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|
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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
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 the European Union in
2004. |
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Location:
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Central
Europe, east of Germany |
|
Geographic coordinates:
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52 00 N,
20 00 E |
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Map references:
|
Europe
|
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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:
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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 |
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Coastline:
|
491 km
|
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Maritime claims:
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territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: defined by international
treaties |
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Climate:
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temperate
with cold, cloudy, moderately severe winters with
frequent precipitation; mild summers with frequent
showers and thundershowers |
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Terrain:
|
mostly
flat plain; mountains along southern border |
|
Elevation extremes:
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lowest
point: near Raczki Elblaskie -2 m
highest point: Rysy 2,499 m |
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Natural resources:
|
coal,
sulfur, copper, natural gas, silver, lead, salt, amber,
arable land |
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Land use:
|
arable
land: 45.91%
permanent crops: 1.12%
other: 52.97% (2001) |
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Irrigated land:
|
1,000 sq
km (1998 est.) |
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Natural hazards:
|
flooding
|
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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 |
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Environment - 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
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Nitrogen
Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air
Pollution-Sulfur 94 |
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Geography - note:
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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:
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38,635,144 (July 2005 est.) |
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Age structure:
|
0-14
years: 16.7% (male 3,319,176/female 3,150,859)
15-64 years: 70.3% (male 13,506,153/female
13,638,265)
65 years and over: 13% (male 1,912,431/female
3,108,260) (2005 est.) |
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Median age:
|
total:
36.43 years
male: 34.52 years
female: 38.49 years (2005 est.) |
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Population growth rate:
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0.03%
(2005 est.) |
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Birth rate:
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10.78
births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
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Death rate:
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10.01
deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
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Net migration rate:
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-0.49
migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
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Sex ratio:
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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 (2005 est.)
|
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Infant mortality rate:
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total:
8.51 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 9.59 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 7.37 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
|
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total
population: 74.74 years
male: 70.71 years
female: 79.03 years (2005 est.) |
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Total fertility rate:
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1.39
children born/woman (2005 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
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0.1% ;
note - no country specific models provided (2001 est.)
|
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
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14,000
(2003 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - deaths:
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100 (2001
est.) |
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Nationality:
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noun:
Pole(s)
adjective: Polish |
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Ethnic groups:
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Polish
96.7%, German 0.4%, Belarusian 0.1%, Ukrainian 0.1%,
other and unspecified 2.7% (2002 census) |
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Religions:
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Roman
Catholic 89.8% (about 75% practicing), Eastern Orthodox
1.3%, Protestant 0.3%, other 0.3%, unspecified 8.3%
(2002) |
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Languages:
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Polish
97.8%, other and unspecified 2.2% (2002 census) |
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Literacy:
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definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.8%
male: 99.8%
female: 99.7% (2003 est.) |
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Country name:
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conventional long form: Republic of Poland
conventional short form: Poland
local long form: Rzeczpospolita Polska
local short form: Polska |
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Government type:
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republic
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Capital:
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Warsaw
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Administrative divisions:
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16
provinces (wojewodztwa, singular - wojewodztwo);
Dolnoslaskie, Kujawsko-Pomorskie, Lodzkie, Lubelskie,
Lubuskie, Malopolskie, Mazowieckie, Opolskie,
Podkarpackie, Podlaskie, Pomorskie, Slaskie,
Swietokrzyskie, Warminsko-Mazurskie, Wielkopolskie,
Zachodniopomorskie |
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Independence:
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11
November 1918 (independent republic proclaimed) |
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National holiday:
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Constitution Day, 3 May (1791) |
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Constitution:
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adopted
by the National Assembly 2 April 1997, passed by
national referendum 25 May 1997, effective 17 October
1997 |
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Legal system:
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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 |
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Suffrage:
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18 years
of age; universal |
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Executive branch:
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chief
of state: President Aleksander KWASNIEWSKI (since 23
December 1995)
head of government: Prime Minister Marek BELKA
(since 24 June 2004); Deputy Prime Minister Izabela
JARUGA-NOWACKA (since 24 June 2004)
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 last held 8 October 2000
(next to be held 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%, Andrzej OLECHOWSKI 17.3%,
Marian KRZAKLEWSKI 15.6%, Lech WALESA 1% |
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Legislative branch:
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bicameral
legislature consisting of an upper house, the Senate or
Senat (100 seats; members are elected by a majority vote
on a provincial basis to serve four-year terms), and a
lower house, the Sejm (460 seats; members are 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
elections: Senate - last held 25 September 2005
(next to be held by September 2009); Sejm elections last
held September 25 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 |
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Judicial branch:
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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) |
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Political parties and leaders:
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Catholic-National Movement or RKN [Antoni MACIEREWICZ];
Civic Platform or PO [Donald TUSK]; Conservative
Peasants Party or KL [Artur BALAZS]; Democratic Left
Alliance or SLD [Jozef OLEKSY]; Dom Ojczysty (Fatherland
Home); 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
Party or PSL [Waldemar PAWLAK]; 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 [Izabela
JARUGA-NOWACKA] |
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Political pressure groups and leaders:
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All
Poland Trade Union Alliance or OPZZ (trade union) [Jan
GUZ]; Roman Catholic Church [Cardinal Jozef GLEMP];
Solidarity Trade Union [Janusz SNIADEK] |
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International organization participation:
|
ACCT
(observer), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS,
CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EU (new member), FAO,
IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC,
IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU,
MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NSG, OAS
(observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF,
UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMIL,
UNOCI, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (member affiliate),
WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC |
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Diplomatic representation in the US:
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chief
of mission: Ambassador Przemyslaw GRUDZINSKI
chancery: 2640 16th Street NW, Washington, DC
20009
telephone: [1] (202) 234-3800 through 3802
FAX: [1] (202) 328-6270
consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, and
New York |
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Diplomatic representation from the US:
|
chief
of mission: Ambassador Victor ASHE
embassy: Aleje Ujazdowskie 29/31 00-540 Warsaw
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) 504-2688
consulate(s) general: Krakow |
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Flag description:
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two equal
horizontal bands of white (top) and red; similar to the
flags of Indonesia and Monaco which are red (top) and
white |
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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
unemployment. 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
government has introduced a package of social and
administrative spending cuts to reduce public spending
by about $17 billion through 2007. Additional reductions
are under discussion in the legislature but could be
trumped by election-year politics in 2005. 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 $13.5 billion in EU funds, available through
2006. Farmers have already begun to reap the rewards of
membership via higher food prices and EU agricultural
subsidies. |
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GDP (purchasing power parity):
|
$463
billion (2004 est.) |
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GDP - real growth rate:
|
5.6%
(2004 est.) |
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GDP - per capita:
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purchasing power parity - $12,000 (2004 est.) |
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GDP - composition by sector:
|
agriculture: 2.9%
industry: 31.3%
services: 65.9% (2004 est.) |
|
Labor force:
|
17.02
million (2004 est.) |
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Labor force - by occupation:
|
agriculture 16.1%, industry 29%, services 54.9% (2002)
|
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Unemployment rate:
|
19.5%
(2004 est.) |
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Population below poverty line:
|
18.4%
(2000 est.) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share:
|
lowest
10%: 3.2%
highest 10%: 24.7% (1998) |
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Distribution of family income - Gini index:
|
31.6
(1998) |
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Inflation rate (consumer prices):
|
3.4%
(2004 est.) |
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Investment (gross fixed):
|
18.4% of
GDP (2004 est.) |
|
Budget:
|
revenues: $44.52 billion
expenditures: $54.93 billion, including capital
expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
|
Public debt:
|
49.9% of
GDP (2004 est.) |
|
Agriculture - products:
|
potatoes,
fruits, vegetables, wheat; poultry, eggs, pork |
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Industries:
|
machine
building, iron and steel, coal mining, chemicals,
shipbuilding, food processing, glass, beverages,
textiles |
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Industrial production growth rate:
|
10% (2004
est.) |
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Electricity - production:
|
133.8
billion kWh (2002) |
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Electricity - production by source:
|
fossil
fuel: 98.1%
hydro: 1.5%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0.4% (2001) |
|
Electricity - consumption:
|
117.4
billion kWh (2002) |
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Electricity - exports:
|
11.5
billion kWh (2002) |
|
Electricity - imports:
|
4.5
billion kWh (2002) |
|
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 (1 January 2002) |
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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.) |
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Natural gas - proved reserves:
|
154.4
billion cu m (1 January 2002) |
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Current account balance:
|
$-3.831
billion (2004 est.) |
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Exports:
|
$75.98
billion f.o.b. (2004 est.) |
|
Exports - commodities:
|
machinery
and transport equipment 37.8%, intermediate manufactured
goods 23.7%, miscellaneous manufactured goods 17.1%,
food and live animals 7.6% (2003) |
|
Exports - partners:
|
Germany
30%, Italy 6.1%, France 6%, UK 5.4%, Czech Republic
4.3%, Netherlands 4.3% (2004) |
|
Imports:
|
$81.61
billion f.o.b. (2004 est.) |
|
Imports - commodities:
|
machinery
and transport equipment 38%, intermediate manufactured
goods 21%, chemicals 14.8%, minerals, fuels, lubricants,
and related materials 9.1% (2003) |
|
Imports - partners:
|
Germany
24.4%, Italy 7.9%, Russia 7.3%, France 6.7%, China 4.6%
(2004) |
|
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
|
$41.88
billion (2004 est.) |
|
Debt - external:
|
$99.15
billion (2004 est.) |
|
Economic aid - recipient:
|
$17
billion in available EU structural adjustment and
cohesion funds (2004-06) |
|
Currency (code):
|
zloty
(PLN) |
|
Currency code:
|
PLN |
|
Exchange rates:
|
zlotych
per US dollar - 3.6576 (2004), 3.8891 (2003), 4.08
(2002), 4.0939 (2001), 4.3461 (2000)
note: zlotych is the plural form of zloty |
|
Fiscal year:
|
calendar
year |
|
Telephones - main lines in use:
|
12.3
million (2003) |
|
Telephones - mobile cellular:
|
17.401
million (2003) |
|
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: country code - 48; 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 hosts:
|
804,915
(2004) |
|
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
|
19 (2000)
|
|
Internet users:
|
8.97
million (2003) |
|
Railways:
|
total:
23,852 km
broad gauge: 629 km 1.524-m gauge
standard gauge: 23,223 km 1.435-m gauge (20,555
km operational) (11,962 km electrified) (2004) |
|
Highways:
|
total:
364,697 km
paved: 249,088 km (including 399 km of
expressways)
unpaved: 115,609 km (2001) |
|
Waterways:
|
3,997 km
(navigable rivers and canals) (2003) |
|
Pipelines:
|
gas
13,552 km; oil 1,772 km (2004) |
|
Ports and harbors:
|
Gdansk,
Gdynia, Swinoujscie, Szczecin |
|
Merchant marine:
|
total:
7 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 154,710 GRT/228,132 DWT
by type: cargo 3, chemical tanker 2,
passenger/cargo 1, roll on/roll off 1
registered in other countries: 107 (2005) |
|
Airports:
|
123 (2004
est.) |
|
Airports - with paved runways:
|
total:
84
over 3,047 m: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 30
1,524 to 2,437 m: 40
914 to 1,523 m: 8
under 914 m: 3 (2004 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 (2004 est.) |
|
Heliports:
|
3 (2004
est.) |
|
Military branches:
|
Land
Forces, Navy, Polish Air Force (PSP) |
|
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
non-commissioned officers (April 2004) |
|
Manpower available for military service:
|
males
age 17-49: 9,673,712 (2005 est.) |
|
Manpower fit for military service:
|
males
age 17-49: 7,740,164 (2005 est.) |
|
Manpower reaching military service age annually:
|
males:
275,521 (2005 est.) |
|
Military expenditures - dollar figure:
|
$3.5
billion (2002) |
|
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
|
1.71%
(2002) |
|
Disputes - international:
|
as a
member state that forms part of the EU's external
border, Poland must implement the strict Schengen border
rules |
|
Illicit drugs:
|
major
illicit producer of synthetic drugs for the
international market; minor transshipment point for
Asian and Latin American illicit drugs to Western Europe
|
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This page was last updated on
20 October, 2005 |
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