| Total population | |
|---|---|
| Approx 10,000-38,000 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Warsaw · Kraków · Łódź · Pabianice | |
| Languages | |
| Polish · English · Other Indian languages | |
| Religion | |
| Hinduism · Sikhism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| People of Indian Origin |
Indians in Poland consist ofmigrants fromIndia toPoland and their locally borndescendants. The estimations of the number of Indians in Poland is 38,000 by governmental sources.[1][2][3]
Indians started migrating to Poland in the late 1980s and early 1990s when the political situation in Poland changed, and new opportunities started to emerge.[4] Most of them arebusinessmen[citation needed] who migrated to Poland to take advantage of theeconomic boom afterWarsaw opted for afree-market economy in 1989 andjoined the European Union in 2004. In 2007, Poland signed an agreement withIndia to admit more Indian migrant workers as part of an effort to amelioratelabour shortages caused by the outward migration of hundreds of thousands of Polish workers to wealthier countries in theEuropean Union.[5] Newer groups ofIndians in Poland arestudents and academics.[6] Recent research shows that the Indian community has been well integrated into Polish society.[7]
Number of work permits for Indian citizens and number of Indian students enrolled in Polish universities
| Year | Total number of work permits for foreigners issued[8] | Of which for Indians (%) | Number of work permits for Indian citizens* | Academic year | Number of Indian students enrolled in Polish universities |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 36 800 | 3,2 | 1 189[9] | 2009-10 | 227[10] |
| 2011 | 40 808 | 2,6 | 1 055 | 2010-11 | 148 |
| 2012 | 39 144 | 2,78% | 1 088 | 2011-12 | 189 |
| 2013 | 39 078 | 3,33% | 1 301 | 2012-13 | 204 |
| 2014 | 43 663 | 2,84% | 1 240 | 2013-14 | 321[11] |
| 2015 | 65 786 | 2,17% | 1 428 | 2014-15 | 545[12] |
| 2016 | 127 394 | 1,39% | 1 771 | 2015-16 | 896[13] |
| 2017 | 235 626 | 1,61% | 3 794 | 2016-17 | 2 138[14] |
| 2018 | 328 768 | 2,54% | 8 362 | 2017-18 | 2 987[15] |
| 2019 | * | *% | * | 2018-19 | 3600 (preliminary data) |
The Indian community in Poland is a business-minded community. They have their own 'Little India' inWarsaw andKraków as a large number of the community are based there, while there are others based inŁódź andPabianice.[citation needed]
The Indian community in Poland is primarily composed of Hindus and Sikhs. Hinduism began to spread in the country through the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) missionaries starting in 1976. The first Hindu temple in Poland, the New Shantipur Temple, was established in 1980 inCzarnów, Lower Silesian Voivodeship.[16] A second Hindu temple, known as Hindu Bhavan, was constructed in Warsaw.[17] The Indian community hopes that the temple sensitizes the community's youth towards Indian tradition and customs, as well as to use the new place of worship as a tool to integrate with Polish society.
There are about 120 Sikh families in Warsaw headed by J J Singh, the most prominent Indian, who is also the president of Indo Polish Chamber of Commerce and Industries.[18] The city's SikhGurdwara the only Sikh shrine in the whole ofCentral Europe, and it is the place where both Sikhs andSindhi's come together to celebrateBaisakhi. The Kerala Association of Poland conductsOnam, the festival ofKeralites year on year, headed by Pradeep Nayar and Chandramohan Nallur. The Association of Bengalis in Poland headed by Pradipto Maulik together with Durga Puja Committee conduct the 3–4 day long festival ofDurga Puja.Durgotsav is the largest Indian community festival in Poland.Gujaratis, who came from the state ofGujarat,Marathis, who came from state ofMaharashtra andTamils, who came from the state ofTamil Nadu in India and other Indian communities from its other regions also have their associations and celebrateHoli, Dandya andPongal respectively.
| Poles |
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| Gorals | |||||||||||
| Kashubians | |||||||||||
| Silesians | |||||||||||
| OtherSlavic | |||||||||||
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| Romance | |||||||||||
| Others European | |||||||||||
| Non European | |||||||||||
