Day of Polish Statistics Date in the current year: March 9, 2025

Statistics provide a structured way of collecting, analyzing, and presenting data, helping governments make evidence-based decisions. In economics and public policy, statistics guide resource allocation, economic planning, and social programs by providing insights into employment, inflation, and population demographics. To highlight the importance of statistics many countries, including Poland, have special professional holidays.

The Day of Polish Statistics is a joint initiative of the General Council of the Polish Statistical Association, the Committee on Statistics and Econometrics of the Polish Academy of Sciences and the President of Statistics Poland. It was established at the meeting of the Committee on Statistics and Econometrics of the Polish Academy of Sciences on December 2, 2008.

March 9 was chosen for the Day of Polish Statistics for a reason. It is the anniversary of the session of the Four-Year Sejm in 1789, where the renowned economist Fryderyk Józef Moszyński advocated for a statistical census of the Polish territories. This led to the decision to conduct the first general census in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, known as the “Lustration of Houses and Enumeration of Population”.

The Day of Polish Statistics is celebrated to promote statistics as a scientific discipline and an important public resource. It also serves as an opportunity to inform the public about the latest results of scientific research and the continuous development of statistical knowledge.

Public statistics perform an essential function: they provide society, government bodies and the international community with data that reflect the state and development of the country’s social and economic life. The dedicated professionals of Polish public statistics work tirelessly to ensure that this information remains universally accessible, free, and user-friendly.

The Day of Polish Statistics is a professional holiday for all those involved in the field of statistics and its development in Poland. Their efforts are crucial for deepening our understanding of the many demographic, social, and economic phenomena that shape our world.

Statistics Poland (Główny Urząd Statystyczny, GUS) is the main Polish government agency responsible for collecting and publishing statistical information on population, society, and the economy. It was established in 1918 as the Central Statistical Office (CSO). The first director of the CSO was Józef Buzek, and another notable Polish statistician, Ludwik Krzywicki, served as his deputy. The CSO was inactive during World War II and resumed its activities in March 1945.

Today, Statistics Poland is a ministry-level organization: its president reports directly to the prime minister and is considered the equivalent of a government minister. Statistics Poland has several branches and a number of regional statistical offices in Białystok, Bydgoszcz, Gdańsk, Katowice, Kielce, Krakow, Lublin, Łódź, Olsztyn, Opole, Poznań, Rzeszów, Szczecin, Warsaw, Wrocław, and Zielona Góra.