Poll: Most Poles oppose return of compulsory military service

More than half of Poles oppose reintroducing compulsory military service, according to a new poll, even as the country weighs its defence posture amid regional tensions.

Polish troops train at the Combined Arms Training Command, focusing on urban combat and trench warfare tactics.

Photo: Polish Armed Forces General Staff/@SztabGenWP via X

The IBRiS survey for daily Rzeczpospolita found 51.1 percent against a return to conscription, with 37.7 percent in favour when asked whether mandatory service should be restored given the current international situation.

Support broke down into 15.1 percent answering "definitely yes" and 22.6 percent "rather yes."

Opposition was strongest among opposition-party supporters, government voters, and those who do not vote at all, the newspaper noted.

Support was far higher, however, for a different idea: compulsory military training for both men and women. Three-quarters of respondents (76.6 percent) backed the proposal, against 17.6 percent opposed.

🔴#Sondaż @IBRiS_PL dla @rzeczpospolita: Polacy nie chcą powrotu poboru, popierają obowiązkowe szkolenie wojskowe dla kobiet i mężczyzn https://t.co/2tND7DKlBG

— Rzeczpospolita (@rzeczpospolita) July 20, 2026

The debate over conscription has run in Poland since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

(ał)

Source: IAR