Map of Poland | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | More stats

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Background: Poland is an ancient nation that was conceived near the middle of the 10th century. Its golden age occurred in the 16th century. During the following century the strengthening of the gentry and internal disorders weakened the nation. In a series of agreements between 1772 and 1795 Russia Prussia and Austria partitioned Poland amongst themselves. Poland regained its independence in 1918 only to be overrun by Germany and the Soviet Union in World War II. It became a Soviet satellite state following the war but its government was comparatively tolerant and progressive. Labor turmoil in 1980 led to the formation of the independent trade union 'Solidarity' that over time became a political force and by 1990 had swept parliamentary elections and the presidency. A 'shock therapy' program during the early 1990s enabled the country to transform its economy into one of the most robust in Central Europe but Poland still faces the lingering challenges of high unemployment underdeveloped and dilapidated infrastructure and a poor rural underclass. Solidarity suffered a major defeat in the 2001 parliamentary elections when it failed to elect a single deputy to the lower house of Parliament and the new leaders of the Solidarity Trade Union subsequently pledged to reduce the Trade Union's political role. Poland joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004. With its transformation to a democratic market-oriented country largely completed Poland is an increasingly active member of Euro-Atlantic organizations.


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Location: Central Europe east of Germany

Geographic coordinates: 52 00 N 20 00 E

Map reference: Europe

Area
Total: 312,685 km²
Land: 304,465 km²
Water: 8,220 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than New Mexico

Land boundaries
Total: 3,056 km
Border countries: (6) Belarus 416 km; , Czech Republic 790 km; , Germany 467 km; , Lithuania 103 km; , Russia (Kaliningrad Oblast) 210 km; , Slovakia 541 km; , Ukraine 529 km

Coastline: 491 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Exclusive economic zone: defined by international treaties

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
Extremes lowest point: near Raczki Elblaskie -2 m
Extremes highest point: Rysy 2,499 m

Natural resources: coal sulfur copper natural gas silver lead salt amber arable land

Land use
Arable land: 40.25%
Permanent crops: 1%
Other: 58.75% (2005)

Irrigated land: 1000 km² (2003)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: flooding

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: 38,536,869 (July 2006 est.)
Growth rate: -0.05% (2006 est.)
Below poverty line: 17% (2003 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Pole
Adjective: Polish

Ethnic groups: Polish 96.7% German 0.4% Belarusian 0.1% Ukrainian 0.1% other and unspecified 2.7% (2002 census)

Languages: Polish 97.8% other and unspecified 2.2% (2002 census)

Religions: Roman Catholic 89.8% (about 75% practicing) Eastern Orthodox 1.3% Protestant 0.3% other 0.3% unspecified 8.3% (2002)

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 15.9% (male 3,142,811/female 2,976,363)
15-64 years: 70.8% (male 13,585,306/female 13,704,763)
65 years and over: 13.3% (male 1,961,326/female 3,166,300) (2006 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age
Total: 37 years
Male: 35.1 years
Female: 39 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate: -0.05% (2006 est.)

Birth rate: 9.85 births/1000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate: 9.89 deaths/1000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.46 migrant(s)/1000 population (2006 est.)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: situation has improved since 1989 due to decline in heavy industry and increased environmental concern by post-Communist governments; air pollution nonetheless remains serious because of sulfur dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants and the resulting acid rain has caused forest damage; water pollution from industrial and municipal sources is also a problem as is disposal of hazardous wastes; pollution levels should continue to decrease as industrial establishments bring their facilities up to EU code but at substantial cost to business and the government
International agreements party to: Air Pollution, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Kyoto Protocol, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
International agreements signed but not ratified: Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.06 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.06 male/female
15-64 years: 0.99 male/female
65 years and over: 0.62 male/female
Total population: 0.94 male/female (2006 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 7.22 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 7.95 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 6.44 deaths/1000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 74.97 years
Male: 70.95 years
Female: 79.23 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.25 children born/woman (2006 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.1% ; note - no country specific models provided (2001 est.)
People living with hivaids: 14,000 (2003 est.)
Deaths: 100 (2001 est.)

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 99.8%
Male: 99.8%
Female: 99.7% (2003 est.)

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: republic

Capital
Name: Warsaw
Geographic coordinates: 52 15 N, 21 00 E
Time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

Administrative divisions: 16 provinces (wojewodztwa singular - wojewodztwo); Dolnoslaskie Kujawsko-Pomorskie Lodzkie Lubelskie Lubuskie Malopolskie Mazowieckie Opolskie Podkarpackie Podlaskie Pomorskie Slaskie Swietokrzyskie Warminsko-Mazurskie Wielkopolskie Zachodniopomorskie

Dependent areas

Independence: 11 November 1918 (independent republic proclaimed)

National holiday: Constitution Day 3 May (1791)

Constitution: adopted by the National Assembly 2 April 1997 passed by national referendum 25 May 1997 effective 17 October 1997

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 but rulings of the Constitutional Tribunal are final; court decisions can be appealed to the European Court of Justice in Strasbourg; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Lech KACZYNSKI (since 23 December 2005)
Head of government: Prime Minister Jaroslaw KACZYNSKI (since 10 July 2006); Deputy Prime Ministers Ludwik DORN (since 23 November 2005), Roman GIERTYCH (since 5 May 2006), Zyta GILOWSKA (since 22 September 2006), Andrzej LEPPER (since 16 October 2006)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers responsible to the prime minister and the Sejm; the prime minister proposes, the president appoints, and the Sejm approves the Council of Ministers
Elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 9 and 23 October 2005 (next to be held October 2010); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president and confirmed by the Sejm
Election results: Lech KACZYNSKI elected president; percent of popular vote - Lech KACZYNSKI 54%, Donald Tusk 46%

Legislative branch
Elections: Senate - last held 25 September 2005 (next to be held by September 2009); Sejm elections last held 25 September 2005 (next to be held by September 2009)
Election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PiS 49, PO 34, LPR 7, SO 3, PSL 2, independents 5; Sejm - percent of vote by party - PiS 27%, PO 24.1%, SO 11.4%, SLD 11.3%, LPR 8%, PSL 7%, other 11.2%; seats by party - PiS 155, PO 133, SO 56, SLD 55, LPR 34, PSL 25, German minorities 2
Note: two seats are assigned to ethnic minority parties in the Sejm only

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president on the recommendation of the National Council of the Judiciary for an indefinite period); Constitutional Tribunal (judges are chosen by the Sejm for nine-year terms)

Political parties and leaders: Catholic-National Movement or RKN [Antoni MACIEREWICZ]; Civic Platform or PO [Donald TUSK]; Conservative Peasants Party or SKL [Artur BALASZ]; Democratic Left Alliance or SLD [Wojciech OLEJNICZAK]; Democratic Party or PD [Wladyslaw FRASYNIUK]; Dom Ojczysty (Fatherland Home); German Minority of Lower Silesia or MNSO [Henryk KROLL]; Law and Justice or PiS [Jaroslaw KACZYNSKI]; League of Polish Families or LPR [Marek KOTLINOWSKI]; Peasant-Democratic Party or PLD [Roman JAGIELINSKI]; Polish Accord or PP [Jan LOPUSZANSKI]; Polish Peasant Party or PSL [Waldemar PAWLAK]; Ruch Patriotyczny or RP [Jan OLSZEWSKI]; Samoobrona or SO [Andrzej LEPPER]; Social Democratic Party of Poland or SDPL [Marek BOROWSKI]; Social Movement or RS [Krzysztof PIESIEWICZ]; Union of Labor or UP [Andrzej SPYCHALSKI]

International organization participation: ACCT (observer) Arctic Council (observer) Australia Group BIS BSEC (observer) CBSS CE CEI CERN EAPC EBRD EIB EU FAO IAEA IBRD ICAO ICC ICCt ICFTU ICRM IDA IFC IFRCS IHO ILO IMF IMO Interpol IOC IOM IPU ISO ITU MIGA MINURSO MONUC NAM (guest) NATO NSG OAS (observer) OECD OIF (observer) OPCW OSCE PCA UN UNCTAD UNDOF UNESCO UNHCR UNIDO UNIFIL UNMEE UNMIL UNMIS UNOCI UNOMIG UPU WCL WCO WEU (associate) WFTU WHO WIPO WMO WToO WTO ZC

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Janusz REITER
In the us chancery: 2,640 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20,009
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 234-3,800 through 3,802
In the us fax: [1] (202) 328-6,271
In the us consulates general: Chicago, Los Angeles, New York
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Victor ASHE
From the us embassy: Aleje Ujazdowskie 29/31 00-540 Warsaw
From the us mailing address: American Embassy Warsaw, US Department of State, Washington, DC 20,521-5,010 (pouch)
From the us telephone: [48] (22) 504-2000
From the us fax: [48] (22) 504-2,688
From the us consulates general: Krakow

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 has steadfastly pursued a policy of economic liberalization throughout the 1990s and today stands out as a success story among transition economies. Even so much remains to be done especially in bringing down the unemployment rate - currently the highest in the EU. The privatization of small- and medium-sized state-owned companies and a liberal law on establishing new firms has encouraged the development of the private business sector but legal and bureaucratic obstacles alongside persistent corruption are hampering its further development. Poland's agricultural sector remains handicapped by surplus labor inefficient small farms and lack of investment. Restructuring and privatization of 'sensitive sectors' (e.g. coal steel railroads and energy) while recently initiated have stalled. Reforms in health care education the pension system and state administration have resulted in larger-than-expected fiscal pressures. Further progress in public finance depends mainly on reducing losses in Polish state enterprises restraining entitlements and overhauling the tax code to incorporate the growing gray economy and farmers most of whom pay no tax. The previous Socialist-led government introduced a package of social and administrative spending cuts to reduce public spending by about $17 billion through 2007 but full implementation of the plan was trumped by election-year politics in 2005. The right-wing Law and Justice party won parliamentary elections in September and Lech KACZYNSKI won the presidential election in October 2005 running on a state-interventionist fiscal and monetary platform. Poland joined the EU in May 2004 and surging exports to the EU contributed to Poland's strong growth in 2004 though its competitiveness could be threatened by the zloty's appreciation. GDP per capita roughly equals that of the three Baltic states. Poland stands to benefit from nearly $23.2 billion in EU funds available through 2006. Farmers have already begun to reap the rewards of membership via booming exports higher food prices and EU agricultural subsidies.

Real gdp purchasing power parity: $505.2 billion (2005 est.)

Real gdp growth rate: 3.4% (2005 est.)

Real gdp per capita: $13,100 (2005 est.)

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 5%
Industry: 31.1%
Services: 64% (2005 est.)

Agriculture products: potatoes fruits vegetables wheat; poultry eggs pork dairy

Industries: machine building iron and steel coal mining chemicals shipbuilding food processing glass beverages textiles

Industrial production growth rate: 3.7% (2005 est.)

Labor force: 17.1 million (2005 est.)
By occupation agriculture: 16.1%
By occupation industry: 29%
By occupation services: 54.9% (2002)

Unemployment rate: 18.2% (2005 est.)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: 17% (2003 est.)

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 3.1%
Highest 10: 26.7% (2002)

Distribution of family income gini index: 34.1 (2002)

Budget
Revenues: $52.73 billion
Expenditures: $63.22 billion; including capital expenditures of $N/A (2005 est.)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt: 47.7% of GDP (2005 est.)

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 2.2% (2005 est.)

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: $-4.364 billion (2005 est.)

Exports: $92.72 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Commodities: machinery and transport equipment 37.8% intermediate manufactured goods 23.7% miscellaneous manufactured goods 17.1% food and live animals 7.6% (2003)
Partners: Germany 28.2% France 6.2% Italy 6.1% UK 5.6% Czech Republic 4.6% Russia 4.4% Netherlands 4.2% (2005)

Imports: $95.67 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Commodities: machinery and transport equipment 38% intermediate manufactured goods 21% chemicals 14.8% minerals fuels lubricants and related materials 9.1% (2003)
Partners: Germany 29.6% Russia 8.7% Italy 6.6% Netherlands 5.9% France 5.7% (2005)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $42.56 billion (2005 est.)

Debt external: $101.5 billion (2005 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates
Note: zlotych is the plural form of zloty


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Electricity
Production: 150.8 billion kWh (2004)
Consumption: 121.3 billion kWh (2004)
Exports: 15.2 billion kWh (2004)
Imports: 5 billion kWh (2004)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas
Production: 4.33 billion m³ (2004)
Consumption: 14.97 billion m³ (2003 est.)
Exports: 44 million m³ (2004)
Imports: 9.45 billion m³ (2004)
Proven reserves: 154.4 billion m³ (December 2004)

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Main lines in use: 11.803 million (2005)
Mobile cellular: 29,166,400 (2005)

Telephone system
General assessment: modernization of the telecommunications network has accelerated with market based competition finalized in 2003; fixed-line service, dominated by the former state-owned company, is dwarfed by the growth in wireless telephony
Domestic: wireless service, available since 1993 (GSM service available since 1996) and provided by three nation-wide networks, has grown rapidly in response to the weak fixed-line coverage; third generation UMTS service available in urban areas; cellular coverage is generally good with more gaps in the east; fixed-line service is growing slowly and still lags in rural areas
International: country code - 48; international direct dialing with automated exchanges; satellite earth station - 1 (Intelsat, Eutelsat, Inmarsat, and Intersputnik)

Broadcast media

Internet
Country code: .pl
Hosts: 358,476 (2006)
Users: 10.6 million (2005)

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation: 17 years of age for compulsory military service after January 1st of the year of 18th birthday; 17 years of age for voluntary military service; in 2005 Poland plans to shorten the length of conscript service obligation from 12 to 9 months; by 2008 plans call for at least 60% of military personnel to be volunteers; only soldiers who have completed their conscript service are allowed to volunteer for professional service; as of April 2004 women are only allowed to serve as officers and noncommissioned officers (2004)

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 122 (2006)
With paved runways total: 83
With paved runways over 3047 m: 4
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 29
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 40
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 8
With paved runways under 914 m: 2 (2006)
With unpaved runways total: 39
With unpaved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 1
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 4
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 13
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 21 (2006)

Heliports: 3 (2006)

Pipelines: gas 13,552 km; oil 1384 km; refined products 777 km (2006)

Railways
Total: 23,072 km
Broad gauge: 629 km 1.524-m gauge
Standard gauge: 22,443 km 1.435-m gauge (20,555 km operational; 11,910 km electrified) (2005)

Roadways
Total: 423,997 km
Paved: 295,356 km (including 405 km of expressways)
Unpaved: 128,641 km (2004)

Waterways: 3,997 km (navigable rivers and canals) (2005)

Merchant marine
Total: 11 ships (1000 GRT or over) 55,701 GRT/45,082 DWT
By type: cargo 6, chemical tanker 2, passenger/cargo 1, roll on/roll off 1, vehicle carrier 1
Foreign owned: 1 (Nigeria 1)
Registered in other countries: 106 (Antigua and Barbuda 3, Bahamas 15, Belize 2, Cyprus 20, Liberia 14, Malta 27, Norway 2, Panama 15, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1, Slovakia 2, Vanuatu 5) (2006)

Ports and terminals: Gdansk Gdynia Swinoujscie Szczecin


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Disputes international

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs