Poland’s population is shrinking. In 2024 alone, it fell by almost 160,000 people; over the past five years, the decline was about 700,000. The main reason is natural population decline: more people are dying than being born. A segment on the May 10, 2025, broadcast of "Vam Telegram" on Belarus 1 said the Polish government is doing almost nothing to address the issue.
"The problem is that Poland’s shrinking population isn’t just due to low birth rates, although the abortion ban remains the only measure Warsaw has taken in this area. Emigration also plays a major role: many Poles, especially young people, are leaving for the United Kingdom and Germany because they see no future at home," the voice-over explained.
It’s true that Poles are moving abroad to work in other European countries. Poland’s Central Statistical Office reported in 2023 that more than 1.5 million citizens had been living abroad for at least a year. According to the agency, 37.4 million people were living in Poland at the end of the first quarter of 2025.
Poland has several financial support programs for families with children. One of these programs is called Family 800+. It was previously known as Family 500+. As the name suggests, the monthly benefit the government pays for each child until they reach adulthood is 800 zlotys, or about €190. Foreigners with residency permits in Poland are also eligible for this support. If you add up the total amount paid for each child over 18 years, it comes to more than €40,000.
Another form of support for parents is the Active Parent program. Through this initiative, a guardian of a child under three can receive up to 1,500 zlotys in additional aid—more than €350.
For comparison, in Belarus, child care benefits are paid only until the child turns three, and a one-time payment known as "family capital,” nearly €10,000, is provided only with the birth of a third or subsequent child.
Belarus does not surpass Poland in birth rates. According to Belstat, in 2024 there were 6.5 births per 1,000 people in Belarus. In Poland, the rate may be slightly higher—6.7 births per 1,000 people. The numbers are similar when calculated per 100 women: in Belarus, the figure is 108 children, while in Poland, preliminary estimates put it at 111.
Demographic trends were also discussed on the CTV channel. Valery Malashko, a member of the House of Representatives, said on the “To the Point” talk show on May 12, 2025, that Belarus is not seeing a decline in birth rates thanks to government policies:
"The strong state family policy in our country at least allows to stabilize the situation for now."
However, the numbers tell a different story: ten years ago, 100 women gave birth to 167 children; in 2024, that number was 108.
Malashko likely meant that birth rates have stabilized recently. But even that claim isn’t supported by the data. In the same CTV studio in October 2023, Yelena Goshkevich, deputy director of the The Republican Scientific and Practical Obstetrics and Gyncology Center "Mother and Child", said:
“If we’re talking about the plain numbers, I can say that we’ve seen an annual drop in the birth rate of about 10% each year. That’s been the case in 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022. And in 2023, we expect the same minus 10% decrease.”
Over the past decade, from 2014 to 2024, the number of newborns in Belarus has fallen by half.
