Country List | World Factbook Home
The World Factbook
| Poland |

Introduction | Poland

Background: | Poland is an ancient nation that was conceived around 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, until an agreement in 1772 between Russia, Prussia, and Austria partitioned Poland. 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 currently suffers low GDP growth and high unemployment. 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 is scheduled to accede to the European Union along with nine other states on 1 May 2004.

Geography | Poland

Location: | Central Europe, east of Germany
Geographic coordinates: | 52 00 N, 20 00 E
Map references: | Europe
Area: | total: 312,685 sq km water: 8,220 sq km land: 304,465 sq km
Area - comparative: | slightly smaller than New Mexico
Land boundaries: | total: 2,788 km border countries: Belarus 407 km, Czech Republic 658 km, Germany 456 km, Lithuania 91 km, Russia (Kaliningrad Oblast) 206 km, Slovakia 444 km, Ukraine 526 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: near Raczki Elblaskie -2 m highest point: Rysy 2,499 m
Natural resources: | coal, sulfur, copper, natural gas, silver, lead, salt, amber, arable land
Land use: | arable land: 45.81% permanent crops: 1.23% other: 52.96% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: | 1,000 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: | flooding
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 European Union code, but at substantial cost to business and the government
Environment - international agreements: | party to: Air Pollution, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, 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

People | Poland

Population: | 38,622,660 (July 2003 est.)
Age structure: | 0-14 years: 17.5% (male 3,458,844; female 3,284,995) 15-64 years: 69.8% (male 13,407,012; female 13,547,728) 65 years and over: 12.7% (male 1,879,445; female 3,044,636) (2003 est.)
Median age: | total: 36 years male: 34.1 years female: 38 years (2002)
Population growth rate: | 0% (2003 est.)
Birth rate: | 10.47 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Death rate: | 9.96 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Net migration rate: | -0.49 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 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 (2003 est.)
Infant mortality rate: | total: 8.95 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) male: 10.04 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 73.91 years male: 69.77 years female: 78.28 years (2003 est.)
Total fertility rate: | 1.37 children born/woman (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: | 0.1% - note: no country specific models provided (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: | NA
HIV/AIDS - deaths: | 100 (2001 est.)
Nationality: | noun: Pole(s) adjective: Polish
Ethnic groups: | Polish 97.6%, German 1.3%, Ukrainian 0.6%, Belarusian 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: 99.8% male: 99.8% female: 99.7% (2003 est.)

Government | Poland

Country name: | conventional long form: Republic of Poland conventional short form: Poland local short form: Polska local long form: Rzeczpospolita 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, but rulings of the Constitutional Tribunal are final; 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) elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last 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 head of government: Prime Minister Leszek MILLER (SLD) (since 19 October 2001), Deputy Prime Ministers Marek POL (since 19 October 2001), Jerzy HAUSNER (since 11 June 2003) 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 election results: Aleksander KWASNIEWSKI reelected president; percent of popular vote - Aleksander KWASNIEWSKI 53.9%, Andrzej 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 23 September 2001 (next to be held by September 2005); Senate - last held 23 September 2001 (next to be held by September 2005) election results: Sejm - percent of vote by party - SLD-UP 41%, PO 12.7%, Samoobrona 10.2%, PiS 9.5%, PSL 9%, LPR 7.9%, AWSP 5.6% UW 3.1%, other 1%; seats by party (as of 25 April 2003) - SLD 193, PO 57, Samoobrona 39, PiS 43, PSL 39, LPR 28, UP 16, SKL 8, PLD 6, PBL 5, RKN 5, PP 3, ROP 3, German minorities 2, independents 13; note - SLD and UP ran together on electoral lists in the 2001 elections, but constitute separate parliamentary clubs in the Sejm; several other deputies have left their parties and set up other parliamentary factions; Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - SLD-UP 75, AWSP (an electoral alliance of some 36 parties) 15, PSL 4, Samoobrona 2, LPR 2, independents 2 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: | Catholic-National Movement or RKN [Antoni MACIEREWICZ]; Citizens Platform or PO [Donald TUSK]; Conservative Peasants Party or SKL-RNP [Artur BALAZS]; Democratic Left Alliance or SLD [Leszek MILLER]; Freedom Union or UW [Wladyslaw FRASYNIUK]; German Minority of Lower Silesia or MNSO [Henryk KROLL]; Law and Justice or PiS [Jaroslaw KACZYNSKI]; League of Polish Families or LPR [Marek KOTLINOWSKI]; Movement for the Reconstruction of Poland or ROP [Jan OLSZEWSKI]; Peasant-Democratic Party or PLD [Roman JAGIELINSKI]; Polish Accord or PP [Jan LOPUSZANSKI]; Polish Peasant Bloc or PBL [Wojciech MOJZESOWICZ]; Polish Peasant Party or PSL [Jaroslaw KALINOWSKI]; Samoobrona [Andrzej LEPPER]; Social Movement or RS [Krzysztof PIESIEWICZ]; Union of Labor or UP [Marek POL]
Political pressure groups and leaders: | All Poland Trade Union Alliance or OPZZ (trade union) [Maciej MANICKI]; Roman Catholic Church [Cardinal Jozef GLEMP]; Solidarity Trade Union [Janusz SNIADEK]
International organization participation: | ACCT (observer), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA (observer), IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, 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, WCO, 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 FAX: [1] (202) 328-6270 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York telephone: [1] (202) 234-3800 through 3802
Diplomatic representation from the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Christopher R. HILL embassy: Aleje Ujazdowskie 29/31 00-540 Warsaw P1 mailing address: American Embassy Warsaw, US Department of State, 5010 Warsaw Place, Washington, DC 20521-5010 (pouch) telephone: [48] (22) 504-2000 FAX: [48] (22) 504-2951 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

Economy | Poland

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. The privatization of small and medium 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 structural problems, 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 due to a lack of political will on the part of the government. 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 reduction of state employment, and an overhaul of the tax code to incorporate the growing gray economy and farmers most of whom pay no tax. The government's determination to enter the EU has shaped most aspects of its economic policy and new legislation; in June 2003, 77% of the voters approved membership, now scheduled for May 2004. Improving Poland's export competitiveness and containing the internal budget deficit are top priorities. Due to political uncertainty, the zloty has recently depreciated in relation to the euro and the dollar while currencies of the other euro-zone aspirants have been appreciating. GDP per capita equals that of the 3 Baltic states.
GDP: | purchasing power parity - $373.2 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: | 1.4% (2002 est.)
GDP - per capita: | purchasing power parity - $9,700 (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: | agriculture: 3.8% industry: 35% services: 61.2% (2000 est.)
Population below poverty line: | 18.4% (2000 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: | lowest 10%: 3.2% highest 10%: 24.7% (1998)
Distribution of family income - Gini index: | 31.6 (1998)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): | 1.9% (2002 est.)
Labor force: | 17.6 million (2000 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: | industry 22.1%, agriculture 27.5%, services 50.4% (1999)
Unemployment rate: | 18.1% (2002)
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: | 0.3% (2001)
Electricity - production: | 135 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source: | fossil fuel: 98.1% hydro: 1.5% other: 0.4% (2001) nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption: | 118.8 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports: | 11.04 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports: | 4.306 billion kWh (2001)
Oil - production: | 17,180 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption: | 424,100 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports: | 53,000 bbl/day (2001)
Oil - imports: | 413,700 bbl/day (2001)
Oil - proved reserves: | 116.4 million bbl (37257)
Natural gas - production: | 5.471 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - consumption: | 13.85 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - exports: | 41 million cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - imports: | 8.782 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves: | 154.4 billion cu m (37257)
Agriculture - products: | potatoes, fruits, vegetables, wheat; poultry, eggs, pork
Exports: | $32.4 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)
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 33%, Italy 5.7%, France 5%, UK 4.8%, Czech Republic 4.3% (2002)
Imports: | $43.4 billion f.o.b. (2002)
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 29.9%, Italy 8.1%, Russia 7.4%, France 7.2%, Netherlands 5.3% (2002)
Debt - external: | $64 billion (2002)
Economic aid - recipient: | EU structural adjustment funds
Currency: | zloty (PLN)
Currency code: | PLN
Exchange rates: | zlotych per US dollar - 3.99 (2002), 4.09 (2001), 4.35 (2000), 3.97 (1999), 3.48 (1998) note: zlotych is the plural form of zloty
Fiscal year: | calendar year

Communications | Poland

Telephones - main lines in use: | 8.07 million (1998)
Telephones - mobile cellular: | 13 million (2002)
Telephone system: | general assessment: underdeveloped and outmoded system in the process of being overhauled; partial privatization of the state-owned telephone monopoly is underway; the long waiting list for main line telephone service has resulted in a boom in mobile cellular telephone use 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: | 6.4 million (2001)

Transportation | Poland

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) narrow gauge: 1,135 km various gauges including 1.000-m, 0.785-m, 0.750-m, and 0.600-m (2002)
Highways: | total: 364,656 km paved: 249,060 km (including 358 km of expressways) unpaved: 115,596 km (2000)
Waterways: | 3,812 km (navigable rivers and canals) (1996)
Pipelines: | gas 12,901 km; oil 737 km (2003)
Ports and harbors: | Gdansk, Gdynia, Gliwice, Kolobrzeg, Szczecin, Swinoujscie, Ustka, Warsaw, Wroclaw
Merchant marine: | total: 14 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 199,186 GRT/275,476 DWT ships by type: bulk 9, cargo 2, chemical tanker 1, roll on/roll off 1, short-sea passenger 1 (2002 est.)
Airports: | 150 (2002)
Airports - with paved runways: | total: 88 over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 30 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 9 (2002) 1,524 to 2,437 m: 39
Airports - with unpaved runways: | total: 62 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 under 914 m: 43 (2002) 914 to 1,523 m: 15
Heliports: | 3 (2002)

Military | Poland

Military branches: | Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Force
Military manpower - military age: | 19 years of age (2003 est.)
Military manpower - availability: | males age 15-49: 10,354,978 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: | males age 15-49: 8,077,706 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: | males: 343,500 (2003 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: | $3.5 billion (2002)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: | 1.71% (2002)

Transnational Issues | Poland

Disputes - international: | small boundary changes made with Slovakia in 2003
Illicit drugs: | major illicit producer of amphetamine for the international market; minor transshipment point for Asian and Latin American illicit drugs to Western Europe

This page was last updated on 18 December, 2003