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There is no commonly accepted definition of the Polish people. According to the [[preamble]] of the [[Constitution of Poland]], the Polish Nation consists of all [[citizenship|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 traditions, or people who share a common ethnic background originating from Poland. As to its origins, the name of the nation comes from a [[West Slavs|western Slavic]] [[ethnic group]] of [[Polans (western)|Polans]] primarily associated with Poland and the Polish language. Poles belong to the [[Lechitic]] subgroup of these ethnic people. The [[Polans (western)|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 word for a Polish person is ''Polak'' (male) and ''Polka'' (female), however, when this common noun is used [[wikt:verbatim|verbatim]] in the English language (usually spelled as ''[[Polack]]'') it is always offensive.<ref>[http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=polack polack - Definitions from Dictionary.com<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
There is no commonly accepted definition of the Polish people. According to the [[preamble]] of the [[Constitution of Poland]], the Polish Nation consists of all [[citizenship|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 traditions, or people who share a common ethnic background originating from Poland. As to its origins, the name of the nation comes from a [[West Slavs|western Slavic]] [[ethnic group]] of [[Polans (western)|Polans]] primarily associated with Poland and the Polish language. Poles belong to the [[Lechitic]] subgroup of these ethnic people. The [[Polans (western)|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 word for a Polish person is ''Polak'' (male) and ''Polka'' (female), however, when this common noun is used [[wikt:verbatim|verbatim]] in the English language (usually spelled as ''[[Polack]]'') it is always offensive.<ref>[http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=polack polack - Definitions from Dictionary.com<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>


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==Statistics==
Poles or Polish are the sixth largest national group in Europe.<ref>NationMaster.com 2003-2008. [http://www.nationmaster.com/red/graph/peo_pop-people-population&int=-1&id=EUR&b_ac=1 People Statistics: Population (most recent) by country] Accessed 2008-01-25</ref> Estimates vary depending on source, though available data suggests a total number around 60 million people worldwide (with approx. 21 million living outside of Poland).<ref name="Swiat_Polonii">[http://www.wspolnota-polska.org.pl/index.php?id=pwko Świat Polonii, witryna Stowarzyszenia Wspólnota Polska: „Polacy za granicą”] (''Polish people abroad'' as per summary by Świat Polonii, internet portal of the Polish Association ''Wspólnota Polska'')</ref> There are almost 39 million Poles in Poland alone. There are also [[autochthonous]] Polish minorities in the surrounding countries including [[Germany]], the [[Czech Republic]], [[Lithuania]], [[Ukraine]], and [[Belarus]]. There are some smaller minorities in nearby countries such as [[Moldova]] and [[Latvia]]. There is also a Polish minority in [[Russia]] which included autochthonous Poles as well as those forcibly deported during and after [[World War II]]; the total number of Poles in what was the former [[Soviet Union]] is estimated at up to 3 million.<ref>Gil Loescher, [http://books.google.com/books?id=eR5oYvO1uFgC&pg=PA119&dq=3+million+ethnic+Poles+in+the+former+Soviet+Union&sig=Kdm4ndGC7XbDsOS8qiXjPlxC5k8 Beyond Charity: International Cooperation and the Global Refugee Crisis], published by [[Oxford University]] Press US, 1993, 1996. ISBN 0195102940. Accessed 12-12-2007. </ref>

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-Americans]]), [[Canada]], ([[Polish-Canadians]]) and [[Brazil]] ([[Polish-Brazilians]]). [[France]] has a historic relationship with Poland and has a relatively large Polish-descendant population. Poles lived in France since the 1700s. In the early 20th century, over a million Polish people settled in France, mostly during world wars, among them Polish émigrés fleeing either Nazi occupation and later Soviet rule.

In the United States a significant number of Polish immigrants settled in [[Chicago, Illinois|Chicago]], [[Detroit, Michigan|Detroit]], [[New York City]], [[Orlando, Florida|Orlando]], and [[Buffalo, New York|Buffalo]]. The majority of Polish Canadians arrived to Canada since World War II, the number of Polish immigrants increased between 1945 &ndash; 1970, and again since the fall of Communism in 1989. In Brazil the majority of Polish immigrants settled in [[Paraná]] State, the city of [[Curitiba]] has the second largest Polish diaspora in the world (after Chicago) and Polish music, dishes and culture are quite common in the region. In recent years, since joining the [[European Union]], many Polish people have emigrated to countries such as [[Ireland]]; where an estimated 200,000 Polish people have entered the labour market. It is estimated that over half a million Polish people have immigrated to the [[United Kingdom]]. The Polish community in [[Norway]] has increased dramatically and has grown to a total number of 120,000, making Poles the largest immigrant group in Norway.


==Polish tribes==
==Polish tribes==

Revision as of 08:20, 19 September 2008

For the object, see Pole.
Poles
(Polacy)
File:Image of Poles.png 1st row: Skłodowska–Curie • Pope John Paul II • Copernicus • Wałęsa • Conrad
2nd row: Gretzky • Jan III Sobieski • Kościuszko • Rejewski • Wajda • Kolbe
3rd row: Piłsudski • Lem • Brzeziński • Warner • Wielicki • Wolszczan
Total population
60 million (est.)[1]
Regions with significant populations
 Poland38,860,000
[2]
 United States10,024,711[3]
 Brazil1,800,000[4]
 Germany1,055,700[5]
 Canada984,565[6]
 France900,000
 United Kingdom(est.) 500,000[1][7]
 Argentina500,000[8]
 Belarus400,000[9]
 Lithuania250,000[10]
 Russia173,000[11]
 Australia150,900[12]
 Ukraine144,130[13]
 Norway120,000[14]
 Spain78,305[15]
 Ireland63,090[16]
 Latvia57,000[17]
 Czech Republic52,000[18]
 Italy50,790[19]
 Mexico50,000[20]
 Kazakhstan47,293[21]
 Netherlands39,500[22]
 Austria21,000[23]
 Iceland10,000[24]
 Turkey5,000[25]
Template:Country data World Rest of World1,145,000 (est.)
[26]
Languages
Polish
Religion
Predominantly Roman Catholicism with Orthodox, Protestant, Atheist and Jewish minorities.

The Polish people, or Poles, (Polish: Polacy Polish pronunciation: [p] Audio file "'" not found ) 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 Polish people. 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 traditions, or people who share a common ethnic background originating from Poland. As to its origins, the name of the nation comes from a western Slavic ethnic group of Polans 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 word for a Polish person is Polak (male) and Polka (female), however, when this common noun is used verbatim in the English language (usually spelled as Polack) it is always offensive.[28]

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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.

European Union

(for ethnic Poles living abroad see Polonia, for those living and working in the United Kingdom see Polish British)

A survey carried out by the CBOS public opinion institute, between March 30 and April 2, 2007, found that 86% of Poles felt that EU membership had had a positive effect, with only 5% of the respondents speaking against it, down from 22 percent in 2004. The institute also found that 55% of those surveyed prefer the EU to remain a union of sovereign states, while 22% supported the idea of a "United States of Europe".[29] Principal areas of Polish life that have been improved by EU membership, are agriculture (according to 75% of those surveyed), the environment (61%), productivity (57%) and unemployment (56%).[30]

Among the ten new EU members, of which eight are Central or Eastern European, Poles are the most mobile, with considerable numbers of Polish migrants found in almost all ‘old’ EU countries, filling numerous vacancies on the European labour market, especially in areas where indigenous workforce is insufficient. According to Franck Duvell of Oxford, some countries, like Germany and Austria, missed on that opportunity by discriminating against mobile Europeans, granting them freedom of movement without freedom of employment, which resulted in the increase of numbers of illegal migrant workers there. “In fact, the EU accession process, and namely the Polish experience could possibly serve as a paradigm for easing some of Europe’s migration dilemma,” Duvell suggested.[31]

Notes

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Swiat_Polonii was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Excel spreadsheet from Polish Central Statistical Office
  3. ^ 2006 Community Survey
  4. ^ Polish Society in Brazil
  5. ^ Template:De icon Bevölkerung mit Migrationshintergrund - Ergebnisse des Mikrozensus 2005 Statistisches Bundesamt Deutschland (German text about migrants in Germany) Template:PDFlink.
  6. ^ List of Canadians by ethnicity
  7. ^ Template:En icon Poles in the UK, Polish Express, source: government statistics.
    ^ Template:Pl icon According to Tomasz Ziemba from Polish Express online 1,020,000 Polish visitors in the UK logged into Polish chatroom Gadu–Gadu in January: Policzyło nas Gadu–Gadu
    ^ Template:Pl icon Tomasz Wybranowski, Korespondencja, Tygodnik Przegląd, 22.08.2007, onet.pl
    ^ Template:En icon Steve Doughty, Daily Mail, Office for National Statistics recorded the number of Poles who have travelled to the UK in 2006 at over 2,000,000. The number of those who stay exceeds 250,000.
  8. ^ Poles in Argentina
  9. ^ Poles in Belarus
  10. ^ Poles in Lithuania
  11. ^ Poles in Russia
  12. ^ Template:PDFlink
  13. ^ Poles in Ukraine
  14. ^ Aftenposten.no: - 120.000 polakker i Norge (Innenriks)
  15. ^ http://www.ine.es/prensa/np503.pdf
  16. ^ Poles in Ireland
  17. ^ CIA World Factbook
  18. ^ Template:PDFlink
  19. ^ Poles in Italy (click on Tutti i Paesi - Tavola)
  20. ^ Poles in Mexico
  21. ^ Template:PDFlink
  22. ^ Template:PDFlink
  23. ^ Template:PDFlink
  24. ^ www.hagstofa.is
  25. ^ www.polonezkoy.com
  26. ^ Poles around the World (>polonia > statystyka)
  27. ^ Polonia
  28. ^ polack - Definitions from Dictionary.com
  29. ^ EU Business, 21 June 2007, Poles more pro-EU than ever: survey Accessed 12-06-2007.
  30. ^ EU Business, 02 May 2007, Three years after entering the EU, 86% of Poles are satisfied
  31. ^ Franck Duvell, Centre on Migration, Policy and Society, Oxford, Template:PDFlink, accessed 12-06-2007.

See also

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