Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the Ukrainian community in Poland has significantly grown, now numbering about 1.68 million people and forming the dominant group of foreigners in almost every region. Our study aimed to explore how often and in what contexts Poles interact with Ukrainians, as well as their social distance measured by a variation of the Bogardus scale.

The largest group of respondents, numbering two-fifths, reported having Ukrainians among their acquaintances (40%). More than one in four know Ukrainians as colleagues at school or work (28%) or as friends and close acquaintances (27%). One in five Poles has Ukrainians among their neighbours (20%), and one in twenty has them in their family (5%). Overall, Ukrainians play at least one of these roles in the lives of over half of Poles (55%), meaning they are not just anonymous people passing on the street.

Do you know people of Ukrainian nationality as:

We deepened our analysis using a variant of the Bogardus scale, which is used in sociology and social psychology to study the distance to a specific social group. We asked respondents what types of relationships with Ukrainians they would be willing to accept, starting from more formal ones and gradually moving to those requiring greater trust: from colleagues, neighbours, bosses, or doctors, to in-laws or child caregivers. We previously asked these questions in 2023 when the general attitude of Poles toward Ukrainians was much better, and we were curious how the changes have affected social distance.

The level of acceptance for Ukrainians in all mentioned roles has clearly decreased, though it remains relatively high. Over half of Poles still declare acceptance for Ukrainians in each role. Currently, Ukrainians are most widely accepted as colleagues (83%, an 8-point decrease since 2023) and neighbours (82%, a 10-point decrease). A significant majority of Poles also have no objection to visiting a Ukrainian doctor (75%, a 10-point decrease). Over half would accept a Ukrainian as their in-law (63%, a 15-point decrease), child caregiver (58%, a 16-point decrease), or boss (55%, an 18-point decrease).

What would your attitude be towards a Ukrainian as your:

We asked respondents one more question about how often they have formal contact with Ukrainians working in our country, for example, in a shop, clinic, or providing various services. It turned out that more than one in four Poles comes into contact with people from Ukraine working in Poland every day (27%), and this was the most common response. Only slightly fewer people deal with Ukrainians several times a week (24%). Furthermore, 11% stated that they have contact with them once a week, 9% see them two or three times a month, 7% do it once a month, 4% see them once every two or three months, and 7% meet Ukrainians even less frequently. Only one in ten Poles does not come into contact with Ukrainians working in Poland at all (10%).

How often do you meet people from Ukraine working in Poland, e.g., in a store, clinic, or providing various services?