Safekipedia

Voivodeships of Poland

Adapted from Wikipedia · Discoverer experience

A colorful map showing the country of Poland.

A voivodeship, also called a voivodship, is the biggest kind of area that helps organize the government in Poland. It is like a province in many other countries. People in Poland have used this word since the 1300s.

In 1998, Poland made a big change to how these areas were set up. This change started on January 1, 1999, and it made the number of voivodeships smaller – from 49 to just sixteen. These new sixteen areas look more like the old voivodeships from between 1950 and 1975, but they have new names.

Today, each voivodeship is named after an old or natural region, not after a city like before. These areas differ in size and number of people. Some are smaller than 10,000 km2, such as the Opole Voivodeship, while others are much larger, like the Masovian Voivodeship, which covers more than 35,000 km2. The population also varies, ranging from fewer than one million people to over five million.

Each voivodeship has its own leaders. There is a governor chosen by the government, called a voivode. There is also an elected group called a sejmik, and this group picks an executive board led by a voivodeship marshal. Each voivodeship is also split into smaller parts called powiats (counties) and gminas (communes or municipalities), which are the smallest parts of Poland's government system.

Etymology and use

Some English sources use the word "palatinates" when talking about Poland's history. This word comes from the Latin word palatinus, which means "palace."

Today, people usually use the words province or voivodeship. The word voivodeship is made from Polish words and is not very common in English. Some people think it’s better not to use “province” because, in the past, big areas of Poland were also called “provinces.” But these older uses are no longer used today.

The Polish word województwo comes from wojewoda, which means a leader or governor, and a special ending called -ztwo. The English word voivodeship mixes Polish and English words and was first used in 1792 to mean a region governed by a leader.

Current

The voivodeships of Poland are managed by three main groups of people: the governor, the regional assembly, and the marshal. These groups work together to help run each area.

The governor is chosen by the Prime Minister and represents the central government. The regional assembly is elected every five years and helps make important decisions. The marshal and the executive team help plan budgets and manage money from the European Union.

Map of Polish voivodeships since 1999 (abbreviated)

Economies

Main article: List of Polish voivodeships by GRP

In 2017, the amount of money people made each year in different parts of Poland varied a lot. The richest area was the Masovian Voivodeship, where people made about 33,500 EUR each year. The poorest area was the Lublin Voivodeship, where people made about 14,400 EUR each year.

Polish voivodeships since 1999
Abbr.FlagCoat of armsTer. codeVoivodeshipPolish nameCapital city/citiesAreaPopulation (2025)DensityCar plates
km2sq miper km2per sq mi
DS02Lower SilesiandolnośląskieWrocław19,9477,7022,862,442143.50371.7D, V
KP04Kuyavian-Pomeraniankujawsko-pomorskieBydgoszcz1, Toruń217,9716,9391,977,537110.04285.0C
LU06LublinlubelskieLublin25,1239,7001,987,78779.12204.9L
LB08LubuszlubuskieGorzów Wielkopolski1, Zielona Góra213,9885,401966,38969.09178.9F
LD10ŁódźłódzkieŁódź18,2197,0342,336,680128.26332.2E
MA12Lesser PolandmałopolskieKraków15,1835,8623,427,656225.76584.7K, J
MZ14MasovianmazowieckieWarsaw35,55913,7295,506,411154.85401.1W, A
OP16OpoleopolskieOpole9,4123,634926,48298.47255.0O
PK18SubcarpathianpodkarpackieRzeszów17,8466,8902,057,923115.32298.7R, Y
PD20PodlaskiepodlaskieBiałystok20,1877,7941,129,47555.95144.9B
PM22PomeranianpomorskieGdańsk18,3237,0752,358,779128.73333.4G, X
SL24SilesianśląskieKatowice12,3334,7624,275,429346.67897.9S, I
SK26Holy CrossświętokrzyskieKielce11,7104,5201,152,54498.42254.9T
WN28Warmian-Masurianwarmińsko-mazurskieOlsztyn24,1739,3331,343,91555.60144.0N
WP30Greater PolandwielkopolskiePoznań29,82611,5163,474,825116.50301.7P, M
ZP32West PomeranianzachodniopomorskieSzczecin22,9058,8441,617,41870.61182.9Z
1 Seat of voivode. 2 Seat of sejmik and marshal.

Historical development

Poland's highest administrative areas are called voivodeships, similar to provinces in other countries. The name has been used since the 14th century.

In 1998, Poland changed its administrative setup, reducing the number of voivodeships to sixteen, a system that continues today.

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth

Further information: Subdivisions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and Voivodes of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth

Greater Poland (Wielkopolska)

The following is a list of the Voivodeships within Greater Poland at various points over the period from the mid-16th century until the late 18th century:

Lesser Poland (Małopolska)

The following is a list of the Voivodeships within Lesser Poland over the period of the mid-16th century until the late 18th century:

Grand Duchy of Lithuania

Voivodeships of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania during the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth were based on the administrative structure that existed in the Duchy prior to the Commonwealth's formation, from at least the early-15th century. They were:

Duchy of Livonia

While the Duchy of Livonia was part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, approximately 1569–1772, in various periods it comprised the following voivodeships in varying combinations:

Congress Poland

Further information: Administrative division of Congress Poland

From 1816 to 1837 there were 8 voivodeships in Congress Poland.

Second Polish Republic

Further information: Administrative division of Second Polish Republic

The administrative division of Poland in the interwar period included 16 voivodeships and Warsaw (with voivodeship rights). The voivodeships that remained in Poland after World War II as a result of Polish–Soviet border agreement of August 1945 were very similar to the current voivodeships.

Collapsed list of car registration plates from 1937, please use table-sort buttons.

Polish People's Republic

After World War II, the new administrative division of the country within the new national borders was based on the prewar one and included 14 (+2) voivodeships, then 17 (+5). The voivodeships in the east that had not been annexed by the Soviet Union had their borders left almost unchanged. The newly acquired territories in the west and north were organized into the new voivodeships of Szczecin, Wrocław and Olsztyn, and partly joined to Gdańsk, Katowice and Poznań voivodeships. Two cities were granted voivodeship status: Warsaw and Łódź.

In 1950, new voivodeships were created: Koszalin (previously part of Szczecin), Opole (previously part of Katowice), and Zielona Góra (previously part of Poznań, Wrocław and Szczecin voivodeships). In 1957, three more cities were granted voivodeship status: Wrocław, Kraków and Poznań.

Collapsed list of car registration plates from 1956 – please use table-sort buttons

Poland's voivodeships 1975–1998

See also: Subdivisions of the Polish People's Republic and Voivodeships of Poland (1975–1998)

Administrative division of Poland between 1979 and 1998 included 49 voivodeships upheld after the establishment of the Third Polish Republic in 1989 for another decade. This reorganisation of the administrative division of Poland was mainly a result of the local government reform acts of 1973–1975. In place of the three-level administrative division (voivodeship, county, commune), a new two-level administrative division was introduced (49 small voivodeships, and communes). The three smallest voivodeships—Warsaw, Kraków and Łódź—had the special status of municipal voivodeship; the city president (mayor) was also provincial governor.

Collapsed list of Voivodeships: 1975–1998, please use table-sort buttons.

Images

Historical map showing how the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was divided into regions in the year 1619.
Historical map showing the administrative divisions of Congress Poland in the year 1830.
A map showing the administrative regions of Poland in 1957.
A map showing the administrative regions of Poland from 1975 to 1998, helpful for learning about the country's history.

Related articles

Masovian Voivodeship
Opole Voivodeship
Voivodeship sejmik
Voivodeship marshal
Poland
Province

This article is a child-friendly adaptation of the Wikipedia article on Voivodeships of Poland, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Images from Wikimedia Commons. Tap any image to view credits and license.