Poland

Poland currently has no national youth policy. According to the Government Plenipotentiary for Youth Policy, the Polish government is in the process of developing a new national “Strategy for the Young Generation.” In 2021 and 2022, consultations about the strategy’s content were held with young people throughout the country. No draft document is available yet.

Published on October 4, 2023
Updated on February 12, 2024

Definition of youth

The Polish Council of Youth Organisations (PROM) is an independent, national-level umbrella group of youth organisations and acts as the country's National Youth Council. Established in 2011, it represents 30 Polish youth organisations and more than 250,000 young people. According to its website, PROM's currently most important task is "to take action to create a coherent and modern policy for young people in Poland."

PROM is coordinated by an elected board and runs projects at local, national, and international level. According to its statutes (2017), the council's assets are derived from a mix of membership fees; donations; subsidies and grants; income from held capital; and paid activities. PROM is a full member of the European Youth Forum.

In 2021, Poland passed an act amending several laws to strengthen the role of local youth councils.

Definition 1
15 - 29 years

Source: Youth Guarantee Implementation Plan 2015

Definition 2
13 - 30 years

Source: Youth Solidarity in Action Programme 2016

Voting Rights

Majority age
18 years

Source: Wikipedia Article on Majority Age (2024)

Voting age
18 years

Source: Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU)

Criminal responsibility
15 years

Source: Age Matters Research Project

Candidacy age

Lower House
21 years
Upper House
30 years
President
--- (tbc)

Source: Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU)

Marriage & Gender

Without parental consent
Female
18 years
Male
18 years
With parental consent
Female
16 years
Male
18 years

Source: UNSD, UNDESA, ILGA

Is same-sex marriage legalized?
Female
No
Male
No

Source: UNSD, UNDESA, ILGA

Are other genders recognised?
Yes
compulsory medical diagnosis

Source: COE Report Gender Recognition 2022

Policy & Legislation

Is there a national youth policy?
No

Multiple definitions of youth exist in Poland. The former National Youth Strategy (2003-2012) defines youth as people aged 15 to 25. However, in the Updated Implementation Plan for the Youth Guarantee Scheme, Poland defines youth as people aged 15 to 29. In the Youth Solidarity in Action Programme (2016), youth is defined as 13 to 30 years old.

Public Institutions

Is there a governmental authority that is primarily responsible for youth?
Yes

Poland currently has no national youth policy. According to the Government Plenipotentiary for Youth Policy, the Polish government is in the process of developing a new national "Strategy for the Young Generation." In 2021 and 2022, consultations about the strategy's content were held with young people throughout the country. No draft document is available yet.

The last National Youth Strategy was in place between the years 2003 and 2012. The strategy's objectives included creating and equalising opportunities of development; building a system of youth information; and the training of youth workers. According to the EU Youth Wiki, the strategy formally ended in 2012, "but in practice much earlier, and the draft strategy Active Youth from 2014 was never enacted".

At local level, many municipalities, including Warsaw (2021) and Pozna_ (2018), have their own youth strategies.

Youth & Representation

Does the country have a national youth organization or association?
Yes

The Polish Council of Youth Organisations (PROM) is an independent, national-level umbrella group of youth organisations and acts as the country's National Youth Council. Established in 2011, it represents 30 Polish youth organisations and more than 250,000 young people. According to its website, PROM's currently most important task is "to take action to create a coherent and modern policy for young people in Poland."

PROM is coordinated by an elected board and runs projects at local, national, and international level. According to its statutes (2017), the council's assets are derived from a mix of membership fees; donations; subsidies and grants; income from held capital; and paid activities. PROM is a full member of the European Youth Forum.

In 2021, Poland passed an act amending several laws to strengthen the role of local youth councils.

Youth work

Is youth work a formally recognised profession?
Yes

Youth work is a recognised profession in Poland and included in the government's Classification of Occupations and Specialisations. According to the classification document (2018), "the youth leisure time animator (youth worker) initiates and implements group and individual activities tailored to the identified needs and problems of young people."

No specific education, qualification, or authorisation is required to work as a youth leisure time animator (youth worker), although "first- and second-level higher education diplomas obtained, among others, in the fields of pedagogy, special education, psychology, art education, or physical education are preferred." Moreover, the classification states that, as of 2018, "there is no direct option to confirm and validate professional competences in both formal and non-formal education."

According to the EU Youth Wiki, no national regulations regarding youth work exist beyond the occupation classification standards.

Budget & Spending

Does the national youth policy have a dedicated budget?
No

It was not possible to locate budget figures at the time of writing. If you have this information, please contact us at: factsheet-updates@youthpolicy.org

Contextual Figures

Liberal Democracy Index
574

Source: Varieties of Democracy Indices

Youth Progress Index
82.6

Source: European Youth Forum

Economic Indicators

GDP per capita
$17999.83
Human Development Index
0.876
Gini coefficient
28.8

Source: World Bank, UNDP, Our World in Data

Additional background

From the British Council's Next Generation Poland report (2021) on experiences of young adults in Poland:

"�a generation that is optimistic about their private lives and their own futures, but pessimistic about the public realm, the world of work and the plight of their country�and indeed the world. They aspire to independence and financial security, satisfying work, strong relationships and good social connections."

"Whatever their preference, they largely feel they lack power to shape the future. A majority state they have little influence in the political and civic realms and that their voices are seldom heard. While they are overwhelmingly in favour of democracy, many feel disinterested in formal politics and they are divided in their affiliations and alignments."

From the EU Youth Wiki (2022):

"The first attempts to lay down the foundations for the functioning of youth policy in Poland were linked to the EU accession process. They resulted in the "State Strategy for Youth for 2003-2012" (Strategia Pa_stwa dla M_odzie_y na lata 2003-2012), however, it "failed to (...) trigger the implementation of EU programmes and to influence the integration of the community of youth organisations." Polish youth policy has no systemic solutions, nor is it operated and coordinated in a consistent way (Wiktorska-_wi_cicka, 2016). It cannot be said that before Poland's accession to the European Union there were no activities targeting young people or their activation and inclusion in public life. Such activities were undertaken as part of sectoral policies operated within individual ministries. Poland's accession to the European Union probably contributed to paying more attention to issues relating to young people's lives and functioning (Raczek, 2014)."

Sources

See all sources (13)