 .PL - Poland - Polen
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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: |
Central Europe, east of Germany
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Geographic coordinates: |
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 |
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Area - comparative: |
slightly smaller than New
Mexico |
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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 |
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Coastline: |
491 km |
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Maritime claims: |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: defined by international treaties
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Climate: |
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 |
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Elevation extremes: |
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: |
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: |
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: |
0.03% (2005 est.) |
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Birth rate: |
10.78 births/1,000 population
(2005 est.) |
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Death rate: |
10.01 deaths/1,000 population
(2005 est.) |
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Net migration rate: |
-0.49 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2005 est.) |
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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.) |
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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.) |
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Life expectancy at birth: |
total population: 74.41
years
male: 70.3 years
female: 78.76 years (2005
est.) |
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Total fertility rate: |
1.39 children born/woman (2005
est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: |
0.1% ; note - no country
specific models provided (2001 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: |
14,000 (2003 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - deaths: |
100 (2001 est.) |
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Nationality: |
noun: Pole(s)
adjective: Polish |
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Ethnic groups: |
Polish 96.7%, German 0.4%,
Belarusian 0.1%, Ukrainian 0.1%, other and unspecified 2.7% (2002 census)
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Religions: |
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: |
Polish 97.8%, other and
unspecified 2.2% (2002 census) |
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Literacy: |
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: |
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: |
republic |
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Capital: |
Warsaw |
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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 |
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Independence: |
11 November 1918 (independent
republic proclaimed) |
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National holiday: |
Constitution Day, 3 May (1791)
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Constitution: |
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: |
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: |
18 years of age; universal
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Executive branch: |
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: |
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 23 September 2001 (next to be
held by September 2005); Sejm elections last held 23 September 2001 (next
to be held by September 2005)
election results: Senate -
percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party (as of 1 March 2005) -
SLD-UP 59, Block Senate 2001 8, SDPL 9, UW 5, LPR 5, PSL 4, SO 3, PO 3,
PiS 2, independents 2; Sejm - percent of vote by party - SLD-UP 41%, PO
12.7%, SO 10.2%, PiS 9.5%, PSL 9%, LPR 7.9%, AWSP 5.6% UW 3.1%, other 1%;
seats by party (as of 1 March 2005) - SLD 150, PO 56, PiS 46, PSL 40, SDPL
32, SO 30, LPR 25, UP 13, PLD 11, KL 5, RKN 5, Dom Ojczysty 5, PP 3, ROP
3, German minorities 2, independents 34
note: two seats are
assigned to ethnic minority parties in the Sejm only |
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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) |
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Political parties and leaders: |
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: |
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: |
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: |
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: |
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.) |
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Investment (gross fixed): |
18.4% of GDP (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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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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Budget: |
revenues: $44.52 billion
expenditures: $54.93 billion, including capital expenditures of
NA (2004 est.) |
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Public debt: |
49.9% of GDP (2004 est.) |
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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) |
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Electricity - consumption: |
117.4 billion kWh (2002) |
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Electricity - exports: |
11.5 billion kWh (2002) |
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Electricity - imports: |
4.5 billion kWh (2002) |
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Oil - production: |
17,180 bbl/day (2001 est.)
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Oil - consumption: |
424,100 bbl/day (2001 est.)
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Oil - exports: |
53,000 bbl/day (2001) |
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Oil - imports: |
413,700 bbl/day (2001) |
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Oil - proved reserves: |
116.4 million bbl (1 January
2002) |
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Natural gas - production: |
5.471 billion cu m (2001 est.)
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Natural gas - consumption: |
13.85 billion cu m (2001 est.)
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Natural gas - exports: |
41 million cu m (2001 est.)
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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.) |
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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) |
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Exports - partners: |
Germany 29.8%, Italy 6.3%,
France 5.4%, UK 4.7%, Czech Republic 4.4% (2004) |
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Imports: |
$81.61 billion f.o.b. (2004
est.) |
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Imports - commodities: |
machinery and transport
equipment 38%, intermediate manufactured goods 21%, chemicals 14.8%,
minerals, fuels, lubricants, and related materials 9.1% (2003) |
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Imports - partners: |
Germany 29.8%, Italy 8%, France
7%, Russia 6.9%, Netherlands 5.3%, Belgium 4.2% (2004) |
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Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: |
$41.88 billion (2004 est.)
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Debt - external: |
$99.15 billion (2004 est.)
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Economic aid - recipient: |
$17 billion in available EU
structural adjustment and cohesion funds (2004-06) |
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Currency: |
zloty (PLN) |
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Currency code: |
PLN |
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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 |
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Fiscal year: |
calendar year |
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Telephones - main lines in use: |
12.3 million (2003) |
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Telephones - mobile cellular: |
17.401 million (2003) |
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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) |
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Radio broadcast stations: |
AM 14, FM 777, shortwave 1
(1998) |
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Radios: |
20.2 million (1997) |
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Television broadcast stations: |
179 (plus 256 repeaters)
(September 1995) |
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Televisions: |
13.05 million (1997) |
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Internet country code: |
.pl |
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Internet hosts: |
804,915 (2004) |
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Internet Service Providers (ISPs): |
19 (2000) |
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Internet users: |
8.97 million (2003)
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Railways: |
total: 23,852 km
broad gauge: 629 km 1.524-m gauge
standard gauge:
23,223 km 1.435-m gauge (11,962 km electrified) (2003) |
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Highways: |
total: 364,697 km
paved: 249,088 km (including 399 km of expressways)
unpaved: 115,609 km (2001) |
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Waterways: |
3,997 km (navigable rivers and
canals) (2003) |
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Pipelines: |
gas 13,552 km; oil 1,772 km
(2004) |
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Ports and harbors: |
Gdansk, Gdynia, Gliwice,
Kolobrzeg, Szczecin, Swinoujscie, Ustka, Warsaw, Wroclaw |
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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) |
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Airports: |
123 (2004 est.) |
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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.) |
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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.) |
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Heliports: |
3 (2004 est.) |
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Military branches: |
Land Forces, Navy, Polish Air
Force (PSP) |
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Military manpower - military 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)
|
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Military manpower - availability: |
males age 17-49:
9,673,712 (2005 est.) |
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Military manpower - fit for military service: |
males age 17-49:
7,740,164 (2005 est.) |
|
Military manpower - reaching military age
annually: |
males: 275,521 (2005
est.) |
|
Military expenditures - dollar figure: |
$3.5 billion (2002) |
|
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: |
1.71% (2002) |
| Transnational Issues |
Poland |
|
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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