Statistics Poland celebrates its centenary this year. The history of the Office has been marked not only by a number of significant changes concerning the organisation and functioning, but also by the sustainability of its objectives and principles. Focusing on continuous development, for one hundred years Statistics Poland has been consistently implementing its mission by providing reliable information to its users. The momentous jubilee of the Office became an inspiration for the preparation of an album entitled “Statistics Poland. 100 Years on Photographs”. Selected facts from the life of the Institution, showing the changes in its activity, were presented on the basis of photographs. They are complemented by short biographies of successive presidents of Statistics Poland.

Breakthroughs in the life of a nation always provoke thoughts on its past, economic, social and scientific achievements. This year’s centenary of regaining independence by Poland and the 100th anniversary of the establishment of Statistics Poland provide an opportunity to remind and popularise pioneers and outstanding Polish statisticians. With this in mind, a publication entitled Polish statisticians was created. The aim of the publication is to preserve the memory of the people who contributed to the organisation, development and popularisation of statistics in Poland and in the international arena. The publication presents biographies of thirty persons – eminent scientists and educators, discoverers of new methods and theories – who made a significant contribution to the development of statistics. Reading the biograms brings closer the evolution of statistical thought and helps to understand its universality, indicating the links with other disciplines of science.

Basic data on the population of Poland in 2017