Youngest Marital Age: Male and female Poles married at the earliest possible age among all EU nations. Most Polish men marry by the time they become 26 whereas many polish women tie the knot when they turn 24.

This number may seem somewhat odd, especially in light of the perception that young Poles often put off getting married in order to care for their parents first. Some Polish young people, mostly female, have even been reported to prefer finishing their school and looking for work before ever considering marriage. One may wonder why they have the youngest marriage age if their culture forbids it.

The reason for this is that even though Polish people wed the earliest and it is also true that Polish tradition requires children to care for their elders for a considerable amount of time, getting married young does not mean that one has abandoned one’s ageing parents in order to pursue a higher education and career.

They do have a tendency to wed young, but only because these couples had been together the longest. For many Poles, getting married at 24 or 26 is already ancient, therefore they ended up being married the youngest in all of Europe.

Higher Fertility Rate Outside of Poland: The birth rate in Poland is among the lowest ever observed. In reality, the country’s population growth actually declined the most in 2007 as a whole. The birth rate and fertility, however, have been declining steadily since 1993.

However, polish women outside of Poland, notably in the United Kingdom, have the second-highest birth rate behind Pakistani women. It has been hypothesised that the low GDP and the inadequate financial assistance provided by the government are to blame. The return is little and hardly enough to get by in their own country.

Therefore, many Poles have chosen to not only seek job outside of the nation but also permanent residence due to greater opportunities outside the country.

Another extremely likely explanation for this is because reproduction is suppressed at all ages according to traditional Catholic beliefs in the nation.

High Literacy Rate But Low Employment Rate: The Polish people have one of the greatest literacy rates in the EU, but they also rank among the EU’s poorest nations and have the largest proportion of young people who are forced into low-skill jobs. It seems strange, no? Even while the Polish government plays a significant part in all of them, the data about Poland’s actual realities are rather alarming.

Saddeningly, despite the fact that many young Poles desire better lifestyles, they are often out of reach. Fortunately, since being a member of the EU, doors of opportunity have opened and many people have chosen to leave the nation.