Demographic strength of the Małopolska Region
27.10.2011
Demographic potential for investment location means, on one hand, market availability of a sufficient number of people who may in the future be employees of a company, and on the other - the number of potential customers with an appropriate profile.
In order to measure the potential, such statistics as the population size for different age groups, population density, natural increase and the migration balance are used. In this chapter, these figures are approximated for Kraków and the Małopolska Region, and for comparison, for other major Polish cities.
Demographic potential
At the end of the year 2010, the Małopolska Region was home to nearly 3.3 million people, which gave it fourth place among the Polish regions. The region’s capital, Kraków, had about 755,000 permanent residents, and additional tens of thousands of people, mainly students, lived here temporarily.
In light of the problems of population aging, affecting almost all developed countries in the world, what is essential is not only the current number of inhabitants, but also the changes over time and the extent of the demographic load on the number of people in retirement age per 100 people in working age.
According to the population forecasts published by the CSO, the Małopolska Region will keep growing until 2025 when it will reach 3.37 million inhabitants (compared to 3.3 million in 2010), and then begin to decline, however remaining at a level above the current state.
The age dependency ratio in Kraków is 28.8 persons, which is higher than the national average, but still lower than in other large cities; in Łódź, being 32.8, and in Warszawa 32. This puts Kraków among cities that are not as affected by the progressive aging of the population. A positive birth rate continuing in Kraków since 2008 is also significant. In 2009, the surplus of births over the number of deaths was 691 people above the current state.
Population density
The average population density in the Małopolska Region in 2009 was 217 persons per km2, which is second place in Poland. Most densely populated poviat in the region was the city of Kraków - on average, 2,310 people lived on one square kilometre. Other densely populated regions are two other major towns of the region: Tarnów (1,591 persons per km2) and Nowy Sącz (1,498 persons per km2). The lowest population density occurred in Miechów poviat - only 74 people per km2. Such a large diversity in the Małopolska Region is however typical and reflects the difference between rural and urban areas.
The article from Human resources in Kraków and Małopolska Region. The report prepared for Małopolska Regional Development Agency S.A. by Hays.