Editing Rybnik (section)

==Population==
{{Historical populations|1581|17=1960|29=2020|28=141410|27=2010|26=143218|25=2000|24=143980|23=1990|22=122732|21=1980|20=43700|19=1970|18=34099|16=27222|340|15=1950|14=23052|13=1946|12=28500|11=1931|10=11700|9=1910|8=2907|7=1855|6=1190|5=1796|4=680|1725|30=137128|footnote=source <ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.polskawliczbach.pl/Rybnik | title=Rybnik (śląskie) » mapy, nieruchomości, GUS, noclegi, szkoły, regon, atrakcje, kody pocztowe, wypadki drogowe, bezrobocie, wynagrodzenie, zarobki, tabele, edukacja, demografia }}</ref>}}

=== Historical population ===
Historically, Rybnik was a small town, with population exceeding 1,000 people only in the late 1700s. It was similar in size to neighboring [[Żory]] and [[Wodzisław Śląski]], around half the size of [[Gliwice]] and 1/3 the size of [[Racibórz]]. The population development accelerated after [[Upper Silesia]] was annexed by [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]] in 1740. In 1818, Rybnik became a county seat and in 1856 Rybnik was connected with Racibórz by rail. Two years later, in 1858, Rybnik gained a rail connection with Katowice, further accelerating growth. While the discovery of large [[coal]] deposits around Rybnik in late 1800s and early 1900s caused capital inflow and population growth of neighboring villages and settlements, Rybnik continued to be primarily a market town rather than transform into a large industrial city like other towns in the region, particularly in the [[Upper Silesian Industrial Region]]. This changed after [[World War II]], when the [[Polish People's Republic|Polish]] [[Communist Party of Poland|communist]] government doubled-down on its heavy industrialization platform, increasing [[Coal mining|coal production]] in existing coal mines around Rybnik and building [[Jastrzębie-Zdrój|a new city for miners nearby]]. Due to its central location and existing infrastructure, Rybnik became the center of the [[Rybnik Coal Area]], growing to 44,400 people in 1972.

In the 1970s, under administrative reform, Rybnik annexed a number of neighboring mining towns and villages, growing to 118,200 by the end of the decade. Labor shortages on the local market, created in part by emigration to Germany through the family reunification schemes since the 1950s,<ref>{{Cite web|title=1971: Ankunft erster Aussiedler aus Polen in der Bundesrepublik - Ein weiter Weg nach Westen|url=https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/1971-ankunft-erster-aussiedler-aus-polen-in-der.871.de.html?dram:article_id=491326|access-date=2021-09-24|website=Deutschlandfunk|language=de-DE}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kijonka|first=Justyna|date=2013|title=Migracje z Górnego Śląska do Republiki Federalnej Niemiec w latach 1970-1989, czyli między ojczyzną prywatną a ideologiczną|url=https://rebus.us.edu.pl/bitstream/20.500.12128/1910/1/Kijonka_Migracje_z_Gornego_Slaska_do_Republiki_Federalnej_Niemiec.pdf|journal=Górnośląskie Studia Socjologiczne|volume=4|pages=29–47}}</ref> motivated large state enterprises to recruit workers in other parts of the country. As a result, by 1970s and 80s approximately 30% of people in Rybnik were recent internal migrants.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Historia - Rybnik - serwis miejski|url=https://www.rybnik.eu/miasto/historia|access-date=2021-09-24|website=www.rybnik.eu}}</ref> That migration was a source of ethnic conflict since the 1950s, given that in the eyes of [[Polish people|Poles]] from other parts of the country, indigenous [[Silesians]] were [[Germans]], and the anti-German sentiment was still strong in Poland at the time.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Salamon|first=Izabela|date=2012|title=Jak się biły hanysy i gorole|work=Nowiny|url=https://enowiny.pl/artykul,29280,jak-sie-bily-hanysy-i-gorole|access-date=Sep 23, 2021}}</ref> Rybnik's population continued to grow until the peak in 1997 at 144,943.

=== Current population estimates ===
On January 1, 2021, Rybnik had 137,128 inhabitants,<ref name=":1" /> with a [[population density]] of 955.3 per km².

In 2020, age breakdown was as follows: 25,166 (18.4%) under 18, 50,183 (36.6%) aged 18–44, 31,248 (22.8%) aged 45–64, 30,531 (22.3%) 65 and older. Total fertility rate in Rybnik is 1.39 as of 2020, below the replacement level of 2.1 but above the country average of 1.38.

As of the 2011 national census, education breakdown among 15-year-olds and older was as follows: 17,919 (15.8%) had a college degree, 35,709 (31.6%) had a high school diploma, 36,249 (32%) had a vocational school diploma, and 21,265 (20.6%) did not have a high school or vocational school diploma.

=== Nationality, language and religion ===
According to the 2011 census, 85.2% of Rybnik citizens declared [[Polish nationality law|Polish nationality]], while 28.6% declared nationality other than Polish (since 2011, in the Polish census, one can declare up to two nationalities). [[Silesians]] were the largest national minority, at 28.6% (40,311 people), followed by [[Germans]] at 0.5% (707). [[Polish language|Polish]] was the most-common language spoken at home, with 94.5% inhabitants declaring it. 24,372 people (17.3%) declared they speak [[Silesian language|Silesian]] at home.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|last=GUS|title=Struktura narodowo-etniczna, językowa i wyznaniowa ludności Polski - NSP 2011|url=https://stat.gov.pl/spisy-powszechne/nsp-2011/nsp-2011-wyniki/struktura-narodowo-etniczna-jezykowa-i-wyznaniowa-ludnosci-polski-nsp-2011,22,1.html|access-date=2021-09-24|website=stat.gov.pl|language=pl}}</ref> Since the 2011 census, Poland has experienced a significant influx of immigrants, [[Ukrainians in Poland|particularly from Ukraine]]. In Rybnik, the city hall estimates the Ukrainian immigrant population at around 10,000 as of 2021.<ref>{{Cite web|title=III Dni Kultury Ukrainy w Rybniku|url=https://www.rybnik.eu/dla-mieszkancow/aktualnosci/aktualnosc/iii-dni-kultury-ukrainy-w-rybniku-1|access-date=2021-09-24|website=www.rybnik.eu|date=18 August 2021 |language=pl}}</ref>

[[Catholic Church|Catholicism]] was the largest religious denomination in Rybnik according to the 2011 census, with 127,809 adherents (90.69% of all inhabitants). The only other denomination with more than 300 adherents were [[Jehovah's Witnesses]], at 434 adherents (0.31%). 2,270 (1.61%) people declared they had no religion, while 6,785 (4.81%) refused to answer the question and for 2,790 (1.98%) people the question could not be answered.<ref name=":2" /> Other religions with places of worship in Rybnik include: [[Buddhism|Buddhists]], [[Seventh-day Adventist Church|Seventh Day Adventists]], [[Lutheranism|Lutherans]] (with a parish since 1742, and a church from 1853), and [[Pentecostalism|Pentecostals]].

=== Neighborhoods ===
Rybnik is divided into 27 neighborhoods that are considered auxiliary administrative units. Most of them are suburban areas, including: [[Chwałęcice, Rybnik|Chwałęcice]], [[Golejów, Rybnik|Golejów]], [[Gotartowice]], [[Grabownia, Rybnik|Grabownia]], [[Kamień, Rybnik|Kamień]], [[Kłokocin]], [[Ligota-Ligocka Kuźnia]], [[Meksyk, Rybnik|Meksyk]], [[Ochojec, Rybnik|Ochojec]], [[Orzepowice]], [[Popielów, Rybnik|Popielów]], [[Radziejów, Rybnik|Radziejów]], [[Rybnicka Kuźnia]], [[Północ, Rybnik|Rybnik – Północ]], [[Stodoły, Rybnik|Stodoły]], [[Wielopole, Rybnik|Wielopole]], [[Zamysłów, Rybnik|Zamysłów]] and [[Zebrzydowice, Rybnik|Zebrzydowice]]. There are also four former towns that have been merged with Rybnik: [[Boguszowice Stare]], [[Chwałowice, Rybnik|Chwałowice]], [[Niedobczyce]] and [[Niewiadom]]. Two districts ([[Boguszowice Osiedle]] and [[Maroko-Nowiny]]) are typical Polish housing estates, with large blocks of flats and supporting buildings (such as shops and schools) built in communist time. The remaining three districts, [[Smolna, Rybnik|Smolna]], [[Śródmieście, Rybnik|Śródmieście]] and [[Paruszowiec-Piaski]] formed the pre-war town of Rybnik. Those areas are densely built-up, with old town, city hall, most of schools, offices and shopping malls in Śródmieście (literally: ''city centre'' in Polish) and 19th century factories and houses in Paruszowiec.