Rybnik County (powiat rybnicki) is a suburban county in Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland, created in 1999 as a result of Polish local government reforms. Its administrative seat is the city of Rybnik, although the city is not part of the county (it constitutes a separate city county). The county consists of three disjoint parts, separated by the city of Rybnik. In the past decade, Rybnik country experienced significant population growth, due to urban sprawl of adjacent cities.
At the 2002 census, the population was 72,926. As of 2019, the population was 78,148.
Rybnik area was heavily influenced by the Cistercian in the Middle Ages. First Rybnik county was created in 1818 by the King of Prussia. It covered vast area, including current Racibórz, Gliwice, Mikołów and Wodzisław counties, as well as current city-county cities of Rybnik, Żory and Jastrzębie-Zdrój. Following First World War and the Upper Silesia plebiscite, most of that area became part of Poland. In 1975 administrative reforms repealed counties (powiaty) in Poland. In 1999 Jerzy Buzek government restored Rybnik county along with other counties.
