Katowice metropolitan area

This article is about the metropolitan area. For the core urban area, see Katowice urban area. For the political and economic association of local municipalities, see Metropolis GZM. For the industrial region, see Upper Silesian Industrial Region.

For the more broad area also known as Upper Silesian polycentric metropolitan area, see Katowice-Ostrava metropolitan area.

Katowice metropolitan area, also known as Upper Silesian metropolitan area^{[4][5][6][7][8][9][10]} (Polish: górnośląski obszar metropolitalny^[11][12][13]), is the metropolitan area of Katowice and its urban area, with a population of around 2.5 million (2023).^[2] It lies within the areas of the historic regions of Upper Silesia, Kraków Basin [pl] and Dąbrowa Basin. It is sometimes considered a part of the polycentric Katowice-Ostrava metropolitan area, which has a population of 5.3 million people (2002).^[14] Also this is (with Kraków metropolitan area among others) a part of Kraków-Katowice-Ostrava metropolitan region ,^[15][16][17] which has a population of around 6.8 million.^{[citation needed]}

Katowice metropolitan area górnośląski obszar metropolitalny (Polish)
Metropolitan area
From top, left to right: KTW buildings in Katowice Plac Stulecia (Centennial Square) in Sosnowiec Market Square and City Hall in Gliwice Market Square in Bytom Historic Silver Mine in Tarnowskie Góry Royal Castle in Będzin
Map of Katowice metropolitan area (parts of Rybnik metropolitan area also visible in the bottom-left corner)
Katowice metropolitan area Location in Poland
Coordinates: 50°15′N 19°00′E
Country	Poland
Voivodeship	Silesian Voivodeship
Largest city	Katowice
Government
• Body	Metropolis GZM
Area
• Metro [1]	2,949 km2 (1,139 sq mi)
Population  (2023)
• Metro [2]	2,535,354
• Metro density	860/km2 (2,200/sq mi)
GDP [3]
• Metro	€44.570 billion (2021)
Primary airport	Katowice Airport
Highways

Katowice metropolitan area, according to delimitation of Eurostat (Katowice FUA)

Demographics

There are given differing population numbers in different sources.

• 2,225,000 (2024) – according to citypopulation.de.^[18]
• 2,535,354 (2023) – according to Eurostat^[2]
• 2,700,000 (2006) – according to Metropolis.pl^[19]
• 2,746,000 (2001) – according to the scientific description by Tadeusz Markowski.^[20]
• 2,733,000 (2002) – according to the scientific description by Paweł Swianiewicz and Urszula Klimska.^[21]
• 2,886,700 (2004) – according to the scientific description by Kazimierz Fiedorowicz and Jacek Fiedorowicz.^[22]
• 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.^[14]
• 3,069,000 – according to the United Nations.^[23]
• 3,239,200 (2003) – according to the Ministry of Regional Development of Poland^[24]
• 3,488,000 – according to www.worldatlas.com.^[25]
• 3,500,000 – according to PWN Encyclopedia.^[26][27]
• 3,500,000 – according to the scientific description by Jerzy Parysek and Alexander Tölle.^[28]

Metropolis GZM

Main article: Metropolis GZM

Area of the Metropolis GZM

The Metropolis GZM^[29] (Polish: Metropolia GZM, formally in Polish Górnośląsko-Zagłębiowska Metropolia)^[30] is a metropolitan association composed of 41 contiguous municipalities in the Silesian Voivodeship of Poland, created on 1 July 2017. It has an area of 2553 km² and a population of 2 128 034 (2023).^[31]

The Metropolis GZM does not include Jaworzno, whose authorities decided not to join the association.^[32]