The IBRiS poll for Rzeczpospolita found 60% of respondents believe Poland's shrinking population can still be halted. Only 40% agreed the country should welcome more labour migrants to offset its growing number of pensioners.
Support for migration was split. Roughly 40% of respondents backed the idea, while just under half opposed it, and one in ten had no opinion.
Demographer Michał Kot, co-author of "How to Avoid a Demographic Catastrophe", said public opinion has not caught up with the data.
"The information that is obvious to specialists — that it will not be possible to stop the decline of Poland's population in the coming years — still has not broken through into public awareness", he said.
Forecasts from 2023 suggest Poland's population could fall to between 26.65 million and 34.8 million by 2060, down from roughly 38 million today.
Marek Cierpiał-Wolan, head of the Central Statistical Office, said the working-age population alone could shrink by five million by 2050.
"The wealth of a country is its people", he said, urging early action, "including encouraging Poles to return to the country".
Cierpiał-Wolan pointed to Poland's diaspora as an underused resource. His office is working with the Foreign Ministry on outreach starting in Norway, before expanding to other countries with large Polish communities.
"We have potential in the form of our people abroad", he said, adding that boosting birth rates must also be "an element of the whole strategy".
(jh)
Source: Polish Radio, PAP