WARSAW

Only 305,000 children were born in Poland last year, the lowest number since World War II, according to data from Poland’s Central Statistical Office.

The population fell by 141,000 over the course of 2022, ending up at 37.77 million. The population decline has been seen continuously since 2012, apart from a slight uptick in 2017.

The decrease in 2022 is the difference between the number of deaths (approximately 448,000) and births (some 305,000).

The fertility rate fell from 1.39 in 2020 to 1.33 in 2021, which means 133 children born per 100 women of childbearing age (age 15-49), the statistics office said.

Data also showed the number of marriages fell 10% between 2011 and 2021 while the number of informal partnerships was three-quarters higher.

Between 2011 and 2021, the number of marriages dropped by 841,000. Importantly, while the number of marriages with children fell by 1.2 million, those without children rose by about 373,000.

Between 2011 and 2021, the number of informal relationships increased significantly – up 75% to about 553,000. This was true for couples both with children and without.