Research objectives and hypothesis/research questions:
The research problem was outlined in the article: how do changes in mortality and the demographic structure of the population in Poland, differentiated by region, age, and spatial distribution (urban-rural), affect the demographic and social security of the country and its economic functioning? The research hypothesis put forward in the study emphasized that the progressive aging of the population, the high concentration of deaths in the oldest age groups, and regional variations in mortality reduce demographic and social security of Poland. However, the negative effects of those processes can be partially mitigated by migration and effective health and social policy measures.

Research methods:
The source analysis research method was used in the research, accompanied by analogy and inference techniques. The research tools used were SI Statistica and an Excel spreadsheet.

Main results:
Research has shown that a key factor shaping the contemporary demographic situation in Poland is the progressive and persistent aging of the population, leading to a concentration of deaths in the oldest age groups, especially those aged 85 and over. Analysis of data from 1980-2024 confirmed that the COVID-19 pandemic caused a sharp increase in mortality, and the number of deaths (Kozicki, Sowa, Grabowska et al., 2022) did not return to pre-2020 levels after the pandemic subsided, indicating a persistent deterioration in the demographic and health structure of the population.

Implications for theory and practice:
Theoretical implications extend and deepen the concept of security (Kozicki, 2022) to include demographic and health dimensions, while practical implications point to the need to build a long-term, integrated, and regionally differentiated social security policy. Research findings clearly demonstrate that ignoring demographic processes leads to an increase in structural risk, while the continuous management of them is a key condition for the stability and development of the country.