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Report: Record 1.1 million Poles live abroad
Dec 23, 2011, 16:24 GMT
Warsaw - A record 1.1 million Poles are living abroad as a result of mass emigration after Poland joined the European Union in 2004, preliminary census results have found.
The daily newspaper Rzeczpospolita, citing the 2011 census by the Central Statistical Office (GUS), reported Friday that of the 38.3 million Poles, only 37.2 million live in the country.
'For the first time, we see the scale of emigration,' said Janusz Witkowski of GUS.
Thousands of Poles left the country in 2004 to look for work abroad after Poland joined the EU, which gave them the option to work and live in other member states like Britain.
This led to the largest population loss for Poland since World War II, demographer Krystyna Iglicka told the newspaper, adding that most Poles were unlikely to return.
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