Poles

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Poles
Skłodowska-Curie • Pope John Paul II • Chopin • Copernicus Walesa • Kosciuszko • Polanski • Pilsudski
Total population
50 million (est.)[1]
Regions with significant populations
Poland:[2]    38,86,000 (2006 est.) USA:[3]   9,385,233 Germany:[4]    1,500,000[5] United Kingdom :[6]    890,000 Brazil:[7]    850,000 Canada:[8]    820,000 Argentina:[9]    500,000 Belarus:[10]    400,000 Lithuania:[11]    250,000 Australia:[12]    150,900 Ukraine:[13]    144,130 (2001) Russia:[14]    73,000 (2002) Latvia:[15]    57,000 (est.) Czech Republic:[16]    52,000 (2001) Italy:[17]    50,790 Kazakhstan:[18]    47,293 (1999) Spain:    44,147[citation needed] (2006) Netherlands:[19]    39,500 Austria:[20]    21,000 Iceland:[21]    6,572 Mexico:    5,000 Turkey:[22]    2,000 Rest of World:[23]    1.145,000 (est.)
Languages
Polish
Religions
Predominantly Roman Catholic (90%) with Orthodox, Protestant, Atheist, and Jewish minorities.
Related ethnic groups
other West Slavs

The Poles (Polish: Polacy) are defined as an ethnic group whose native language is Polish, who share a common Polish culture and are of Polish descent. Their religion is predominantly Roman Catholic. The Poles can also be referred to as the inhabitants of the Republic of Poland and Polish emigrants irrespective of their ethnicity. There's a wide-ranging Polish diaspora throughout Western and Eastern Europe, the Americas and Australia.

There is no commonly accepted definition of the Poles. According to the preamble of the Constitution of Poland, the Polish Nation consists of all citizens of Poland. However, like in most European countries, many people limit the group to native speakers of the Polish language, people that share certain views or traditions, or people who share a common ethnic background originating from Poland. As to the ethnicity, the name of the nation comes from a western Slavic ethnic group primarily associated with Poland and the Polish language. Poles belong to the Lechitic subgroup of these ethnic people. The Polans of Giecz, Gniezno, and Poznań were one of the most influential tribes of Greater Poland and managed to unite many other West Slavic tribes in the area under the rule of what became the Piast dynasty, thus giving birth to a new state. The Polish name for a Pole is Polak (male) and Polka (female).

Contents 1 Statistics 2 Polish tribes 3 European Union 4 Ethnic Poles 5 Notes 6 See also 7 External links

[edit] Statistics

Estimates vary greatly, though most data suggests a total number around 50 million. There are 38 million Poles in Poland alone as well as autochthonous Polish minorities in the surrounding countries such as Germany, Lithuania, Ukraine, and Belarus. There are some smaller minorities in other nearby countries like Moldova and Latvia. Note that there is also a Polish minority in Russia which included autochthonous Poles as well as some forcibly deported Poles. The total number of Poles in what was the former Soviet Union is estimated at 3 million.

The term "Polonia" is usually used in Poland to refer to people of Polish origin who live outside Polish borders, officially estimated at around 10 to 12 million. There is a notable Polish diaspora in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Brazil (see Polish Brazilian). In the United States a significant number of Polish immigrants settled in Chicago, Detroit, New York City, and Buffalo. In recent years, since joining the European Union, many Polish people have emigrated to countries such as Ireland, where an estimated 150,000 Polish people have entered the labour market and in the United Kingdom, where a quarter of a million have entered.

[edit] Polish tribes

The following is the list of Polish tribes - tribes that constituted the lands of Poland in the early Middle Ages, at the beginning of the Polish state. Some of them have remained a separate ethnicity while others have been assimilated into the culture of Poland.

Mazurians Polans Silesians Warmiaks Pomeranians Kashubians Slovincians Kociewiacy Borowiacy Bieżuńczanie Bobrzanie

Masovians Dziadoszanie Golęszyce Goplans Lędzianie Opolanie Kujawianie Pyrzyczanie Ślężanie Trzebowianie Vistulans

[edit] European Union

Since Poland joined the EU in May 2004, 307,670 Poles have registered to work in the United Kingdom^[24], although since many of these work in seasonal occupations such as agriculture, a large number are likely to have since returned home. Although they have been well received, due to the fact that the vast majority are in employment and few claim benefits, the migration has caused some controversy, as local schools, hospitals and housing are put under increasing pressure, especially in rural areas unused to receiving large number of migrants.^{[citation needed]} Another 200,000 Poles have emigrated to Ireland as well as other Western EU nations.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Ethnic Poles

Ethnic Poles are those who are considered by others or by themselves to be ethnically Polish but who do not live within Poland nor hold its citizenship. People in this category are usually considered ethnic Poles by others, but sometimes by themselves. For instance, some people with visibly Polish surnames in Germany and Austria who do not consider themselves as Poles are sometimes considered ethnic Poles. The concept of ethnic Poles can be defined by this following criteria:

Ethnic Poles are people who may not have a connection to the Polish language, culture or citizenship, but are identified or seen as being Polish in countries outside of Poland, due to such factors as having Polish or partly Polish parents or ancestors. This is an attempt to explain Polish identity whether it comes from others or oneself. People with Polish or partly-Polish family names can be discussed even if nothing else is known about their ancestry at the present time except for that.

[edit] Notes

[edit] See also

• List of Poles
• List of Polish Jews
• Polish Americans
• Polish Australians
• Polish Canadians
• Polish Brazilian
• Polish Germans
• Demographics of Poland
• Polonia
• Name of Poland (etymology of the demonym)

[edit] External links

• History of Polish war veterans being admitted to Canada after World War II
• PolishPlanet (Polish Community in the UK)