| Poland |
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Poland | Introduction | Top of Page

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 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, boosting hopes for acceptance to the EU. Poland joined the NATO alliance in 1999.

Poland | Geography | Top of Page

Location: | Central Europe, east of Germany

Geographic coordinates: | 52 00 N, 20 00 E

Map references: | Europe

Area: | total: 312,685 sq km land: 304,465 sq km water: 8,220 sq km

Area - comparative: | slightly smaller than New Mexico

Land boundaries: | total: 2,888 km border countries: Belarus 605 km, Czech Republic 658 km, Germany 456 km, Lithuania 91 km, Russia (Kaliningrad Oblast) 206 km, Slovakia 444 km, Ukraine 428 km

Coastline: | 491 km

Maritime claims: | exclusive economic zone: defined by international treaties 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 extremes: | lowest point: Raczki Elblaskie -2 m highest point: Rysy 2,499 m

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

Land use: | arable land: 47% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 13% forests and woodland: 29% other: 10% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: | 1,000 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: | NA

Environment - current issues: | situation has improved since 1989 due to decline in heavy industry and increased environmental concern by postcommunist 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

Environment - international agreements: | party to: Air Pollution, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol

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

Poland | People | Top of Page

Population: | 38,633,912 (July 2001 est.)

Age structure: | 0-14 years: 18.39% (male 3,640,451; female 3,463,604) 15-64 years: 69.17% (male 13,288,471; female 13,434,753) 65 years and over: 12.44% (male 1,836,816; female 2,969,817) (2001 est.)

Population growth rate: | -0.03% (2001 est.)

Birth rate: | 10.2 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate: | 9.98 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Net migration rate: | -0.49 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Sex ratio: | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.62 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate: | 9.39 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 73.42 years male: 69.26 years female: 77.82 years (2001 est.)

Total fertility rate: | 1.37 children born/woman (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: | 0.07% (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: | NA

HIV/AIDS - deaths: | less than 100 (1999 est.)

Nationality: | noun: Pole(s) adjective: Polish

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

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

Languages: | Polish

Literacy: | definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% male: 99% female: 98% (1978 est.)

Poland | Government | Top of Page

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: | Warsaw

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

Independence: | 11 November 1918 (independent republic proclaimed)

National holiday: | Constitution Day, 3 May (1791)

Constitution: | 16 October 1997; adopted by the National Assembly 2 April 1997; passed by national referendum 23 May 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 although under the new constitution, the Constitutional Tribunal ruling will become final as of October 1999; court decisions can be appealed to the European Court of Justice in Strasbourg

Suffrage: | 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch: | chief of state: President Aleksander KWASNIEWSKI (since 23 December 1995) head of government: Prime Minister Jerzy BUZEK - Solidarity Electoral Union - (since 31 October 1997), Deputy Prime Ministers Janusz STEINHOFF (since 12 June 2000), Longin KOMOLOWSKI (since 19 October 1999) 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; election held 8 October 2000 (next to be held NA October 2005); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president and confirmed by the Sejm election results: Aleksander KWASNIEWSKI reelected president; percent of popular vote - Aleksander KWASNIEWSKI 53.9%, Andrzj OLECHOWSKI 17.3%, Marian KRZAKLEWSKI 15.6%, Lech WALESA 1%

Legislative branch: | bicameral National Assembly or Zgromadzenie Narodowe consists of the Sejm (460 seats; members are elected under a complex system of proportional representation to serve four-year terms) and the Senate or Senat (100 seats; members are elected by a majority vote on a provincial basis to serve four-year terms) elections: Sejm elections last held 21 September 1997 (next to be held by NA September 2001); Senate - last held 21 September 1997 (next to be held by NA September 2001) election results: Sejm - percent of vote by party - AWS 33.8%, SLD 27.1%, UW 13.4%, PSL 7.3%, ROP 5.6%, MNSO 0.4%, other 12.4%; seats by party - AWS 201, SLD 164, UW 60, PSL 27, ROP 6, MNSO 2; Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - AWS 51, SLD 28, UW 8, ROP 5, PSL 3, independents 5; note - seats by party in the Sejm as of February 2001: AWS 175, SLD 161, UW 49, PSL 26, PP 6, KdP 7, ROP-PC 4, independents 31, one seat vacant note: two seats are assigned to ethnic minority parties

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: | Coalition for Poland or KdP [first name unknown GRABOWSKI]; Confederation for an Independent Poland-Patriotic Camp or KPN-OP (KPN-Fatherland or KPN-O is a small group within the KPN-OP) [Michal JANISZEWSKI]; Democratic Left Alliance or SLD (Social Democracy of Poland) [Leszek MILLER]; Freedom Union or UW [Bronislaw GEREMEK]; German Minority of Lower Silesia or MNSO [Henryk KROLL]; Movement for the Reconstruction of Poland or ROP-PC [Jan OLSZEWSKI]; Polish Accord or PP [Jan LOPUSZANSKI]; Polish Peasant Party or PSL [Jaroslaw KALINOWSKI]; Polish Socialist Party or PPS [Piotr IKONOWICZ]; Solidarity Electoral Action or AWS (includes RS-AWS and Solidarity) [Marian KRZAKLEWSKI]; Social Movement-Solidarity Electoral Action or RS-AWS [Jerzy BUZEK]

Political pressure groups and leaders: | All Poland Trade Union Alliance or OPZZ (trade union); Roman Catholic Church; Solidarity (trade union)

International organization participation: | ACCT (observer), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS, CCC, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA (observer), IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Przemyslaw GRUDZINSKI chancery: 2640 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 234-3800 through 3802 FAX: [1] (202) 328-6271 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York

Diplomatic representation from the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Christopher R. HILL embassy: Aleje Ujazdowskie 29/31 00-054, Warsaw P1 mailing address: American Embassy Warsaw, US Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-5010 (pouch) telephone: [48] (22) 628-30-41 FAX: [48] (22) 628-82-98 consulate(s) 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

Poland | Economy | Top of Page

Economy - overview: | Poland has steadfastly pursued a policy of liberalizing the economy and today stands out as one of the most successful and open transition economies. GDP growth has been strong and steady since 1992 - the best performance in the region. The privatization of small and medium state-owned companies and a liberal law on establishing new firms has allowed for the rapid development of a vibrant private sector. In contrast, Poland's large agricultural sector remains handicapped by structural problems, surplus labor, inefficient small farms, and lack of investment. Restructuring and privatization of "sensitive sectors" (e.g., coal, steel, railroads, and energy) has begun. Structural 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 privatization of Poland's remaining state sector. The government's determination to enter the EU as soon as possible affects most aspects of its economic policies. Improving Poland's outsized current account deficit and reining in inflation are priorities. Warsaw leads the region in foreign investment and needs a continued large inflow.

GDP: | purchasing power parity - $327.5 billion (2000 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: | 4.8% (2000 est.)

GDP - per capita: | purchasing power parity - $8,500 (2000 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: | agriculture: 3.8% industry: 36.6% services: 59.6% (1999)

Population below poverty line: | 18.4% (2000 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share: | lowest 10%: 3% highest 10%: 26.3% (1996)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): | 10.2% (2000 est.)

Labor force: | 17.2 million (1999 est.)

Labor force - by occupation: | industry 22.1%, agriculture 27.5%, services 50.4% (1999)

Unemployment rate: | 12% (1999)

Budget: | revenues: $49.6 billion expenditures: $52.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999)

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

Industrial production growth rate: | 4.3% (1999)

Electricity - production: | 134.351 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - production by source: | fossil fuel: 96.43% hydro: 3.16% nuclear: 0% other: 0.41% (1999)

Electricity - consumption: | 120.007 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - exports: | 8.43 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - imports: | 3.491 billion kWh (1999)

Agriculture - products: | potatoes, fruits, vegetables, wheat; poultry, eggs, pork

Exports: | $28.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000)

Exports - commodities: | machinery and transport equipment 30.2%, intermediate manufactured goods 25.5%, miscellaneous manufactured goods 20.9%, food and live animals 8.5% (1999)

Exports - partners: | Germany 36.1%, Italy 6.5%, Netherlands 5.3%, France 4.8%, UK 4.0%, Czech Republic 3.8% (1999)

Imports: | $42.7 billion (f.o.b., 2000)

Imports - commodities: | machinery and transport equipment 38.2%, intermediate manufactured goods 20.8%, chemicals 14.3%, miscellaneous manufactured goods 9.5% (1999)

Imports - partners: | Germany 25.2%, Italy 9.4%, France 6.8%, Russia 5.8%, UK 4.6%, Netherlands 3.7% (1999)

Debt - external: | $57 billion (2000)

Economic aid - recipient: | $NA

Currency: | zloty (PLN)

Currency code: | PLN

Exchange rates: | zlotych per US dollar - 4.3126 (December 2000), 4.3461 (2000), 3.9671 (1999), 3.4754 (1998), 3.2793 (1997), 2.6961 (1996)

Fiscal year: | calendar year

Poland | Communications | Top of Page

Telephones - main lines in use: | 8.07 million (1998)

Telephones - mobile cellular: | 1.78 million (1998)

Telephone system: | general assessment: underdeveloped and outmoded system; government aimed to have 10 million telephones in service by 2000; the process of partial privatization of the state-owned telephone monopoly has begun; in 1998 there were over 2 million applicants on the waiting list for telephone service domestic: cable, open wire, and microwave radio relay; 3 cellular networks; local exchanges 56.6% digital international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat, NA Eutelsat, 2 Inmarsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions), and 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region)

Radio broadcast stations: | AM 14, FM 777, shortwave 1 (1998)

Radios: | 20.2 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations: | 179 (plus 256 repeaters) (September 1995)

Televisions: | 13.05 million (1997)

Internet country code: | .pl

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): | 19 (2000)

Internet users: | 2.8 million (2000)

Poland | Transportation | Top of Page

Railways: | total: 23,420 km broad gauge: 646 km 1.524-m gauge standard gauge: 21,639 km 1.435-m gauge (11,626 km electrified; 8,978 km double track) narrow gauge: 1,135 km various gauges including 1.000-m, 0.785-m, 0.750-m, and 0.600-m (1998)

Highways: | total: 381,046 km paved: 249,966 km (including 268 km of expressways) unpaved: 131,080 km (1998)

Waterways: | 3,812 km (navigable rivers and canals) (1996)

Pipelines: | crude oil and petroleum products 2,280 km; natural gas 17,000 km (1996)

Ports and harbors: | Gdansk, Gdynia, Gliwice, Kolobrzeg, Szczecin, Swinoujscie, Ustka, Warsaw, Wroclaw

Merchant marine: | total: 46 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 943,540 GRT/1,532,694 DWT ships by type: bulk 41, cargo 2, chemical tanker 1, roll on/roll off 1, short-sea passenger 1 (2000 est.)

Airports: | 122 (2000 est.)

Airports - with paved runways: | total: 83 over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 29 1,524 to 2,437 m: 42 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways: | total: 39 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 13 under 914 m: 21 (2000 est.)

Heliports: | 3 (2000 est.)

Poland | Military | Top of Page

Military branches: | Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Force

Military manpower - military age: | 19 years of age

Military manpower - availability: | males age 15-49: 10,447,931 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service: | males age 15-49: 8,139,245 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually: | males: 344,781 (2001 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: | $3.17 billion (FY00)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: | 1.95% (FY00)

Poland | Transnational Issues | Top of Page

Disputes - international: | none

Illicit drugs: | major illicit producer of amphetamine for the international market; minor transshipment point for Asian and Latin American illicit drugs to Western Europe