Polish Population in the UK: How Many Poles Live Here

The Polish Genealogist Updated on

About 840,000 people born in Poland live in the UK, according to the latest censuses: 743,000 in England and Wales (Census 2021), 75,400 in Scotland (Census 2022) and 22,300 in Northern Ireland (Census 2021). That is a little over 1% of the population in each part of the UK, and Poland is the second most common non-UK country of birth in England and Wales, after India, and the most common in Scotland.

Polish is also the most common main language after English (and Welsh in Wales), given by 612,000 people in England and Wales, and the Polish passport is the most common non-UK passport held there. Birthplace, passports, nationality and language measure different things, which is why figures quoted online rarely agree. This guide sets out the official numbers, where Poles live, how the community has changed and how the same records help family historians.

How many Polish people live in the UK?

There is no single UK census. England and Wales and Northern Ireland counted their populations in 2021, and Scotland held its census on 20 March 2022. The Poland-born figures from each are:

  • England and Wales: 743,000 (1.2%), up from 579,000 in 2011. England had 718,300 (1.3%) and Wales 24,800 (0.8%).
  • Scotland: 75,400, about 1.4% of the 5,436,600 people counted. Poland was the most common country of birth outside the UK, ahead of India (37,700).
  • Northern Ireland: 22,300 (1.2%), the largest group born outside the UK and Ireland, ahead of Lithuania (10,500).

Added together these make roughly 840,000 Poland-born residents. Treat that as an approximate total, because the Scottish count was taken a year later than the others.

Poland-born residents and Polish nationals

Country of birth never changes, so it is the steadiest measure. Nationality can change. A Poland-born person who becomes British may keep or drop a Polish passport, and a child born in Britain to Polish parents can hold Polish citizenship without being Poland-born. The England and Wales census asked which passports people held rather than their nationality: 760,000 residents (1.3%) held a Polish passport, the most common non-UK passport, ahead of Romanian (550,000) and Indian (369,000).

Naturalisation keeps moving people between categories. In the year ending June 2026 the Home Office granted British citizenship to 8,092 Polish nationals, one of the three largest EU groups alongside Italian and Romanian nationals.

The discontinued annual estimates

Many older articles quote 682,000 Poland-born residents and 696,000 Polish nationals for the whole UK. Those were Office for National Statistics (ONS) survey estimates for the year ending June 2021, each with a margin of about 46,000 either way. They were the last in the series: ONS discontinued its population by country of birth and nationality estimates in 2022 because of data problems, and the release planned for November 2022 did not go ahead. For current counts, use the censuses.

What percentage of the UK population is Polish?

On every official measure the answer is about 1%. Poland-born residents make up 1.2% of England and Wales, around 1.4% of Scotland and 1.2% of Northern Ireland. Polish as a main language covers 1.1% of residents in England and Wales and 1.1% in Northern Ireland. These figures leave out British-born children and grandchildren who speak English at home, so the number of people with Polish heritage is larger than any of them.

Key figures at a glance

MeasureFigureShareSource and year
Born in Poland, England and Wales743,0001.2%ONS, Census 2021
Born in Poland, Scotland75,400about 1.4%NRS, Scotland’s Census 2022
Born in Poland, Northern Ireland22,3001.2%NISRA, Census 2021
Polish passport held, England and Wales760,0001.3%ONS, Census 2021
Polish as main language, England and Wales612,0001.1%ONS, Census 2021
Polish as main language, Northern Ireland20,1001.1%NISRA, Census 2021
Born in Poland, England and Wales, 2011579,000Not statedONS, Census 2011
Polish as main language, England and Wales, 2011546,0001.0%ONS, Census 2011
EU Settlement Scheme applications, Polish nationals1,303,282second after RomaniaHome Office, to 30 June 2026
British citizenship grants, Polish nationals8,092year ending June 2026Home Office

Where is the highest Polish population in the UK?

Polish communities are spread across the country rather than gathered in one city. The census table of country of birth by local authority (TS012) shows the largest Poland-born populations in England and Wales in 2021 were in:

  • Ealing, about 18,800 (5.1% of residents)
  • Southampton, about 11,800 (4.7%)
  • Hounslow, about 11,100 (3.9%)
  • North Northamptonshire, about 10,200 (2.8%)
  • Birmingham, about 10,000 (0.9%)

Measured as a share of local residents, the highest were Slough (5.6%), Boston (5.4%), Ealing (5.1%), Southampton (4.7%) and South Holland (4.0%), followed by Peterborough, Luton and Hounslow at 3.9% each. The language figures tell the same story: the East Midlands had the highest regional share of Polish speakers (1.5%, 71,000), Boston in Lincolnshire the highest local share (5.7%), and in Wales the highest share was in Wrexham (2.5%).

For family history, local Polish parishes, clubs and Saturday schools near an ancestor’s address are worth checking alongside the official records.

How the Polish population has changed

The census record goes back a long way. In 1951 people born in Poland were the second largest foreign-born group in England and Wales, at 152,000, most of them former servicemen and their families. By 2001 the Poland-born population of England and Wales was 58,000. It then rose almost tenfold to 579,000 in 2011, and ONS found that 86% of Poland-born residents in 2011 had arrived in 2004 or later.

Growth slowed after 2011 but did not stop: 743,000 in 2021 in England and Wales, and in Scotland from about 55,000 in 2011 to 75,400 in 2022. People with Polish as a main language in England and Wales rose from 546,000 to 612,000 over the same decade.

After the 2016 referendum: the EU Settlement Scheme

EU citizens living in the UK had to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme to stay, with a main deadline of 30 June 2021. By 30 June 2026 the Home Office had received 1,303,282 applications from Polish nationals, second only to Romanian nationals (1,998,079). Of the 1,297,436 Polish applications decided, 960,869 were granted settled status and 231,579 pre-settled status.

Applications are not the same as residents. The total includes 165,960 Polish nationals who applied more than once, usually to move from pre-settled to settled status, and people who have since left the UK. New Polish applications have fallen steadily, from 130,876 in the deadline quarter of April to June 2021 to 4,108 in April to June 2026.

A short history of Poles in Britain

The modern community formed in three main waves. For the full story, see our guide to Polish migration to the UK.

  • Wartime and resettlement. Polish servicemen who left Poland in 1939 fought alongside British forces, and many would not return to a communist Poland. The Polish Resettlement Act 1947, which received Royal Assent on 27 March 1947, provided pensions, Assistance Board support, accommodation in camps, health and education services for them and their families. The Polish Resettlement Corps eased the move from military to civilian life.
  • The post-war settled community. By 1951 there were 152,000 Poland-born residents in England and Wales, who built parishes, clubs and schools, many of which still exist.
  • EU enlargement. Poland joined the European Union in May 2004 with seven other central and eastern European countries, and the large rise recorded in the 2011 census followed.

British Poles: what the statistics do not show

Census figures count people born in Poland, people holding Polish passports and people who speak Polish at home. Children and grandchildren of the wartime generation, born in Britain and often with anglicised names, appear in none of those counts unless they hold a Polish passport. Many British families only find the Polish link when a birthplace, an unusual surname or a set of service papers turns up during research.

Tracing a Polish-born ancestor through population records

The same kinds of records that produce the statistics above can place an ancestor in Britain and point to the next step in Poland.

  • Census returns. Returns for England and Wales are closed for 100 years, so 1921 is the latest open census. The 1931 returns were destroyed in 1942 and there was no census in 1941. A pre-war Polish immigrant can appear in 1901, 1911 or 1921 with a country, and sometimes a province, of birth. Our census and 1939 Register guide explains access.
  • The 1939 Register. Taken on 29 September 1939, it records date of birth, occupation and address, and was later annotated with name changes. It is the nearest thing to a census for people who arrived in the 1920s and 1930s.
  • Naturalisation records. Many post-war Poles later became British. Certificates and case papers can give the exact place and date of birth in Poland; see naturalisation records for Poles in the UK.
  • Electoral registers. Registers place a person at an address year by year. Voting rights depended on nationality, so a Polish-born name that first appears in a given year can help date a naturalisation. See our guide to electoral registers.

The clue you need for Polish research is a town or village of birth and an approximate date. With those, the next record is usually a Polish civil or parish birth entry; our guide to finding a birth entry in Poland explains how to locate it.

Frequently asked questions

How many Poles live in the UK?

About 840,000 people born in Poland, combining Census 2021 for England and Wales (743,000) and Northern Ireland (22,300) with Scotland’s Census 2022 (75,400). Polish passport holders in England and Wales numbered 760,000 in 2021.

What percentage of the UK population is Polish?

A little over 1%. Poland-born residents are 1.2% of England and Wales, about 1.4% of Scotland and 1.2% of Northern Ireland.

Where do most Polish people live in the UK?

In England and Wales, Ealing has the largest Poland-born population (about 18,800), followed by Southampton and Hounslow. Slough and Boston have the highest shares, at 5.6% and 5.4% of residents.

How many Polish people applied for settled status?

The Home Office received 1,303,282 EU Settlement Scheme applications from Polish nationals up to 30 June 2026, including repeat applications.

Official sources