Demographics of Białystok
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Historically, Białystok has been a destination for internal and foreign immigration, especially from
Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
and Eastern Europe. In addition to the Polish minority in 19th century, there was a significant Jewish majority in Białystok. According to
Russian census of 1897 The first general census of the population of the Russian Empire in 1897 (Russian alphabet#Letters eliminated in 1917–18, pre-reform Russian: ) was the first and only nation-wide census performed in the Russian Empire (the Grand Duchy of Fi ...
, out of the total population of 66,000, Jews constituted 41,900 (around 63% percent). In 1936, Białystok had a population of 99,722, of whom: 50.9% (50,758) were Poles, 42.6% (42,482) Jews, 2.1% (2,094) Germans and 0.4% (359) Russians. World War II changed all of this, in 1939, ca. 107,000 persons lived in Białystok, but in 1946 – only 56,759, and to this day there is much less ethnic diversity than in the previous 300 years of the city's history. Currently the city's population is 97% Polish, 2.5% Belarusian and 0.5% of a number of minorities including Russians, Lipka Tartars, Ukrainians and Romani. Most of the modern day population growth is based on internal migration and urbanization. The largest population in Białystok occurred in 2020 as reported by
GUS Gus is a masculine name, often a diminutive for Angus, August, Augustine, or Augustus, and other names (e.g. Aengus, Argus, Fergus, Ghassan, Gustav, Gustave, Gustafson, Gustavo, Gussie). It can also be used as the adaptation into English of ...
297 585 people.


National minorities


Belarusians

Białystok is a center of culture and society of Belarus (according to the census, they are almost 7,500, which represents 2.5% of residents of Białystok).Mniejszości narodowe i etniczne w Polsce
There is a Belarus Consulate in the city, and organizations exist such as the Belarusian Social and Cultural Association, the Belarusian Youth Union, the Union of Belarus to Poland, the Belarusian Association of Literary Białowieza, Belarusian Historical Society, Belarusian Association of Journalists, Belarusian Students Association, Center for Civic Education, Poland-Belarus, Society of Belarusian Culture. Białystok also hosts cultural events such as nationwide Festival "Belarusian Song" and Day of Belarusian Culture. Belarus Radio Right () is based in the city and transmits radio programming to Belarus. There are a number of Belarusian-language newspapers: Niwa, Belarusian Historical Papers, Pravincyja and Czasopis.


Jews

Jewish community of Białystok traces its history to the city's early days. The community developed and by 1897 Jews made up about 66% of the city's population.


Russians

Russians are a minority, they are scattered around the territory of Poland but mostly reside in eastern Poland. There are 3244 Russians in Poland, living mainly in Białystok and the surrounding region, according to the 2002 census. The HFHR estimated around 13,000-15,000 Russians are in Poland. In Białystok, the main organization of work - Russian Cultural and Educational Association, organizing the Days of Russian Culture.


Tatars

The Lipka Tatar origins can be traced back to the descendant states of the
Mongol Empire The Mongol Empire of the 13th and 14th centuries was the largest contiguous land empire in history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Europe, ...
of
Genghis Khan ''Chinggis Khaan'' ͡ʃʰiŋɡɪs xaːŋbr />Mongol script: ''Chinggis Qa(gh)an/ Chinggis Khagan'' , birth_name = Temüjin , successor = Tolui (as regent)Ögedei Khan , spouse = , issue = , house = Borjigin , ...
- the White Horde, the Golden Horde, the Crimean Khanate and Kazan Khanate. They initially served as a noble military caste but later they became urban-dwellers known for their crafts, horses and gardening skills. Throughout centuries they resisted assimilation and kept their traditional lifestyle. While they remained very attached to their religions, over time however, they lost their original
Tatar language Tatar ( or ) is a Turkic languages, Turkic language spoken by Volga Tatars, Tatars mainly located in modern Tatarstan (European Russia), as well as Siberia. It should not be confused with Crimean Tatar language, Crimean Tatar or Siberian Tat ...
and for the most part adopted
Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...
.Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups, "Polish or Lithuanian Tartars", Harvard University Press, pg. 990 After the annexation of eastern Poland into the Soviet Union following World War II, Poland was left with only 2 Tatar villages,
Bohoniki Bohoniki ( Polish Arabic: بوـحـونيكي) is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Sokółka, within Sokółka County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, in north-eastern Poland, close to the border with Belarus. It lies approximately ea ...
and
Kruszyniany Kruszyniany ( Polish Arabic: كروـشـنيانِ) is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Krynki, within Sokółka County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, in north-eastern Poland, close to the border with Belarus. The village has a popu ...
. A significant number of the Tartars in the territories annexed to the USSR repatriated to Poland and clustered in or near Białystok. In Poland, the Tatar population reached approximately 100,000 in 1630 but the 2002 census showed only 447 people declaring this ethnicity. In 1925 the Muslim Religion Association (Muzułmański Związek Religijny) was formed in Białystok. In 1992, the ''Organization of Tatars of the Polish Republic'' (Związek Tatarów Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej) with autonomous branches in Białystok and Gdańsk began operating. The Białystok branch issues a magazine called ''Life Tatar''. The plan is to establish in Bialystok an Institute for the History of the Tartars''.


Other nationalities

In Bialystok there are other minorities: *
Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnicities * Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia ** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule * Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...
- Emigration of Polish Romani to Germany in the late 1980s reduced Poland's Romani population by as much as 75 percent. In Białystok the ''Central Council of Roma'' work in Poland, and publish a monthly magazine, ''Rromano po Drom'' * Ukrainians - According to the census 417 Ukrainians live in Białystok, There are two civic societies in the city, ''the Association of Ukrainians of Podlasie'' and ''Association of Independent Ukrainian Youth''.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Demographics of Bialystok Demographics of Poland Białystok Podlaskie Voivodeship