Editing Opole (section)

==Historical population==
{{Historical populations|1950|38464|1960|63500|1970|86900|1978|111266|1988|126404|2002|129946|2011|131867|2021|127387|footnote=Source:<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.polskawliczbach.pl/Opole | title=Opole (Opolskie) » mapy, nieruchomości, GUS, noclegi, szkoły, regon, atrakcje, kody pocztowe, wypadki drogowe, bezrobocie, wynagrodzenie, zarobki, tabele, edukacja, demografia }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Demographic and occupational structure and housing conditions of the urban population in 1978-1988|url=https://statlibr.stat.gov.pl/exlibris/aleph/a22_1/apache_media/RQ1U9XAX48KJJDQ54QSAFQKQ6AK6GS.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Statistics Poland - National Censuses|url=https://bdl.stat.gov.pl/bdl/dane/podgrup/temat/}}</ref>}}
In the early 20th century the number of Polish and bilingual citizens of Opole, according to the official German statistics, varied from 25 to 31%.<ref name="Opole - Monografia miasta p. 263–268"/>

[[File:Opolska Wenecja nocą1.jpg|thumb|Water canal along the Old Town]]

===German minority===
Alongside [[German language|German]] and [[Polish language|Polish]], many citizens of the city before 1945 used a strongly German-influenced [[Silesian language|Silesian]] dialect (sometimes called ''wasserpolnisch'' or ''wasserpolak''). Because of this, the post-war [[Polish People's Republic|Polish state]] administration after the annexation of Silesia in 1945 did not initiate a general [[Expulsion of Germans after World War II|expulsion of all former inhabitants]] of Opole, as was done in Lower Silesia, for instance, where the population almost exclusively spoke the German language. Because they were considered "[[Autochthonous language|autochthonous]]" (Polish), the Wasserpolak-speakers instead received the right to remain in their homeland after declaring themselves as Poles. Some German speakers took advantage of this decision, allowing them to remain in Opole, even when they considered themselves to be of German nationality. The city surroundings currently contain the largest German and Upper Silesian minorities in Poland. However, Opole itself is only 2.46% German.<ref name="www2.mswia.gov.pl">{{cite web|url=http://www2.mswia.gov.pl/portal.php?serwis=pl&dzial=61&id=37#niemcy|title=German minority in Poland on the Ministry of Interior and Administration webpage|website=2.mswia.gov.pl|access-date=26 October 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120225161545/http://www2.mswia.gov.pl/portal.php?serwis=pl&dzial=61&id=37#niemcy|archive-date=25 February 2012}}</ref> (See also [[Germans of Poland]].)