CIA - The World Factbook

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.

Central Europe, east of Germany

slightly smaller than New Mexico

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

mostly flat plain; mountains along southern border

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

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

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

38,463,689 (July 2010 est.)

10.04 births/1,000 population (2010 est.)

10.1 deaths/1,000 population (July 2010 est.)

-0.47 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2010 est.)

1.29 children born/woman (2010 est.)

0.1%; note - no country specific models provided (2007 est.)

fewer than 200 (2007 est.)

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

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

Polish 97.8%, other and unspecified 2.2% (2002 census)

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

11 November 1918 (republic proclaimed)

Constitution Day, 3 May (1791)

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

based on a 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

18 years of age; universal

bicameral legislature consists of an upper house, the Senate or Senat (100 seats; members elected by a majority vote on a provincial basis to serve four-year terms), and a lower house, the Sejm (460 seats; members elected under a complex system of proportional representation to serve four-year terms); the designation of National Assembly or Zgromadzenie Narodowe is only used on those rare occasions when the two houses meet jointly

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)

Civic Platform or PO [chairman Donald TUSK; parliamentary caucus leader Grzegorz SCHETYNA]; Democratic Caucus of the Democratic Party (SD) or DKP SD [parliamentary caucus leader Bogdan LIS]; Democratic Left Alliance or SLD [chairman Grzegorz NAPIERALSKI]; Democratic Party or PD [chairwoman Brygida KUZNIAK]; Democratic Party or SD [chairman Pawel PISKORSKI]; German Minority of Lower Silesia or MNSO [representative Henryk KROLL]; Law and Justice or PiS [chairman Jaroslaw KACZYNSKI; parliamentary caucus leader Grazyna GESICKA]; League of Polish Families or LPR [chairman Witold BALAZAK]; Left (Democratic Left Alliance and independents) [parliamentary caucus leader Grzegorz NAPIERALSKI]; Polish People's Party or PSL [chairman Waldemar PAWLAK; parliamentary caucus leader Stanislaw ZELICHOWSKI]; Polska Plus (chairman Jerzy POLACZEK; parliamentary caucus leader Ludwik DORN] ; Samoobrona or SO [chairman Andrzej LEPPER]; Social Democratic Party of Poland or SDPL [chairman Wojciech FILEMONOWICZ, parliamentary caucus leader Marek BOROWSKI]; Union of Labor or UP [chairman Waldemar WITKOWSKI]

All Poland Trade Union Alliance or OPZZ (trade union) [Jan GUZ]; Roman Catholic Church [Cardinal Stanislaw DZIWISZ, Archbishop Jozef MICHALIK]; Solidarity Trade Union [Janusz SNIADEK]

Arctic Council (observer), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS, CD, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, ESA (cooperating state), EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINURCAT, MINURSO, MONUC, NATO, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, Schengen Convention, SECI (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red; colors derive from the Polish emblem - a white eagle on a red field

Poland has pursued a policy of economic liberalization since 1990 and today stands out as a success story among transition economies. Before 2009, GDP had grown about 5% annually, based on rising private consumption, a jump in corporate investment, and EU funds inflows. GDP per capita is still much below the EU average, but is similar to that of the three Baltic states. Since 2004, EU membership and access to EU structural funds have provided a major boost to the economy. Unemployment fell rapidly to 6.4% in October 2008, climbed back to 8.9% by January 2010, but remains below the EU average. In 2008 inflation reached 4.2%, more than the upper limit of the National Bank of Poland's target range, but fell to 3.5% in January 2010 due to global economic slowdown. Poland's economic performance could improve over the longer term if the country addresses some of the remaining deficiencies in its road and rail infrastructure and its business environment. An inefficient commercial court system, a rigid labor code, bureaucratic red tape, burdensome tax system, and persistent low-level corruption keep the private sector from performing up to its full potential. Rising demands to fund health care, education, and the state pension system present a challenge to the Polish Government's effort to hold the consolidated public sector budget deficit under 3.0% of GDP, a target which was achieved in 2007-09. The PO/PSL coalition government, which came to power in November 2007, plans to reduce the budget deficit in 2010 and has also announced its intention to enact business-friendly reforms, increase workforce participation, reduce public sector spending growth, lower taxes, and accelerate privatization. The government, however, has moved slowly on major reforms. The legislature passed a law significantly limiting early retirement benefits. A health-care bill also passed through the legislature, but the legislature failed to overturn a presidential veto.

$690.1 billion (2009 est.)

$678.6 billion (2008 est.)

$646.3 billion (2007 est.)

$427.9 billion (2009 est.)

16.99 million (2009 est.)

8.9% (January 2010 est.)

6.5% (December 2008 est.)

20.7% of GDP (2009 est.)

47.5% of GDP (2009 est.)

45.2% of GDP (2008 est.)

5% (31 December 2008)

5% (31 December 2007)

NA% (31 December 2008)

5.72% (31 December 2007)

$118.2 billion (31 December 2008)

$137.4 billion (31 December 2007)

$109 billion (31 December 2008)

$93.98 billion (31 December 2007)

$258.3 billion (31 December 2008)

$223.2 billion (31 December 2007)

$90.23 billion (31 December 2008)

$207.3 billion (31 December 2007)

$149.1 billion (31 December 2006)

potatoes, fruits, vegetables, wheat; poultry, eggs, pork, dairy

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

149.1 billion kWh (2007 est.)

129.3 billion kWh (2007 est.)

9.703 billion kWh (2008)

8.48 billion kWh (2008 est.)

35,560 bbl/day (2008 est.)

544,800 bbl/day (2008 est.)

67,340 bbl/day (2008 est.)

595,400 bbl/day (2008 est.)

96.38 million bbl (1 January 2009 est.)

5.719 billion cu m (2008 est.)

16.55 billion cu m (2008 est.)

39 million cu m (2008 est.)

11.2 billion cu m (2008 est.)

164.8 billion cu m (1 January 2009 est.)

-$3.585 billion (2009 est.)

-$26.91 billion (2008 est.)

$134.7 billion (2009 est.)

$178.4 billion (2008 est.)

machinery and transport equipment 37.8%, intermediate manufactured goods 23.7%, miscellaneous manufactured goods 17.1%, food and live animals 7.6%

Germany 24.4%, France 6%, Italy 5.9%, UK 5.6%, Czech Republic 5.5%, Russia 5.2% (2008)

$141.7 billion (2009 est.)

$204.4 billion (2008 est.)

machinery and transport equipment 38%, intermediate manufactured goods 21%, chemicals 15%, minerals, fuels, lubricants, and related materials 9%

Germany 28%, Russia 9.7%, Italy 6.1%, Netherlands 5.3%, France 4.7%, China 4.4% (2008)

$67.29 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$62.18 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

$201.2 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$243.5 billion (31 December 2008)

$167.9 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$161.4 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

$23.31 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$21.81 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

zlotych (PLN) per US dollar - 3.1 (2009), 2.3 (2008), 2.81 (2007), 3.1032 (2006), 3.2355 (2005)

10.336 million (2008)

44.004 million (2008)

AM 14, FM 63, shortwave 2 (2008)

8.906 million (2009)

18.679 million (2008)

gas 13,631 km; oil 1,384 km; refined products 777 km (2009)

3,997 km (navigable rivers and canals) (2007)

Gdansk, Gdynia, Swinoujscie, Szczecin

Polish Armed Forces: Land Forces, Navy, Air and Air Defense Aviation Forces, Special Forces (2010)

18-28 years of age for male voluntary or compulsory military service; service obligation shortened from 12 to 9 months in 2005; conscription is to end in 2012; 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; reserve obligation to age 50 (2009)

1.71% of GDP (2005 est.)

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

despite diligent counternarcotics measures and international information sharing on cross-border crimes, a major illicit producer of synthetic drugs for the international market; minor transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and Latin American cocaine to Western Europe