Katowice urban area in the context of "Ruda Śląska"

Polish people, or Poles, are a West Slavic ethnic group and nation who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in Central Europe. The preamble to the Constitution of the Republic of Poland defines the Polish nation as comprising all the citizens of Poland, regardless of heritage or ethnicity. The majority of Poles adhere to Roman Catholicism.

The population of self-declared Poles in Poland is estimated at 37,394,000 out of an overall population of 38,512,000 (based on the 2011 census), of whom 36,522,000 declared Polish alone. A wide-ranging Polish diaspora (the Polonia) exists throughout Eurasia, the Americas, and Australasia. Today, the largest urban concentrations of Poles are within the Warsaw metropolitan area and the Katowice urban area.

Silesian Voivodeship (Polish: województwo śląskie [vɔjɛˈvut͡stfɔ ˈɕlɔ̃skʲɛ] ) 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. It generates 11.9% of Polish GDP and is characterized by a high life satisfaction, low income inequalities, and high wages.

The region has a diversified geography. The Beskid Mountains cover most of the southern part of the voivodeship, with the highest peak of Pilsko on the Polish-Slovakian border reaching 1,534 m (5,033 ft) above sea level. Silesian Upland dominates the central part of the region, while the hilly, limestone Polish Jura closes it from the northeast. Katowice urban area, located in the central part of the region, is the second most-populous urban area in Poland after Warsaw, with 2.2 million people, and one of Poland's seven supra-regional metropolises, while Rybnik, Bielsko-Biała and Częstochowa and their respective urban areas are classified among the country's 15 regional agglomerations.

Katowice (/ˌkɑtəˈvitsə/, Polish: [katɔˈvit͡sɛ] , Silesian: Katowice, German: Kattowitz) 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. Katowice is a central part of the Metropolis GZM, with a population of 2.3 million, and a part of a larger Katowice–Ostrava metropolitan area that extends into the Czech Republic and has a population of around 5 million people, making it one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the European Union.

Katowice was founded as a village in the 16th century, whereas several modern districts of Katowice were founded as villages in the Middle Ages. Throughout the mid-18th century, Katowice grew following the discovery of rich coal reserves in the area. In the first half of the 19th century, intensive industrialization transformed local mills and farms into industrial steelworks, mines, foundries and artisan workshops. The city has since reshaped its economy from a heavy industry-based one to professional services, education and healthcare. The entire metropolitan area is the 16th most economically powerful city by GDP in the European Union with an output amounting to $114.5 billion. Katowice Special Economic Zone is ranked fourth on the list of the TOP10 Global Free Zones.

Katowice metropolitan area, also known as Upper Silesian metropolitan area (Polish: górnośląski obszar metropolitalny), is the metropolitan area of Katowice and its urban area, with a population of around 2.5 million (2023). It lies within the areas of the historic regions of Upper Silesia, Kraków Basin [pl] and Dąbrowa Basin. It is sometimes considered a part of the polycentric Katowice-Ostrava metropolitan area, which has a population of 5.3 million people (2002). Also this is (with Kraków metropolitan area among others) a part of Kraków-Katowice-Ostrava metropolitan region [Wikidata], which has a population of around 6.8 million.

Sosnowiec is an industrial city county in the Dąbrowa Basin of southern Poland, in the Silesian Voivodeship, which is also part of the Metropolis GZM municipal association. Located in the eastern part of the Upper Silesian Industrial Region, Sosnowiec is one of the cities of the Katowice urban area, which is a conurbation with a total population of 2.7 million people; as well as the greater Katowice-Ostrava metropolitan area populated by about 5.3 million people. The population of the city is 189,178 as of December 2022.

Chorzów (/ˈxɒʒuːf/ KHOZH-oof; Polish: [ˈxɔʐuf] ; Silesian: Chorzōw) 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 River (a tributary of the Vistula).

Administratively, Chorzów is in the Silesian Voivodeship since 1999, previously Katowice Voivodeship, and before then, the Silesian Voivodeship. Chorzów is one of the cities of the 2.7 million conurbation – the Katowice urban area and within a greater Katowice-Ostrava metropolitan area with a population of about 5,294,000 people. The population within the city limits is 105,628 as of December 2021.

Świętochłowice (Polish: [ɕfjɛntɔxwɔˈvit͡sɛ] ; German: Schwientochlowitz; Silesian: Świyntochłowice) is a city with powiat rights in Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice. It is also one of the central cities of the Metropolis GZM, with a population of 2 million, and is located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Rawa River (tributary of the Vistula).

It is situated in the Silesian Voivodeship since its formation in 1999, previously in Katowice Voivodeship, and before then, of the Autonomous Silesian Voivodeship. Świętochłowice is one of the cities of the 2.7 million conurbation – Katowice urban area and within a greater Katowice-Ostrava metropolitan area populated by about 5,294,000 people. The population of the city is 49,762 (2019).

The Katowice–Ostrava metropolitan area (also known as Upper Silesian-Moravian metropolitan area or Upper Silesian urban-industrial agglomeration) is a polycentric metropolitan area in southern Poland and northeastern Czech Republic, centered on the cities of Katowice and Ostrava, and has around 5 million inhabitants. Geographically, it is located mainly in Upper Silesia, with small parts of the area also in the historical regions of Moravia and Lesser Poland. Administratively, it is located in the three administrative units (NUTS-2 class): mainly Silesian Voivodeship and a small western part of Lesser Poland Voivodeship in Poland, and also a small eastern part of Moravian-Silesian Region in the Czech Republic.

The metropolitan area lies within the Upper Silesian Coal Basin. The Upper Silesian metropolitan area (5.3 million people), together with nearby Kraków metropolitan area (1.3 million people) and Częstochowa metropolitan area (0.4 million people), create a greater Kraków-Katowice-Ostrava metropolitan region [Wikidata] covering 7 million people.