In 2050, more than half of the Polish society will be in post-productive age. The fertility rate has dropped dramatically over the past three decades, while the age at which women give birth to their first - and often only - child has risen. The information "Poland in numbers 2022" published by the Central Statistical Office also gives an idea of the health of Poles in the first year of the pandemic.
GUS: "Poland in numbers in 2022". What does the data say about health?
Published May 31, 2022 08:40
The fertility rate in 1990 was almost 2 (1,991). In 2021, it was only 1,320. Women gave birth to their first child at the age of 28.7 - in the early 1990s, the average age of giving birth for the first time was exactly six years younger. Good news, but with powerful consequences: in thirty years life expectancy has increased (although the process has slowed down in recent years, and the pandemic has even reversed): in 1990, men lived an average of 66.2 years, women - 75.2 years . In 2021, these indicators are 71.8 years and 79.7 years, respectively.
We are aging as a society at a dramatic pace: in 2050, the Central Statistical Office forecasts, approx. 52 percent. the society will be in post-working age. If you include the youngest (0-17 years), who will constitute approx. 27 percent. society, it turns out that the burden of maintaining the state will rest on the shoulders of one fifth of society - in this context, raising the retirement age, but also decisions that will allow Poles to keep healthy for as much of their life as possible, seem "obvious".
In the structure of expenditure of an average household, expenditure on health already exceeds 5%. - we spend more on this purpose than on clothing and footwear (less than 5%) and many times more than on education (about 1%), and only slightly less than on culture and recreation.
What do the numbers say about the system? Here the data are not from 2021, but from 2020. Thus, the number of hospitals increased over the decade (2010-2020) (from 836 to 898). We have more hospitals, but fewer beds per 10,000 inhabitants - the indicator has fallen from 49.3 to 43.8 in ten years. The number of patients treated in inpatient hospitals also decreased significantly, from just over 2,000. (per 10 thousand inhabitants) to less than 1.5 thousand. The average number of days that patients spend in hospitals has also slightly decreased.
When it comes to human resources, the number of nurses has visibly decreased in the last decade (in 2010, the rate per 10,000 inhabitants was 52, currently it is 50). Increased - not much, but noticeably - the number of doctors and pharmacists, and to a slightly lesser extent - the number of dentists.
At AOS, the number of clinics increased significantly (from 16.6 thousand to almost 21.5 thousand), while it decreased - by about 40 percent. - the number of practices of doctors and dentists (from less than 7,000 to slightly more than 4,000).
