This process has been going on for over a decade, and the COVID-19 pandemic has only deepened negative demographic trends. The effects of the pandemic were particularly severe, as emphasized by Prof. Gołata, causing a decrease in the population by about 180 thousand people, which, according to her, is “such a dramatic decrease that national mourning should be declared.”

Another significant factor in the low birth rate is the later decision to have children. In 1990, women gave birth to their first child on average at the age of 22.7, while today it is almost 29. More and more women are postponing the decision to have children until later in life, which results from, among other things, fear of losing their jobs and the high costs of raising children. According to the Ipsos study for OKO.press, as many as 41 percent of respondents are worried about their professional position after having a child. These demographic changes have long-term consequences, both at the individual level and on a society-wide scale.

Reproductive health, defined by WHO as complete physical, mental and social well-being, plays a key role in the context of fertility. Unfortunately, as Prof. Gołata notes, this topic is almost completely ignored in Poland. To change this, the Committee of Demographic Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences organized a series of debates under the slogan “Reproductive health in the course of life”. The focal point of these activities will be the international conference entitled “Reproductive health and fertility – a demographic perspective”, scheduled for October 2024. The aim of these debates is to draw attention to the relationship between reproductive health and contemporary demographic challenges.

Although life expectancy has increased in Poland, the question of its quality remains. In 2023, the average life expectancy was 74.7 years for men and 82 years for women, which is an increase of 1.3 and 0.9 years compared to the previous year. Compared to 1990, life expectancy has increased by 8.5 and 6.8 years, respectively. However, the key is how long you can enjoy good health. In Poland, according to Eurostat data, the average life expectancy in health is 60.8 years for men and 64.1 years for women, which is lower than the average in the European Union.

Health awareness is the key to change

Not only the actions of the health service, but also individual health awareness play a huge role in improving the quality of life. Although the number of people who care about a healthy lifestyle is growing, still too few Poles regularly undergo preventive examinations. The report “Polish women and Poles and diseases and health” showed that although most Poles are afraid of diseases, only 50 percent undergo regular preventive examinations. Professor Gołata emphasizes that health education and promotion of prevention are key to improving the health of society.