Population changes in Poland: A second demographic transition view

Declining fertility leading to population ageing is a current phenomenon in Europe closely linked to the Second Demographic Transition and its relevance for explaining the ongoing changes in family and reproduction patterns. The aim of this article is to show demographic changes in Poland in the light of the concept of the Second Demographic Transition throughout the period of an economic transformation and accession to the European Union. They include the fertility decline below the replacement level, the shift in the maximum fertility, the increase in the average age of women at childbirth, an increase in the number and the proportion of extramarital births, postponed marriages and divorces as well as a rapid population ageing process. A particular emphasis was put on their spatial diversity at various levels of the administrative division, depending on the availability of the statistical data from the Central Statistical Office in Warsaw. The concluding section points out the role of social-economic conditions for the diffusion of the transition, highlighting the importance of historical background