Half of Poles support the reintroduction of compulsory military service, abolished in 2010
Polish military (Illustrative photo: ERA)

Half of Poles support the resumption of compulsory military service, which was suspended 16 years ago. This is evidenced by the results of a poll commissioned by Opinia24 RMF FM .

A Polish radio station reported an "amazing change of heart" on this issue among Poles.

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52% support reintroduction of compulsory military service (31% strongly support it), but resistance remains strong among the youngest age group.

The survey results show that the biggest supporters of this idea are men (57%), people aged 50-59 (61%) and people with vocational education (59%) .

Voters of the Law and Justice party (73%) and those who voted for Karol Navrotsky in the presidential election (62% in the first round, 60% in the second) also declare the greatest support for this decision.

The greatest resistance to the return of compulsory military service is expressed by people aged 25-29 (43%), people with higher education (39%) and voters of Rafał Trzaskowski in the second round of the presidential election (35%).

For comparison, according to an IBRiS poll for Rzeczpospolita, in the fall of 2022, 35.7% of Poles were in favor of restoring conscription, while 57.1% were against it.

REFERENCE
The last conscription for mandatory 11-month military service in Poland took place in 2008. In January 2009, the Sejm amended the law to officially suspend conscription (effective January 1, 2010). The last conscripts were discharged from service in August 2009. Since then, Poland no longer conducts mandatory conscription for compulsory military service.

The Opinia24 poll was conducted on February 2-4, 2026 among 1,001 Polish residents aged 18 and older. Respondents were interviewed both by phone and online. The results are presented in rounded percentages.

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