The Katowice urban area (, ), also known as the Upper Silesian urban area (, ), is an

urban area An urban area is a human settlement with a high population density and an infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas originate through urbanization, and researchers categorize them as cities, towns, conurbations or suburbs. In urbani ...

conurbation A conurbation is a region consisting of a number of metropolises, cities, large towns, and other urban areas which, through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban or industrially developed area. In most ...

in southern

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, centered on

Katowice Katowice (, ) is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland and the central city of the Katowice urban area. As of 2021, Katowice has an official population of 286,960, and a resident population estimate of around 315,000. K ...

. It is located in the

Silesian Voivodeship Silesian Voivodeship ( ) is an administrative province in southern Poland. With over 4.2 million residents and an area of 12,300 square kilometers, it is the second-most populous, and the most-densely populated and most-urbanized region of Poland ...

. The Katowice urban area is the largest urban area in Poland and 22nd largest urban area in the European Union. According to

Demographia Wendell Cox is an American urban policy analyst and proponent of the Automotive city, use of the private car over rail projects. He is the principal and sole owner of Wendell Cox Consultancy/Demographia, based in the St. Louis metropolitan region ...

, its population is 1,903,000 (August 2023).

Alternative names

.
.

Administration of urban area

In the years 2008–2017, the Metropolitan Association of Upper Silesia encompassed the 14 cities with powiat rights of the urban area. In 2017, it was replaced by the

Metropolis GZM The Metropolis GZM (, formally in Polish (Upper Silesian-Dąbrowa Basin Metropolis)) is a metropolitan association () composed of 41 contiguous gminas, with a total population of over 2 million, covering most of the Katowice metropolitan area i ...

, however, the latter includes a total of 41

gmina The gmina (Polish: , plural ''gminy'' ) is the basic unit of the administrative division of Poland, similar to a municipality. , there were 2,479 gminy throughout the country, encompassing over 43,000 villages. 940 gminy include cities and tow ...

s of the wider

Katowice metropolitan area Katowice metropolitan area, also known as Upper Silesian metropolitan areaJaworzno due to political reasons. According to Statistics Poland, the Katowice urban area consists of 19 bordering cities in the

Będzin Będzin (; also seen spelled ''Bendzin''; ) is a city in the Dąbrowa Basin, in southern Poland. It lies in the Silesian Highlands, on the Czarna Przemsza River (a tributary of the Vistula River, Vistula). Even though part of Silesian Voivodeship ...

Bytom Bytom (Polish pronunciation: ; Silesian language, Silesian: ''Bytōm, Bytōń'', ) is a city in Upper Silesia, in southern Poland. Located in the Silesian Voivodeship, the city is 7 km northwest of Katowice, the regional capital. It is one ...

Chorzów Chorzów ( ; ; ) is a city in the Silesia region of southern Poland, near Katowice. Chorzów is one of the central cities of the Metropolis GZM – a metropolis with a population of 2 million. It is located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Rawa ...

, Czeladź,

Dąbrowa Górnicza Dąbrowa Górnicza () is a city in Zagłębie Dąbrowskie, southern Poland, near Katowice and Sosnowiec. It is located in eastern part of the Silesian Voivodeship, on the Czarna Przemsza and Biała Przemsza rivers (tributaries of the Vistula Rive ...

Gliwice Gliwice (; , ) is a city in Upper Silesia, in southern Poland. The city is located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Kłodnica river (a tributary of the Oder River, Oder). It lies approximately 25 km west from Katowice, the regional capital ...

, Jaworzno,

Knurów Knurów (; ) is a city near Katowice in Silesia, southern Poland. Knurów is an outer city of the Metropolis GZM, a metropolis with a population of two million. Knurów is located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Bierawka River, a tributary of t ...

, Mikołów, Mysłowice, Piekary Śląskie, Ruda Śląska,

Siemianowice Śląskie Siemianowice Śląskie (; ; ) also known as Siemianowice is a city in Upper Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice, in the core of the Metropolis GZM - a metropolis with a population of 2 million people and is located in the Silesian Highlands, ...

, Świętochłowice, Sosnowiec,

Tychy Tychy (Polish pronunciation: ; ) is a city in Silesia in southern Poland, approximately south of Katowice. Situated on the southern edge of the Upper Silesian industrial district, the city borders Katowice to the north, Mikołów to the west, Bie ...

, Tarnowskie Góry, and

Zabrze Zabrze (; German: 1915–1945: , full form: , , ) is an industrial city put under direct government rule in Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice. It lies in the western part of the Metropolis GZM, a metropolis with a population of around 2 m ...

. The cities and statistics (1 January 2008):''Powierzchnia i ludność w przekroju terytorialnym w 2008''
– Central Statistical Office in Poland

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Katowice Urban Area Katowice Geography of Silesian Voivodeship Demographics of Poland Upper Silesia Urban areas in Poland

Alternative names

Administration of urban area

See also

References