Poland is an unbroken plain, reaching from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Carpathian Mountains in the south. Most of the country is low lying. The north eastern region, called the Lake District, is sparsely populated and lacks agricultural and industrial resources.

An important change in Poland 's population distribution has been the intense urbanization which took place during the first two decades of Communist rule. In 1931, nearly 60% of the population relied directly on agriculture for their livelihood. By 1998, the figure had dropped to 22.5%. In 1981, population density was 115 people per sq km. By 1990, it was 121 people per sq km and Poland had twenty four cities with populations of at least 150,000 people.

Urban areas now contain over 60% of Poland's population and occupy about 6% of the country's total area. The most concentrated urban region is the cluster of industrial settlements in the Katowice district.

Impact of World War Two
Between 1939 and 1949, the population of Poland fell dramatically from 35 million to 24 million. This was the result of deaths during the Second World War and emigration of ethnic groups, such as the Jews and non Polish Slavs. This emigration continued after the war ended. So, the population continued to decline in the immediate post war period, even though many Poles were repatriated from military duty and imprisonment abroad and Poland's birth rate surged upwards at that time.

Very low growth rate
More recently, Poland has had a very low population growth rate. In the early 1980s, it was 1.0%. This placed it behind only Albania, Ireland and Iceland among European countries. There was a significant population increase in the early 1980s, linked to the large number of women of childbearing age, from the generation born in the post baby boom. But growth rates have dropped again since these women have passed their peak childbearing years.

Emigration
Poland now has a falling population. Fewer babies are being born and there is large scale migration of trained workers to neighbouring countries. It's feared that this movement will be made worse now that Poland has joined the EU, since it's easier for Polish workers to take their skills elsewhere. With unemployment as high as 19%, and the average pay less than £5000, it is hardly surprising that some of the more ambitious Poles will be seeking to improve their standard of living by moving to other countries. In 1991, polls showed that as many as one third of Poles had thought about emigrating.

Fear of ethnic persecution
The census in 2002 showed that Poland is one of the most homogeneous countries in the world, with 96.7% of the population claiming to be Polish and an even higher figure of 97.8% speaking Polish at home. The 3% or so of non Poles were given the opportunity to state to which ethnic group they belonged. Two thirds chose not to reveal their ethnicity.

National minority activists in Poland argued that non-Poles would be afraid to declare their true ethnicity in the census for fear that their Polish acquaintances or neighbours might subsequently discriminate against them and their relatives at work or at school.