Editing Silesian Voivodeship (section)

=== Population ===
More than one out of every nine of Poland's residents live in the Silesian voivodeship. According to the Polish Statistics Office, the region's population was 4.32 million at the end of 2023,<ref>{{Cite web |last=GUS |title=Powierzchnia i ludność w przekroju terytorialnym w 2023 roku |url=https://stat.gov.pl/obszary-tematyczne/ludnosc/ludnosc/powierzchnia-i-ludnosc-w-przekroju-terytorialnym-w-2023-roku,7,20.html |access-date=2025-01-26 |website=stat.gov.pl |language=pl}}</ref> a decrease of 6% from 10 years earlier. 

Similarly to Poland, the Silesian voivodeship has suffered extremely low fertility and an intensifying natural population decrease. In 2023, the total fertility rate was only 1.10, well below the 2.1 required to sustain a population size and slightly below the Polish average of 1.11. 27,641 people were born while 51,723 died, a natural decrease of -24,082. In 2023, 19.1% of the population was under 20, 32.2% was 20–44 years old, 27.4% was 45–64, while 21.3% were 65 or older.<ref>{{Cite web |last=GUS |title=Rocznik Demograficzny 2024 |url=https://stat.gov.pl/obszary-tematyczne/roczniki-statystyczne/roczniki-statystyczne/rocznik-demograficzny-2024,3,18.html |access-date=2025-01-26 |website=stat.gov.pl |language=pl}}</ref> 

Silesian voivodeship is the most densely populated and most urbanized region of Poland. More than three-fourths of residents live in urban areas, compared to less than 60% on average in Poland.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Wskaźnik urbanizacji w Polsce wg województw - Zintegrowana Platforma Edukacyjna |url=https://zpe.gov.pl/a/wskaznik-urbanizacji-w-polsce-wg-wojewodztw/DALbXxW5y |access-date=2025-01-26 |website=zpe.gov.pl}}</ref> Population density is nearly three times the average, with more than 350 people per square kilometer (nearly 1,000 per square mile).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rozmieszczenie ludności Polski - Zintegrowana Platforma Edukacyjna |url=https://zpe.gov.pl/a/rozmieszczenie-ludnosci-polski/D1GoKYG9R |access-date=2025-01-26 |website=zpe.gov.pl}}</ref> Population density is particularly high in the central part of the region where the polycentric Katowice urban area is located. 
[[File:Population density in the Silesian voivodeship.png|thumb|Population density in the region]]
Aside from Polish citizens, a large immigrant population resides in the region and is not counted towards official population statistics in Poland. As of November 2024, 99,542 foreigners living in the region paid into social security,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ubezpieczenia emerytalne i rentowe - Portal Statystyczny ZUS - zus.pl |url=https://psz.zus.pl/kategorie/ubezpieczeni/ubezpieczenia-emerytalne-i-rentowe |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20241127105516/https://psz.zus.pl/kategorie/ubezpieczeni/ubezpieczenia-emerytalne-i-rentowe |archive-date=2024-11-27 |access-date=2025-01-26 |website=Portal Statystyczny ZUS |language=pl-PL}}</ref> and in the 2023/24 academic year, 31,111 foreign students attended primary and secondary schools in the region.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Otwarte Dane |url=https://dane.gov.pl/pl/dataset/1426,liczba-uczniow-cudzoziemcow-wedug-gmin/resource/62744/table?page=1&per_page=20&q=&sort= |access-date=2025-01-26 |website=dane.gov.pl}}</ref> In addition, following the [[Russian invasion of Ukraine|2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]], the region has attracted many refugees. As of January 2025, 99,545 Ukrainian refugees settled in the Silesian voivodeship.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Otwarte Dane |url=https://dane.gov.pl/pl/dataset/2715,zarejestrowane-wnioski-o-nadanie-statusu-ukr/resource/63597/table |access-date=2025-01-26 |website=dane.gov.pl}}</ref>