In the last two decades in Poland, the population of cities is decreasing, despite the increase in their number, and as a result the so-called urbanization rate, i.e. the percentage share of urban residents in the total population i salso decreasing. Such conclusions can be drawn from the report: “New cities in Poland in the 21st century” presented by Professor Piotr Szukalski from the Institute of Sociology at the University of Lodz.

After reaching its maximum level in 1997 (61.89%), this ratio is slowly decreasing and at the end of 2018 the share of urban population was only 60.05%. The pace of decline in recent years suggests that this year or 2020, the level will become below 60%.

The changes are mainly the result of suburbanization, consisting in depopulation of the center and the development of the suburban area. It is associated with the development of means of communication, which facilitates daily commuting from a distance of up to several dozen kilometers and the development of tele jobs.