Katowice is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship located in southern Poland. It serves as the central city of the Katowice urban area, which is part of a larger metropolitan region that extends into the Czech Republic.
As of 2021, the city has an official population of 286,960, with a resident population estimate of approximately 315,000. The broader Katowice metropolitan area has a population of about 2.5 million people, while the combined Katowice–Ostrava metropolitan area reaches a population of around 5 million.