Last year we highlighted the massive growth in UK Internet traffic to Polish websites, noting how the increase in visits to a custom category local and expat sites reflected the growth of the Polish immigrant population in the UK. Things have changed significantly since that post; and one theory is that many Polish (and other Eastern European) workers are returning home to escape the recession in the UK.
While statistics from the Home Office indicate that the number of Eastern European migrants has fallen since the economic downturn started to bite, it is less clear whether there has been a net reduction on the number of Polish and other ‘new Europe’ citizens living in the UK. Maybe Hitwise stats might provide some evidence: if Polish Internet usage in the UK increased during the period of net immigration, surely the opposite trend would imply net migration? Well, looking at the chart below, it’s certainly the case that Polish Internet usage is declining in the UK for the first time.

Of course, there a number of caveats here (for example, are immigrants more likely to start visiting British / English language sites as they become more settled and integrated into UK society?), but the trend is certainly interesting. That said, Polish websites still account for 1 in every 345 UK Internet visits, and Google Poland remains the company’s third most popular search engine in the UK (after the .co.uk and .com properties). However, as the list below illustrates, Google Poland is only the second most visited Polish website in the UK
Top 10 Polish websites in the UK, ranked by market share of Internet visits to the Polish sites custom category during April 2009
1. Nasza Klasa (22.8%)
2. Google Poland (15.7%)
3. Onet.eu (14.3%)
4. Wirtualna Polska (9.8%)
5. Interia.pl (4.6%)
6. poczta.wp.pl (4.5%)
7. www.o2.pl (3.2%)
8. Polish Wikipedia (1.8%)
9. Peb (1.4%)
10. Wizz Air (1.3%)
The top spot belongs to social networking site Nasza Klasa, which has been one of the top 10 social networks in the UK since last Autumn. However, as the chart below illustrates, the site’s share of traffic to our Social Networking and Forums category peaked over the winter. Since then it has fallen down the rankings, and during April Nasza Klasa was the 9th most visited social network in the UK. Another sign, perhaps?

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