The Polish minority in Latvia (; ) numbers about 51,548 and (according to the Latvian data from 2011) forms 2.3% of the population of Latvia. Poles are concentrated in the former Inflanty Voivodeship region, with about 18,000 in Daugavpils (Dyneburg) and 17,000 in Riga. People of Polish ethnicity have lived on the territory of modern Latvia since the 16th century. In modern Latvia their citizenship status vary: non-citizens of Latvia, as citizens of Poland, or as citizens of Latvia.
Demography Population with Polish ethnic affiliations LR Centrālā statistikas pārvalde Accessed 2008-10-09Ēriks Jēkabsons “Poles in Latvia”. The State Historical Archive of Latvia, 1999 Accessed 2008-10-09 Census year 1897 1920 1930 1935 1959 1970 1979 1989 1996est. 2000 2005est. 2008est. 2011est. Population65,05652,24459,40048,63759,80063,000 62,700 60,416 63,400 59,50556,51154,02451,548 Percentage3.4%3.3%3.1%2.6%2.9%2.7%2.5%2.3%2.6%2.5%2.5%2.4%2.3%
Ethnic Poles distribution in Latvia LR Centrālā statistikas pārvalde Accessed 2008-10-09 Census year 1989census 2000census 2005est. 2008est. population% population% population% population% Aizkraukle district 590 1.3 608 1.4 572 1.4 537 1.3Alūksne district 99 0.3 84 0.3 73 0.3 71 0.3Balvi district 102 0.3 101 0.3 85 0.3 87 0.3Bauska district 840 1.5 827 1.6 774 1.5 740 1.5Cēsis district 704 1.1 640 1.0 594 1.0 575 1.0Daugavpils district 5,294 11.2 5,068 11.9 4,912 12.1 4,609 11.9Daugavpils city 16,338 13.1 17,209 14.9 16,395 14.9 15,606 14.7Dobele district 759 1.7 649 1.6 579 1.5 545 1.4Gulbene district 222 0.7 227 0.8 208 0.8 194 0.7Jēkabpils district 1,309 2.1 1,368 2.4 1,269 2.4 1,203 2.3Jelgava district 926 2.4 856 2.3 845 2.3 810 2.2Jelgava city 1,274 1.7 1,312 2.1 1,336 2.0 1,307 2.0Jūrmala city 905 1.5 932 1.7 937 1.7 926 1.7Krāslava district 2,499 6.0 2,441 6.6 2,286 6.6 2,169 6.6Kuldīga district 252 0.6 205 0.5 185 0.5 180 0.5Liepāja district 276 0.5 197 0.4 188 0.4 183 0.4Liepāja city 1,298 1.1 1,120 1.3 1,054 1.2 1,001 1.2Limbaži district 325 0.8 343 0.9 304 0.8 277 0.7Ludza district 362 0.9 376 1.1 350 1.1 316 1.0Madona district 442 0.9 388 0.8 338 0.8 311 0.7Ogre district 975 1.5 894 1.4 858 1.4 837 1.3Preiļi district 888 1.9 791 1.9 704 1.8 664 1.8Rēzekne district 597 1.4 533 1.2 522 1.3 499 1.3Rēzekne city 1,166 2.7 1,056 2.7 1,002 2.7 928 2.6Riga district 2,533 1.7 2,685 1.9 2,637 1.7 2,734 1.6Riga city 16,653 1.8 15,980 2.1 15,094 2.1 14,456 2.0Saldus district 296 0.7 240 0.6 202 0.5 194 0.5Talsi district 364 0.7 329 0.7 306 0.6 286 0.6Tukums district 601 1.0 555 1.0 518 0.9 484 0.9Valka district 328 0.9 295 0.9 251 0.8 228 0.7Valmiera district 586 0.9 594 1.0 533 0.9 507 0.9Ventspils district 97 0.6 77 0.5 73 0.5 68 0.5Ventspils city 516 1.0 525 1.2 527 1.2 492 1.1
Mixed marriages are common for the ethnic Poles in Latvia: per cent distribution of males with spouse of different ethnicity was 89%, of females with spouse of different ethnicity was 90% (1990–2007)LR Centrālā statistikas pārvalde Accessed 2008-10-09
Polish organizations in Latvia
The largest Polish organization in Latvia is Association of Poles in Latvia (Związek Polaków na Łotwie).
See also Latvia–Poland relations Polish diaspora Immigration to Latvia Latvians in Poland
References
Polacy za granicą Polacy na Łotwie – history Polacy na Łotwie – in documents Związek Polaków na Łotwie
External links Will Mawhood (June 8, 2016). The Forgotten Minority: Latvia’s Poles Through Independence and Occupation. Deep Baltic.