Basic Trends of Demographic Growth in Central Poland

The region of Central Poland comprising the administrative provinces of Kalisz, Konin, Łódź, Piotrków, Płock, Sieradz, Skierniewice, and Włocławek has become an area of dynamic industrial development in the last two decades accompanied by intensification of migratory movement and territorial changes in demographic structure. These changes were most dynamic in the administrative provinces of Konin and Płock in which, due to putting on stream new industrial projects, the number of population grew by 86 per cent over the period of 1946-1975. In the remaining area of Central Poland the index of urban density growth (with 1946 = 100) amounted from 153 in the province of Włocławek to 166 in those of Sieradz and Skierniewice. The economic development leads to intensification of migratory movement from villages to towns as a result of which in majority of the discussed provinces there can be observed a decline in the number of rural population reaching ca. 10 per cent in relation to 1946. The outflow of population from villages to towns produces also changes in the employment structure. In 1975 the total number of people employed outside agriculture in Central Poland exceeded 50 per cent of the overall number of the professionally active population. The trends of demographic changes as presented above exert an influence on the manpower resources economy which must be duly taken into account when drafting economic development plans for the above mentioned administrative provinces