Map of Poland | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide19891990199119921993199419951996199719981999200020012002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023 | More stats

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Background: Poland gained its independence in 1918 only to be overrun by Germany and the Soviet Union in World War II. It became a Soviet satellite country following the war but one that was comparatively tolerant and progressive. Labor turmoil in 1980 led to the formation of an independent trade union 'Solidarity' that over time became a political force and by 1990 had swept parliamentary elections and the presidency. Complete freedom came with the implosion of the USSR in 1991.


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Location: Central Europe, between Germany and Belarus

Geographic coordinates

Map reference:

Area
Total: 312,680 km²
Land: 304,510 km²

Land boundaries:

Coastline: 491 km
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Territorial sea: 12 nm

Maritime claims

Climate: temperate with cold, cloudy, moderately severe winters with frequent precipitation; mild summers with frequent showers and thundershowers

Terrain: mostly flat plain; mountains along southern border

Elevation

Natural resources: coal, sulfur, copper, natural gas, silver, lead, salt

Land use
Permanent crops: 1%
Meadows and pastures: 13%
Forest and woodland: 28%
Other: 12%

Irrigated land: 1,000 km² (1989 est.)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards

Geography


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Population: 38,519,486 (July 1993 est.)
Growth rate: 0.35% (1993 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Pole(s)
Adjective: Polish

Ethnic groups: Polish 97.6%, German 1.3%, Ukrainian 0.6%, Belarusian 0.5% (1990 est.)

Languages: Polish

Religions:

Demographic profile

Age structure

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate: 0.35% (1993 est.)

Birth rate: 13.59 births/1000 population (1993 est.)

Death rate: 9.59 deaths/1000 population (1993 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.52 migrant(s)/1000 population (1993 est.)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: plain crossed by a few north flowing, meandering streams; severe air and water pollution in south
Current issues note: historically, an area of conflict because of flat terrain and the lack of natural barriers on the North European Plain

Air pollutants

Sex ratio

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 13.8 deaths/1000 live births (1993 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 72.2 years
Male: 68.14 years
Female: 76.51 years (1993 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.97 children born/woman (1993 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1978)
Total population: 98%
Male: 99%

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional long form: Republic of Poland
Conventional short form: Poland
Local long form: Rzeczpospolita Polska
Local short form: Polska

Government type: democratic state

Capital: Warsaw

Administrative divisions:

Dependent areas

Independence: 11 November 1918 (independent republic proclaimed)

National holiday
Constitution Day 3 May 1791 postSolidarity parties:
LACZKOWSKI; Conservative Party Alexander HALL nonCommunist nonSolidarity:

Constitution: interim "small constitution" came into effect in December 1992 replacing the Communist-imposed Constitution of 22 July 1952; new democratic Constitution being drafted

Legal system:

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch: president, prime minister, Council of Ministers (cabinet)

Legislative branch: bicameral National Assembly (Zgromadzenie Narodowe) consists of an upper house or Senate (Senat) and a lower house or Diet (Sejm)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation:

Diplomatic representation
In the us chancery: 2,640 16th Street NW, Washington DC 20,009
In the us telephone: (202) 234-3,800 through 3,802
In the us fax: (202) 328-6,271
In the us consulates general: Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Thomas W. SIMONS, Jr.
From the us embassy: Aleje Ujazdowskie 29/31, Warsaw
From the us mailing address: American Embassy Warsaw, Box 5,010, Unit 25,402, or APO AE 9,213-5,010
From the us telephone: 48 (2) 628-3,041
From the us fax: 48 (2) 628-8,298
From the us consulates general: Krakow, Poznan

Flag description: two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red; similar to the flags of Indonesia and Monaco which are red (top) and white

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: Poland is undergoing a difficult transition from a Soviet-style economy - with state ownership and control of productive assets - to a market economy. On January 1, 1990, the new Solidarity-led government implemented shock therapy by slashing subsidies, decontrolling prices, tightening the money supply, stabilizing the foreign exchange rate, lowering import barriers, and restraining state sector wages. As a result, consumer goods shortages and lines disappeared, and inflation fell from 640% in 1989 to 44% in 1992. Western governments, which hold two-thirds of Poland's $48 billion external debt, pledged in 1991 to forgive half of Poland's official debt by 1994. The private sector accounted for 29% of industrial production and nearly half of nonagricultural output in 1992. Production fell in state enterprises, however, and the unemployment rate climbed steadily from virtually nothing in 1989 to 13.6% in December 1992. Poland fell out of compliance with its IMF program by mid-1991, and talks with commercial creditors stalled. The increase in unemployment and the decline in living standards led to strikes in the coal, auto, copper, and railway sectors in 1992. Large state enterprises in the coal, steel, and defense sectors plan to halve employment over the next decade, and the government expects unemployment to reach 3 million (16%) in 1993. A shortfall in tax revenues caused the budget deficit to reach 6% of GDP in 1992, but industrial production began a slow, uneven upturn. In 1993, the government will struggle to win legislative approval for faster privatization and to keep the budget deficit within IMF-approved limits.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: 2% (1992 est.)

Real gdp per capita ppp

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Agriculture products: accounts for 15% of GDP and 27% of labor force; 75% of output from private farms, 25% from state farms; productivity remains low by European standards; leading European producer of rye, rapeseed, and potatoes; wide variety of other crops and livestock; major exporter of pork products; normally self-sufficient in food

Industries: machine building, iron and steel, extractive industries, chemicals, shipbuilding, food processing, glass, beverages, textiles

Industrial production growth rate: growth rate 3.5% (1992)

Labor force: 15.609 million
By occupation industry and construction: 34.4%
By occupation agriculture: 27.3%
By occupation trade transport and communications: 16.1%
By occupation government and other: 22.2% (1991)

Unemployment rate

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget: revenues $17.5 billion; expenditures $22.0 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.5 billion (1992 est.)

Public debt

Taxes and other revenues

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Current account balance

Inflation rate consumer prices

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports: $12.8 billion (f.o.b., 1992 est.)
Commodoties: machinery 22%, metals 16%, chemicals 12%, fuels and power 11%, food 10% (1991)
Partners: Germany 28.0%, former USSR 11.7%, UK 8.8%, Switzerland 5.5% (1991)

Imports: $12.9 billion (f.o.b., 1992 est.)
Commodoties: machinery 38%, fuels and power 20%, chemicals 13%, food 10%, light industry 6% (1991)
Partners: Germany 17.4%, former USSR 25.6%, Italy 5.3%, Austria 5.2% (1991)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: zlotych (Zl) per US$1 - 15,879 (January 1993), 13,626 (1992), 10,576 (1991), 9,500 (1990), 1,439.18 (1989), 430.55 (1988)


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Electricity access

Electricity production: 31,530,000 kW capacity; 137,000 million kWh produced, 3,570 kWh per capita (1992)

Electricity consumption

Electricity exports

Electricity imports

Electricity installed generating capacity

Electricity transmission distribution losses

Electricity generation sources

Petroleum

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones fixed lines

Telephones mobile cellular

Telephone system

Broadcast media

Internet country code

Internet users

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Percent of gdp: 30.8 trillion zlotych, 1.8% of GNP (1993 est.), note - conversion of defense expenditures into US dollars using the current exchange rate could produce misleading results

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 163
Usable: 163
With permanentsurface runways: 100 with runway over 3,659 m: 0
With runways 2440-3659 m: 51
With runways 1220-2439 m: 95

Airports with paved runways

Airports with unpaved runways

Heliports

Pipelines: natural gas 4,600 km, crude oil 1,986 km, petroleum products 360 km (1992)

Railways

Roadways

Waterways: 3,997 km navigable rivers and canals (1991)

Merchant marine:

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international: none

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs: illicit producers of opium for domestic consumption and amphetamines for the international market; emerging as a transshipment point for illicit drugs to Western Europe