LICZEBNOŚĆ LUDNOŚCI POLSKIEJ NA BIAŁORUSI NA PRZEŁOMIE XX I XXI WIEKU WEDŁUG DANYCH SPISOWYCH

The article presents the count and spatial distribution of the Polish population living on the territory of contemporary Belarus in the second half of the past century. The basis for the analysis were official population censuses which took place in the Soviet Union in 1959, 1970, 1979 and 1989 and in the Republic of Belarus in 1999 and in 2009. Two criteria of ethnicity have been considered: nationality and mother tongue. The number of Polish people has been established for the whole period on the provincial level and for 2009 on the district level. The results of subsequent censuses revealed a numerical regress of the Polish population. The article explains the reasons underlying this process, which was an effect of the existing sociopolitical situation.