LABOUR MARKET · UKRAINIANS IN POLAND
Ukraine’s Workforce in Poland Is Changing: More Working-Age Men, Fewer Women
At the end of 2025, 956,936 Ukrainian residents were covered by temporary protection in Poland. That was 21,163 fewer than a year earlier, but still above the 2023 level. Behind the relatively stable headline figure, however, a significant demographic shift is taking place: the number of working-age men is rising, the female population is shrinking and economically active age groups are accounting for an increasingly large share of the total. Data from Statistics Poland (GUS) show how the profile of the Ukrainian labour pool available to Polish employers is evolving.
More men, fewer women
The clearest change concerns the gender structure of the Ukrainian population living in Poland under temporary protection. The number of men increased every year between 2023 and 2025, rising from 346,862 to 397,725. This represents growth of almost 15%, or more than 50,000 people in just two years.
The trend among women moved in the opposite direction. Their number declined from 597,883 at the end of 2023 to 559,211 in 2025. The sharpest fall came during the most recent year, when the female population decreased by more than 37,000.
As a result, men accounted for 41.6% of all Ukrainian residents covered by temporary protection in Poland at the end of 2025, compared with only 36.7% two years earlier.
How the gender balance changed between 2023 and 2025
The labour market is gaining workers — especially men
The change becomes even more pronounced when only working-age people are considered. The number of Ukrainian men aged 18–64 covered by temporary protection increased from 145,351 at the end of 2023 to 208,296 at the end of 2025. That is an increase of 43.3%, equivalent to almost 63,000 additional potential workers in just two years.
The number of working-age women, defined as those aged 18–59, remained broadly stable between 2023 and 2024 before declining by 6.7% in 2025 to 339,925.
Part of this increase can be linked to changes introduced by Ukraine in 2024 concerning travel abroad for young men. The shift contributed to a new inflow of younger people into Poland and has gradually changed the composition of the Ukrainian workforce.
The population is becoming more concentrated in working-age groups
The broader age structure is changing as well. Working-age people accounted for 57.3% of all Ukrainian residents under temporary protection at the end of 2025, compared with 53.9% in 2023.
At the same time, the proportion of children and young people below working age fell from 39.7% to 36.0%. In 2025 alone, their number declined by 28,433, or 7.6% year on year.
The share of people above working age has remained relatively small and stable throughout the period, ranging from approximately 6.3% to 6.7%.
Where Ukrainians under temporary protection live in Poland
The population remains highly concentrated geographically. Five regions — Mazowieckie, Dolnośląskie, Śląskie, Wielkopolskie and Małopolskie — were home to 61.6% of all Ukrainian residents covered by temporary protection at the end of 2025.
Mazowieckie, which includes Warsaw, was by far the largest centre, with 213,067 people, representing 22.3% of the nationwide total.
Małopolskie, including Kraków, recorded one of the more visible regional declines. The number of Ukrainian residents covered by temporary protection fell from 86,085 in 2024 to 80,970 in 2025, a decrease of 5.9%.
The population is also becoming slightly more urbanised. The share of people living in cities increased from 78.3% in 2023 to 79.6% in 2025.
| Region | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mazowieckie | 203,503 | 214,206 | 213,067 |
| Dolnośląskie | 108,159 | 115,752 | 113,497 |
| Śląskie | 94,054 | 98,078 | 96,906 |
| Wielkopolskie | 87,460 | 88,519 | 85,098 |
| Małopolskie | 84,614 | 86,085 | 80,970 |
| Pomorskie | 67,196 | 68,469 | 67,281 |
| Łódzkie | 60,107 | 61,094 | 60,027 |
| Zachodniopomorskie | 45,113 | 45,878 | 43,977 |
| Lubelskie | 35,411 | 36,650 | 36,501 |
| Lubuskie | 31,605 | 33,322 | 33,101 |
What the shift means for employers
The rising number of working-age Ukrainian men could provide some relief to industries that have struggled for years with labour shortages in occupations traditionally dominated by male workers, particularly construction, manufacturing, logistics and transport.
At the same time, the decline in the number of working-age women could add pressure in sectors such as retail, hospitality, care services and other parts of the service economy, where Ukrainian women have become an important part of the workforce.
For employers that have built recruitment strategies around Ukrainian workers, the demographic shift therefore matters as much as the overall population figure. The pool of potential employees is not disappearing, but its composition is changing.
There is another important signal for businesses: after reaching a peak in 2024, the total number of people covered by temporary protection stopped growing. This means that companies may increasingly need to focus not only on attracting new Ukrainian workers, but also on retaining those who are already employed, improving career prospects and reducing staff turnover.
Source: Statistics Poland (GUS), Local Data Bank — Ukrainian residents covered by temporary protection, as of 31 December 2023, 2024 and 2025.
