Polish nationals living in the UK

FOI reference: FOI-2025-2504

This response was updated on 12 November 2025 to correct a publication reference.

You asked

Please could you provide the most recent statistics available regarding the number of Polish nationals currently residing in the United Kingdom?

We said

Thank you for your freedom of information request. 

Census 2021 is currently our best estimate of the population of England and Wales by country of birth and passports held. While this source provides the best picture of society at a moment in time, we acknowledge that there is a need for more timely and frequent statistics at a consistent level of quality.

Estimates from the Annual Population Survey publication Population of the UK by country of birth and nationality: individual country data (Discontinued after June 2021) indicates that 682,000 residents of the UK were born in Poland.

However, the attached dataset provides the number of residents in England and Wales whose country of birth was Poland from Census 2021.

We are responsible for the Census in England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland conduct their own. Their contact details are:

NATIONAL RECORDS OF SCOTLAND (NRS)
Tel:    0131 3144299
Email: statisticscustomerservices@nrscotland.gov.uk
Website: www.nrscotland.gov.uk

NORTHERN IRELAND STATISTICS & RESEARCH AGENCY (NISRA)
Tel:   02890 255156
Email: info@nisra.gov.uk
Website: https://www.nisra.gov.uk/statistics