Tuesday, 8 September 2026
The number of foreign nationals working in Poland continued to increase in early 2026, reinforcing the growing role of international labour in the country’s economy. At the end of March, 1.153 million foreigners were performing work in Poland, 8% more than a year earlier and 1.8% above the February level.
Ukrainian citizens remained by far the largest group, numbering 783,900 at the end of March. Their number increased by 9.6% year-on-year and they accounted for 68% of all foreign nationals working in Poland. Overall, the foreign workforce included people from more than 150 countries.
Men represented 59.9% of foreign workers, while women accounted for 40.1%. Both groups expanded over the year, with the number of men rising by 8.2% and women by 7.8%.
A significant proportion of foreign labour remains based on more flexible forms of work. Some 437,700 people, equivalent to 38% of the total, worked exclusively under contracts of mandate and related arrangements. Their number was also 8% higher than in March 2025.
Statistics Poland’s figures cover both employees in the national economy and people working under qualifying mandate and related civil-law contracts. The data therefore provide a broader picture of foreign participation in Poland’s labour market than conventional payroll employment alone.
The continued expansion of Poland’s international workforce is particularly relevant to industries that depend heavily on access to labour, including manufacturing, logistics, construction and services. A growing foreign workforce can also contribute to demand for rental housing and services in major cities and industrial regions, although the Statistics Poland figures do not directly measure the scale of this effect.
With the number of foreign workers rising substantially year-on-year, international labour is becoming an increasingly important part of Poland’s employment base and its ability to support continued economic and investment activity.
