How many Poles have a driving licence?
Data as of: 7 August 2026 · Source: CEPiK / dane.gov.pl (dataset 1396), CC0 1.0. Own calculations.
Around 22.5–22.7 million people in Poland hold a valid driving licence — roughly 60% of the population. Category B alone is held by about 21.5 million drivers. In 2023, 296,320 licences were issued for the first time — 144,595 went to women and 151,725 to men.
The "new licences" figures on this page count first-ever issuance ("prawa jazdy wydane po raz pierwszy"). They exclude exchanges, renewals, duplicates and swaps of foreign licences. Someone who gains several categories in one exam is counted once.
~22.5 M
valid driving licences (CEPiK estimate, end of 2023)
~60%
of Poland’s population holds a licence (estimate)
296,320
licences issued for the first time in 2023
How many driving licences are issued each year?
The record was set in 2008 — press estimates put it at around 842,000 first-ever licences. The open data starts in 2016 and shows a clear decline: 453,590 documents in 2016, 414,412 in 2017, 417,973 in 2018 and 370,611 in 2019. We computed all of these from the raw CEPiK files on dane.gov.pl.
The pandemic year 2020 brought a slump to 295,964 (the figure from the CEPiK annual publication — the open data is missing the July 2020 file). 2021 rebounded to 372,443, after which the series falls again: 330,563 in 2022, 296,320 in 2023 and 278,474 in 2024, the lowest in the series. In 2025, 322,858 licences were issued for the first time. January to June 2026 accounts for 174,560 — half a year, so it cannot be compared with the complete years.
| Year | Licences issued for the first time | Data type |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | ~842,000 | press estimate |
| 2016 | 453,590 | computed by us (CEPiK) |
| 2017 | 414,412 | computed by us (CEPiK) |
| 2018 | 417,973 | computed by us (CEPiK) |
| 2019 | 370,611 | computed by us (CEPiK) |
| 2020 | 295,964 | published (CEPiK, gov.pl) |
| 2021 | 372,443 | computed by us (CEPiK) |
| 2022 | 330,563 | computed by us (CEPiK) |
| 2023 | 296,320 | computed by us (CEPiK) |
| 2024 | 278,474 | computed by us (CEPiK) |
| 2025 | 322,858 | computed by us (CEPiK) |
| 2026 (Jan–Jun) | 174,560 | incomplete year (Jan–Jun) |
Which regions gain the most new drivers?
The most new licences are issued where the most people live. In 2025, Masovia led with 50,543 documents, ahead of Silesia (33,440) and Greater Poland (32,312). Lubusz (8,567) and Opole (7,050) close out the list. The population-adjusted comparison and nine-year series are available on a separate Polish-language page.
| Voivodeship | New licences (2025) |
|---|---|
| Masovia | 50,543 |
| Silesia | 33,440 |
| Greater Poland | 32,312 |
| Lesser Poland | 29,795 |
| Lower Silesia | 23,703 |
| Pomerania | 20,565 |
| Łódź | 19,019 |
| Subcarpathia | 18,115 |
| Lublin | 17,491 |
| Kuyavia-Pomerania | 17,264 |
| West Pomerania | 12,771 |
| Warmia-Masuria | 12,184 |
| Podlaskie | 10,463 |
| Świętokrzyskie | 9,576 |
| Lubusz | 8,567 |
| Opole | 7,050 |
Values computed by us from the full-year file of dataset 1396 (dane.gov.pl). The distribution tracks each region’s population.
Women’s share of new drivers is falling
In 2023, 144,595 women and 151,725 men received a driving licence for the first time — 48.8% against 51.2%.
Women’s share peaked in 2019–2021, when it stayed above 51%. It has fallen every year since: 50.5% in 2022, 48.8% in 2023, 48.1% in 2024 and 47.8% in 2025. In the first half of 2026 it was 46.5%. The sex breakdown only starts in August 2019, so 2019 covers five months and 2020 eleven.
| Year | Women | Men | Women’s share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 (5/12) | 83,194 | 75,907 | 52.3% |
| 2020 (11/12) | 131,743 | 126,520 | 51.0% |
| 2021 | 190,487 | 181,956 | 51.2% |
| 2022 | 166,757 | 163,806 | 50.5% |
| 2023 | 144,595 | 151,725 | 48.8% |
| 2024 | 133,795 | 144,679 | 48.1% |
| 2025 | 154,242 | 168,616 | 47.8% |
| 2026 (6/12) | 81,169 | 93,391 | 46.5% |
The sex breakdown starts in August 2019, and the open data is missing July 2020. The 2019 (5/12 months), 2020 (11/12) and 2026 (6/12) rows therefore do not add up to the yearly totals in the table above.
A monthly snapshot from March 2026: 30,025 first-ever licences, of which 48.3% went to women and 51.7% to men.
Who earns a driving licence? Mostly the young
A driving licence is still a rite of passage into adulthood. In March 2026, as much as 79.2% of new documents went to people aged 18–24. After the age of 35, only a handful still go for a licence.
79.2%of new licences go to people aged 18–24 (March 2026)
- 18–2479.2%
- 25–3411.0%
- 35–445.5%
- 45–592.7%
- under 181.4%
- 60+0.2%
The most popular driving licence categories
Category B is the clear leader — held by about 21.5 million Poles. Around 2 million people hold a lorry category (C), about 1.6 million a motorcycle category (A), and about 200,000 a bus category (D).
About 60% of Poles have a driving licence. Will you join them?
Check whether you would pass the theory test today: take a free mock exam drawn from the real bank of 3,527 official questions — the same ones used in the state exam. Questions are available in English.
Frequently asked questions
How many Poles have a driving licence?+
According to CEPiK, around 22.5–22.7 million people hold a valid driving licence — roughly 60% of Poland’s population (as of the end of 2023).
Which driving licence category is the most popular?+
Category B (passenger cars) — held by about 21.5 million drivers. Next come categories C (about 2 million), A (about 1.6 million) and D (about 200,000).
Are more women getting driving licences?+
Women’s share of new drivers is falling. In 2023, women received 144,595 of the 296,320 first-ever licences, or 48.8%. The peak was in 2019–2021, when the share stayed above 51%; by 2025 it was 47.8%.
How many driving licences are issued in Poland each year?+
In 2025, 322,858 licences were issued for the first time. The lowest figure in the open data is 278,474 in 2024. For comparison, press estimates put the record year 2008 at about 842,000.
Sources and methodology
The figures count first-ever issuance — not exchanges, renewals, duplicates or swaps of foreign licences. The yearly totals for 2016–2019 and 2021–2026, the regional breakdown, and the gender and age structure are our own calculations from the raw CSV files of dataset 1396 "Prawa jazdy" (CEPiK) published on dane.gov.pl. We take 2020 from the CEPiK annual publication on gov.pl (295,964) because the open data is missing the July 2020 file. We validated 2019 and 2021–2024 independently against the CEPiK annual publications — they match to the unit. The 2008 value is the one remaining press estimate; we publish nothing for 2009–2015 because no source exists. 2026 covers January to June. Region outlines on the map: geoBoundaries (CC BY 4.0).
Dataset 1396 on dane.gov.pl is released under CC0 1.0 (public domain): reuse, including commercial reuse, needs no permission and no attribution. If you would like to credit the source, use: "Source: CEPiK / dane.gov.pl (dataset 1396), CC0 1.0. Own calculations." — ideally with a link to this page.
- [1]dane.gov.pl — zbiór danych 1396 „Prawa jazdy" (CEPiK), licencja CC0 1.0(accessed: 2026-08-07)
- [2]gov.pl/web/cepik — Prawa jazdy wydane w 2019 roku(accessed: 2026-08-07)
- [3]gov.pl/web/cepik — Prawa jazdy wydane w 2020 roku(accessed: 2026-08-07)
- [4]gov.pl/web/cepik — Prawa jazdy wydane w 2021 roku(accessed: 2026-08-07)
- [5]gov.pl/web/cepik — Prawa jazdy wydane w 2022 roku(accessed: 2026-08-07)
- [6]gov.pl/web/cepik — Prawa jazdy wydane w 2023 roku(accessed: 2026-08-07)
- [7]gov.pl/web/cepik — Prawa jazdy wydane w 2024 roku(accessed: 2026-08-07)
- [8]CEPiK — portal statystyk(accessed: 2026-08-07)
- [9]geoBoundaries (kontury województw na mapie, CC BY 4.0)(accessed: 2026-08-07)
Updated: 07/08/2026