The number of foreigners enrolled in Poland's social insurance system, ZUS, increased by 6%, reaching a total of 1.13 million individuals. Immigrants now constitute nearly 7% of all participants in the system. The nationalities experiencing the largest growth last year were Belarusians (21,264) and Ukrainians (13,407), followed by Indians (4,588), Colombians (3,535), Nepalese (3,481), Filipinos (2,870), Uzbeks (2,026), Turks (1,783), Bangladeshis (1,770), and Indonesians (1,759).

For many years, Poland was primarily a country of emigration, with Poles seeking better opportunities in the West. However, in the past decade, the nation has witnessed unprecedented levels of immigration, ranking among the highest in Europe.

For six consecutive years, Poland has granted more first residence permits to immigrants from outside the European Union than any other EU member state.

The number of foreign workers enrolled in ZUS has surged approximately sixfold since 2015, when it was below 200,000. Among the 1.13 million individuals registered by the end of 2023, roughly two-thirds (759,387) are from Ukraine, while just over one-tenth are from Belarus (129,375).

The subsequent significant groups include Georgians (26,219), Indians (20,549), Moldovans (14,796), Russians (12,399), and Vietnamese (9,837).

However, Georgians and Russians experienced the most significant declines in numbers last year, with 1,166 and 1,017 fewer individuals, respectively. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and subsequent sanctions, living and working in Poland became considerably more challenging for Russians.

According to a report released last year, ZUS estimated that Poland would need to attract nearly two million immigrant workers over the next decade to maintain its current ratio of working-age population to retirees.