Country statistics

35 out of 189 in Human Development Rating index
(UNDP, 2019) 

$15, 270 Average annual salary per person (World Bank, 2021)

Poland lacks approximately 1.5 million affordable homes (Habitat for Humanity, 2021).

Poland has a population 38.18 million and is the 6th largest economy in the European Union (EU). 60.1% of the population live in urban areas, but as many young, educated Poles, leave to other EU member states, there is a -0.16% rate of urbanisation (CIA Factbook, 2019). 

Poland hosted the Homeless World Cup in Poznan in 2013.

Poland remains the main country of arrival for refugees from Ukraine, with more than 3.5 million having entered the country since the start of the war on February 24th 2022. The pace of arrivals has slowed down in comparison to early March, when over 100,000 people were arriving per day, to around 20,000 daily in the course of May (UNHCR, 2022).

Poland called for financial support from the EU to enable them to cover an estimated €24 billion cost of housing refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine (FT, 2022).

Poland lacks about 1.5 million affordable homes, with about 14% of Poles living in substandard conditions, and 40% or 15 million people, living in overcrowded conditions of more than 2 persons per room. With about 70% of Polish families unable to afford a mortgage, Poland builds too few housing units, while the rent market accounts to only 6% of total housing. Poland ranks one of the lowest in the EU for building housing for low-income families (Habitat for Humanity, 2021).

There is no official strategy for collecting data on homelessness in Poland. However the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy produces a biennial study on the issue, the last study was done in December 2019. They found more than 30,000 people were rough sleeping, living in homeless shelters and hostels (FEANTSA, 2020).