Map of Poland | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024 | More stats

top of page


Background: Poland's history as a state began near the middle of the 10th century. By the mid-16th century, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth ruled a vast tract of land in Central and Eastern Europe. During the 18th century, internal disorders weakened the nation, and in a series of agreements between 1772 and 1795, Russia, Prussia, and Austria partitioned Poland among 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. Labor turmoil in 1980 led to the formation of the independent trade union "Solidarity" that over time became a political force with over 10 million members. Free elections in 1989 and 1990 won Solidarity control of the parliament and the presidency, bringing the communist era to a close. A "shock therapy" program during the early 1990s enabled the country to transform its economy into one of the most robust in Central Europe. Poland joined NATO in 1999 and the EU in 2004.


top of page


Location: Central Europe, east of Germany

Geographic coordinates: 52 00 N, 20 00 E

Map reference: Europe

Area
Total: 312,685 km²
Land: 304,255 km²
Water: 8,430 km²
Comparative: about twice the size of Georgia; slightly smaller than New Mexico

Land boundaries
Total: 2,865 km
Border countries: (6) Belarus 375 km; Czechia 699 km; Germany 467 km; Lithuania 100 km; , Russia (Kaliningrad Oblast) 209 km; Slovakia 517 km; Ukraine 498 km

Coastline: 440 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
Highest point: Rysy 2,499 m
Lowest point: near Raczki Elblaskie -2 m
Mean elevation: 173 m

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

Land use
Agricultural land: 48.2% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land arable land: 36.2% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land permanent crops: 1.3% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land permanent pasture: 10.7% (2018 est.)
Forest: 30.6% (2018 est.)
Other: 21.2% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land: 760 km² (2013)

Major rivers
By length in km:

Major watersheds area km²: Atlantic Ocean drainage: (Black Sea) Danube (795,656 km²)

Total water withdrawal
Municipal: 1.96 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
Industrial: 5.87 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
Agricultural: 1.39 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Total renewable water resources: 60.5 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

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


top of page


Population
Distribution: population concentrated in the southern area around Krakow and the central area around Warsaw and Lodz, with an extension to the northern coastal city of Gdansk: 37,991,766 (2023 est.)
Growth rate: -1.03% (2023 est.)
Below poverty line: 15.4% (2018 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Pole(s)
Adjective: Polish

Ethnic groups: Polish 96.9%, Silesian 1.1%, German 0.2%, Ukrainian 0.1%, other and unspecified 1.7% (2011 est.)
Note: represents ethnicity declared first

Languages: Polish (official) 98.2%, Silesian 1.4%, other 1.1%, unspecified 1.2%; note - data represent the language spoken at home; shares sum to more than 100% because some respondents gave more than one answer on the census; Poland ratified the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in 2009 recognizing Kashub as a regional language, Czech, Hebrew, Yiddish, Belarusian, Lithuanian, German, Armenian, Russian, Slovak, and Ukrainian as national minority languages, and Karaim, Lemko, Romani (Polska Roma and Bergitka Roma), and Tatar as ethnic minority languages (2011 est.)
Major-language samples:

Religions: Catholic 85% (includes Roman Catholic 84.8% and other Catholic 0.3%), Orthodox 1.3% (almost all are Polish Autocephalous Orthodox), Protestant 0.4% (mainly Augsburg Evangelical and Pentecostal), other 0.3% (includes Jehovah's Witness, Buddhist, Hare Krishna, Gaudiya Vaishnavism, Muslim, Jewish, Church of Jesus Christ), unspecified 12.9% (2020 est.)

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 14.53% (male 2,839,788/female 2,680,401)
15-64 years: 64.87% (male 12,364,282/female 12,280,814)
65 years and over: 20.6% (2023 est.) (male 3,171,838/female 4,654,643)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 51.4
Youth dependency ratio: 23.4
Elderly dependency ratio: 28.6
Potential support ratio: 3.5 (2021 est.)

Median age
Total: 42.4 years (2023 est.)
Male: 41.1 years
Female: 43.7 years

Population growth rate: -1.03% (2023 est.)

Birth rate: 8.7 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Death rate: 12.9 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Net migration rate: -6.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Population distribution: population concentrated in the southern area around Krakow and the central area around Warsaw and Lodz, with an extension to the northern coastal city of Gdansk

Urbanization
Urban population: 60.2% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization: -0.16% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Major urban areas
Population: 1.798 million WARSAW (capital), 769,000 Krakow (2023)

Environment
Current issues: decreased emphasis on heavy industry and increased environmental concern by post-communist governments has improved environment; air pollution remains serious because of emissions from burning low-quality coals in homes and from coal-fired power plants; the resulting acid rain causes forest damage; water pollution from industrial and municipal sources is a problem, as is disposal of hazardous wastes
International agreements party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic- Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling
International agreements signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Heavy Metals, Air Pollution-Multi-effect Protocol, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants

Air pollutants
Particulate matter emissions: 18.83 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
Carbon dioxide emissions: 299.04 megatons (2016 est.)
Methane emissions: 46.62 megatons (2020 est.)

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.9 male(s)/female (2023 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth: 27.9 years (2020 est.)

Maternal mortality ratio: 2 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 5.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
Male: 5.6 deaths/1,000 live births
Female: 4.7 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 75.8 years (2023 est.)
Male: 71.7 years
Female: 80 years

Total fertility rate: 1.31 children born/woman (2023 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 62.3% (2014)

Drinking water source
Improved urban: 99.9% of population
Improved rural: 100% of population
Improved total: 100% of population
Unimproved urban: 0.1% of population
Unimproved rural: 0% of population
Unimproved total: 0% of population (2020 est.)

Current health expenditure: 6.5% of GDP (2020)

Physicians density: 3.77 physicians/1,000 population (2020)

Hospital bed density: 6.5 beds/1,000 population (2018)

Sanitation facility access
Improved urban:
Unimproved urban:

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases
Degree of risk: intermediate (2023)
Vectorborne diseases: tickborne encephalitis

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 23.1% (2016)

Alcohol consumption
Per capita total: 10.96 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita beer: 5.72 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita wine: 0.88 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita spirits: 4.36 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita other alcohols: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

Tobacco use
Total: 24% (2020 est.)
Male: 27.9% (2020 est.)
Female: 20.1% (2020 est.)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures: 5.2% of GDP (2020 est.)

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 99.8%
Male: 99.8%
Female: 99.8% (2021)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 16 years
Male: 15 years
Female: 17 years (2020)

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15 24 total: 13.4% (2021 est.)
Rate ages 15 24 male: 12.3%
Rate ages 15 24 female: 15%


top of page


Country name
Conventional long form: Republic of Poland
Conventional short form: Poland
Local long form: Rzeczpospolita Polska
Local short form: Polska
Former: Polish People's Republic
Etymology: name derives from the Polanians, a west Slavic tribe that united several surrounding Slavic groups (9th-10th centuries A.D.) and who passed on their name to the country; the name of the tribe likely comes from the Slavic "pole" (field or plain), indicating the flat nature of their country

Government type: parliamentary 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
Etymology: the origin of the name is unknown; the Polish designation "Warszawa" was the name of a fishing village and several legends/traditions link the city's founding to a man named Wars or Warsz

Administrative divisions: 16 voivodships [provinces] (wojewodztwa, singular - wojewodztwo); Dolnoslaskie (Lower Silesia), Kujawsko-Pomorskie (Kuyavia-Pomerania), Lodzkie (Lodz), Lubelskie (Lublin), Lubuskie (Lubusz), Malopolskie (Lesser Poland), Mazowieckie (Masovia), Opolskie (Opole), Podkarpackie (Subcarpathia), Podlaskie, Pomorskie (Pomerania), Slaskie (Silesia), Swietokrzyskie (Holy Cross), Warminsko-Mazurskie (Warmia-Masuria), Wielkopolskie (Greater Poland), Zachodniopomorskie (West Pomerania)

Dependent areas

Independence: 11 November 1918 (republic proclaimed); notable earlier dates: 14 April 966 (adoption of Christianity, traditional founding date), 1 July 1569 (Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth created)

National holiday: Constitution Day, 3 May (1791)

Constitution
History: several previous; latest adopted 2 April 1997, approved by referendum 25 May 1997, effective 17 October 1997
Amendments: proposed by at least one fifth of Sejm deputies, by the Senate, or by the president of the republic; passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote in the Sejm and absolute majority vote in the Senate; amendments to articles relating to sovereignty, personal freedoms, and constitutional amendment procedures also require passage by majority vote in a referendum; amended 2006, 2009

Legal system: civil law system; judicial review of legislative, administrative, and other governmental acts; constitutional law rulings of the Constitutional Tribunal are final

International law organization participation: accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Citizenship
Citizenship by birth: no
Citizenship by descent only: both parents must be citizens of Poland
Dual citizenship recognized: no
Residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Andrzej DUDA (since 6 August 2015)
Head of government: Prime Minister Donald TUSK (since 11 December 2023); Deputy Prime Ministers Wladyslaw KOSINIAK-KAMYSZ (since 11 December 2023), Krzysztof GAWKOWSKI (since 11 December 2023)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers proposed by the prime minister, appointed by the president, and approved by the Sejm
Elections/appointments: president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 28 June 2020 with a second round on 12 July 2020 (next to be held in 2025); prime minister, deputy prime ministers, and Council of Ministers appointed by the president and confirmed by the Sejm; all presidential candidates resign their party affiliation
Election results:

Legislative branch
Description:
Elections:
Election results:
Note: the designation National Assembly or Zgromadzenie Narodowe is only used on those rare occasions when the 2 houses meet jointly

Judicial branch
Highest courts: Supreme Court or Sad Najwyzszy (consists of the first president of the Supreme Court and 120 justices organized in criminal, civil, labor and social insurance, and extraordinary appeals and public affairs and disciplinary chambers); Constitutional Tribunal (consists of 15 judges, including the court president and vice president)
Judge selection and term of office: president of the Supreme Court nominated by the General Assembly of the Supreme Court and selected by the president of Poland; other judges nominated by the 25-member National Judicial Council and appointed by the president of Poland; judges serve until retirement, usually at age 65, but tenure can be extended; Constitutional Tribunal judges chosen by the Sejm for single 9-year terms
Subordinate courts: administrative courts; military courts; local, regional and appellate courts subdivided into military, civil, criminal, labor, and family courts

Political parties and leaders:

International organization participation: Arctic Council (observer), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS, CD, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECB, EIB, ESA, EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MONUSCO, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, Schengen Convention, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNHRC, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMISS, UNOCI, UN Security Council (temporary), UNWTO, UPU, Wassenaar Arrangement, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Mark BRZEZINSKI (since 19 January 2022)
From the us embassy: Aleje Ujazdowskie 29/31, 00-540 Warsaw
From the us mailing address: 5,010 Warsaw Place, Washington, DC 20,521-5,010
From the us telephone: [48] (22) 504-2000
From the us FAX: [48] (22) 504-2,088
From the us email address and website:

Flag description: two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red; colors derive from the Polish emblem - a white eagle on a red field
Note: similar to the flags of Indonesia and Monaco which are red (top) and white

National symbols: white crowned eagle; national colors: white, red

National anthem
Name: "Mazurek Dabrowskiego" (Dabrowski's Mazurka)
Lyrics/music: Jozef WYBICKI/traditional
Note: adopted 1927; the anthem, commonly known as "Jeszcze Polska nie zginela" (Poland Has Not Yet Perished), was written in 1797; the lyrics resonate strongly with Poles because they reflect the numerous occasions in which the nation's lands have been occupied

National heritage
Total World Heritage Sites: 17 (15 cultural, 2 natural)
Selected World Heritage Site locales:


top of page


Economy overview: diversified, high-growth European economy; COVID-19 led to first recession in nearly 3 decades, albeit small; EU and NATO member; bolstering US relations; economic concentration in western region; aging labor force; growing debt

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Note: data are in 2017 dollars

Real gdp growth rate:

Real gdp per capita:
Note: data are in 2017 dollars

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 58.6% (2017 est.)
Government consumption: 17.7% (2017 est.)
Investment in fixed capital: 17.7% (2017 est.)
Investment in inventories: 2% (2017 est.)
Exports of goods and services: 54% (2017 est.)
Imports of goods and services: -49.9% (2017 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 2.4% (2017 est.)
Industry: 40.2% (2017 est.)
Services: 57.4% (2017 est.)

Agriculture products: milk, sugar beets, wheat, potatoes, triticale, maize, barley, apples, mixed grains, rye

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

Industrial production growth rate: 3.36% (2021 est.)

Labor force: 18.212 million (2021 est.)

Unemployment rate:

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15 24 total: 13.4% (2021 est.)
Rate ages 15 24 male: 12.3%
Rate ages 15 24 female: 15%

Population below poverty line: 15.4% (2018 est.)

Gini index
Coefficient distribution of family income: 30.2 (2018 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10%: 3%
Highest 10%: 23.9% (2015 est.)

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $244.485 billion (2019 est.)
Expenditures: $248.868 billion (2019 est.)
Surplus  or deficit: -1.7% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Taxes and other revenues: 17.48% (of GDP) (2020 est.)

Public debt:
Note: data cover general government debt and include debt instruments issued (or owned) by government entities other than the treasury; the data include treasury debt held by foreign entities, the data include subnational entities, as well as intragovernmental debt; intragovernmental debt consists of treasury borrowings from surpluses in the social funds, such as for retirement, medical care, and unemployment; debt instruments for the social funds are not sold at public auctions

Revenue
From forest resources: 0.17% of GDP (2018 est.)
From coal: 0.27% of GDP (2018 est.)

Fiscal year: calendar year

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:
Partners: Germany 28%, UK 6%, Czechia 6%, France 6%, Netherlands 4% (2020)
Commodities: cars and vehicle parts, seats, furniture, electric batteries, computers (2020)

Imports:
Partners: Germany 25%, China 12%, Italy 5%, Netherlands 5%, Czechia 4% (2020)
Commodities: cars and vehicle parts, crude petroleum, packaged medicines, broadcasting equipment, office machinery/parts (2020)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:

Debt external:

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates:


top of page


Electricity
Access electrification-total population: 100% (2021)
Installed generating capacity: 47.269 million kW (2020 est.)
Consumption: 149.203 billion kWh (2020 est.)
Exports: 7.357 billion kWh (2020 est.)
Imports: 20.624 billion kWh (2020 est.)
Transmission/distribution losses: 9.995 billion kWh (2020 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels: 79.8% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources solar: 1.4% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources wind: 10.8% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 2% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources tide and wave: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources geothermal: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources biomass and waste: 6% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)

Coal
Production: 108.152 million metric tons (2020 est.)
Consumption: 110.674 million metric tons (2020 est.)
Exports: 11.063 million metric tons (2020 est.)
Imports: 13.281 million metric tons (2020 est.)
Proven reserves: 26.932 billion metric tons (2019 est.)

Petroleum
Total petroleum production: 28,400 bbl/day (2021 est.)
Refined petroleum consumption: 697,700 bbl/day (2019 est.)
Crude oil and lease condensate exports: 6,000 bbl/day (2018 est.)
Crude oil and lease condensate imports: 542,100 bbl/day (2018 est.)
Crude oil estimated reserves: 113 million barrels (2021 est.)

Crude oil

Refined petroleum
Products production: 554,200 bbl/day (2017 est.)
Products exports: 104,800 bbl/day (2017 est.)
Products imports: 222,300 bbl/day (2017 est.)

Natural gas
Production: 5.667 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
Consumption: 21.464 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
Exports: 704.975 million cubic meters (2019 est.)
Imports: 16.633 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
Proven reserves: 91.492 billion cubic meters (2021 est.)

Carbon dioxide emissions: 304.04 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From coal and metallurgical coke: 176.938 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From petroleum and other liquids: 89.944 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From consumed natural gas: 37.158 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)

Energy consumption per capita: 112.831 million Btu/person (2019 est.)


top of page


Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 5,277,054 (2022 est.)
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 14 (2021 est.)
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 50,588,785 (2021 est.)
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 132 (2021 est.)

Telephone system

Broadcast media: state-run public TV operates 2 national channels supplemented by 16 regional channels and several niche channels; privately owned entities operate several national TV networks and a number of special interest channels; many privately owned channels broadcasting locally; roughly half of all households are linked to either satellite or cable TV systems providing access to foreign television networks; state-run public radio operates 5 national networks and 17 regional radio stations; 2 privately owned national radio networks, several commercial stations broadcasting to multiple cities, and many privately owned local radio stations (2019)

Internet
Country code: .pl
Users total: 32.3 million (2021 est.)
Users percent of population: 85% (2021 est.)

Broadband fixed subscriptions
Total: 8,369,218 (2020 est.)
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 22 (2020 est.)


top of page


Military expenditures:

Military and security forces:
Note: as of 2023, Cyberspace Defense Forces (Wojska Obrony Cyberprzestrzeni) were in development

Military service age and obligation: 18-28 years of age for male and female voluntary military service; conscription phased out in 2009-12; professional soldiers serve on a permanent basis (for an unspecified period of time) or on a contract basis (for a specified period of time); initial contract period is 24 months; women serve in the military on the same terms as men (2023)
Note 1: as of 2019, women made up about 7% of the military's full-time personnel
Note 2: in May 2022, Poland announced a new 12-month voluntary military service program with recruits going through a one-month basic training period with a military unit, followed by 11 months of specialized training; upon completion of service, the volunteers would be allowed to join the Territorial Defense Forces or the active reserve, and have priority to join the professional army and be given preference for employment in the public sector; the program is part of an effort to increase the size of the Polish military

Space program
Overview: space program is integrated within the framework of the European Space Agency (ESA); builds satellites, including nano/cube remote sensing (RS) and educational/scientific/technology satellites; researches and develops communications, RS, navigational, and other scientific applications for satellite payloads; creating infrastructure for receiving, storing, processing and distributing data from meteorological and environmental satellites; researches and develops other space-related technologies, including sensors and robotic probes for interplanetary landers, and launcher systems; participates in international space programs and cooperates with a variety of foreign space agencies and industries, including those of Brazil, Canada, China, ESA/EU member states (particularly France, Germany, Italy), India, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Ukraine, UK, and the US; has a growing commercial space sector with more than 300 active enterprises (2023)
Overview note: further details about the key activities, programs, and milestones of the country’s space program, as well as government spending estimates on the space sector, appear in space programs

Terrorist groups
Terrorist groups: Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS)
Note: details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in terrorist organizations


top of page


National air transport system
Number of registered air carriers: 6 (2020)
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 169
Annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 9,277,538 (2018)
Annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 271.49 million (2018) mt-km

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: SP

Airports: 126 (2021)
With paved runways: 87
With paved runways civil airports: 13
With paved runways military airports: 13
With paved runways joint use (civil-military) airports: 0
With paved runways other airports: 61
With paved runways note: paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)
With unpaved runways: 39
With unpaved runways note: unpaved runways have a surface composition such as grass or packed earth and are most suited to the operation of light aircraft; unpaved runways are usually short, often less than 1,000 m (3,280 ft.) in length; airports with unpaved runways often lack facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control

Heliports: 6 (2021)

Pipelines: 14,198 km gas, 1,374 km oil, 2,483 km refined products (2018)

Railways
Total: 19,461 km (2020) 11,946 km electrified

Roadways
Total: 420,000 km (2016)
Paved: 291,000 km (2016) (includes 1,492 km of expressways, 1,559 of motorways)
Unpaved: 129,000 km (2016)

Waterways: 3,997 km (2009) (navigable rivers and canals)

Merchant marine
Total: 149 (2022)
By type: general cargo 7, oil tanker 6, other 136

Ports and terminals
Major seaports: Gdansk, Gdynia, Swinoujscie
Container ports teus: Gdansk (2,117,829) (2021)
Lng terminals import: Swinoujscie
River ports: Szczecin (River Oder)


top of page


Disputes international: Poland-Belarus-Ukraine: as a member state that forms part of the EU's external border, Poland has implemented the strict Schengen border rules to restrict illegal immigration and trade along its eastern borders with Belarus and Ukraine

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Refugees country of origin: 956,635 (Ukraine) (as of 15 December 2023)
Stateless persons: 1,435 (2022)

Illicit drugs: a major source of precursor or essential chemicals used in the production of illicit narcotics