The Polish minority in Latvia numbers about 51,548 persons and (according to the Latvian data from 2011) form 2.3% of the population of Latvia

Latvia

Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...

. Poles are concentrated in the former Inflanty Voivodeship region, with about 18,000 in Daugavpils

Daugavpils

Daugavpils is a city in southeastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city gets its name. Daugavpils literally means "Daugava Castle". With a population of over 100,000, it is the second largest city in the country after the capital Riga, which is located some...

 (Dyneburg) and 17,000 in Riga

Riga

Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...

. People of Polish ethnicity have lived on the territory of modern Latvia since the 16th century

16th century

As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century lasted from 1501 to 1600. It is regarded by historians as the century in which the rise of the West occurred....

.

Demography

Population with Polish ethnic affiliations
Census year	1897	1920	1930	1935	1959	1970	1979	1989	1996 est.	2000	2005 est.	2008 est.	2011 est.
Population	65,056	52,244	59,400	48,637	59,800	63,000	62,700	60,416	63,400	59,505	56,511	54,024	51,548
Percentage	3.4%	3.3%	3.1%	2.6%	2.9%	2.7%	2.5%	2.3%	2.6%	2.5%	2.5%	2.4%	2.3%

|Aizkraukle District

Aizkraukle District

Aizkraukle District was an administrative division of Latvia, located in Vidzeme and Selonia regions, in the country's centre.Districts were eliminated during the administrative-territorial reform in 2009.-References:...

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Ethnic Poles distribution in Latvia
Census year	1989 census		2000 census		2005 est.		2008 est.
	population	%	population	%	population	%	population	%
590	1.3	608	1.4	572	1.4	537	1.3
Alūksne District Aluksne District Alūksne district was an administrative division of Latvia, located in Vidzeme region, in the country's north-east, from the capital city Riga...	99	0.3	84	0.3	73	0.3	71	0.3
Balvi District Balvi District Balvi District was an administrative division of Latvia, located in Latgale region, in the country's east. It was organized into two cities and nineteen parishes, each with a local government authority...	102	0.3	101	0.3	85	0.3	87	0.3
Bauska District Bauska District Bauska District was an administrative division of Latvia, located in Semigallia region, in the country's centre. It was organized into a city, a municipality and fifteen parishes, each with a local government authority...	840	1.5	827	1.6	774	1.5	740	1.5
Cēsis District Cesis District Cēsis District was an administrative division of Latvia, located in the Vidzeme region, in the country's north-east. It bordered the former districts of Valmiera and Valka to the north, Limbaži and Riga to the west, Gulbene to the east, Ogre and Madona to the south. It was organized into two...	704	1.1	640	1.0	594	1.0	575	1.0
Daugavpils District Daugavpils District Daugavpils District was an administrative division of Latvia, located in Latgalia region, in the country's south-east. It was organized into two cities and twenty one parishes, each with a local government authority...	5,294	11.2	5,068	11.9	4,912	12.1	4,609	11.9
Daugavpils city Daugavpils Daugavpils is a city in southeastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city gets its name. Daugavpils literally means "Daugava Castle". With a population of over 100,000, it is the second largest city in the country after the capital Riga, which is located some...	16,338	13.1	17,209	14.9	16,395	14.9	15,606	14.7
Dobele District Dobele District Dobele District was an administrative division of Latvia, located in the Courland and Semigallia regions, in the country's centre. It was organized into two cities, a municipality and fifteen parishes, each with a local government authority...	759	1.7	649	1.6	579	1.5	545	1.4
Gulbene District Gulbene District Gulbene District was an administrative division of Latvia, located in the Vidzeme region, in the country's north-east. It was organized into a city and thirteen parishes, each with a local government authority...	222	0.7	227	0.8	208	0.8	194	0.7
Jēkabpils District Jekabpils District Jēkabpils district was an administrative division of Latvia, located in Latgale region, in the country's east. It was organized into three cities and twenty one parishes, each with a local government authority. The main city in the district was Jēkabpils....	1,309	2.1	1,368	2.4	1,269	2.4	1,203	2.3
Jelgava District Jelgava District Jelgava District was an administrative division of Latvia, located in Semigallia region, in the country's centre. It was organized into a city, two municipalities and twelve parishes, each with a local government authority...	926	2.4	856	2.3	845	2.3	810	2.2
Jelgava city Jelgava -Sports:The city's main football team, FK Jelgava, plays in the Latvian Higher League and won the 2009/2010 Latvian Football Cup.- Notable people :*August Johann Gottfried Bielenstein - linguist, folklorist, ethnographer...	1,274	1.7	1,312	2.1	1,336	2.0	1,307	2.0
Jūrmala city Jurmala Jūrmala is a city in Latvia, about 25 kilometers west of Riga. Jūrmala is a resort town stretching and sandwiched between the Gulf of Riga and the Lielupe River...	905	1.5	932	1.7	937	1.7	926	1.7
Krāslava District Kraslava District Krāslava District was an administrative division of Latvia, located in Latgale region, in the country's east. It was organized into two cities and twenty three parishes, each with a local government authority...	2,499	6.0	2,441	6.6	2,286	6.6	2,169	6.6
Kuldīga District Kuldiga District Kuldīga District was an administrative division of Latvia, located in Courland region, in the country's west. It was organized into a city and thirteen parishes, each with a local government authority. The main city in the district was Kuldīga....	252	0.6	205	0.5	185	0.5	180	0.5
Liepāja District Liepaja District Liepāja District was an administrative division of Latvia, located in the Courland region, in the country's west.Districts were eliminated during the administrative-territorial reform in 2009....	276	0.5	197	0.4	188	0.4	183	0.4
Liepāja city Liepaja Liepāja ; ), is a republican city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea directly at 21°E. It is the largest city in the Kurzeme Region of Latvia, the third largest city in Latvia after Riga and Daugavpils and an important ice-free port...	1,298	1.1	1,120	1.3	1,054	1.2	1,001	1.2
Limbaži District Limbaži District Limbaži District was an administrative division of Latvia, located in Vidzeme region, in the country's north-east, on the shore of the Baltic Sea. It bordered Estonia in the north, the former districts of Riga in the south and Valmiera in the east, and the Gulf of Riga in the west. It covered the...	325	0.8	343	0.9	304	0.8	277	0.7
Ludza District Ludza District Ludza District was an administrative division of Latvia, located in Latgale region, in the country's east.Districts were eliminated during the administrative-territorial reform in 2009.- Provinces and parishes of Ludza District :*Blonti parish...	362	0.9	376	1.1	350	1.1	316	1.0
Madona District Madona District Madona District was an administrative division of Latvia, located in Vidzeme and Latgale regions, in the country's east. Within the district is the highest point in Latvia - Gaiziņkalns. The district also bordered Latvia's largest lake, Lake Lubāns....	442	0.9	388	0.8	338	0.8	311	0.7
Ogre District Ogre District The Ogre District was an administrative division of Latvia, located in the Semigallia and Vidzeme regions, in the country's centre. It was situated about 37km east of the capital Riga...	975	1.5	894	1.4	858	1.4	837	1.3
Preiļi District Preili District Preiļi District was an administrative division of Latvia, located in Latgale region, in the country's east. It bordered the former districts of Jēkabpils, Madona, Rēzekne, Krāslava and Daugavpils....	888	1.9	791	1.9	704	1.8	664	1.8
Rēzekne District Rezekne District Rēzekne District was an administrative division of Latvia, located in Latgale region, in the country's east.Districts were eliminated during the administrative-territorial reform in 2009.-Cities:*Rēzekne*Viļāni...	597	1.4	533	1.2	522	1.3	499	1.3
Rēzekne city Rezekne In the 19th century, the population of Rēzekne was 2/3 Jewish. As a result of the Pale of Settlement many Jews settled in Latgalia and were confined to the cities. The remainder of the population included Poles, Germans, Russians, and an extreme minority of native Latgalians...	1,166	2.7	1,056	2.7	1,002	2.7	928	2.6
Riga District Riga District Riga District was an administrative division of Latvia, located in Semigallia and Vidzeme regions, in the centre of the country. The district had the two cities of Riga and Jūrmala with the Gulf of Riga to the north. Beginning from the west and counterclockwise to the east, Riga District had...	2,533	1.7	2,685	1.9	2,637	1.7	2,734	1.6
Riga city Riga Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...	16,653	1.8	15,980	2.1	15,094	2.1	14,456	2.0
Saldus District Saldus District Saldus District was an administrative division of Latvia, located in Courland region, in the country's west.Districts were eliminated during the administrative-territorial reform in 2009.-Cities and parishes:*Saldus city*Brocēni town*Ezeres parish...	296	0.7	240	0.6	202	0.5	194	0.5
Talsi District Talsi District Talsi District was an administrative division of Latvia, located in Courland region, in the country's west. It was one of the former 26 rural districts of Latvia and it consisted of 20 local communities.These included three towns:...	364	0.7	329	0.7	306	0.6	286	0.6
Tukums District Tukums District Tukums District was an administrative division of Latvia, located in Courland region, in the country's west.Districts were eliminated during the administrative-territorial reform in 2009....	601	1.0	555	1.0	518	0.9	484	0.9
Valka District Valka District Valka district was an administrative division of Latvia, located in Vidzeme region, in the country's north-east. The district's area was 2441 km2. The population was 31,314 inhabitants in 2008.The district contained 4 towns and 17 parishes...	328	0.9	295	0.9	251	0.8	228	0.7
Valmiera District Valmiera District The Valmiera district was an administrative division of Latvia, located in the Vidzeme region, in the country's north-east. Its administrative center was Valmiera. It bordered Estonia to the north and the former districts of Limbaži to the west, Valka to the east and Cēsis to the south...	586	0.9	594	1.0	533	0.9	507	0.9
Ventspils District Ventspils District The Ventspils District was an administrative division of Latvia, located in the Courland region, in the country's west.The district consisted of 11 parishes - Ance, Jūrkalne, Pope, Puze, Targale, Ugale, Usma, Uzava, Varve, Ziras, Zlekas parish and Piltene town's rural territory.Districts were...	97	0.6	77	0.5	73	0.5	68	0.5
Ventspils city Ventspils Ventspils is a city in northwestern Latvia in the Courland historical region of Latvia, the sixth largest city in the country. As of 2006, Ventspils had a population of 43,806. Ventspils is situated on the Venta River and the Baltic Sea, and has an ice-free port...	516	1.0	525	1.2	527	1.2	492	1.1

Mixed marriages are common for the ethnic Poles in Latvia: per cent distribution of males with spouse of different ethnicity was 89%, of females with spouse of different ethnicity was 90% (1990-2007)

Polish organizations in Latvia

The largest Polish organization in Latvia is Association of Poles in Latvia (Związek Polaków na Łotwie).