FactBook: Republic of Poland

[Republic of Poland]

POLAND






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 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 European organizations.
Geography Poland 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: 2,788 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:
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 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: 45.91%
permanent crops: 1.12%
other: 52.97% (2001)
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, 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
Geography - note:
historically, an area of conflict because of flat terrain and the lack of natural barriers on the North European Plain
People Poland Top of Page
Population:
38,635,144 (July 2005 est.)
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.)
Median age:
total: 36.43 years
male: 34.52 years
female: 38.49 years (2005 est.)
Population growth rate:
0.03% (2005 est.)
Birth rate:
10.78 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Death rate:
10.01 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Net migration rate:
-0.49 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 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 (2005 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
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.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 74.74 years
male: 70.71 years
female: 79.03 years (2005 est.)
Total fertility rate:
1.39 children born/woman (2005 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.1% ; note - no country specific models provided (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
14,000 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
100 (2001 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Pole(s)
adjective: Polish
Ethnic groups:
Polish 96.7%, German 0.4%, Belarusian 0.1%, Ukrainian 0.1%, other and unspecified 2.7% (2002 census)
Religions:
Roman Catholic 89.8% (about 75% practicing), Eastern Orthodox 1.3%, Protestant 0.3%, other 0.3%, unspecified 8.3% (2002)
Languages:
Polish 97.8%, other and unspecified 2.2% (2002 census)
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.8%
male: 99.8%
female: 99.7% (2003 est.)
Government Poland 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:
adopted by the National Assembly 2 April 1997, passed by national referendum 25 May 1997, effective 17 October 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 Lech KACZYNSKI (since 23 December 2005)
head of government: Prime Minister Kazimierz MARCINKIEWICZ (since 31 October 2005); Deputy Prime Ministers Ludwik DORN (since 23 November 2005) and Zyta GILOWSKA (since 7 January 2006)
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 9 and 23 October 2005 (next to be held October 2010); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president and confirmed by the Sejm
election results: Lech KACZYNSKI elected president; percent of popular vote - Lech KACZYNSKI 54%, Donald Tusk 46%
Legislative branch:
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
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]; Civic Platform or PO [Donald TUSK]; Conservative Peasants Party or SKL [Artur BALAZS]; Democratic Left Alliance or SLD [Wojciech OLEJNICZAK]; Democratic Party or PD [Wladyslaw FRASYNIUK]; Dom Ojczysty (Fatherland Home); German Minority of Lower Silesia or MNSO [Henryk KROLL]; Law and Justice or PiS [Jaroslaw KACZYNSKI]; League of Polish Families or LPR [Marek KOTLINOWSKI]; Peasant-Democratic Party or PLD [Roman JAGIELINSKI]; Polish Accord or PP [Jan LOPUSZANSKI]; Polish Peasant Party or PSL [Waldemar PAWLAK]; Ruch Patriotyczny or RP [Jan OLSZEWSKI]; 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]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
All Poland Trade Union Alliance or OPZZ (trade union) [Jan GUZ]; 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, EIB, EU, 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, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Janusz REITER
chancery: 2640 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009
telephone: [1] [phone] through 3802
FAX: [1] [phone]
consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York
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
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 Top of Page
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 the unemployment rate-currently the highest in the EU. 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 previous Socialist-led government introduced a package of social and administrative spending cuts to reduce public spending by about $17 billion through 2007, but full implementation of the plan was trumped by election-year politics in 2005. The right-wing Law and Justice party won parliamentary elections in September, and Lech KACZYNSKI won the presidential election in October, running on a state-interventionist fiscal and monetary platform. 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 $23.2 billion in EU funds, available through 2006. Farmers have already begun to reap the rewards of membership via booming exports, higher food prices, and EU agricultural subsidies.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$489.3 billion (2005 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate):
$249 billion (2005 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
3.3% (2005 est.)
GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $12,700 (2005 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 2.8%
industry: 31.7%
services: 65.5% (2005 est.)
Labor force:
17.1 million (2005 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 16.1%, industry 29%, services 54.9% (2002)
Unemployment rate:
18.3% (2005 est.)
Population below poverty line:
17% (2003 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 3.1%
highest 10%: 26.7% (2002)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
34.1 (2002)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
2.1% (2005 est.)
Investment (gross fixed):
18.5% of GDP (2005 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $52.73 billion
expenditures: $63.22 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2005 est.)
Public debt:
47.3% of GDP (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products:
potatoes, fruits, vegetables, wheat; poultry, eggs, pork, dairy
Industries:
machine building, iron and steel, coal mining, chemicals, shipbuilding, food processing, glass, beverages, textiles
Industrial production growth rate:
8.5% (2005 est.)
Electricity - production:
150.8 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity - consumption:
121.3 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity - exports:
15.2 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity - imports:
5 billion kWh (2004)
Oil - production:
24,530 bbl/day (2003 est.)
Oil - consumption:
476,200 bbl/day (2003 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)
Natural gas - production:
2.1 billion cu m (2003)
Natural gas - consumption:
11.5 billion cu m (2003)
Natural gas - exports:
44 million cu m (2003)
Natural gas - imports:
8.7 billion cu m (2003)
Natural gas - proved reserves:
154.4 billion cu m (1 January 2002)
Current account balance:
$-4.159 billion (2005 est.)
Exports:
$92.72 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Exports - partners:
Germany 30%, Italy 6.1%, France 6%, UK 5.4%, Czech Republic 4.3%, Netherlands 4.3% (2004)
Imports:
$95.67 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Imports - partners:
Germany 24.4%, Italy 7.9%, Russia 7.3%, France 6.7%, China 4.6% (2004)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$41.63 billion (2005 est.)
Debt - external:
$123.4 billion (30 June 2005 est.)
Economic aid - recipient:
$13.9 billion in available EU structural adjustment and cohesion funds (2004-06)
Currency (code):
zloty (PLN)
Exchange rates:
zlotych per US dollar - 3.19 (2005), 3.6576 (2004), 3.8891 (2003), 4.08 (2002), 4.0939 (2001)
note: zlotych is the plural form of zloty
Fiscal year:
calendar year
Communications Poland Top of Page
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)
Television broadcast stations:
179 (plus 256 repeaters) (September 1995)
Internet country code:
.pl
Internet hosts:
804,915 (2004)
Internet users:
8.97 million (2003)
Transportation Poland Top of Page
Airports:
123 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 84
over 3,047 m: 4
2,438 to 3,047 m: 29
1,524 to 2,437 m: 41
914 to 1,523 m: 7
under 914 m: 3 (2005 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 (2005 est.)
Heliports:
2 (2005 est.)
Pipelines:
gas 13,552 km; oil 1,772 km (2004)
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)
Roadways:
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)
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)
Ports and terminals:
Gdansk, Gdynia, Swinoujscie, Szczecin

-------------------------------------------------------------
Polish Miltary Services

In Service: 591,000
Active Duty: 141,000
Reserve: 450,000

Polish Land Forces (Wojsko L¹dowe)-
94,000 Service Members
597 T-72 Battle Tank
233 PT-91 Battle Tank
128 Leopard II Battle Tank
1307 BWP-1 APC
9 AMV Patria APC
402 OT-64 APC
352 MT-LB APC
50 BRDM-2M96 APC
50 M113 APC
38 BRM-1 APC
22 BWR-1K APC
16 BWR-1S APC
6 M577 APC
10 2A2 Bergepanzer APC
6 Leopard I
1044 122mm Artillery
246 152mm Artillery
2700 RAFAEL Anti-Tank
115 AT-4 Anti-Tank
18 AT-5 Anti-Tank
16 AT-7 Anti-Tank
694 SA-7 Anti-Aircraft
411 Grom Anti-Aircraft
266 ZU-23-2 Anti-Aircraft
44 ZUR-23-2TG Anti-Aircraft
44 ZUR-23-4 Anti-Aircraft
24 SA-6 Anti-Aircraft
16 SA-8 Anti-Aircraft
3 SA-4 Anti-Aircraft
2 SA-5 Anti-Aircraft
1 PZA Anti-Aircraft
44 Mi-24 Hind Transport/Attack Helicopter
35 Mi-8 Hip Transport Helicopter
34 PZL S-1W Huzar Transport Helicopter
31 PLZ Mi-2 Hoplite Transport Helicopter
3 PZL W-3WA Sokol Transport/Attack Helicopter

Polish Navy (Marynarka Wojenna)-
16,000 Service Members
2 Oliver Hazard Perry Class Frigates
1 Kaszub Class Frigate
4 Tarantul I Class Corvettes
3 Orkan Class Cruisers
1 Kilo Class Submarine
3 Kobben Class Submarine
2 Osa I Class Crusiers
11 Pilica Class Patrol Craft
3 206FM MineFinding/Laying Craft
12 Gardno Class Patrol Craft
4 Mamry Class Cruisers
2 Leniwka Class
5 Lublin Class Transport Ships
1 Kontradmiral Class Support Ship
1 Baltyk Class
2 Piast Class
3 Gniewko Class
2 Zbyszko Class
2 Finik Class
3 Nawigator Class
2 Wodnik Class
3 Podcharazy Class
1 Iskra Class

Polish Air Corps (Si³y Powietrzne)-
31,000 Service Members
48 F-16 Falcon Fighter
36 MiG-29 Mikoyan Fighter
48 Su-22 Sukhoi Fighter
12 An-28 Antonov Transport
5 C-130 Hercules Transport
8 CASA C-295 Bomber
2 Tu-154M Lux Bomber
111 PZL TS-11 Iskra Fighter
37 PZL-130 Orlik Close Combat Support
50 Mi-2 Transport Helicopter
11 Mi-8 Transport Helicopter
17 PZL W-3 Sokol Transport Helicopter
4 SH-2G SuperSeaSprite Transport Helicopter
12 Bell 412HP Transport Helicopter

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All Information gathered from CIA World FactBook and Wikipedia

[Republic of Poland]

In the 3rd Week of January, Poland offically annouced its annexation of Lithuania and brought it in as a Polish Territory.

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