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: Asia, Ethnic Groups in Eastern Europe, Europe, Standard Time Zones of the World

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

Land boundaries: total 3,114 km, Belarus 605 km, Czech Republic 658 km, Germany 456 km, Lithuania 91 km, Russia (Kaliningrad Oblast) 432 km, Slovakia 444 km, Ukraine 428 km

Coastline: 491 km

Maritime claims
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Territorial sea: 12 nm

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
Arable land: 46%
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: NA

Geography
Note: historically, an area of conflict because of flat terrain and the lack of natural barriers on the North European Plain


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Population: 38,654,561 (July 1994 est.)
Growth rate: 0.35% (1994 est.)

Nationality: noun:Pole(s)

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

Languages: Polish

Religions: Roman Catholic 95% (about 75% practicing), Eastern Orthodox, Protestant, and other 5%

Demographic profile

Age structure

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate: 0.35% (1994 est.)

Birth rate: 13.44 births/1000 population (1994 est.)

Death rate: 9.4 deaths/1000 population (1994 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.52 migrant(s)/1000 population (1994 est.)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: forest damage due to air pollution; improper means for disposal of large amounts of hazardous and industrial waste; severe water pollution from industrial and municipal sources; severe air pollution results from emissions of sulfur dioxide from coal-fired power plants

Air pollutants

Sex ratio

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 13.1 deaths/1000 live births (1994 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 72.66 years
Male: 68.64 years
Female: 76.91 years (1994 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.94 children born/woman (1994 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%
Female: 98%

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional long form: Republic of Poland
Conventional short form:

Government type: democratic state

Capital: Warsaw

Administrative divisions: 49 provinces (wojewodztwa, singular - wojewodztwo; Biala Podlaska, Bialystok, Bielsko Biala, Bydgoszcz, Chelm, Ciechanow, Czestochowa, Elblag, Gdansk, Gorzow, Jelenia Gora, Kalisz, Katowice, Kielce, Konin, Koszalin, Krakow, Krosno, Legnica, Leszno, Lodz, Lomza, Lublin, Nowy Sacz, Olsztyn, Opole, Ostroleka, Pila, Piotrkow, Plock, Poznan, Przemysl, Radom, Rzeszow, Siedlce, Sieradz, Skierniewice, Slupsk, Suwalki, Szczecin, Tarnobrzeg, Tarnow, Torun, Walbrzych, Warszawa, Wloclawek, Wroclaw, Zamosc, Zielona Gora

Dependent areas

Independence: 11 November 1918 (independent republic proclaimed)

National holiday: Constitution Day, 3 May (1791)

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: mixture of Continental (Napoleonic) civil law and holdover Communist legal theory; changes being gradually introduced as part of broader democratization process; limited judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Lech WALESA (since 22 December 1990); election first round held 25 November 1990, second round held 9 December 1990 (next to be held NA November 1995); results - second round Lech WALESA 74.7%, Stanislaw TYMINSKI 25.3%
Head of government: Prime Minister Waldemar PAWLAK (since 26 October 1993)

Legislative branch: Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Force
Senate Senat: elections last held 19 September 1993 (next to be held no later than NA October 1997); seats - (100 total)
PostSolidarity bloc: UW 74, UP 41, BBWR 16
NonCommunist nonSolidarity: KPN 22
Communist origin or linked: SLD 171, PSL 132
Diet Sejm: elections last held 19 September 1993 (next to be held no later than NA October 1997); seats - (460 total)
Note: 4 seats were won by ethnic Germans

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation: BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS, CCC, CE, CEI, CERN, COCOM (cooperating), CSCE, EBRD, ECE, FAO, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT (nonsignatory user), INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LORCS, MINURSO, NACC, NAM (guest), NSG, OAS (observer), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNDOF, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNOMIG, UNPROFOR, UNTAC, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

Diplomatic representation
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Nicholas A. REY
From the us chancery: 2,640 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20,009
From the us telephone: [48] (2) 628-3,041
From the us fax: (202) 328-6,271
From the us consulates general: Krakow, Poznan
From the us embassy: Aleje Ujazdowskie 29/31, Warsaw
From the us mailing address: American Embassy Warsaw, Unit 1340, or APO AE 9,213-1340
From the us FAX: [48] (2) 628-8,298

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 continuing the difficult transition to a market economy that began on 1 January 1990, when the new democratic government instituted "shock therapy" by decontrolling prices, slashing subsidies, and drastically reducing import barriers. The economy contracted sharply in 1990 and 1991, but in 1992 real GDP grew 1% despite a severe drought. Real GDP expanded about 4% in 1993, the highest rate in Europe except for Albania. About half of GDP now comes from the private sector even though privatization of the large state-owned enterprises is proceeding slowly and most industry remains in state hands. The pattern of industrial production is changing rapidly; output of textiles and construction materials is well above 1990 levels, while output of basic metals remains depressed. Inflation, which had exceeded 50% monthly in late 1989, was down to about 37% for all of 1993, as the government held the budget deficit below 3% of GDP. Unemployment has risen steadily, however, to about 16%. The trade deficit is also a problem, in part due to recession in Western Europe, Poland's main customer. The new government elected in September 1993 is politically to the left of its predecessor but is continuing the reform process.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: 4.1% (1993 est.)

Real gdp per capita ppp

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Agriculture products: accounts for 7% of GDP and a much larger share 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: 7% (1993)

Labor force: 17.329 million
By occupation industry and construction: 32.0%
By occupation agriculture: 27.6%
By occupation trade transport and communications: 14.7%
By occupation government and other: 24.6% (1992)

Unemployment rate: 15.7% (December 1993)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget: revenues:$24.3 billion

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: $13.5 billion (f.o.b., 1993 est.)
Commodities: machinery 24%, metals 17%, chemicals 12%, fuels and power 11%, food 10% (1992)
Partners: Germany 31.4%, Netherlands 6.0%, Italy 5.6%, Russia 5.5% (1992)

Imports: $15.6 billion (f.o.b., 1993 est.)
Commodities: fuels and power 17%, machinery 36%, chemicals 17%, food 8% (1992)
Partners: Germany 23.9%, Russia 8.5%, Italy 6.9%, UK 6.7% (1992)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $47 billion (1993; note - Poland's Western government creditors promised in 1991 to forgive 30% of Warsaw's $35 billion official debt immediately and to forgive another 20% in 1994; foreign banks agreed in early 1994 to forgive 45% of their $12 billion debt claim

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: zlotych (Zl) per US$1 - 21,080 (January 1994), 18,115 (1993), 13,626 (1992), 10,576 (1991), 9,500 (1990), 1,439.18 (1989)


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Electricity access

Electricity production: 137 billion kWh

Electricity consumption
Per capita: 3,570 kWh (1992)

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
Dollar figure: 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: 209
Usable: 167
With permanentsurface runways: 70
With runway over 3659 m: 1
With runways 2440-3659 m: 47
With runways 10602439 m: 78
Note: a C-130 can land on a 1,060-m airstrip

Airports with paved runways

Airports with unpaved runways

Heliports

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

Railways

Roadways

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

Merchant marine: 173 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,327,855 GRT/3,458,445 DWT, bulk 89, cargo 57, chemical tanker 4, container 8, oil tanker 1, passenger 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 8, short-sea passenger 5
Note: Poland owns 3 ships operating under Liberian registry

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; transshipment point for Asian and Latin American illicit drugs to Western Europe