Polish diaspora: Difference between revisions
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The Polonia in English-speaking countries often uses a dialect of Polish called ''[[Poglish|Ponglish]].'' It is made up of a Polish core with many English words inside it.<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Dziennikarstwa|first1=mgr Mieszko RozpędowskiAbsolwent dziennikarstwa i komunikacji społecznej w Instytucie Edukacji Medialnej i|last2=Warszawie|first2=Uniwersytetu Kardynała Stefana Wyszyńskiego w|title="Du ju spik ponglish"? O językowo-kulturowej hybrydzie XXI w. w wybranych przekazach popkultury|url=http://knm.uksw.edu.pl/du-ju-spik-ponglish-o-jezykowo-kulturowej-hybrydzie-xxi-w-w-wybranych-przekazach-popkultury/|access-date=2021-08-11|language=pl|archive-date=2021-08-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210811135130/http://knm.uksw.edu.pl/du-ju-spik-ponglish-o-jezykowo-kulturowej-hybrydzie-xxi-w-w-wybranych-przekazach-popkultury/|url-status=dead}}</ref> |
The Polonia in English-speaking countries often uses a dialect of Polish called ''[[Poglish|Ponglish]].'' It is made up of a Polish core with many English words inside it.<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Dziennikarstwa|first1=mgr Mieszko RozpędowskiAbsolwent dziennikarstwa i komunikacji społecznej w Instytucie Edukacji Medialnej i|last2=Warszawie|first2=Uniwersytetu Kardynała Stefana Wyszyńskiego w|title="Du ju spik ponglish"? O językowo-kulturowej hybrydzie XXI w. w wybranych przekazach popkultury|url=http://knm.uksw.edu.pl/du-ju-spik-ponglish-o-jezykowo-kulturowej-hybrydzie-xxi-w-w-wybranych-przekazach-popkultury/|access-date=2021-08-11|language=pl|archive-date=2021-08-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210811135130/http://knm.uksw.edu.pl/du-ju-spik-ponglish-o-jezykowo-kulturowej-hybrydzie-xxi-w-w-wybranych-przekazach-popkultury/|url-status=dead}}</ref> |
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There are also smaller Polish communities in |
There are also smaller Polish communities in [[Asia]] and [[Africa]], most notably [[Kazakhstan]] and [[South Africa]].<ref name="MSZ">{{cite web | url=http://www.msz.gov.pl/files/docs/polonia/Raport_PPG.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120721162143/http://www.msz.gov.pl/files/docs/polonia/Raport_PPG.pdf |archive-date=July 21, 2012 | title=Raport o sytuacji Polonii i Polaków za granicą (The official report on the situation of Poles and Polonia abroad) | publisher=Ministerstwo Spraw Zagranicznych ([[Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland]]) | location=Warsaw |year=2009 | access-date=May 16, 2018 | author=Wojciech Tyciński, Krzysztof Sawicki, Departament Współpracy z Polonią MSZ | pages=1–466 | format=PDF file, direct download 1.44 MB}}</ref> |
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==History== |
==History== |
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{{see also|Demographic history of Poland}} |
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Poles participated in the creation of the first European settlements in the Americas. In the 17th century, Polish missionaries arrived for the first time in [[Japan]]. Vast numbers of Poles left the country during the [[Partitions of Poland]] for economic and political reasons as well as the ethnic persecution practised by [[Russian Empire|Russia]], [[Prussia]] and [[Austria]]. |
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Many of the Poles who emigrated were [[Polish Jews|Jews]], who make up part of the [[Jewish diaspora]]. The [[Second Polish Republic]] was home to the world's largest [[History of Jews in Poland|Jewish]] population.<ref name="Dubnov">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vL60sEf7OPoC&q=%22a+revolution+was+drowned+in+Jewish+blood%22&pg=PA451 |title=History of the Jews in Russia and Poland |publisher=Avotaynu Inc. |access-date=2013-06-14 |author1=Semen M. Dubnov |author2=Simon Dubnow |year=2000 |isbn=9781886223110 |format=Google Books}}</ref> It was followed by invasions of Poland by Germany and the [[Soviet Union]]. Around 6 million [[Poland|Polish]] citizens perished during [[World War II]]: about one fifth of the pre-war population.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Tadeusz Piotrowski |first1=(in English) |title=Poland's Holocaust: Ethnic Strife, Collaboration with Occupying Forces and Genocide in the Second Republic, 1918-1947 |date=1998 |publisher=McFarland & Company |isbn=0-7864-0371-3 |page=305 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A4FlatJCro4C&q=poland+second+world+war+losses&pg=PA305}}</ref> Around 3 million of which were Polish Jews murdered in [[the Holocaust in Poland|the Holocaust]] by [[Nazi Germany]] during [[World War II]]. Most survivors subsequently migrated to [[Mandate Palestine]] since Poland was the only [[Eastern Bloc]] country to allow free Jewish [[aliyah]] without visas or exit permits at the end of the war.<ref name="D-H">Devorah Hakohen, [https://books.google.com/books?id=hCw6v0TFhdMC&dq=%22Poland+opened+its+gates+to+Jewish+emigration.%22&pg=PA70 ''Immigrants in Turmoil: Mass Immigration to Israel and its Repercussions...''] Syracuse University Press, 2003 - 325 pages. p. 70. {{nobreak|{{ISBN|0-8156-2969-9}}.}}</ref><ref name="Kochavi-175">{{cite web|last=Aleksiun|first=Natalia|title=Beriḥah|url=http://www.yivoencyclopedia.org/printarticle.aspx?id=219|publisher=YIVO|quote=Suggested reading: Arieh J. Kochavi, "Britain and the Jewish Exodus...," Polin 7 (1992): pp. 161–175}}</ref> Many remaining Jews, including [[Stalinism|Stalinist]] hardliners and members of [[Ministry of Public Security (Poland)|security apparatus]],<ref name="W-C">[http://www.wilsoncenter.org/topics/pubs/ACFC45.pdf Wilson Center, "New Evidence on Poland in the Early Cold War" By Andrzej Werblan] (PDF)</ref><ref name="Piotrowski-58-64">{{cite book |author=[[Tadeusz Piotrowski (sociologist)|Tadeusz Piotrowski]] |title =Poland's Holocaust: Ethnic Strife, Collaboration with Occupying Forces and Genocide... |year=1997 |pages=58–64 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hC0-dk7vpM8C&q=after+war+communists+supported+Jews+1945+Poland&pg=PA58 |publisher=McFarland & Company |isbn=0-7864-0371-3}}</ref> left Poland during the [[1968 Polish political crisis|1968 political crisis]], when the [[Polish United Workers' Party]], pressured by [[Leonid Brezhnev]], joined the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] "anti-[[Zionism|Zionist]]" campaign that was triggered by the [[Six-Day War]].<ref name="Friszke">[[Andrzej Friszke]], "[https://web.archive.org/web/20060922133211/http://sipa.columbia.edu/REGIONAL/ECE/friszke.html The March 1968 Protest Movement in Light of Ministry of Interior Reports to the Party Leadership]," Intermarium 1:1 (1997, translated from Polish, originally published in ''Więź'', March 1994).</ref><ref name="RE-R-2">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u75GldeYqUIC&q=%22The+war+polarised+relations+between+the+USSR+and+the+West.%22&pg=PA390|title=Excel HSC Modern History|first=Ronald E.|last=Ringer|date=August 9, 2006|publisher=Pascal Press|isbn=9780582381070|via=Google Books}}</ref> In 1998, Poland's Jewish population was estimated at 10,000 to 30,000.<ref name="E-N">[http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Europe/Poland-RELIGIONS.html Encyclopedia of the Nations: Poland—Religions], available at Advameg, 2010 ''(bottom)''</ref> |
Many of the Poles who emigrated were [[Polish Jews|Jews]], who make up part of the [[Jewish diaspora]]. The [[Second Polish Republic]] was home to the world's largest [[History of Jews in Poland|Jewish]] population.<ref name="Dubnov">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vL60sEf7OPoC&q=%22a+revolution+was+drowned+in+Jewish+blood%22&pg=PA451 |title=History of the Jews in Russia and Poland |publisher=Avotaynu Inc. |access-date=2013-06-14 |author1=Semen M. Dubnov |author2=Simon Dubnow |year=2000 |isbn=9781886223110 |format=Google Books}}</ref> It was followed by invasions of Poland by Germany and the [[Soviet Union]]. Around 6 million [[Poland|Polish]] citizens perished during [[World War II]]: about one fifth of the pre-war population.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Tadeusz Piotrowski |first1=(in English) |title=Poland's Holocaust: Ethnic Strife, Collaboration with Occupying Forces and Genocide in the Second Republic, 1918-1947 |date=1998 |publisher=McFarland & Company |isbn=0-7864-0371-3 |page=305 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A4FlatJCro4C&q=poland+second+world+war+losses&pg=PA305}}</ref> Around 3 million of which were Polish Jews murdered in [[the Holocaust in Poland|the Holocaust]] by [[Nazi Germany]] during [[World War II]]. Most survivors subsequently migrated to [[Mandate Palestine]] since Poland was the only [[Eastern Bloc]] country to allow free Jewish [[aliyah]] without visas or exit permits at the end of the war.<ref name="D-H">Devorah Hakohen, [https://books.google.com/books?id=hCw6v0TFhdMC&dq=%22Poland+opened+its+gates+to+Jewish+emigration.%22&pg=PA70 ''Immigrants in Turmoil: Mass Immigration to Israel and its Repercussions...''] Syracuse University Press, 2003 - 325 pages. p. 70. {{nobreak|{{ISBN|0-8156-2969-9}}.}}</ref><ref name="Kochavi-175">{{cite web|last=Aleksiun|first=Natalia|title=Beriḥah|url=http://www.yivoencyclopedia.org/printarticle.aspx?id=219|publisher=YIVO|quote=Suggested reading: Arieh J. Kochavi, "Britain and the Jewish Exodus...," Polin 7 (1992): pp. 161–175}}</ref> Many remaining Jews, including [[Stalinism|Stalinist]] hardliners and members of [[Ministry of Public Security (Poland)|security apparatus]],<ref name="W-C">[http://www.wilsoncenter.org/topics/pubs/ACFC45.pdf Wilson Center, "New Evidence on Poland in the Early Cold War" By Andrzej Werblan] (PDF)</ref><ref name="Piotrowski-58-64">{{cite book |author=[[Tadeusz Piotrowski (sociologist)|Tadeusz Piotrowski]] |title =Poland's Holocaust: Ethnic Strife, Collaboration with Occupying Forces and Genocide... |year=1997 |pages=58–64 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hC0-dk7vpM8C&q=after+war+communists+supported+Jews+1945+Poland&pg=PA58 |publisher=McFarland & Company |isbn=0-7864-0371-3}}</ref> left Poland during the [[1968 Polish political crisis|1968 political crisis]], when the [[Polish United Workers' Party]], pressured by [[Leonid Brezhnev]], joined the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] "anti-[[Zionism|Zionist]]" campaign that was triggered by the [[Six-Day War]].<ref name="Friszke">[[Andrzej Friszke]], "[https://web.archive.org/web/20060922133211/http://sipa.columbia.edu/REGIONAL/ECE/friszke.html The March 1968 Protest Movement in Light of Ministry of Interior Reports to the Party Leadership]," Intermarium 1:1 (1997, translated from Polish, originally published in ''Więź'', March 1994).</ref><ref name="RE-R-2">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u75GldeYqUIC&q=%22The+war+polarised+relations+between+the+USSR+and+the+West.%22&pg=PA390|title=Excel HSC Modern History|first=Ronald E.|last=Ringer|date=August 9, 2006|publisher=Pascal Press|isbn=9780582381070|via=Google Books}}</ref> In 1998, Poland's Jewish population was estimated at 10,000 to 30,000.<ref name="E-N">[http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Europe/Poland-RELIGIONS.html Encyclopedia of the Nations: Poland—Religions], available at Advameg, 2010 ''(bottom)''</ref> |
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A [[ |
A [[migrations from Poland since accession to the European Union|recent, large emigration]] of Poles took place after Poland acceded to the [[European Union]] and opening of the EU's labour market. About 2 million primarily young Poles took up jobs abroad.<ref name="onet">{{Cite web|url=https://wiadomosci.onet.pl/swiat/sueddeutsche-zeitung-polska-przezywa-najwieksza-fale-emigracji-od-100-lat/yrtt0|title="Sueddeutsche Zeitung": Polska przeżywa największą falę emigracji od 100 lat|date=September 26, 2014|website=Onet Wiadomości}}</ref> |
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Most Poles live in Europe, the Americas, and Australia, but a few Poles have settled in smaller numbers in Asia, Africa, and Oceania, as economic migrants or as part of Catholic missions. |
Most Poles live in Europe, the Americas, and Australia, but a few Poles have settled in smaller numbers in Asia, Africa, and Oceania, as economic migrants or as part of Catholic missions. |
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=== Austria === |
=== Austria === |
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{{further|Palais Lanckoroński}} |
{{further|Palais Lanckoroński}} |
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=== Azerbaijan === |
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An estimated 2,000 ethnic Poles live in Azerbaijan. |
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=== Belarus === |
=== Belarus === |
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{{legend|#B8B8B1|Up to 10% Polish}} |
{{legend|#B8B8B1|Up to 10% Polish}} |
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{{legend|#00009E|Border of Poland in 1939}}]] |
{{legend|#00009E|Border of Poland in 1939}}]] |
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According to the census, there are 396,000 Poles living in [[Belarus]] (official 1999 census;<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.belarusembassy.org/humanitarian/union_of_poles_in_belarus.htm|title=Union of Poles in Belarus<!-- Bot generated title -->|access-date=2007-07-01|archive-date=2007-06-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070607205536/http://www.belarusembassy.org/humanitarian/union_of_poles_in_belarus.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> the estimates are higher according to various NGOs). They form the second-largest ethnic minority in the country, after [[Russians]]. Most Poles live in western Belarus (including 294,000 in the [[Grodno Region]], {{ |
According to the census, there are 396,000 Poles living in [[Belarus]] (official 1999 census;<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.belarusembassy.org/humanitarian/union_of_poles_in_belarus.htm|title=Union of Poles in Belarus<!-- Bot generated title -->|access-date=2007-07-01|archive-date=2007-06-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070607205536/http://www.belarusembassy.org/humanitarian/union_of_poles_in_belarus.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> the estimates are higher according to various NGOs). They form the second-largest ethnic minority in the country, after [[Russians]]. Most Poles live in western Belarus (including 294,000 in the [[Grodno Region]], {{langx|pl|Grodzieńszczyzna}}). |
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During the Second World War, the Soviet Union forcibly resettled large numbers of Belarusian Poles to Russia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan. Few Belarusian Poles now live in [[Siberia]] and the [[Russian Far East]], and some of those who managed to survive resettlement returned to Poland after 1956. |
During the Second World War, the Soviet Union forcibly resettled large numbers of Belarusian Poles to Russia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan. Few Belarusian Poles now live in [[Siberia]] and the [[Russian Far East]], and some of those who managed to survive resettlement returned to Poland after 1956. |
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===Benelux=== |
===Benelux=== |
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{{main article|Poles in Luxembourg}} |
{{main article|Poles in Luxembourg}} |
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There were some migrations from Poland to the Netherlands in the [[early modern period]], with notable emmigrants including painters [[Krzysztof Lubieniecki]] and [[Teodor Lubieniecki]], and Admiral [[Krzysztof Arciszewski]] who served in the [[Dutch West India Company]].<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Bogucka|first=Maria|year=2011|title=Z dziejów stosunków polsko-holenderskich w XVI–XVII wieku|magazine=Czasy Nowożytne|language=pl|issue=24|pages=66, 71}}</ref> |
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⚫ | Polish immigration to the Netherlands has steadily increased since Poland joined the [[EU]], and now 173,231 Polish people live in the country (2021, first generation. Most of them are guest workers from the European Union contract labour program, as more Poles obtain light industrial jobs. The number of Polish nationals could double in the next decade, depending on economic conditions in Poland. Most [[Poles in the Netherlands]] are in [[The Hague]] (30,000), but Polish émigrés have been long settled in [[Amsterdam]] and industrial towns or cities like [[Utrecht]] and [[Groningen (city)|Groningen]]. Polish immigrants arrived to find employment in the country in the 19th and 20th centuries. |
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[[File:Bruxelles à travers les âges (1884) (14760315081).jpg|thumb|left|[[Great Emigration|Polish refugees]] received in [[Brussels]] after the [[November Uprising]]]] |
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⚫ | Belgium has 70,000 Poles, but the number of Belgians of Polish descent could be as high as 200,000). Present [[ |
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Some 200 Poles, mostly [[intelligentsia]] and military officers, fled to Belgium after the unsuccessful Polish [[November Uprising]] in the 1830s, with some 60 officers employed the Belgian army, including Polish General [[Jan Zygmunt Skrzynecki]], who was in charge of organizing the newly formed Belgian army, and others serving as instructors.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Lechwar-Wierzbicka|first=Edyta|year=2013|title=Powiązania polsko-belgijskie po powstaniu listopadowym|magazine=Athenaeum. Polskie Studia Politologiczne|language=pl|issue=39|issn=1505-2192|pages=166–167, 172–174}}</ref> The [[Great Emigration]] marked the first notable wave of Polish migration to Belgium.{{sfn|Wyszyński|Leszczyński|2023|pp=18–19}} Some 200 Poles fled to Belgium, mostly to Brussels, [[Ghent]] and Liège, after the fall of the Polish [[January Uprising]].<ref>Lechwar-Wierzbicka, p. 176</ref> |
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⚫ | Polish immigration to the Netherlands has steadily increased since Poland joined the [[EU]], and now 173,231 Polish people live in the country (2021, first generation. Most of them are guest workers from the European Union contract labour program, as more Poles obtain light industrial jobs. The number of Polish nationals could double in the next decade, depending on economic conditions in Poland. Most [[Poles in the Netherlands]] are in [[The Hague]] (30,000), but Polish émigrés have been long settled in [[Amsterdam]] and industrial towns or cities like [[Utrecht]] and [[Groningen (city)|Groningen]]. Polish immigrants arrived to find employment in the country in the 19th and 20th centuries. Some 3,200 Poles lived in the Netherlands in the 1920s. |
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⚫ | Belgium has 70,000 Poles, but the number of Belgians of Polish descent could be as high as 200,000). Present [[Queen of the Belgians]], [[Queen Mathilde of Belgium|Mathilde]], is daughter to a Pole, [[Anna Maria Komorowska|Countess Anna Maria d'Udekem d'Acoz, ''née'' Komorowska]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.monarchie.be/|title=The Belgian Monarchy|website=The Belgian Monarchy}}</ref> |
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Luxembourg has 4,844 (as of 2020).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://statistiques.public.lu/stat/TableViewer/tableViewHTML.aspx?ReportId=12859&IF_Language=eng&MainTheme=2&FldrName=1|title=Population by nationalities in detail 2011 - 2020|website=statistiques.public.lu|publisher=Statistics portal of the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg|date=1 April 2020|access-date=10 January 2024|archive-date=25 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200425100607/https://statistiques.public.lu/stat/TableViewer/tableViewHTML.aspx?ReportId=12859&IF_Language=eng&MainTheme=2&FldrName=1|url-status=dead}}</ref> |
Luxembourg has 4,844 (as of 2020).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://statistiques.public.lu/stat/TableViewer/tableViewHTML.aspx?ReportId=12859&IF_Language=eng&MainTheme=2&FldrName=1|title=Population by nationalities in detail 2011 - 2020|website=statistiques.public.lu|publisher=Statistics portal of the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg|date=1 April 2020|access-date=10 January 2024|archive-date=25 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200425100607/https://statistiques.public.lu/stat/TableViewer/tableViewHTML.aspx?ReportId=12859&IF_Language=eng&MainTheme=2&FldrName=1|url-status=dead}}</ref> |
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According to 2023 estimates of the Polish Embassy in [[Sofia]], some 5,500 Poles and people of Polish descent live in [[Bulgaria]].{{sfn|Wyszyński|Leszczyński|2023|p=22}} Polish presence in Bulgaria dates back to the 19th century, with Poles contributing to the development of the country, after it regained independence.{{sfn|Wyszyński|Leszczyński|2023|p=22}} |
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=== Czech Republic === |
=== Czech Republic === |
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===Denmark=== |
===Denmark=== |
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By 1904, there was a Polish community consisting of several thousand workers scattered throughout Denmark.<ref name=ap>{{cite book|last=Paczkowski|first=Andrzej|year=1977|title=Prasa polonijna w latach 1870–1939. Zarys problematyki|language=pl|publisher=[[Biblioteka Narodowa]]|location=Warszawa|page=118}}</ref> ''Polak w Danii'' ("Pole in Denmark"), the oldest Polish newspaper in Denmark, was first published in July 1918, several months before Poland regained independence.<ref name=ap/> |
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It is estimated that around 40,000 Poles live in Denmark. Most live in the capital, [[Copenhagen]].{{citation needed|date=December 2022}} |
It is estimated that around 40,000 Poles live in Denmark. Most live in the capital, [[Copenhagen]].{{citation needed|date=December 2022}} |
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===Finland=== |
===Finland=== |
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The history of the Polish community in Finland dates from the early 19th century when many Poles from the Russian-controlled part of the country settled there. In 1917, there were around 4,000 Poles in Finland, mostly soldiers of the [[Russian Imperial Army]], and |
The history of the Polish community in Finland dates from the early 19th century when many Poles from the Russian-controlled part of the country settled there. In 1917, there were around 4,000 Poles in Finland, mostly soldiers of the [[Russian Imperial Army]]. In 1917, the [[Polish Legion in Finland]] was formed to fight for Finnish independence and then stationed in [[Viipuri]], and after the Finnish victory some 2,500 Polish soldiers were evacuated to Poland.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Jaworski|first=Jacek|year=2015|title=Polacy w Finlandii: pierwsi przeciw bolszewikom|magazine=Pamięć.pl|language=pl|publisher=[[Institute of National Remembrance|IPN]]|issue=39|pages=22–24|issn=2084-7319}}</ref> Some 200 Poles lived in Finland in the 1920s. |
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Finland has never been a major destination for Polish immigrants, and only around 5,400 Poles live there. Most are well-educated: musicians, medical doctors, engineers and architects with families.<ref>Polish Embassy in Helsinki (2012), [https://web.archive.org/web/20120217040645/http://www.helsinki.polemb.net/index.php?document=46 POLONIA W FINLANDII: Struktura społeczna.] Ministerstwo Spraw Zagranicznych Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej. ''Wyróżnikiem Polonii fińskiej jest stosunkowo wysoki wskaźnik osób posiadających wykształcenie wyższe i średnie. Wśród najczęściej spotykanych zawodów występują muzycy, lekarze, inżynierowie różnych specjalności i architekci.''</ref> Around half lives in [[Helsinki]], and the biggest Polish organization there is the Polish Association, founded on April 3, 1917. |
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===France=== |
===France=== |
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{{further| |
{{further|Poles in France}} |
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[[File:Bibliothèque polonaise de Paris, 30 June 2011.jpg|thumb|upright=0.85|[[Polish Library in Paris]]]] |
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Between 500,000 and one million people of Polish descent live in France.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.krakowpost.com/2418/2010/11|title=Where is France's Polish Community?|first=Christopher|last=Dembik|work=The Krakow Post|date=4 November 2010|accessdate=20 March 2022}}</ref> They are concentrated in the [[Nord-Pas de Calais]] region, the metropolitan areas of [[Lille]] and [[Paris]] and the coal-mining basin (''Bassin Minier'') around [[Lens, Pas-de-Calais|Lens]] and [[Valenciennes]]. Prominent members have included [[Frédéric Chopin]], [[Adam Mickiewicz]], [[René Goscinny]], [[Marie Curie]], [[Michel Poniatowski]], [[Raymond Kopa]], [[Ludovic Obraniak]] and [[Edward Gierek]]. For centuries, there was an alliance between the [[Kingdom of France|France]] and the [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]]: the longest-reigning [[queen consort]] of France has been a Pole, [[Marie Leszczyńska]]. Many Poles settled in France after the rule of [[Napoleon]] and the collapse of the [[Duchy of Warsaw]], when 100,000 Poles, largely political refugees, fled the Russians and Prussians, who took over Poland. The [[Great Emigration]], from the first half of the 19th century onwards, caused many Poles to be enlisted to fight in the [[French army]]. Another wave of Polish migration took place between the two World Wars when many were hired as contract workers to work temporarily in France. Polish refugees also fled the Nazi and Soviet occupations in the 1940s. From 100,000 to 200,000 Poles have been estimated to live in [[Paris]]. Many EU immigrants are in southern France, including the cities of [[Arles]], [[Marseille]] and [[Perpignan]]. |
Between 500,000 and one million people of Polish descent live in France.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.krakowpost.com/2418/2010/11|title=Where is France's Polish Community?|first=Christopher|last=Dembik|work=The Krakow Post|date=4 November 2010|accessdate=20 March 2022}}</ref> They are concentrated in the [[Nord-Pas de Calais]] region, the metropolitan areas of [[Lille]] and [[Paris]] and the coal-mining basin (''Bassin Minier'') around [[Lens, Pas-de-Calais|Lens]] and [[Valenciennes]]. Prominent members have included [[Frédéric Chopin]], [[Adam Mickiewicz]], [[René Goscinny]], [[Marie Curie]], [[Michel Poniatowski]], [[Raymond Kopa]], [[Ludovic Obraniak]] and [[Edward Gierek]]. For centuries, there was an alliance between the [[Kingdom of France|France]] and the [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]]: the longest-reigning [[queen consort]] of France has been a Pole, [[Marie Leszczyńska]]. Many Poles settled in France after the rule of [[Napoleon]] and the collapse of the [[Duchy of Warsaw]], when 100,000 Poles, largely political refugees, fled the Russians and Prussians, who took over Poland. The [[Great Emigration]], from the first half of the 19th century onwards, caused many Poles to be enlisted to fight in the [[French army]]. Another wave of Polish migration took place between the two World Wars when many were hired as contract workers to work temporarily in France. Polish refugees also fled the Nazi and Soviet occupations in the 1940s. From 100,000 to 200,000 Poles have been estimated to live in [[Paris]]. Many EU immigrants are in southern France, including the cities of [[Arles]], [[Marseille]] and [[Perpignan]]. |
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===Germany=== |
===Germany=== |
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{{further|Poles in Germany}} |
{{further|Poles in Germany|Ruhrpolen}} |
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The second-largest Polonia in the world and the largest in Europe is the [[Polish minority in Germany]]. Estimates of the number of Poles living in Germany vary from 2 million<ref name=census2011>{{cite web|url=https://ergebnisse.zensus2011.de/#dynTable:statUnit=PERSON;absRel=ANZAHL;ags=00,02,01,13,03,05,09,14,16,08,15,12,11,10,07,06,04;agsAxis=X;yAxis=MHGLAND_HLND|title=Zensusdatenbank - Ergebnisse des Zensus 2011|access-date=25 April 2015|archive-date=5 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130605031517/https://ergebnisse.zensus2011.de/#dynTable:statUnit=PERSON;absRel=ANZAHL;ags=00,02,01,13,03,05,09,14,16,08,15,12,11,10,07,06,04;agsAxis=X;yAxis=MHGLAND_HLND|url-status=dead}}</ref> to about 3 million.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dziennikzachodni.pl/wiecej-praw-dla-polakow-albo-mniej-dla-niemcow/ar/175599?cookie=1|title=Więcej praw dla Polaków, albo mniej dla Niemców|date=October 20, 2009|website=Dziennik Zachodni}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://wspolnotapolska.org.pl/index.php|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150509185448/http://wspolnota-polska.org.pl/polonia_w_opracowaniach/15.html|url-status=dead|title="Stowarzyszenie Wspólnota Polska"|archivedate=May 9, 2015|website=wspolnotapolska.org.pl}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | title = Raport o sytuacji Polonii i Polaków za granicą 2012 | url = http://www.msz.gov.pl/resource/b8b3993a-2df7-408b-a4c4-20b7ef465d34:JCR | publisher = Ministerstwo Spraw Zagranicznych |page= 177 | year = 2013 | access-date = 27 November 2013 }}</ref> |
The second-largest Polonia in the world and the largest in Europe is the [[Polish minority in Germany]]. Estimates of the number of Poles living in Germany vary from 2 million<ref name=census2011>{{cite web|url=https://ergebnisse.zensus2011.de/#dynTable:statUnit=PERSON;absRel=ANZAHL;ags=00,02,01,13,03,05,09,14,16,08,15,12,11,10,07,06,04;agsAxis=X;yAxis=MHGLAND_HLND|title=Zensusdatenbank - Ergebnisse des Zensus 2011|access-date=25 April 2015|archive-date=5 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130605031517/https://ergebnisse.zensus2011.de/#dynTable:statUnit=PERSON;absRel=ANZAHL;ags=00,02,01,13,03,05,09,14,16,08,15,12,11,10,07,06,04;agsAxis=X;yAxis=MHGLAND_HLND|url-status=dead}}</ref> to about 3 million.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dziennikzachodni.pl/wiecej-praw-dla-polakow-albo-mniej-dla-niemcow/ar/175599?cookie=1|title=Więcej praw dla Polaków, albo mniej dla Niemców|date=October 20, 2009|website=Dziennik Zachodni}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://wspolnotapolska.org.pl/index.php|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150509185448/http://wspolnota-polska.org.pl/polonia_w_opracowaniach/15.html|url-status=dead|title="Stowarzyszenie Wspólnota Polska"|archivedate=May 9, 2015|website=wspolnotapolska.org.pl}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | title = Raport o sytuacji Polonii i Polaków za granicą 2012 | url = http://www.msz.gov.pl/resource/b8b3993a-2df7-408b-a4c4-20b7ef465d34:JCR | publisher = Ministerstwo Spraw Zagranicznych |page= 177 | year = 2013 | access-date = 27 November 2013 }}</ref> |
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The main Polonia organization is Kongres Polonii Niemieckiej / Polnischer Kongress in Deutschland. |
The main Polonia organization is Kongres Polonii Niemieckiej / Polnischer Kongress in Deutschland. |
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===Hungary=== |
===Hungary=== |
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{{main article|Poles in Hungary}} |
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The |
The Polish minority in Hungary is 7,001, according to the 2011 census,{{sfn|Wyszyński|Leszczyński|2023|p=69}} and has a long history of over 1000 years. The Kingdom of Poland and [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]] contained five exclaves in [[Eldership of Spisz|Spisz]] surrounded by territory of the [[Kingdom of Hungary]], and following the [[Partitions of Poland]], the Hungarian part of the [[Austro-Hungarian Empire]] (1867–1918), contained Spisz and [[Orava (region)|Orava]] with sizeable indigenous Polish populations.<ref>{{cite book|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich, Tom XV. Część II|year=1902|language=pl|location=Warszawa|page=414}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich, Tom XI|year=1890|language=pl|location=Warszawa|page=117}}</ref> [[Hungary–Poland relations]] are strong and positive and best described in a poem, "[[Pole, Hungarian, two good friends]]," about the fraternal sense of commonality in both Polish and Hungarian cultures. [[Budapest]] is home to a large Polish community, and there are also ethnic Poles in the northern part of the country, bordering [[Slovakia]] and [[Ukraine]]. Most Polish-Hungarians are practising [[Roman Catholics]], but many are members of the [[Eastern Catholic Church|Eastern (Polish-Carpathian or Carpato-Ukrainian)]] and [[Greek Catholic]] Churches.<ref name="MSZ" /> |
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===Iceland=== |
===Iceland=== |
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{{main article|Poles in Iceland}} |
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The Polish minority in [[Iceland]] is relatively new. As of 2019, Poles constitute roughly 5%<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://icelandnews.is/polonia-islandia/liczba-polakow-w-islandii-przekroczyla-20-000-osob|title=Liczba Polaków w Islandii przekroczyła 20 000 osób|website=News Iceland|date=29 August 2019 }}</ref> of the total population of Iceland and are, by far, the largest ethnic minority in the country.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://statice.is/|title=Statistics Iceland|website=Statistics Iceland}}</ref> |
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In 2021, [[Statistics Iceland]] recorded 18,508 Polish-born people living in Iceland, with Poles constituting roughly 5% of the total population.<ref name="hagstofa">{{cite web |url=https://px.hagstofa.is:443/pxen/sq/d6071e4c-c077-4a57-ae89-eaed7eac558a |title=Population by country of birth, sex and age 1 January 1998-2021: Poland |date=2021-01-01 |publisher=Statistics Iceland |access-date=2022-01-10}}</ref> Poles are, by far, the largest [[Demographics of Iceland#Immigration|ethnic minority]] in the country.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://statice.is/|title=Statistics Iceland|website=Statistics Iceland}}</ref>{{nonspecific|date=September 2024}} |
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===Ireland=== |
===Ireland=== |
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===Italy=== |
===Italy=== |
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The Polish minority in Italy is |
The Polish minority of confirmed status in Italy is 74,981, whereas the estimated total is 100,000, as of 2023.{{sfn|Wyszyński|Leszczyński|2023|p=72}} Most Poles are late-20th-century immigrants drawn by the Italian economy's desire for imported labour. Large Polish immigrant communities are found in [[Rome]], [[Milan]] and [[Venice]]. Polish immigration to Italy might continue while the EU contract labour program between the two countries remains in place. |
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History of Polish migration to Italy dates back over 500 years.{{sfn|Wyszyński|Leszczyński|2023|p=72}} In the 1920s, some 1,000 Poles lived in Italy, mostly clergy, artists, scholars and students, with Polish associations active in Rome and [[Trieste]]. |
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===Latvia=== |
===Latvia=== |
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[[File:GimnazjumPolskieDyneburg.JPG|thumb|J. Piłsudski [[Daugavpils]] State Polish Gymnasium]] |
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{{further|Poles in Latvia}}Poles form about 2.3% of [[Latvia|Latvia's]] total population and number 51,548 people.{{Citation needed|date=October 2022}} They are mainly concentrated in Latvia's largest cities: [[Riga]] and [[Daugavpils]]. Since most of them don't use [[Latvian language|Latvian]] as their primary language their citizenship status can vary. |
{{further|Poles in Latvia}}Poles form about 2.3% of [[Latvia|Latvia's]] total population and number 51,548 people.{{Citation needed|date=October 2022}} They are mainly concentrated in Latvia's largest cities: [[Riga]] and [[Daugavpils]]. Since most of them don't use [[Latvian language|Latvian]] as their primary language their citizenship status can vary. |
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{{further|Poles in Lithuania}} |
{{further|Poles in Lithuania}} |
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According to 2021 census, Poles are 6.52% of Lithuania's population<ref>[https://medianarodowe.com/2022/01/17/polacy-wciaz-trzymaja-sie-mocno-na-litwie/ Polacy wciąż trzymają się mocno na Litwie. Ujawniono pierwsze wyniki spisu ludności. Media Narodowe]</ref> and over 16% of [[Vilnius]] population.<ref>[https://worldpopulationreview.com/world-cities/vilnius-population/ Vilnius population review]</ref> |
According to 2021 census, Poles are 6.52% of Lithuania's population, totaling 183,421 people<ref>[https://medianarodowe.com/2022/01/17/polacy-wciaz-trzymaja-sie-mocno-na-litwie/ Polacy wciąż trzymają się mocno na Litwie. Ujawniono pierwsze wyniki spisu ludności. Media Narodowe]</ref> and over 16% of [[Vilnius]] population.<ref>[https://worldpopulationreview.com/world-cities/vilnius-population/ Vilnius population review]</ref> |
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=== Malta === |
=== Malta === |
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[[File:Biserica catolică din vîrful ruinelor sinagogii.jpg|thumb|Polish [[Saint Cajetan Church, Rașcov]], Moldova]] |
[[File:Biserica catolică din vîrful ruinelor sinagogii.jpg|thumb|Polish [[Saint Cajetan Church, Rașcov]], Moldova]] |
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{{main articles|Poles in Moldova|Poles in Transnistria}} |
{{main articles|Poles in Moldova|Poles in Transnistria}} |
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Polish presence in the territories of present-day [[Moldova]] dates back several centuries, as the northern part of modern [[Transnistria]] formed part of the [[Crown of the Kingdom of Poland|Kingdom of Poland]] before the [[Partitions of Poland]], and the [[Principality of Moldavia]] was a vassal state of the Kingdom of Poland and the [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]] at various times. The most numerous Polish communities in Moldova live in the cities of [[Bălți]], [[Chișinău]], [[Rîbnița]] (former {{ |
Polish presence in the territories of present-day [[Moldova]] dates back several centuries, as the northern part of modern [[Transnistria]] formed part of the [[Crown of the Kingdom of Poland|Kingdom of Poland]] before the [[Partitions of Poland]], and the [[Principality of Moldavia]] was a vassal state of the Kingdom of Poland and the [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]] at various times. The most numerous Polish communities in Moldova live in the cities of [[Bălți]], [[Chișinău]], [[Rîbnița]] (former {{langx|pl|link=no|Rybnica}}) and [[Tiraspol]]. According to the 2004 census, comprising both Moldova and Transnistria, there were 4,174 Poles in the country.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-08-02 |title=Rezultatele Recensământului Populației și al Locuințelor 2014 (RPL2014) |url=https://statistica.gov.md/ro/recensamantul-populatiei-si-al-locuintelor-2014-122.html |access-date=2024-04-14 |website=Rezultatele Recensământului Populației și al Locuințelor 2014 (RPL2014) |language=ro}}</ref> |
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===Norway=== |
===Norway=== |
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{{further|Poles in Norway}} |
{{further|Poles in Norway}} |
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According to the [[Statistics Norway|Norwegian Statistics Bureau]] (''Statistisk sentralbyrå''), there are 137,425 Poles in Norway (2024 Official Norway estimate)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ssb.no/en/befolkning/innvandrere/statistikk/innvandrere-og-norskfodte-med-innvandrerforeldre|title=Immigrants and Norwegian-born to immigrant parents|website=SSB}}</ref> and makeup 2.48% of the Norwegian population. It is the largest ethnic minority in the country. Norway has recently experienced an influx of Polish migrant workers. This is because Norway is a member of the [[European Economic Area]], providing the same free movement of labour as between members of the [[European Union]]. |
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=== Portugal === |
=== Portugal === |
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{{further|Polish minority in Romania}} |
{{further|Polish minority in Romania}} |
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According to the |
According to the 2021 census, 2,137 Poles live in Romania, mainly in the villages of the [[Suceava County]] ({{langx|pl|Suczawa}}).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Population and housing census, 2021 - provisional results {{!}} National Institute of Statistics |url=https://insse.ro/cms/en/content/population-and-housing-census-2021-provisional-results |access-date=2024-04-14 |website=insse.ro}}</ref> There are even three exclusively Polish villages: ''Nowy Sołoniec'' ([[Cacica#Solonețu Nou|Soloneţu Nou]]), ''Plesza'' ([[Pleşa, Suceava|Pleşa]]), and ''Pojana Mikuli'' ([[Poiana Micului]]). Poles in Romania form an officially recognised [[national minority]] and have one seat in the [[Chamber of Deputies (Romania)|Chamber of Deputies]] (currently held by [[Ghervazen Longher]]) and access to Polish elementary schools and cultural centres (known as "Polish Houses"). |
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===Russia=== |
===Russia=== |
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===Serbia=== |
===Serbia=== |
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There is a small community of descendants of [[Silesians|Silesian]] miners in [[Ostojićevo]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.blic.rs/vesti/reportaza/potomci-bosonogih-rudara/h4vv75p|title=Potomci bosonogih rudara|first=Momčilo|last=Petrović|website=Blic.rs}}</ref> In the 2011 census, 741 declared themselves as Poles.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://webrzs.stat.gov.rs/WebSite/userFiles/file/Aktuelnosti/Etnicke_zajednice_sa_manje_od_2000_pripadnika_i_dvojako_izjasnjeni.pdf|title=Попис становништва, домаћинстава и станова 2011. у Републици Србији: Становништво према националној припадности - "Остали" етничке заједнице са мање од 2000 припадника и двојако изјашњени}}</ref> |
There is a small community of descendants of [[Silesians|Silesian]] miners in [[Ostojićevo]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.blic.rs/vesti/reportaza/potomci-bosonogih-rudara/h4vv75p|title=Potomci bosonogih rudara|first=Momčilo|last=Petrović|website=Blic.rs|date=28 November 2015 }}</ref> In the 2011 census, 741 declared themselves as Poles.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://webrzs.stat.gov.rs/WebSite/userFiles/file/Aktuelnosti/Etnicke_zajednice_sa_manje_od_2000_pripadnika_i_dvojako_izjasnjeni.pdf|title=Попис становништва, домаћинстава и станова 2011. у Републици Србији: Становништво према националној припадности - "Остали" етничке заједнице са мање од 2000 припадника и двојако изјашњени}}</ref> |
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===Slovakia=== |
===Slovakia=== |
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===Sweden=== |
===Sweden=== |
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{{main article|Poles in Sweden}} |
{{main article|Poles in Sweden}} |
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[[File:Apoteket Måsen Göteborg.jpg|thumb|Polish community center in [[Gothenburg]]]] |
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⚫ | Like only the United Kingdom and Ireland, Sweden let Poles work in the country once Poland joined the European Union in 2004. The [[Poles in Sweden]] has been estimated to be around |
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During [[World War II]], the [[Polish resistance movement in World War II|Polish resistance]], in cooperation with Polish outposts in Sweden, organized escapes of Poles from [[Occupation of Poland (1939–1945)|German-occupied Poland]] to Sweden by sea.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Chrzanowski|first=Bogdan|title=Organizacja sieci przerzutów drogą morską z Polski do Szwecji w latach okupacji hitlerowskiej (1939–1945)|journal=Stutthof. Zeszyty Muzeum|language=pl|volume=5|pages=16, 24, 34–35|issn=0137-5377}}</ref> |
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⚫ | Like only the United Kingdom and Ireland, Sweden let Poles work in the country once Poland joined the European Union in 2004. The number of [[Poles in Sweden]] has been estimated to be around 115,985 people, 98,387 of who were born in Poland and 17,598 with both of their parents being born in Poland. Poles are thus Sweden's fifth-largest immigrant group, after [[Finns]], [[Iraqis]], former [[Yugoslavs]] ([[Bosnians]], [[Croats]], [[Serbs]]) and [[Syrians]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.scb.se/Statistik/BE/BE0101/2012A01x/be0101_Fodelseland_och_ursprungsland.xls |title=Befolkning efter födelseland och ursprungsland 31 december 2012 |publisher=[[Statistics Sweden]] |date=31 December 2013 |access-date=4 November 2014|language=sv}}</ref> Most of them are guest workers who have been invited to Sweden since 1990 by contracts with the Swedish government. Most Polish residents live in [[Stockholm]], and the rest live south of the city, toward the [[Baltic Sea]]. Historically, Poland and Sweden had some cultural exchange. |
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===Switzerland=== |
===Switzerland=== |
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[[File:Pilots of No. 303 (Polish) Squadron RAF with one of their Hawker Hurricanes, October 1940. CH1535.jpg|thumb|left|Pilots of [[No. 303 Polish Fighter Squadron]] with one of their [[Hawker Hurricane|Hurricanes]] during the [[Battle of Britain]], October 1940]] |
[[File:Pilots of No. 303 (Polish) Squadron RAF with one of their Hawker Hurricanes, October 1940. CH1535.jpg|thumb|left|Pilots of [[No. 303 Polish Fighter Squadron]] with one of their [[Hawker Hurricane|Hurricanes]] during the [[Battle of Britain]], October 1940]] |
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It was only after the [[First World War]] that Poles settled in large numbers in [[London]] – many from the [[Prisoner of War]] camps in [[Alexandra Palace]] and [[Feltham]]. During the [[Second World War]] many Poles came to the United Kingdom as political émigrés and to join the [[Polish Armed Forces in the West]] being recreated there. When the Second World War ended, a [[Communist]] government was installed in Poland and was hostile to servicemen returning from the West. |
It was only after the [[First World War]] that Poles settled in large numbers in [[London]] – many from the [[Prisoner of War]] camps in [[Alexandra Palace]] and [[Feltham]]. During the [[Second World War]] many Poles came to the United Kingdom as political émigrés and to join the [[Polish Armed Forces in the West]] being recreated there. When the Second World War ended, a [[Communist]] government was installed in Poland and was hostile to servicemen returning from the West. Many soldiers refused to return to Poland, and around 150,000, after occupying resettlement camps, later settled in the UK. The [[Polish Government in Exile|Polish Government in London]] was not dissolved until 1991 when a freely elected president took office in [[Warsaw]]. |
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After Poland entered the [[European Union]] in May 2004, Poles gained the right to work in some other EU countries. While France and Germany put in place temporary controls to curb Central European migration, the United Kingdom (along with only Sweden and Ireland) did not impose restrictions. Many young Poles have come to work in the UK since then. |
After Poland entered the [[European Union]] in May 2004, Poles gained the right to work in some other EU countries. While France and Germany put in place temporary controls to curb Central European migration, the United Kingdom (along with only Sweden and Ireland) did not impose restrictions. Many young Poles have come to work in the UK since then. |
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⚫ | |||
Estimates for the total number of people now living in the UK and born in Poland or of Polish descent vary significantly. There were an estimated 831,000 Polish-born residents in 2015<ref name="BBCnumber1">{{cite news|title=Poland overtakes India as country of origin, UK migration statistics show|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-37183733|work=[[BBC News]]|date=25 August 2016|access-date=28 September 2016}}</ref> and one million by 2017.<ref name="ukons">{{cite web|title=Population of the UK by country of birth and nationality: 2017|url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/internationalmigration/bulletins/ukpopulationbycountryofbirthandnationality/2017#poland-remains-the-most-common-non-uk-country-of-birth-and-non-british-nationality|publisher=[[Office for National Statistics]]|access-date=26 June 2018}}</ref> Other than London, Poles have settled in [[Southampton]] in Hampshire, [[Manchester]], [[Bolton]] and [[Bury, Greater Manchester|Bury]] in Greater Manchester and [[Chorley]] in Lancashire. There are also large concentrations in [[Bradford]], [[Leeds]], [[Coventry]] and [[Nottingham]], as well as South Yorkshire, South Wales, [[Herefordshire]], [[Rugby, Warwickshire|Rugby]], [[Banbury]], [[Slough]], [[Redditch]] and [[Swindon]].<ref name="MSZ" /> |
Estimates for the total number of people now living in the UK and born in Poland or of Polish descent vary significantly. There were an estimated 831,000 Polish-born residents in 2015<ref name="BBCnumber1">{{cite news|title=Poland overtakes India as country of origin, UK migration statistics show|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-37183733|work=[[BBC News]]|date=25 August 2016|access-date=28 September 2016}}</ref> and one million by 2017.<ref name="ukons">{{cite web|title=Population of the UK by country of birth and nationality: 2017|url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/internationalmigration/bulletins/ukpopulationbycountryofbirthandnationality/2017#poland-remains-the-most-common-non-uk-country-of-birth-and-non-british-nationality|publisher=[[Office for National Statistics]]|access-date=26 June 2018}}</ref> Other than London, Poles have settled in [[Southampton]] in Hampshire, [[Manchester]], [[Bolton]] and [[Bury, Greater Manchester|Bury]] in Greater Manchester and [[Chorley]] in Lancashire. There are also large concentrations in [[Bradford]], [[Leeds]], [[Coventry]] and [[Nottingham]], as well as South Yorkshire, South Wales, [[Herefordshire]], [[Rugby, Warwickshire|Rugby]], [[Banbury]], [[Slough]], [[Redditch]] and [[Swindon]].<ref name="MSZ" /> |
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[[File:Pope-jp-roncesvalles.jpg|thumb|The Pope John Paul II statue in [[Toronto]]|243x243px]] |
[[File:Pope-jp-roncesvalles.jpg|thumb|The Pope John Paul II statue in [[Toronto]]|243x243px]] |
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[[File:Polish Village.jpg|left|thumb|Polish store on [[Milwaukee Avenue (Chicago)|Milwaukee Avenue]], [[Chicago]]|248x248px]]The United States and Canada were the major focus of Polish political and economic migration since 1850 up until [[revolutions of 1989|the fall of the Iron Curtain]]. |
[[File:Polish Village.jpg|left|thumb|Polish store on [[Milwaukee Avenue (Chicago)|Milwaukee Avenue]], [[Chicago]]|248x248px]]The United States and Canada were the major focus of Polish political and economic migration since 1850 up until [[revolutions of 1989|the fall of the Iron Curtain]] and [[Enlargement of the European Union|Poland’s accession into the EU]]. |
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===Canada=== |
===Canada=== |
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===Mexico=== |
===Mexico=== |
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{{further|Polish |
{{further|Polish Mexicans}} |
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[[File:Muestra_folklórica_de_la_comunidad_polaca_de_México.JPG|thumb|207x207px|Folk dancers of Polish community from [[Mexico]]]] |
[[File:Muestra_folklórica_de_la_comunidad_polaca_de_México.JPG|thumb|207x207px|Folk dancers of Polish community from [[Mexico]]]] |
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The first Polish immigrants to Mexico arrived in the late 19th century. During [[World War II]], Mexico received thousands of refugees from Poland, primarily of Jewish origin, who settled in the states of [[Chihuahua (state)|Chihuahua]] and [[Nuevo León]].<ref name="Poles in Mexico">{{Cite web |date=February 13, 2009 |title=Embajada de la Repùblica de Polonia en Mèxico |url=http://www.meksyk.polemb.net/index.php?document=31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090213193628/http://www.meksyk.polemb.net/index.php?document=31 |archive-date=2009-02-13}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Polacos en México, el exilio olvidado :: Noticieros Televisa |url=http://www2.esmas.com/noticierostelevisa/cultura/124704/polacos-mexico-exilio-olvidado |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100128114825/http://www2.esmas.com/noticierostelevisa/cultura/124704/polacos-mexico-exilio-olvidado |archive-date=2010-01-28 |access-date=2010-05-07}}</ref> |
The first Polish immigrants to Mexico arrived in the late 19th century. During [[World War II]], Mexico received thousands of refugees from Poland, primarily of Jewish origin, who settled in the states of [[Chihuahua (state)|Chihuahua]] and [[Nuevo León]].<ref name="Poles in Mexico">{{Cite web |date=February 13, 2009 |title=Embajada de la Repùblica de Polonia en Mèxico |url=http://www.meksyk.polemb.net/index.php?document=31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090213193628/http://www.meksyk.polemb.net/index.php?document=31 |archive-date=2009-02-13}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Polacos en México, el exilio olvidado :: Noticieros Televisa |url=http://www2.esmas.com/noticierostelevisa/cultura/124704/polacos-mexico-exilio-olvidado |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100128114825/http://www2.esmas.com/noticierostelevisa/cultura/124704/polacos-mexico-exilio-olvidado |archive-date=2010-01-28 |access-date=2010-05-07}}</ref> |
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===Argentina=== |
===Argentina=== |
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{{further|Polish minority in Argentina}} |
{{further|Polish minority in Argentina}} |
||
In Argentina, Poles are one of the most significant minorities, with around |
In Argentina, Poles are one of the most significant minorities, with around 2,000,000.<ref name="Clarin2004"/> The Parliament of Argentina has declared June 8 to be Polish Settlers' Day.<ref name="MSZ" /> |
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===Brazil=== |
===Brazil=== |
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==Oceania== |
==Oceania== |
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===Australia=== |
===Australia=== |
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{{further|Polish |
{{further|Polish Australians}} |
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[[File:Polish Dozynki Festival in Adelaide, Australia, 2007.jpg|thumb|Polish [[Dożynki]] Festival in [[Adelaide]], [[South Australia]]]] |
[[File:Polish Dozynki Festival in Adelaide, Australia, 2007.jpg|thumb|Polish [[Dożynki]] Festival in [[Adelaide]], [[South Australia]]]] |
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The first Polish settlers arrived in [[South Australia]] in 1856. After [[World War II]], many [[displaced person]]s migrated from Poland to Australia, including soldiers from the [[Polish Independent Carpathian Brigade]] (the "[[Rats of Tobruk]]"). |
The first Polish settlers arrived in [[South Australia]] in 1856. After [[World War II]], many [[displaced person]]s migrated from Poland to Australia, including soldiers from the [[Polish Independent Carpathian Brigade]] (the "[[Rats of Tobruk]]"). |
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===New Zealand=== |
===New Zealand=== |
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{{further|Polish New |
{{further|Polish New Zealanders}} |
||
In 1944, more than 700 Polish orphans, survivors of forced resettlement of Poles to Soviet [[Siberia]], and their caregivers were temporarily resettled at a refugee camp at [[Pahiatua]], New Zealand. It was initially planned for the children to return to Poland after World War II ended, but as they had no homes or families to return to, they were eventually allowed to stay in New Zealand after the end of the war.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.polishheritage.co.nz/?page_id=52|title=Pahiatua children | Polish Heritage Trust Museum}}</ref> |
In 1944, more than 700 Polish orphans, survivors of forced resettlement of Poles to Soviet [[Siberia]], and their caregivers were temporarily resettled at a refugee camp at [[Pahiatua]], New Zealand. It was initially planned for the children to return to Poland after World War II ended, but as they had no homes or families to return to, they were eventually allowed to stay in New Zealand after the end of the war.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.polishheritage.co.nz/?page_id=52|title=Pahiatua children | Polish Heritage Trust Museum}}</ref> |
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===India=== |
===India=== |
||
[[File:Maharaja with kids and women from Poland.jpg|thumb|Maharaja [[Digvijaysinhji Ranjitsinhji Jadeja]] with Polish children in 1943]] |
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The Indian maharaja [[Digvijaysinhji Ranjitsinhji]], following the news of Poland being divided by the [[Soviet Union]] and [[Nazi Germany]] at the [[World War II]], had welcomed a large number of Polish refugees, mostly children. They were the first Polish group to be in India.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/polish-refugees-in-india|title = During WWII, Polish Refugees Found a Home in India|date = 28 November 2018}}</ref> After the war, a small number of Poles decided to stay, forming the first Polish diaspora group in India. |
The Indian maharaja [[Digvijaysinhji Ranjitsinhji]], following the news of Poland being divided by the [[Soviet Union]] and [[Nazi Germany]] at the [[World War II]], had welcomed a large number of Polish refugees, mostly children. They were the first Polish group to be in India.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/polish-refugees-in-india|title = During WWII, Polish Refugees Found a Home in India|date = 28 November 2018}}</ref> After the war, a small number of Poles decided to stay, forming the first Polish diaspora group in India. |
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===Israel=== |
|||
⚫ | In the early years of [[Zionism]], Jewish immigrants from Poland (then divided between [[Austria-Hungary]], [[The Kingdom of Prussia]] and the [[Russian Empire]]) were a significant part of the ideologically motivated immigration to the then [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]] during the [[Second Aliya]] and the [[Third Aliyah]]. Many Jews of Polish origin had prominent roles in building up the [[Yishuv]], the autonomous Zionist-oriented Jewish community in [[Mandatory Palestine]] from which Israel developed. In the aftermath of the [[Holocaust]], many [[displaced persons camps in post-World War II Europe|Jewish Displaced Persons]] in Europe who eventually got to Israel were also of Polish origin. In later generations, they generally abandoned the Polish and Yiddish languages, in favour of [[Modern Hebrew]]. |
||
⚫ | About 4,000 non-Jewish ethnic Poles live in Israel. There are also about 50,000 Jewish immigrants from Poland, with an affinity to the Polish language and culture and about 150,000 of their descendants with very little of that affinity left.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cbs.gov.il/shnaton63/st02_24x.pdf|title=Oops, Something is wrong|website=www.cbs.gov.il}}</ref> |
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===Japan=== |
===Japan=== |
||
{{main article|Poles in Japan}} |
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Recently 1,626 residents from Poland were registered in Japan from 2000 to 2018.{{cn|date=March 2023}} |
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1,510 Poles lived in Japan, as of 2023; the majority (915) in [[Kantō region]] and [[Tokyo]].{{sfn|Wyszyński|Leszczyński|2023|p=42}} |
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In the 1920s, some 300 Poles lived in Japan, mostly in the [[Karafuto Prefecture]]. |
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===Kazakhstan=== |
===Kazakhstan=== |
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===Kyrgyzstan=== |
===Kyrgyzstan=== |
||
{{main article|Poles in Kyrgyzstan}} |
{{main article|Poles in Kyrgyzstan}} |
||
Polish presence in [[Kyrgyzstan]] dates back to the 19th century, with the community growing from 240 in 1890 to 1,961 in 1979.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/sng_nac_79.php?reg=11|title=Киргизская АССР|website=Demoscope Weekly|access-date=10 January 2024}}</ref> According to estimates from 2007, some 1,400 Poles lived in Kyrgyzstan.<ref name=awp>{{cite web|url=http://archiwum.wspolnotapolska.org.pl/?id=pwko00|title=Polonia w liczbach|website=Wspólnota Polska|access-date=10 January 2024|language=pl|archive-url= |
Polish presence in [[Kyrgyzstan]] dates back to the 19th century, with the community growing from 240 in 1890 to 1,961 in 1979.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/sng_nac_79.php?reg=11|title=Киргизская АССР|website=Demoscope Weekly|access-date=10 January 2024}}</ref> According to estimates from 2007, some 1,400 Poles lived in Kyrgyzstan.<ref name=awp>{{cite web|url=http://archiwum.wspolnotapolska.org.pl/?id=pwko00|title=Polonia w liczbach|website=Wspólnota Polska|access-date=10 January 2024|language=pl|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120415121919/http://archiwum.wspolnotapolska.org.pl/?id=pwko00|archive-date=15 April 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> |
||
⚫ | |||
⚫ | In the early years of [[Zionism]], Jewish immigrants from Poland (then divided between [[Austria-Hungary]], [[The Kingdom of Prussia]] and the [[Russian Empire]]) were a significant part of the ideologically motivated immigration to the then [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]] during the [[Second Aliya]] and the [[Third Aliyah]]. Many Jews of Polish origin had prominent roles in building up the [[Yishuv]], the autonomous Zionist-oriented Jewish community in [[Mandatory Palestine]] from which Israel developed. In the aftermath of the [[Holocaust]], many [[displaced persons camps in post-World War II Europe|Jewish Displaced Persons]] in Europe who eventually got to Israel were also of Polish origin. In later generations, they generally abandoned the Polish and Yiddish languages, in favour of [[Modern Hebrew]]. |
||
⚫ | About 4,000 non-Jewish ethnic Poles live in Israel. There are also about 50,000 Jewish immigrants from Poland, with an affinity to the Polish language and culture and about 150,000 of their descendants with very little of that affinity left.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cbs.gov.il/shnaton63/st02_24x.pdf|title=Oops, Something is wrong|website=www.cbs.gov.il}}</ref> |
||
===Pakistan=== |
===Pakistan=== |
||
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{{main article|Polish settlement in the Philippines}} |
{{main article|Polish settlement in the Philippines}} |
||
During Spanish colonization, most Poles immigrated to the Philippines mostly for the Catholic clergy missionary work in other Asian countries. One of these Polish men was [[Wojciech Męciński]] a Jesuit missionary from [[Kraków]]. Later on, other Poles came to the Philippines but mostly they were Polish Americans, including Michael Sendzimir, a second lieutenant who worked in the 98th Infantry Division during World War II. Today the Polish community in the Philippines has about 93 people. Some of these Poles today come to the Philippines as immigrants, ex-pats, foreign exchange students, or settled down in the Philippines by their Filipino spouses. some members of the Polish community in the Philippines, include Robert Jaworski a basketball player and an ex-senator, Zaldy Zshornack (1937-2002) and an Australian Polish man Peter Pysk founded a Polish restaurant called Babci Kuchnia. Most of the Poles live in Metro Manila, and the Polish community is the Fourth-largest Central European community after the German, Hungarian, and Albanian communities in the country.{{cn|date=March 2023}} |
During Spanish colonization, most Poles immigrated to the Philippines mostly for the Catholic clergy missionary work in other Asian countries. One of these Polish men was [[Wojciech Męciński]] a Jesuit missionary from [[Kraków]]. Later on, other Poles came to the Philippines but mostly they were Polish Americans, including Michael Sendzimir, a second lieutenant who worked in the 98th Infantry Division during World War II. Today the Polish community in the Philippines has about 93 people. Some of these Poles today come to the Philippines as immigrants, ex-pats, foreign exchange students, or settled down in the Philippines by their Filipino spouses. some members of the Polish community in the Philippines, include Robert Jaworski a basketball player and an ex-senator, Zaldy Zshornack (1937-2002) and an Australian Polish man Peter Pysk founded a Polish restaurant called Babci Kuchnia. Most of the Poles live in Metro Manila, and the Polish community is the Fourth-largest Central European community after the German, Hungarian, and Albanian communities in the country.{{cn|date=March 2023}} |
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===Saudi Arabia=== |
|||
Some 500 Poles live in [[Saudi Arabia]], mostly educated professionals, according to estimates from 2023.{{sfn|Wyszyński|Leszczyński|2023|p=14}} |
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===Singapore=== |
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Some 1,500 to 2,000 Poles live in [[Singapore]], mostly educated employees of the maritime sector, international corporations and banks, plus scientists, according to estimates from 2023.{{sfn|Wyszyński|Leszczyński|2023|p=60}} |
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===Tajikistan=== |
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{{main article|Poles in Tajikistan}} |
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According to the 2010 census, 23 Poles lived in Tajikistan, although the diaspora was much more numerous, with over 700 people prior to the [[Tajikistani Civil War]].<ref>{{cite book|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|url=http://stat.tj/en/img/526b8592e834fcaaccec26a22965ea2b_1355502192.pdf|title=Национальный состав, владение языками и гражданство населения Республики Таджикистан|volume=III|year=2012|language=tg|publisher=Агентии омори назди Президенти Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон|page=8|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116004155/http://stat.tj/en/img/526b8592e834fcaaccec26a22965ea2b_1355502192.pdf|archive-date=16 January 2013}}</ref> |
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===Thailand=== |
===Thailand=== |
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===Turkmenistan=== |
===Turkmenistan=== |
||
{{main article|Poles in Turkmenistan}} |
{{main article|Poles in Turkmenistan}} |
||
Polish presence in [[Turkmenistan]] dates back to the 19th century. According to the 1995 census, 501 lived in Turkmenistan.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://asgabat.net/turkmenistan/itogi-vseobschei-perepisi-naselenija-turkmenistana-po-nacionalnomu-sostavu-v-1995-godu.html|title=Итоги всеобщей переписи населения Туркменистана по национальному составу в 1995 году|access-date=10 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130313015500/http://asgabat.net/turkmenistan/itogi-vseobschei-perepisi-naselenija-turkmenistana-po-nacionalnomu-sostavu-v-1995-godu.html|archive-date=13 March 2013}}</ref> |
Polish presence in [[Turkmenistan]] dates back to the 19th century. According to the 1995 census, 501 Poles lived in Turkmenistan.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://asgabat.net/turkmenistan/itogi-vseobschei-perepisi-naselenija-turkmenistana-po-nacionalnomu-sostavu-v-1995-godu.html|title=Итоги всеобщей переписи населения Туркменистана по национальному составу в 1995 году|access-date=10 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130313015500/http://asgabat.net/turkmenistan/itogi-vseobschei-perepisi-naselenija-turkmenistana-po-nacionalnomu-sostavu-v-1995-godu.html|archive-date=13 March 2013}}</ref> |
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===United Arab Emirates=== |
===United Arab Emirates=== |
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[[File:Cathedral of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ.jpg|thumb|[[Sacred Heart Cathedral, Tashkent]], also known as the Polish Church]] |
[[File:Cathedral of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ.jpg|thumb|[[Sacred Heart Cathedral, Tashkent]], also known as the Polish Church]] |
||
{{main article|Poles in Uzbekistan}} |
{{main article|Poles in Uzbekistan}} |
||
Polish presence in [[Uzbekistan]] dates back to the 19th century. According to estimates from |
Polish presence in [[Uzbekistan]] dates back to the 19th century. According to estimates from 2023, some 2,000 Poles and people of Polish descent lived in Uzbekistan.{{sfn|Wyszyński|Leszczyński|2023|p=67}} |
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===Vietnam=== |
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Some 200 to 300 Poles lived in Vietnam, according to 2023 estimates, including managers, entrepreneurs and teachers.{{sfn|Wyszyński|Leszczyński|2023|p=71}} |
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==Africa== |
==Africa== |
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A number of Polish missionaries worked in Senegal, starting with Jan Krzyżanowski, who lived there from 1932 until his death in 1963, making efforts to discover cures for [[yellow fever]] and other tropical diseases.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Ndiaye|first=Bara|year=2006|title=Stosunki polsko-senegalskie. Stan obecny i perspektywy|journal=Forum Politologiczne|publisher=Instytut Nauk Politycznych [[University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn|Uniwersytetu Warmińsko-Mazurskiego w Olsztynie]]|language=pl|volume=3|page=198|issn=1734-1698}}</ref> Further missionaries worked in service of local Senegalese communities as teachers, caretakers or directors of schools and boarding schools, nurses in clinics and hospitals, etc.<ref>Ndiaye, pp. 198–205</ref> |
A number of Polish missionaries worked in Senegal, starting with Jan Krzyżanowski, who lived there from 1932 until his death in 1963, making efforts to discover cures for [[yellow fever]] and other tropical diseases.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Ndiaye|first=Bara|year=2006|title=Stosunki polsko-senegalskie. Stan obecny i perspektywy|journal=Forum Politologiczne|publisher=Instytut Nauk Politycznych [[University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn|Uniwersytetu Warmińsko-Mazurskiego w Olsztynie]]|language=pl|volume=3|page=198|issn=1734-1698}}</ref> Further missionaries worked in service of local Senegalese communities as teachers, caretakers or directors of schools and boarding schools, nurses in clinics and hospitals, etc.<ref>Ndiaye, pp. 198–205</ref> |
||
According to estimates from |
According to estimates from 2023, some 55 Poles lived in Senegal.{{sfn|Wyszyński|Leszczyński|2023|p=58}} |
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===South Africa=== |
===South Africa=== |
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===Uganda=== |
===Uganda=== |
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[[File:PolishWarRefugeesCemeteryKojaUganda RomanDeckert27042024-009.jpg|thumb|Cemetery of the Polish refugees in Koja, Uganda]] |
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During World War II, 6,443 Polish refugees escaping the Soviet Union, including 704 men (mostly elders), 2,833 women and 2,906 children, were admitted in the [[Protectorate of Uganda]] (as of December 1944).{{sfn|Wróbel|2003|p=160}} After the war, the Polish refugees were gradually repatriated to Europe. In 1948, there were still 1,387 Poles in Uganda.{{sfn|Wróbel|2003|p=249}} The remaining Polish refugees most likely left Uganda by 1952.{{sfn|Wróbel|2003|p=256}} A preserved remnant of Polish refugees in Uganda is the [[Our Lady Queen of Poland Catholic Church]] near Masindi. |
During World War II, 6,443 Polish refugees escaping the Soviet Union, including 704 men (mostly elders), 2,833 women and 2,906 children, were admitted in the [[Protectorate of Uganda]] (as of December 1944).{{sfn|Wróbel|2003|p=160}} After the war, the Polish refugees were gradually repatriated to Europe. In 1948, there were still 1,387 Poles in Uganda.{{sfn|Wróbel|2003|p=249}} The remaining Polish refugees most likely left Uganda by 1952.{{sfn|Wróbel|2003|p=256}} A preserved remnant of Polish refugees in Uganda is the [[Our Lady Queen of Poland Catholic Church]] near Masindi. |
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According to estimates from 2007, some 100 Poles lived in Uganda.<ref name=awp/> |
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===Zambia=== |
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During World War II, Polish refugees escaping the Soviet Union were admitted in [[Northern Rhodesia]], whose number was 2,894 as of December 1944.{{sfn|Wróbel|2003|pp=154, 160}} After the war, most Poles were repatriated to Europe, except for some 340 people who were allowed to stay.{{sfn|Wróbel|2003|p=251}} |
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According to estimates from 2007, some 100 Poles lived in Zambia.<ref name=awp/> |
According to estimates from 2007, some 100 Poles lived in Zambia.<ref name=awp/> |
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===Zimbabwe=== |
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During World War II, Polish refugees escaping the Soviet Union were admitted in [[Southern Rhodesia]], mostly in [[Rusape]] and [[Marondera]].{{sfn|Wróbel|2003|pp=154, 160}} As of December 1944, their number was 1,437.{{sfn|Wróbel|2003|pp=154, 160}} After the war, most Poles were repatriated to Europe, some were relocated to Tanganyika, and some 120 stayed.{{sfn|Wróbel|2003|pp=250–251}} |
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According to estimates from 2007, some 800 Poles lived in Zimbabwe.<ref name=awp/> |
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== List of countries by the population of Polish ethnicity == |
== List of countries by the population of Polish ethnicity == |
||
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| ''Polish in South America'' || || || |
| ''Polish in South America'' || || || |
||
|- |
|- |
||
| {{flagicon|Argentina}} [[Polish Argentine]] || align="right" | |
| {{flagicon|Argentina}} [[Polish Argentine]] || align="right" | 2,000,000 || align="right" | 4% || |
||
<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.clarin.com/diario/2004/04/27/t-749506.htm|title=La ampliación de la Unión Europea habilita a 600 mil argentinos para ser 'comunitarios'|date=27 April 2004|access-date=27 May 2014|archive-date=16 May 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100516073006/http://www.clarin.com/diario/2004/04/27/t-749506.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> |
<ref name="Clarin2004">{{Cite web|url=http://www.clarin.com/diario/2004/04/27/t-749506.htm|title=La ampliación de la Unión Europea habilita a 600 mil argentinos para ser 'comunitarios'|date=27 April 2004|access-date=27 May 2014|archive-date=16 May 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100516073006/http://www.clarin.com/diario/2004/04/27/t-749506.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> |
||
|- |
|- |
||
| {{flagicon|Brazil}} [[Polish Brazilian]] || align="right" | 1,800,000–3,000,000 || align="right" | 2.5% || |
| {{flagicon|Brazil}} [[Polish Brazilian]] || align="right" | 1,800,000–3,000,000 || align="right" | 2.5% || |
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<ref name="census2009">[http://belstat.gov.by/homep/ru/perepic/2009/publications/bul_republic.rar Statistics from belstat.gov.by (бюллетень). See page 22.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100917234113/http://belstat.gov.by/homep/ru/perepic/2009/publications/bul_republic.rar |date=2010-09-17 }} ''[[RAR (file format)|RAR]] [[data compression]] of {{cite web|title=171.5KB }} 171.5KB file''. Listing total population of Belarus with population by age and sex, marital status, education, nationality, language and livelihood ("Общая численность населения; численность населения по возрасту и полу, состоянию в браке, уровню образования, национальностям, языку, источникам средств к существованию") {{in lang|be}}</ref> |
<ref name="census2009">[http://belstat.gov.by/homep/ru/perepic/2009/publications/bul_republic.rar Statistics from belstat.gov.by (бюллетень). See page 22.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100917234113/http://belstat.gov.by/homep/ru/perepic/2009/publications/bul_republic.rar |date=2010-09-17 }} ''[[RAR (file format)|RAR]] [[data compression]] of {{cite web|title=171.5KB }} 171.5KB file''. Listing total population of Belarus with population by age and sex, marital status, education, nationality, language and livelihood ("Общая численность населения; численность населения по возрасту и полу, состоянию в браке, уровню образования, национальностям, языку, источникам средств к существованию") {{in lang|be}}</ref> |
||
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|- |
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| {{flagicon|Czech Republic}} [[Polish minority in the Czech Republic]] || align="right" | 38,218 || align="right" | 0. |
| {{flagicon|Czech Republic}} [[Polish minority in the Czech Republic]] || align="right" | 38,218 || align="right" | 0.35% || |
||
(2021 census)<ref name=2021CR>{{cite web |title=Národnost|url=https://www.scitani.cz/narodnost|work=Census 2021|publisher=[[Czech Statistical Office]]|language=cs|access-date=12 June 2023}}</ref>{{efn|Including 11,416 people declaring the combination of Polish and other nationality. The real number can be higher as it was possible to leave the "nationality" field blank.}} |
(2021 census)<ref name=2021CR>{{cite web |title=Národnost|url=https://www.scitani.cz/narodnost|work=Census 2021|publisher=[[Czech Statistical Office]]|language=cs|access-date=12 June 2023}}</ref>{{efn|Including 11,416 people declaring the combination of Polish and other nationality. The real number can be higher as it was possible to leave the "nationality" field blank.}} |
||
|- |
|- |
||
| {{flagicon|Denmark}} [[Denmark-Poland relations]]; [[:pl: Polonia w Danii|Poles in Denmark]] || align="right" | 5,000 || align="right" | 0. |
| {{flagicon|Denmark}} [[Denmark-Poland relations]]; [[:pl: Polonia w Danii|Poles in Denmark]] || align="right" | 5,000 || align="right" | 0.08% || <ref name="Poujol 2007 92">{{harvnb|Poujol|2007|p=92}}</ref> |
||
|- |
|- |
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| {{flagicon|France}} [[Polish minority in France]] || align="right" | 1,000,000 || align="right" | 2% || |
| {{flagicon|France}} [[Polish minority in France]] || align="right" | 1,000,000 || align="right" | 2% || |
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<ref name="destatis.de">{{cite web |title=Ausländische Bevölkerung: Fachserie 1 Reihe 2 – 2011 |url=https://www.destatis.de/DE/Publikationen/Thematisch/Bevoelkerung/MigrationIntegration/AuslaendBevoelkerung2010200117004.pdf?__blob=publicationFile |publisher=Statistisches Bundesamt Deutschland |date=2011-12-31 |access-date=4 January 2013}}</ref> |
<ref name="destatis.de">{{cite web |title=Ausländische Bevölkerung: Fachserie 1 Reihe 2 – 2011 |url=https://www.destatis.de/DE/Publikationen/Thematisch/Bevoelkerung/MigrationIntegration/AuslaendBevoelkerung2010200117004.pdf?__blob=publicationFile |publisher=Statistisches Bundesamt Deutschland |date=2011-12-31 |access-date=4 January 2013}}</ref> |
||
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|- |
||
| {{flagicon|Iceland}} [[Icelanders of Polish descent]] || align="right" | |
| {{flagicon|Iceland}} [[Icelanders of Polish descent]] || align="right" | 18,508 || align="right" | 5% || |
||
They make them the biggest minority ethnic group in Iceland, including second-generation immigrants. |
They make them the biggest minority ethnic group in Iceland, including second-generation immigrants.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Population by country of birth, sex and age 1 January 1998-2024 |url=https://px.hagstofa.is/pxen/pxweb/en/Ibuar/Ibuar__mannfjoldi__3_bakgrunnur__Faedingarland/MAN12103.px/ |access-date=2024-10-14 |website=PxWeb |language=en}}</ref> |
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| {{flagicon|Ireland}} [[Polish minority in Ireland]] || align="right" | 122,585 || align="right" | 2.7% || |
| {{flagicon|Ireland}} [[Polish minority in Ireland]] || align="right" | 122,585 || align="right" | 2.7% || |
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| {{flagicon|Spain}} [[Polish minority in Spain]] || align="right" | 69,353 || align="right" | 0.15% || |
| {{flagicon|Spain}} [[Polish minority in Spain]] || align="right" | 69,353 || align="right" | 0.15% || |
||
<ref>{{cite web|last=Instituto Nacional de Estadística|title=Polacos en España (Censo 2014)|url=http://www.ine.es/jaxi/tabla.do|access-date=11 August 2014|archive-date= |
<ref>{{cite web|last=Instituto Nacional de Estadística|title=Polacos en España (Censo 2014)|url=http://www.ine.es/jaxi/tabla.do|access-date=11 August 2014|archive-date=9 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151209015924/http://www.ine.es/jaxi/tabla.do|url-status=dead}}</ref> |
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| {{flagicon|Sweden}} [[Swedish Poles]] || align="right" | 110,212 || align="right" | 1.14% || |
| {{flagicon|Sweden}} [[Swedish Poles]] || align="right" | 110,212 || align="right" | 1.14% || |
||
<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web|url=http://www.scb.se/Statistik/BE/BE0101/2011A01B/be0101_Fodelseland_och_ursprungsland.xls |title=Archived copy |access-date=November 12, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120424203738/http://www.scb.se/Statistik/BE/BE0101/2011A01B/be0101_Fodelseland_och_ursprungsland.xls |archive-date=April 24, 2012 }}</ref> |
<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web|url=http://www.scb.se/Statistik/BE/BE0101/2011A01B/be0101_Fodelseland_och_ursprungsland.xls |title=Archived copy |access-date=November 12, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120424203738/http://www.scb.se/Statistik/BE/BE0101/2011A01B/be0101_Fodelseland_och_ursprungsland.xls |archive-date=April 24, 2012 }}</ref> |
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⚫ | |||
<ref>{{Cite web |title="Szwajcaria Polakow" |url=https://szwajcaria.polakow.ch/informacje/o-szwajcarii/polacy-w-szwajcarii |website=szwajcaria.polakow.ch}}</ref> |
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|- |
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| {{flagicon|Latvia}} [[Poles in Latvia]] || align="right" | 51,548 || align="right" | 2.3% || |
| {{flagicon|Latvia}} [[Poles in Latvia]] || align="right" | 51,548 || align="right" | 2.3% || |
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| {{flagicon|Lithuania}} [[Poles in Lithuania]] || align="right" | 200,317 || align="right" | 6.6% || |
| {{flagicon|Lithuania}} [[Poles in Lithuania]] || align="right" | 200,317 || align="right" | 6.6% || |
||
<ref name="Lithuania Census 2011">{{Cite web|url=http://www.stat.gov.lt/uploads/Lietuvos_gyventojai_2011.pdf|title=Lithuania Census 2011|access-date=2014-05-27| |
<ref name="Lithuania Census 2011">{{Cite web|url=http://www.stat.gov.lt/uploads/Lietuvos_gyventojai_2011.pdf|title=Lithuania Census 2011|access-date=2014-05-27}}{{dead link|date=May 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> |
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⚫ | |||
<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gov.pl/web/rumunia|title=Polska w Rumunii - Polska w Rumunii - Portal Gov.pl|website=Polska w Rumunii}}</ref> |
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| {{flagicon|Russia}} [[Polish minority in Russia]] || align="right" | 73,000 || align="right" | 0.01% || |
| {{flagicon|Russia}} [[Polish minority in Russia]] || align="right" | 73,000 || align="right" | 0.01% || |
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| ''Polish in Africa'' || || || |
| ''Polish in Africa'' || || || |
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|- |
|- |
||
| {{flagicon|Ghana}} [[White Ghanaian|Polish Ghanaians]] ||align="right" | 24,999 || align="right" | 0. |
| {{flagicon|Ghana}} [[White Ghanaian|Polish Ghanaians]] || align="right" | 24,999 || align="right" | 0.07% || |
||
|- |
|- |
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| {{flagicon|South Africa}} [[Poles in South Africa|Polish South Africans]] || align="right" | 25,000 || align="right" | 0.042% || |
| {{flagicon|South Africa}} [[Poles in South Africa|Polish South Africans]] || align="right" | 25,000 || align="right" | 0.042% || |
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| ''Polish in Asia'' || || || |
| ''Polish in Asia'' || || || |
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|- |
|- |
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| {{flagicon|Kazakhstan}} [[Poles in Kazakhstan]] || align="right" | 5,000 || align="right" | 0. |
| {{flagicon|Kazakhstan}} [[Poles in Kazakhstan]] || align="right" | 5,000 || align="right" | 0.025% || |
||
<ref name="Poujol 2007 92" /> |
<ref name="Poujol 2007 92" /> |
||
|- |
|- |
||
| {{flagicon|Lebanon}} [[Polish people in Lebanon]] || align="right" | 5,000 || align="right" | 0. |
| {{flagicon|Lebanon}} [[Polish people in Lebanon]] || align="right" | 5,000 || align="right" | 0.01% || |
||
<ref name="Poujol 2007 92" /> |
<ref name="Poujol 2007 92" /> |
||
|- |
|- |
||
| {{flagicon|Cyprus}} [[Cyprus–Poland relations]] || align="right" | 5,000 || align="right" | 0. |
| {{flagicon|Cyprus}} [[Cyprus–Poland relations]] || align="right" | 5,000 || align="right" | 0.5% || |
||
<ref name="Poujol 2007 92" /> |
<ref name="Poujol 2007 92" /> |
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== Bibliography == |
== Bibliography == |
||
* [[Marek Żukow-Karczewski]], [http://mbc.malopolska.pl/dlibra/docmetadata?id=13576&from=publication&tab=1 ''Polonia zagraniczna w czasach II Rzeczypospolitej'' (Foreign Polonia during the Second Polish |
* [[Marek Żukow-Karczewski]], [http://mbc.malopolska.pl/dlibra/docmetadata?id=13576&from=publication&tab=1 ''Polonia zagraniczna w czasach II Rzeczypospolitej'' (Foreign Polonia during the Second Polish Republic), "Życie Literackie", No. 33, 1989, p. 10.] {{in lang|pl}} |
||
* {{cite book|last=Wróbel|first=Janusz|title=Uchodźcy polscy ze Związku Sowieckiego 1942–1950|year=2003|language=pl|publisher=[[Institute of National Remembrance|Instytut Pamięci Narodowej]]|location=Łódź|isbn=978-83-7629-522-0}} |
* {{cite book|last=Wróbel|first=Janusz|title=Uchodźcy polscy ze Związku Sowieckiego 1942–1950|year=2003|language=pl|publisher=[[Institute of National Remembrance|Instytut Pamięci Narodowej]]|location=Łódź|isbn=978-83-7629-522-0}} |
||
* {{cite book|last1=Wyszyński|first1=Robert|last2=Leszczyński|first2=Karol|title=Atlas Polaków na świecie|year=2023|language=pl|publisher=Instytut Pokolenia|location=Warszawa|isbn=978-83-968580-3-0}} |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
Latest revision as of 17:51, 27 October 2024
The Polish diaspora comprises Poles and people of Polish heritage or origin who live outside Poland. The Polish diaspora is also known in modern Polish as Polonia, the name for Poland in Latin and many Romance languages.
There are roughly 20,000,000 people of Polish ancestry living outside Poland, making the Polish diaspora one of the largest in the world[1] and one of the most widely dispersed. Reasons for displacement include border shifts, forced expulsions, resettlement by voluntary and forced exile, and political or economic emigration.
Substantial populations of Polish ancestry can be found in their native region of Central and Eastern Europe and many other European countries as well as in the Americas and Australia.
The Polonia in English-speaking countries often uses a dialect of Polish called Ponglish. It is made up of a Polish core with many English words inside it.[2]
There are also smaller Polish communities in Asia and Africa, most notably Kazakhstan and South Africa.[3]
History
[edit]Poles participated in the creation of the first European settlements in the Americas. In the 17th century, Polish missionaries arrived for the first time in Japan. Vast numbers of Poles left the country during the Partitions of Poland for economic and political reasons as well as the ethnic persecution practised by Russia, Prussia and Austria.
Many of the Poles who emigrated were Jews, who make up part of the Jewish diaspora. The Second Polish Republic was home to the world's largest Jewish population.[4] It was followed by invasions of Poland by Germany and the Soviet Union. Around 6 million Polish citizens perished during World War II: about one fifth of the pre-war population.[5] Around 3 million of which were Polish Jews murdered in the Holocaust by Nazi Germany during World War II. Most survivors subsequently migrated to Mandate Palestine since Poland was the only Eastern Bloc country to allow free Jewish aliyah without visas or exit permits at the end of the war.[6][7] Many remaining Jews, including Stalinist hardliners and members of security apparatus,[8][9] left Poland during the 1968 political crisis, when the Polish United Workers' Party, pressured by Leonid Brezhnev, joined the Soviet "anti-Zionist" campaign that was triggered by the Six-Day War.[10][11] In 1998, Poland's Jewish population was estimated at 10,000 to 30,000.[12]
A recent, large emigration of Poles took place after Poland acceded to the European Union and opening of the EU's labour market. About 2 million primarily young Poles took up jobs abroad.[13] Most Poles live in Europe, the Americas, and Australia, but a few Poles have settled in smaller numbers in Asia, Africa, and Oceania, as economic migrants or as part of Catholic missions.
Europe
[edit]All countries and areas of residence thereafter are listed in alphabetical order.
Austria
[edit]Belarus
[edit]According to the census, there are 396,000 Poles living in Belarus (official 1999 census;[14] the estimates are higher according to various NGOs). They form the second-largest ethnic minority in the country, after Russians. Most Poles live in western Belarus (including 294,000 in the Grodno Region, Polish: Grodzieńszczyzna).
During the Second World War, the Soviet Union forcibly resettled large numbers of Belarusian Poles to Russia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan. Few Belarusian Poles now live in Siberia and the Russian Far East, and some of those who managed to survive resettlement returned to Poland after 1956.
The census of 1959 had 538,881 ethnic Poles in Belarus (332,300 in Grodno Region, 83,800 in Vitebsk Region, 70,000 in Minsk Region including Minsk, 42,100 in Brest Region, 7,200 in Gomel Region and 3,500 in Mogilev Region).
Benelux
[edit]There were some migrations from Poland to the Netherlands in the early modern period, with notable emmigrants including painters Krzysztof Lubieniecki and Teodor Lubieniecki, and Admiral Krzysztof Arciszewski who served in the Dutch West India Company.[15]
Some 200 Poles, mostly intelligentsia and military officers, fled to Belgium after the unsuccessful Polish November Uprising in the 1830s, with some 60 officers employed the Belgian army, including Polish General Jan Zygmunt Skrzynecki, who was in charge of organizing the newly formed Belgian army, and others serving as instructors.[16] The Great Emigration marked the first notable wave of Polish migration to Belgium.[17] Some 200 Poles fled to Belgium, mostly to Brussels, Ghent and Liège, after the fall of the Polish January Uprising.[18]
Polish immigration to the Netherlands has steadily increased since Poland joined the EU, and now 173,231 Polish people live in the country (2021, first generation. Most of them are guest workers from the European Union contract labour program, as more Poles obtain light industrial jobs. The number of Polish nationals could double in the next decade, depending on economic conditions in Poland. Most Poles in the Netherlands are in The Hague (30,000), but Polish émigrés have been long settled in Amsterdam and industrial towns or cities like Utrecht and Groningen. Polish immigrants arrived to find employment in the country in the 19th and 20th centuries. Some 3,200 Poles lived in the Netherlands in the 1920s.
Belgium has 70,000 Poles, but the number of Belgians of Polish descent could be as high as 200,000). Present Queen of the Belgians, Mathilde, is daughter to a Pole, Countess Anna Maria d'Udekem d'Acoz, née Komorowska.[19]
Luxembourg has 4,844 (as of 2020).[20]
Bulgaria
[edit]According to 2023 estimates of the Polish Embassy in Sofia, some 5,500 Poles and people of Polish descent live in Bulgaria.[21] Polish presence in Bulgaria dates back to the 19th century, with Poles contributing to the development of the country, after it regained independence.[21]
Czech Republic
[edit]The Polish community in the Czech Republic is concentrated in Cieszyn Silesia (or Trans-Olza), in the northeast of the country. It traces its origins to border changes after the First World War that partitioned the area between Poland and what was then Czechoslovakia, leaving many Poles on what is now the Czech side of the border. The Polish population was 38,218 at the 2021 census.[22]
Denmark
[edit]By 1904, there was a Polish community consisting of several thousand workers scattered throughout Denmark.[23] Polak w Danii ("Pole in Denmark"), the oldest Polish newspaper in Denmark, was first published in July 1918, several months before Poland regained independence.[23]
It is estimated that around 40,000 Poles live in Denmark. Most live in the capital, Copenhagen.[citation needed]
Faroe Islands
[edit]Poles make up 0.2% of the population of the Faroe Islands, followed by Norwegians.[24] Most live in the capital, Tórshavn.
Finland
[edit]The history of the Polish community in Finland dates from the early 19th century when many Poles from the Russian-controlled part of the country settled there. In 1917, there were around 4,000 Poles in Finland, mostly soldiers of the Russian Imperial Army. In 1917, the Polish Legion in Finland was formed to fight for Finnish independence and then stationed in Viipuri, and after the Finnish victory some 2,500 Polish soldiers were evacuated to Poland.[25] Some 200 Poles lived in Finland in the 1920s.
Finland has never been a major destination for Polish immigrants, and only around 5,400 Poles live there. Most are well-educated: musicians, medical doctors, engineers and architects with families.[26] Around half lives in Helsinki, and the biggest Polish organization there is the Polish Association, founded on April 3, 1917.
France
[edit]Between 500,000 and one million people of Polish descent live in France.[27] They are concentrated in the Nord-Pas de Calais region, the metropolitan areas of Lille and Paris and the coal-mining basin (Bassin Minier) around Lens and Valenciennes. Prominent members have included Frédéric Chopin, Adam Mickiewicz, René Goscinny, Marie Curie, Michel Poniatowski, Raymond Kopa, Ludovic Obraniak and Edward Gierek. For centuries, there was an alliance between the France and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth: the longest-reigning queen consort of France has been a Pole, Marie Leszczyńska. Many Poles settled in France after the rule of Napoleon and the collapse of the Duchy of Warsaw, when 100,000 Poles, largely political refugees, fled the Russians and Prussians, who took over Poland. The Great Emigration, from the first half of the 19th century onwards, caused many Poles to be enlisted to fight in the French army. Another wave of Polish migration took place between the two World Wars when many were hired as contract workers to work temporarily in France. Polish refugees also fled the Nazi and Soviet occupations in the 1940s. From 100,000 to 200,000 Poles have been estimated to live in Paris. Many EU immigrants are in southern France, including the cities of Arles, Marseille and Perpignan.
Germany
[edit]The second-largest Polonia in the world and the largest in Europe is the Polish minority in Germany. Estimates of the number of Poles living in Germany vary from 2 million[28] to about 3 million.[29][30][31] The main Polonia organization is Kongres Polonii Niemieckiej / Polnischer Kongress in Deutschland.
Greece
[edit]The Polish minority in Greece numbers more than 50,000, most of whom are first-generation immigrants. There might be many more since the Greek Orthodox Church administers Greek names for marriage and christening. Statistics show that over 300,000 Poles visit Greece each year for tourism, especially during the summer months. Famous people with mixed Polish and Greek ethnicity include Polish singer Eleni Tzoka.[32]
Hungary
[edit]The Polish minority in Hungary is 7,001, according to the 2011 census,[33] and has a long history of over 1000 years. The Kingdom of Poland and Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth contained five exclaves in Spisz surrounded by territory of the Kingdom of Hungary, and following the Partitions of Poland, the Hungarian part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (1867–1918), contained Spisz and Orava with sizeable indigenous Polish populations.[34][35] Hungary–Poland relations are strong and positive and best described in a poem, "Pole, Hungarian, two good friends," about the fraternal sense of commonality in both Polish and Hungarian cultures. Budapest is home to a large Polish community, and there are also ethnic Poles in the northern part of the country, bordering Slovakia and Ukraine. Most Polish-Hungarians are practising Roman Catholics, but many are members of the Eastern (Polish-Carpathian or Carpato-Ukrainian) and Greek Catholic Churches.[3]
Iceland
[edit]In 2021, Statistics Iceland recorded 18,508 Polish-born people living in Iceland, with Poles constituting roughly 5% of the total population.[36] Poles are, by far, the largest ethnic minority in the country.[37][not specific enough to verify]
Ireland
[edit]After Poland joined the European Union in 2004, Ireland immediately opened its borders and welcomed Polish workers as relatively cheap qualified labour (only the United Kingdom and Sweden did the same). Ireland quickly became a key destination for young Poles seeking work outside the country. According to the 2011 census, there are 122,585 Poles living in Ireland,[38] the largest ethnic minority in the country.
Italy
[edit]The Polish minority of confirmed status in Italy is 74,981, whereas the estimated total is 100,000, as of 2023.[39] Most Poles are late-20th-century immigrants drawn by the Italian economy's desire for imported labour. Large Polish immigrant communities are found in Rome, Milan and Venice. Polish immigration to Italy might continue while the EU contract labour program between the two countries remains in place.
History of Polish migration to Italy dates back over 500 years.[39] In the 1920s, some 1,000 Poles lived in Italy, mostly clergy, artists, scholars and students, with Polish associations active in Rome and Trieste.
Latvia
[edit]Poles form about 2.3% of Latvia's total population and number 51,548 people.[citation needed] They are mainly concentrated in Latvia's largest cities: Riga and Daugavpils. Since most of them don't use Latvian as their primary language their citizenship status can vary.
Lithuania
[edit]According to 2021 census, Poles are 6.52% of Lithuania's population, totaling 183,421 people[40] and over 16% of Vilnius population.[41]
Malta
[edit]Moldova
[edit]Polish presence in the territories of present-day Moldova dates back several centuries, as the northern part of modern Transnistria formed part of the Kingdom of Poland before the Partitions of Poland, and the Principality of Moldavia was a vassal state of the Kingdom of Poland and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth at various times. The most numerous Polish communities in Moldova live in the cities of Bălți, Chișinău, Rîbnița (former Polish: Rybnica) and Tiraspol. According to the 2004 census, comprising both Moldova and Transnistria, there were 4,174 Poles in the country.[42]
Norway
[edit]According to the Norwegian Statistics Bureau (Statistisk sentralbyrå), there are 137,425 Poles in Norway (2024 Official Norway estimate)[43] and makeup 2.48% of the Norwegian population. It is the largest ethnic minority in the country. Norway has recently experienced an influx of Polish migrant workers. This is because Norway is a member of the European Economic Area, providing the same free movement of labour as between members of the European Union.
Portugal
[edit]There are, as of December 2022, approximately 4,326 Poles in Portugal, mainly recent immigrants.[44] In addition, around 300 Poles have acquired Portuguese citizenship since 2008 thus making the number of Poles in the country stand at around 4,650 people.[45] Amongst the most notable Luso-Poles there are José de Chelmicki, general of the Portuguese army, revolutionary João Guilherme Ratcliff , architect Étienne de Gröer , writer Esther Mucznik , intellectual Mário Dorminsky , historian Samuel Schwartz and footballer Tomás Podstawski.
Romania
[edit]According to the 2021 census, 2,137 Poles live in Romania, mainly in the villages of the Suceava County (Polish: Suczawa).[46] There are even three exclusively Polish villages: Nowy Sołoniec (Soloneţu Nou), Plesza (Pleşa), and Pojana Mikuli (Poiana Micului). Poles in Romania form an officially recognised national minority and have one seat in the Chamber of Deputies (currently held by Ghervazen Longher) and access to Polish elementary schools and cultural centres (known as "Polish Houses").
Russia
[edit]Following the Partitions of Poland, Russia annexed the largest portion of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, and afterwards many Poles were either deported eastwards as political prisoners or were conscripted to the Russian Army, and some migrated voluntarily.
During the Second World War, the Soviet Union annexed large parts of Poland's former eastern territories of Kresy. Many Poles were expelled, but a significant number remained in what is now Belarus, Ukraine, and Lithuania. The Soviet authorities also forcibly resettled large numbers of Poles to Russia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan. In Russia there are about 47,000 Poles.[3] See Polish minority in Russia for details.
Serbia
[edit]There is a small community of descendants of Silesian miners in Ostojićevo.[47] In the 2011 census, 741 declared themselves as Poles.[48]
Slovakia
[edit]According to the 2011 Slovak census results, there are 3,084 (0.1%) Poles living in Slovakia.[49] Compared to the Hungarian census of 1910, there has been a significant decrease, as then there were 10,569 Polish-language speakers in the territory of present Slovakia.[3]
Spain
[edit]The Polish minority in Spain numbers between 45,000 and 60,000.[50] The Polish population is mainly guest workers who took advantage of Spain's economic boom during the 1990s. Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, San Sebastian and Valencia have significant Polish populations. The Polish minority in Spain is relatively young, 74% are between 20 and 49 years old.[50]
Sweden
[edit]During World War II, the Polish resistance, in cooperation with Polish outposts in Sweden, organized escapes of Poles from German-occupied Poland to Sweden by sea.[51]
Like only the United Kingdom and Ireland, Sweden let Poles work in the country once Poland joined the European Union in 2004. The number of Poles in Sweden has been estimated to be around 115,985 people, 98,387 of who were born in Poland and 17,598 with both of their parents being born in Poland. Poles are thus Sweden's fifth-largest immigrant group, after Finns, Iraqis, former Yugoslavs (Bosnians, Croats, Serbs) and Syrians.[52] Most of them are guest workers who have been invited to Sweden since 1990 by contracts with the Swedish government. Most Polish residents live in Stockholm, and the rest live south of the city, toward the Baltic Sea. Historically, Poland and Sweden had some cultural exchange.
Switzerland
[edit]Like the Polish community of Finland, some Polish diasporans from Germany were come from the Rhine-Ruhr basin, as immigrant workers to Switzerland. The biggest Polish diaspora community lives in Northern Switzerland.
Turkey
[edit]In 1842, Prince Adam Czartoryski founded the village of Adampol for Polish immigrants who came to Turkey after the failed November Uprising. The village still exists and is now called Polonezköy (Turkish for Polish Village). It is the main centre of the small but historic Polish community in Turkey. [citation needed] The Polish minority in Turkey has been estimated to be around 4,000 people.[citation needed] However, it is higher than the Turkish census indicates because of Turkified Poles who marry Turks. For example, Leyla Gencer's mother was Atiye Çeyrekgil, who was born Alexandra Angela Minakovska and converted to Islam after the death of her husband.[53] Also, Nazım Hikmet Ran's mother, Ayşe Celile Hanım, was a descendant of Mustafa Celaleddin Pasha, who was born as Konstantin Borzecki in 1826. He immigrated to Ottoman Empire after Greater Poland Uprising and embraced Islam in 1848. He later became an Ottoman General and died in 1876.[54]
Ukraine
[edit]According to the 2001 Ukrainian census, 144,130 Poles were residing in the country.
Poles began settling in the territory of present Ukraine in the 14th century, after Red Ruthenia had become part of the Kingdom of Poland. The number of Poles in Ukraine gradually increased over the centuries, but after World War II, it drastically decreased, as a result of the Soviet mass deportation of the Poles in Ukraine to Siberia and other eastern regions of the USSR as well as a campaign of ethnic cleansing, which was carried out in the early 1940s by Ukrainian nationalists in the western part of the country (see Massacres of Poles in Volhynia). There was a Polish Autonomous District near Zhytomyr that was created in 1926, but it was disbanded in 1935 and its Polish inhabitants were either murdered or deported to Kazakhstan. The majority of those who survived the war in Ukraine were forcibly deported to the former eastern territories of Germany after Poland was shifted to the west by the Allied Potsdam Agreement after World War II.[3]
United Kingdom
[edit]It was only after the First World War that Poles settled in large numbers in London – many from the Prisoner of War camps in Alexandra Palace and Feltham. During the Second World War many Poles came to the United Kingdom as political émigrés and to join the Polish Armed Forces in the West being recreated there. When the Second World War ended, a Communist government was installed in Poland and was hostile to servicemen returning from the West. Many soldiers refused to return to Poland, and around 150,000, after occupying resettlement camps, later settled in the UK. The Polish Government in London was not dissolved until 1991 when a freely elected president took office in Warsaw.
After Poland entered the European Union in May 2004, Poles gained the right to work in some other EU countries. While France and Germany put in place temporary controls to curb Central European migration, the United Kingdom (along with only Sweden and Ireland) did not impose restrictions. Many young Poles have come to work in the UK since then.
Estimates for the total number of people now living in the UK and born in Poland or of Polish descent vary significantly. There were an estimated 831,000 Polish-born residents in 2015[55] and one million by 2017.[56] Other than London, Poles have settled in Southampton in Hampshire, Manchester, Bolton and Bury in Greater Manchester and Chorley in Lancashire. There are also large concentrations in Bradford, Leeds, Coventry and Nottingham, as well as South Yorkshire, South Wales, Herefordshire, Rugby, Banbury, Slough, Redditch and Swindon.[3]
The economic crisis in the UK and the growing economy in Poland reduced the economic incentive for Poles to migrate to the UK.[57] By the last quarter of 2008, it was claimed by the IPPR that up to half of those that had come to the UK to work may have returned home.[58] However, the 2011 UK Census also indicates that it was probably never true.
According to the UK Office for National Statistics, Poland had overtaken India as the most common overseas country of birth for foreign-born people living in the United Kingdom in 2015.[55]
Vatican City
[edit]Although they do not settle in Vatican City, the world's smallest country, many Polish priests spend time of their training studying in one of the universities of the Holy See in Rome. The most famous Pole who settled there was, for institutional reasons, former Archbishop of Kraków cardinal Karol Wojtyła, as Pope John Paul II (1978–2005).
North America
[edit]The United States and Canada were the major focus of Polish political and economic migration since 1850 up until the fall of the Iron Curtain and Poland’s accession into the EU.
Canada
[edit]According to the Canada 2016 Census, there are 1,106,585 Polish Canadians.[59] The population is widely dispersed across Canada. The first Polish immigrants came to Canada in the 19th century. One of the largest concentrations of Polish-Canadians is in the Roncesvalles area of Toronto. The area holds an annual Polish Festival, Canada's largest. The Canadian Polish Congress is an umbrella organization, founded in 1944 by Polish Canadians to coordinate the activities and to articulate the concerns of the community on public policy issues.[3]
United States
[edit]There are approximately 10 million Polish Americans living in the United States.
There are approximately 185,000 Polish-speakers in the Chicago metropolitan area.[60] The Poles in Chicago are felt in a large number of Polish-American organizations in the city such as the Polish Museum of America, the Polish American Association, the Polish National Alliance and the Polish Highlander's Alliance of North America.
Pittsburgh, Toledo, Cleveland, Detroit, Grand Rapids, Minneapolis, Buffalo, Brooklyn, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Baltimore and New Britain also have very large Polish populations. Older Polish Americans are rapidly migrating to the Southeast (Florida), the Southwest (Arizona) and the West Coast (California) but also to Poland itself since the 1990s.
Buffalo is seen as Polonia's second city in the US, as it is also home to many Polish-Americans. Its steel mills and automobile factories provided jobs for many Polish immigrants in the early 20th century. The only city to have official celebrations inspired by the popular Polish custom of Dyngus Day is Buffalo. A section of New Britain was officially designated "Little Poland" in 2007 by a unanimous vote of the city's Common Council.
The major Polonia organization is the Polish American Congress, whose purpose is to continue steady relations with Poland and its government on behalf of Polish-Americans.[61]
Mexico
[edit]The first Polish immigrants to Mexico arrived in the late 19th century. During World War II, Mexico received thousands of refugees from Poland, primarily of Jewish origin, who settled in the states of Chihuahua and Nuevo León.[62][63]
Haiti
[edit]About 5,000 Poles fighting in Polish Legions in the Napoleonic armies were sent to fight against the rebelling Haitians. Many of the Poles who were sent there felt it wrong to fight against the Haitians who were fighting for their freedom—just like the Poles in the Napoleonic armies—and some 400 Poles changed sides. After the war, the Haitian constitution stated that because the Poles switched sides and fought for their cause, all Poles could become Haitian citizens. Many of the Poles who were sent to Haiti stayed there. Most of their descendants live in Cazale and Fond-des-Blancs.[3]
South America
[edit]There has been political and economic migration of Poles to South America since the mid-19th century. The largest number went to Brazil, followed by Argentina.[3]
Argentina
[edit]In Argentina, Poles are one of the most significant minorities, with around 2,000,000.[64] The Parliament of Argentina has declared June 8 to be Polish Settlers' Day.[3]
Brazil
[edit]The number of people of Polish descent in Brazil is estimated at 3 million. Most Polish Brazilians are Catholic, but there are Jews and nonreligious minorities. The oldest (1871) and largest concentration of Poles is in the city of Curitiba, Paraná. Another large communities is to be found in Rio Grande do Sul and Espírito Santo. Both are in the South and Southeastern Regions.[3]
Chile
[edit]A small number of Poles came to Chile. The first came during the Napoleonic Wars. In the early 20th century, there were around 300 Poles in Chile, but they were considered Germans. After World War II, from 1947 to 1951, around 1,500 Poles, mostly Zivilarbeitero as well as some former soldiers and Nazi concentration camp inmates settled in Chile, and in 1949, the Association of Poles in Chile was founded.[65] An estimate of 45,000 ethnic Poles live in Chile.[66] Most live in Santiago de Chile. One of the notable Polish Chileans is Ignacy Domeyko.[67]
Colombia
[edit]It is estimated that around 3,000 Poles live in Colombia, mostly in Bogotá.[68]
Uruguay
[edit]Polish immigration in Uruguay brought Poles to settle in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. An estimated 10,000–50,000 Polish descendants are thought to live in Uruguay, mostly in Montevideo, the capital. Often, Poles came when the Germans and the Russians ruled Poland and so were known as "Germans" or "Russians".[3]
Venezuela
[edit]The Polish colony in Venezuela is well dispersed throughout the country, but most of the Poles and their descendants live in big cities like Caracas, Maracaibo and Valencia.[69][70]
Oceania
[edit]Australia
[edit]The first Polish settlers arrived in South Australia in 1856. After World War II, many displaced persons migrated from Poland to Australia, including soldiers from the Polish Independent Carpathian Brigade (the "Rats of Tobruk"). Between 1947 and 1954, over 50,000 Polish individuals migrated to Australia, seeking refuge after many were displaced during World War II.
There are now 45,884 Polish-born Australians according to the 2021 census.
According to the 2021 census, there are 209,284 Polish Australians.
New Zealand
[edit]In 1944, more than 700 Polish orphans, survivors of forced resettlement of Poles to Soviet Siberia, and their caregivers were temporarily resettled at a refugee camp at Pahiatua, New Zealand. It was initially planned for the children to return to Poland after World War II ended, but as they had no homes or families to return to, they were eventually allowed to stay in New Zealand after the end of the war.[71]
At the 2013 census, Polish New Zealanders numbered 1,944 by birth and 2,163 by ethnicity; of them, 42 percent lived in the Auckland Region and 23 percent in the Wellington Region.[72]
Papua New Guinea
[edit]According to estimates from 2007, some 20 Poles lived in Papua New Guinea,[73] mostly Polish Catholic missionaries and nuns, and physicians.
Asia
[edit]Armenia
[edit]The first Poles in Armenia were merchants in the 16th century, while Polish Catholic missionaries have inhabited the country since the 17th century. According to estimates from 2007, some 1,200 Poles lived in Armenia.[73]
Azerbaijan
[edit]In nation, there is a long history of Poles in Azerbaijan (Polish: Polacy w Azerbejdżanie, Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan polyakları). However the current Polish population of the Republic of Azerbaijan is smaller than in former times, the number of people of Polish descent in Baku is around 2,000 and several thousand self-identified Poles live in Azerbaijan. Poles as an ethnic group have lived in Azerbaijan for centuries. The Russian Empire included Azerbaijan and parts of Poland during the 19th century, this was a large cause of the Polish minority in Azerbaijan.
China
[edit]Polish presence in China dates back to the 17th century, the first Poles in China being Polish missionaries and scholars. Eventually, Poles made contributions in the fields of medicine and healthcare, developed infrastructure and industry, introduced sugar beet cultivation to China and established the country's first brewery. The most vibrant Polish communities were centered in Harbin and Shanghai, however, most left China after both world wars. According to estimates from 2012, some 1,000 Poles lived in China, mostly in the cities of Beijing, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Shanghai.[74]
Georgia
[edit]Polish presence in Georgia dates back to the 18th century. Poles made great contributions in the fields of architecture, geography, arts, botany and zoology in Georgia. According to estimates from 2007, some 6,000 Poles lived in Georgia.[73]
India
[edit]The Indian maharaja Digvijaysinhji Ranjitsinhji, following the news of Poland being divided by the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany at the World War II, had welcomed a large number of Polish refugees, mostly children. They were the first Polish group to be in India.[75] After the war, a small number of Poles decided to stay, forming the first Polish diaspora group in India.
Israel
[edit]In the early years of Zionism, Jewish immigrants from Poland (then divided between Austria-Hungary, The Kingdom of Prussia and the Russian Empire) were a significant part of the ideologically motivated immigration to the then Palestine during the Second Aliya and the Third Aliyah. Many Jews of Polish origin had prominent roles in building up the Yishuv, the autonomous Zionist-oriented Jewish community in Mandatory Palestine from which Israel developed. In the aftermath of the Holocaust, many Jewish Displaced Persons in Europe who eventually got to Israel were also of Polish origin. In later generations, they generally abandoned the Polish and Yiddish languages, in favour of Modern Hebrew. About 4,000 non-Jewish ethnic Poles live in Israel. There are also about 50,000 Jewish immigrants from Poland, with an affinity to the Polish language and culture and about 150,000 of their descendants with very little of that affinity left.[76]
Japan
[edit]1,510 Poles lived in Japan, as of 2023; the majority (915) in Kantō region and Tokyo.[77]
In the 1920s, some 300 Poles lived in Japan, mostly in the Karafuto Prefecture.
Kazakhstan
[edit]The first Pole to travel to Kazakhstan was probably Benedict of Poland, sent as part of the delegation of Pope Innocent IV to the Khagan Güyük of the Mongol Empire. Later more Poles came to Kazakhstan during the Post-Soviet times. Today these Poles live in Karaganda with a population of 47,300 people.
Kyrgyzstan
[edit]Polish presence in Kyrgyzstan dates back to the 19th century, with the community growing from 240 in 1890 to 1,961 in 1979.[78] According to estimates from 2007, some 1,400 Poles lived in Kyrgyzstan.[73]
Pakistan
[edit]Philippines
[edit]During Spanish colonization, most Poles immigrated to the Philippines mostly for the Catholic clergy missionary work in other Asian countries. One of these Polish men was Wojciech Męciński a Jesuit missionary from Kraków. Later on, other Poles came to the Philippines but mostly they were Polish Americans, including Michael Sendzimir, a second lieutenant who worked in the 98th Infantry Division during World War II. Today the Polish community in the Philippines has about 93 people. Some of these Poles today come to the Philippines as immigrants, ex-pats, foreign exchange students, or settled down in the Philippines by their Filipino spouses. some members of the Polish community in the Philippines, include Robert Jaworski a basketball player and an ex-senator, Zaldy Zshornack (1937-2002) and an Australian Polish man Peter Pysk founded a Polish restaurant called Babci Kuchnia. Most of the Poles live in Metro Manila, and the Polish community is the Fourth-largest Central European community after the German, Hungarian, and Albanian communities in the country.[citation needed]
Saudi Arabia
[edit]Some 500 Poles live in Saudi Arabia, mostly educated professionals, according to estimates from 2023.[79]
Singapore
[edit]Some 1,500 to 2,000 Poles live in Singapore, mostly educated employees of the maritime sector, international corporations and banks, plus scientists, according to estimates from 2023.[80]
Tajikistan
[edit]According to the 2010 census, 23 Poles lived in Tajikistan, although the diaspora was much more numerous, with over 700 people prior to the Tajikistani Civil War.[81]
Thailand
[edit]In the 1920s some 20 Poles lived in Thailand,[82] a number which grew to 100 by 2007, according to estimates.[73]
Turkmenistan
[edit]Polish presence in Turkmenistan dates back to the 19th century. According to the 1995 census, 501 Poles lived in Turkmenistan.[83]
United Arab Emirates
[edit]Recently there are 2,000 Poles living in UAE, the Poles came to the UAE for work. Today the Polish Community in the UAE is the largest Polish population in the Arab World.[citation needed]
Uzbekistan
[edit]Polish presence in Uzbekistan dates back to the 19th century. According to estimates from 2023, some 2,000 Poles and people of Polish descent lived in Uzbekistan.[84]
Vietnam
[edit]Some 200 to 300 Poles lived in Vietnam, according to 2023 estimates, including managers, entrepreneurs and teachers.[85]
Africa
[edit]Senegal
[edit]A number of Polish missionaries worked in Senegal, starting with Jan Krzyżanowski, who lived there from 1932 until his death in 1963, making efforts to discover cures for yellow fever and other tropical diseases.[86] Further missionaries worked in service of local Senegalese communities as teachers, caretakers or directors of schools and boarding schools, nurses in clinics and hospitals, etc.[87]
According to estimates from 2023, some 55 Poles lived in Senegal.[88]
South Africa
[edit]According to the Council of Polonia in South Africa, 25,000 to 30,000 Poles live there.[89] The Polish community in South Africa dates to World War II when the South African government agreed to the settlement of 12,000 Polish soldiers as well as around 500 Polish orphans who were survivors of forced resettlement of Poles to Soviet Siberia. More Poles came in the 1970s and 1980s, with several of them specialists coming for work contracts and deciding to stay there.[3] Magda Wierzycka, who is Polish, is the wealthiest woman in South Africa.[citation needed]
Tanzania
[edit]During World War II, 6,631 Polish refugees escaping the Soviet Union, including 671 men (mostly elders), 3,255 women and 2,705 children, were admitted in the Tanganyika Territory (as of December 1944).[90] After the war, most Poles were repatriated to Europe, and 230 were allowed to stay.[91]
According to estimates from 2007, some 100 Poles lived in Tanzania.[73]
Uganda
[edit]During World War II, 6,443 Polish refugees escaping the Soviet Union, including 704 men (mostly elders), 2,833 women and 2,906 children, were admitted in the Protectorate of Uganda (as of December 1944).[90] After the war, the Polish refugees were gradually repatriated to Europe. In 1948, there were still 1,387 Poles in Uganda.[92] The remaining Polish refugees most likely left Uganda by 1952.[93] A preserved remnant of Polish refugees in Uganda is the Our Lady Queen of Poland Catholic Church near Masindi.
According to estimates from 2007, some 100 Poles lived in Uganda.[73]
Zambia
[edit]During World War II, Polish refugees escaping the Soviet Union were admitted in Northern Rhodesia, whose number was 2,894 as of December 1944.[94] After the war, most Poles were repatriated to Europe, except for some 340 people who were allowed to stay.[95]
According to estimates from 2007, some 100 Poles lived in Zambia.[73]
Zimbabwe
[edit]During World War II, Polish refugees escaping the Soviet Union were admitted in Southern Rhodesia, mostly in Rusape and Marondera.[94] As of December 1944, their number was 1,437.[94] After the war, most Poles were repatriated to Europe, some were relocated to Tanganyika, and some 120 stayed.[91]
According to estimates from 2007, some 800 Poles lived in Zimbabwe.[73]
List of countries by the population of Polish ethnicity
[edit]Country | Population | % of country | Criterion |
---|---|---|---|
Polish in North America | |||
Polish American | 9,569,207 | 3% | |
Polish Canadian | 1,010,705 | 3% | Canada 2011 Census |
Polish immigration to Mexico | 15,000 | 0.1% | |
Polish in South America | |||
Polish Argentine | 2,000,000 | 4% | |
Polish Brazilian | 1,800,000–3,000,000 | 2.5% | |
Polish Chilean | 45,000 | 0.2% | |
Polish Venezuelan | 4,000–8,900 | 0.03% | |
Polish in Europe | |||
Poles in Belarus | 294,549–700,000 | 3.1% | |
Polish minority in the Czech Republic | 38,218 | 0.35% | |
Denmark-Poland relations; Poles in Denmark | 5,000 | 0.08% | [105] |
Polish minority in France | 1,000,000 | 2% | [citation needed] |
Poles in Germany | 3,000,000–5,000,000 | 4% | |
Icelanders of Polish descent | 18,508 | 5% |
They make them the biggest minority ethnic group in Iceland, including second-generation immigrants.[107] |
Polish minority in Ireland | 122,585 | 2.7% | |
Poles in the United Kingdom | 700,000–1,000,000 | 1.6% |
Poles are the largest foreign-born community in Britain [109] [110] |
Polish minority in Spain | 69,353 | 0.15% | |
Swedish Poles | 110,212 | 1.14% | |
Poles in Switzerland | 39,000 | 0.44% | |
Poles in Latvia | 51,548 | 2.3% | |
Poles in Lithuania | 200,317 | 6.6% | |
Polish minority in Russia | 73,000 | 0.01% | |
Poles in Ukraine | 144,130 | 0.3% | |
Polish in Africa | |||
Polish Ghanaians | 24,999 | 0.07% | |
Polish South Africans | 25,000 | 0.042% | |
Polish in Asia | |||
Poles in Kazakhstan | 5,000 | 0.025% | |
Polish people in Lebanon | 5,000 | 0.01% | |
Cyprus–Poland relations | 5,000 | 0.5% | |
Polish settlement in the Philippines | |||
Israel–Poland relations; Polish Jews in Israel; | 7% | ||
Polish in Oceania | |||
Polish Australian | 209,284 | 0.8% | |
Polish New Zealander | 2,871 | 0.05% | |
Total in diaspora | ≈20,000,000 | ||
Polish people | 37,394,000 | 97% | |
Total worldwide | ≈56,000,000 |
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^ Including 11,416 people declaring the combination of Polish and other nationality. The real number can be higher as it was possible to leave the "nationality" field blank.
References
[edit]- ^ Michael Pieslak, Poles around the World (see Polonia > statystyka)
- ^ Dziennikarstwa, mgr Mieszko RozpędowskiAbsolwent dziennikarstwa i komunikacji społecznej w Instytucie Edukacji Medialnej i; Warszawie, Uniwersytetu Kardynała Stefana Wyszyńskiego w. ""Du ju spik ponglish"? O językowo-kulturowej hybrydzie XXI w. w wybranych przekazach popkultury" (in Polish). Archived from the original on 2021-08-11. Retrieved 2021-08-11.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Wojciech Tyciński, Krzysztof Sawicki, Departament Współpracy z Polonią MSZ (2009). "Raport o sytuacji Polonii i Polaków za granicą (The official report on the situation of Poles and Polonia abroad)" (PDF). Warsaw: Ministerstwo Spraw Zagranicznych (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland). pp. 1–466. Archived from the original (PDF file, direct download 1.44 MB) on July 21, 2012. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Semen M. Dubnov; Simon Dubnow (2000). History of the Jews in Russia and Poland (Google Books). Avotaynu Inc. ISBN 9781886223110. Retrieved 2013-06-14.
- ^ Tadeusz Piotrowski, (in English) (1998). Poland's Holocaust: Ethnic Strife, Collaboration with Occupying Forces and Genocide in the Second Republic, 1918-1947. McFarland & Company. p. 305. ISBN 0-7864-0371-3.
- ^ Devorah Hakohen, Immigrants in Turmoil: Mass Immigration to Israel and its Repercussions... Syracuse University Press, 2003 - 325 pages. p. 70. ISBN 0-8156-2969-9.
- ^ Aleksiun, Natalia. "Beriḥah". YIVO.
Suggested reading: Arieh J. Kochavi, "Britain and the Jewish Exodus...," Polin 7 (1992): pp. 161–175
- ^ Wilson Center, "New Evidence on Poland in the Early Cold War" By Andrzej Werblan (PDF)
- ^ Tadeusz Piotrowski (1997). Poland's Holocaust: Ethnic Strife, Collaboration with Occupying Forces and Genocide... McFarland & Company. pp. 58–64. ISBN 0-7864-0371-3.
- ^ Andrzej Friszke, "The March 1968 Protest Movement in Light of Ministry of Interior Reports to the Party Leadership," Intermarium 1:1 (1997, translated from Polish, originally published in Więź, March 1994).
- ^ Ringer, Ronald E. (August 9, 2006). Excel HSC Modern History. Pascal Press. ISBN 9780582381070 – via Google Books.
- ^ Encyclopedia of the Nations: Poland—Religions, available at Advameg, 2010 (bottom)
- ^ ""Sueddeutsche Zeitung": Polska przeżywa największą falę emigracji od 100 lat". Onet Wiadomości. September 26, 2014.
- ^ "Union of Poles in Belarus". Archived from the original on 2007-06-07. Retrieved 2007-07-01.
- ^ Bogucka, Maria (2011). "Z dziejów stosunków polsko-holenderskich w XVI–XVII wieku". Czasy Nowożytne (in Polish). No. 24. pp. 66, 71.
- ^ Lechwar-Wierzbicka, Edyta (2013). "Powiązania polsko-belgijskie po powstaniu listopadowym". Athenaeum. Polskie Studia Politologiczne (in Polish). No. 39. pp. 166–167, 172–174. ISSN 1505-2192.
- ^ Wyszyński & Leszczyński 2023, pp. 18–19.
- ^ Lechwar-Wierzbicka, p. 176
- ^ "The Belgian Monarchy". The Belgian Monarchy.
- ^ "Population by nationalities in detail 2011 - 2020". statistiques.public.lu. Statistics portal of the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg. 1 April 2020. Archived from the original on 25 April 2020. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
- ^ a b Wyszyński & Leszczyński 2023, p. 22.
- ^ a b "Národnost". Census 2021 (in Czech). Czech Statistical Office. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
- ^ a b Paczkowski, Andrzej (1977). Prasa polonijna w latach 1870–1939. Zarys problematyki (in Polish). Warszawa: Biblioteka Narodowa. p. 118.
- ^ Demographics of the Faroe Islands
- ^ Jaworski, Jacek (2015). "Polacy w Finlandii: pierwsi przeciw bolszewikom". Pamięć.pl (in Polish). No. 39. IPN. pp. 22–24. ISSN 2084-7319.
- ^ Polish Embassy in Helsinki (2012), POLONIA W FINLANDII: Struktura społeczna. Ministerstwo Spraw Zagranicznych Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej. Wyróżnikiem Polonii fińskiej jest stosunkowo wysoki wskaźnik osób posiadających wykształcenie wyższe i średnie. Wśród najczęściej spotykanych zawodów występują muzycy, lekarze, inżynierowie różnych specjalności i architekci.
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Bibliography
[edit]- Marek Żukow-Karczewski, Polonia zagraniczna w czasach II Rzeczypospolitej (Foreign Polonia during the Second Polish Republic), "Życie Literackie", No. 33, 1989, p. 10. (in Polish)
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- Wyszyński, Robert; Leszczyński, Karol (2023). Atlas Polaków na świecie (in Polish). Warszawa: Instytut Pokolenia. ISBN 978-83-968580-3-0.
External links
[edit]- Reassessing what we collect website – Polish London: History of Polish London with objects and images
- Cultural Fusion: Poles in Latin America