Country

Poland

Poland is one of Europe's major beekeeping countries, but the most interesting thing is how much of that industry still lives in relatively small apiaries. A 2025 sector analysis based on 2024 data reported roughly 99,000 registered beekeepers and 2.42 million colonies, with nearly two-thirds of operations keeping no more than 20 colonies. Another 2025 economic study estimated Polish honey production at about 31,000 tonnes in 2024. Those numbers sit alongside a deep regional honey culture: dark buckwheat honey, linden, rapeseed, forest honeydew and thick heather honey all matter. Poland also has several EU-protected honeys, including Miód drahimski and Lower Silesian heather honey. Beneath that is an even older bee story: protected populations of the European dark honeybee survive in places such as Kampinos Forest and Augustów Forest. Poland gives HC almost everything at once—protected terroir, migratory beekeeping, historic bee conservation, strong modern production and a beekeeper culture large enough to keep producing stories for years.