Statistics Poland's Day

On March 9, we celebrate the Statistics Poland's Day, established by the Committee of Statistics and Econometrics of the Polish Academy of Sciences.

This year also marks the centenary of the first general census in the reborn Republic of Poland on May 13, 1921. The Sejm of the Republic of Poland set the date of the first census in Poland on September 30, 1921.

The census turned out to be a great challenge for the Statistics Poland, existing only since 1918, which was responsible for the substantive and organizational preparation of the entire project.

About 70,000 people were involved in the census, census commissioners, as well as census clerks, representatives of the local military authority,  coutry leaders  or their deputies. It was ensured that the census commissioners were people who are respected, trusted and have a certain  authority in their communities.

The census was preceded by an a far-reaching information campaign. The state authorities issued an information leaflet, and a brochure entitled "The First Population Census" was also published. The Statistics Poland organized press conferences, information meetings, and prepared press materials and articles.

The data obtained as a result of the census conducted as of September 30, 1921 as of October 1, 1921 brought knowledge about basic issues, such as the number of people inhabiting the territory of the Republic of Poland, its age, ethnic and religious structure. As part of the census, commune and powiat lists were also prepared.

According to the data from the 1921 census, the population of Poland was 25,694,700. Poles constituted over 69% of the population, Ruthenians 15%, Jews nearly 8%, Belarusians 4%, and Germans 3%.

Based on the results of the 1921 census, Statistics Poland the published in 1930 the monumental "Statistical Atlas of the Republic of Poland" in the Polish-French language version.

The results of the First Census of Population were also published in the series Statistics of Poland in 29 volumes, the last of which was published in 1932.

The results of the First General Census of 1921 in a digitized version can be viewed in the digital library available on the website of the Central Statistical Library: https://cbs.stat.gov.pl/en

More information: https://stat.gov.pl/en/infographics-and-widgets/infographics/general-census-1921,49,1.html