Polish Australians

Polish Australians

People with Polish ancestry as a percentage of the population in Australia divided geographically, 2011
Total population
209,284 (by ancestry, 2021) 45,884 (by birth, 2021)
Regions with significant populations
Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia, Western Australia
Languages
Polish · Australian English
Religion
Predominantly Roman Catholic, minority Judaism or none
Related ethnic groups
Polish Americans, Polish Canadians, Polish New Zealanders

Polish Australians refers to Australian citizens or residents of full or partial Polish ancestry, or Polish citizens living in Australia.

In 2006 52,254 Australian residents declared they were born in Poland. Cities with the largest Polish populations were Melbourne (16,439), Sydney (12,514), Adelaide (5,859) and Perth (5,142).^[1]

In 2021 45,884 Australian residents declared that they were born in Poland. The Australian states with the largest Polish populations were Victoria (14,202), New South Wales (13,830), and Queensland (5,740).^[2]

Since 2006, the Polish-born population has decreased by 6,370 people. During the same period, the number of individuals declaring to have Polish ancestry has increased by 45,482 people from 163,802 in 2006 to 209,284 in 2021.^[2]

The Polish-born Australian resident population predominantly were Australian citizens (90.3%), Christian (82.4%) and used Polish at home (70.0%). Around 78% arrived in Australia before 1990.^[3]

In 2006, 163,802 Australian residents declared they had Polish ancestry, either alone or in combination with one other ancestry.^[4] As of 2011, that number has jumped to 170,354.

Polish Australians are traditionally Catholic, as of 2021, 71.8% of those who nominated Polish as their language used at home identified as Catholic, down from 76% in 2016, the remainder either had no religious affiliation or followed another Christian religion. 0.5% followed Judaism, down from 1% in 2016.^[5]