The Katowice urban area (Polish: Konurbacja katowicka, pronounced [kɔnurˈbat͡sja katɔˈvit͡ska]), also known as the Upper Silesian urban area (Konurbacja górnośląska, [kɔnurˈbat͡sja ɡurnɔˈɕlɔ̃ska]), is an urban area/conurbation in southern Poland, centered on Katowice. It is located in the Silesian Voivodeship and in a small part of the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. The Katowice urban area is the largest urban area in Poland and 21st largest urban area in the European Union. According to Demographia, its population is 1,903,000 (August 2023).[3]
Katowice urban area Konurbacja katowicka | |
|---|---|
Urban area | |
.jpg) KTW buildings in Katowice, the largest city in the urban area | |
 Map of Katowice urban area and its metropolitan area (parts of Rybnik metropolitan area also visible in the bottom-left corner) | |
  Katowice urban area Location in Poland | |
| Coordinates: 50°15′N 19°00′E / 50.250°N 19.000°E | |
| Country | Poland |
| Voivodeship | Silesian Voivodeship |
| Largest city | Katowice |
| Government | |
| • Body | Metropolis GZM |
| Area | |
| • Urban | 1,468 km2 (567 sq mi) |
| • Metro | 2,949 km2 (1,139 sq mi) |
| Population (2023) | |
| • Urban | 1,903,000 |
| • Urban density | 1,300/km2 (3,400/sq mi) |
| • Metro | 2,535,354 |
| • Metro density | 860/km2 (2,200/sq mi) |
| GDP | |
| • Metro | €44.570 billion (2021) |
The Katowice urban area covers the majority of the population and area of the Katowice metropolitan area (also known as Upper Silesian metropolitan area),[6][7][8][9][10][11][12] with a population of around 2.5 million (2023),[4] and is (with Ostrava metropolitan area among others) a part of the Upper Silesian-Moravian metropolitan area, which has a population of 5.3 million people (2002).[13] Also this is (with Kraków metropolitan area among others) a part of Kraków-Katowice-Ostrava metropolitan region ,[14][15] which has a population of around 6.8 million.
Alternative names
English: Katowice conurbation[citation needed], Upper Silesian conurbation,[16][17][9][10] Upper Silesian urban area[citation needed].
Polish: konurbacja katowicka,[18] konurbacja górnośląska,[19][20] konurbacja śląska,[21] konurbacja śląsko-dąbrowska,[22][23] aglomeracja katowicka[citation needed], aglomeracja górnośląska[24][25][26][27].
Administration of urban area
According to Statistics Poland, the Katowice urban area consists of 19 bordering cities in the Silesian Voivodeship: Będzin, Bytom, Chorzów, Czeladź, Dąbrowa Górnicza, Gliwice, Jaworzno, Katowice, Knurów, Mikołów, Mysłowice, Piekary Śląskie, Ruda Śląska, Siemianowice Śląskie, Świętochłowice, Sosnowiec, Tychy, Tarnowskie Góry, and Zabrze.[1]
The cities and statistics (1 January 2008):[28]
| City | Population | Area (km2) | Density (km−2) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Katowice | 312,201 | 164.67 | 1,896 |
| Sosnowiec | 222,586 | 91.06 | 2,444 |
| Gliwice | 197,393 | 133.88 | 1,474 |
| Zabrze | 189,062 | 80.40 | 2,352 |
| Bytom | 184,765 | 69.44 | 2,661 |
| Ruda Śląska | 144,584 | 77.73 | 1,860 |
| Tychy | 129,776 | 81.64 | 1,590 |
| Dąbrowa Górnicza | 128,795 | 188.73 | 682 |
| Chorzów | 113,678 | 33.24 | 3,420 |
| Jaworzno | 95,520 | 152.67 | 626 |
| Mysłowice | 74,912 | 65.75 | 1,139 |
| Siemianowice Śląskie | 71,621 | 25.5 | 2,809 |
| Tarnowskie Góry | 60,975 | 83.72 | 728 |
| Piekary Śląskie | 59,061 | 39.98 | 1,477 |
| Będzin | 58,639 | 37.37 | 1,569 |
| Świętochłowice | 54,525 | 13.31 | 4,097 |
| Knurów | 39,449 | 33.95 | 1,162 |
| Mikołów | 38,698 | 79.20 | 489 |
| Czeladź | 34,072 | 16.38 | 2,080 |
| Total | 2,124,344 | 1,443.12 | 1,472 |
Metropolitan area
Demographics
There are given differing population numbers in different sources.
- 2,225,000 (2024) – according to citypopulation.de.[29]
- 2,535,354 (2023) – according to Eurostat[4]
- 2,700,000 (2006) – according to Metropolis.pl[30]
- 2,746,000 (2001) – according to the scientific description by Tadeusz Markowski.[31]
- 2,733,000 (2002) – according to the scientific description by Paweł Swianiewicz and Urszula Klimska.[32]
- 2,886,700 (2004) – according to the scientific description by Kazimierz Fiedorowicz and Jacek Fiedorowicz.[33]
- 3,029,000 (2002) – according to the European Spatial Planning Observation Network. Markered as 13th largest metropolitan area in European Union and also 6th polycentric metropolitan area in EU.[13]
- 3,069,000 – according to the United Nations.[34]
- 3,239,200 (2003) – according to the Ministry of Regional Development of Poland[35]
- 3,488,000 – according to www.worldatlas.com.[36]
- 3,500,000 – according to PWN Encyclopedia.[37][38]
- 3,500,000 – according to the scientific description by Jerzy Parysek and Alexander Tölle.[39]