Poland

Poland 

Geography                 Economy                 Defense Forces
 

People                    Transportation          Government



Communications            History      	          Travel

GEOGRAPHY

Location

Central Europe, east of Germany

Area

Land Boundaries

Total 3,114 km, Belarus 605 km, Czech Republic 658 km, Germany 456 km, Lithuania 91 km, Russia (Kaliningrad Oblast) 432 km, Slovakia 444 km, Ukraine 428 km

Coastline

491 km

Maritime Claims

International Disputes

None

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
lowest point: Raczki Elblaskie -2 m
highest point: Rysy 2,499 m

Natural Resources

Land Use

Irrigated Land

1,000 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment

Note: Historically, an area of conflict because of flat terrain and the lack of natural barriers on the North European Plain

PEOPLE

Population

38,642,565 (July 1996 est.)
38,792,442 (July 1995 est.)

Age Structure

0-14 Years

22% (male 4,399,649; female 4,188,824)
23% (male 4,559,536; female 4,349,467)

15-64 Years

66% (male 12,754,272; female 12,930,275)
66% (male 12,698,179; female 12,849,300)

65 Years and Over

12% (male 1,654,526; female 2,715,019) (July 1996 est.)
11% (male 1,642,553; female 2,693,407) (July 1995 est.)

Population Growth Rate

0.14% (1996 est.)
0.36% (1995 est.)

Birth Rate

11.92 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
13.34 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death Rate

10.08 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
9.23 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Net Migration Rate

-0.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
-0.52 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 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: 0.61 male(s)/female
all ages: 0.95 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant Mortality Rate

12.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
12.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Life Expectancy at Birth

Total Fertility Rate

1.69 children born/woman (1996 est.)
1.92 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Nationality

Ethnic Divisions

Religions

Languages

Polish

Literacy

Age 15 and over that can read and write (1978)

Labor Force

17.743 million (1994 annual average)

By occupation:

GOVERNMENT

Names

Digraph

PL

Type

Democratic state

Capital

Warsaw

Administrative Divisions

49 provinces (wojewodztwa, singular - wojewodztwo); Biala Podlaska, Bialystok, Bielsko Biala, Bydgoszcz, Chelm, Ciechanow, Czestochowa, Elblag, Gdansk, Gorzow, Jelenia Gora, Kalisz, Katowice, Kielce, Konin, Koszalin, Krakow, Krosno, Legnica, Leszno, Lodz, Lomza, Lublin, Nowy Sacz, Olsztyn, Opole, Ostroleka, Pila, Piotrkow, Plock, Poznan, Przemysl, Radom, Rzeszow, Siedlce, Sieradz, Skierniewice, Slupsk, Suwalki, Szczecin, Tarnobrzeg, Tarnow, Torun, Walbrzych, Warszawa, Wloclawek, Wroclaw, Zamosc, Zielona Gora

Independence

11 November 1918 (independent republic proclaimed)

National Holiday

Constitution Day, 3 May (1791)

Constitution

Interim "small constitution" came into effect in December 1992 replacing the Communist-imposed constitution of 22 July 1952; new democratic constitution being drafted

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; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Executive Branch

Legislative Branch

Bicameral National Assembly (Zgromadzenie Narodowe) post-communist parties (PSL 34, SLD 37), post-Solidarity parties (UW 6, NSZZ 12, BBWR 2), non-communist, non-Solidarity (independents 7, unaffiliated 1, vacant 1) post-communist parties (SLD 171, PSL 132), post-Solidarity parties (UW 74, UP 41, BBWR 16), non-communist, non-Solidarity (KPN 22)
note: four seats are constitutionally assigned to ethnic German parties

Sejm:

Elections last held 19 September 1993 (next to be held no later than 19 September 1997); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (460 total)

Senate (Senat)

Eections last held 19 September 1993 (next to be held no later than 19 September 1997); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (100 total)

Judicial Branch

Supreme Court, judges are appointed by the president on the recommendation of the National Council of Judiciary

Political Parties and Leaders

Other Political or Pressure Groups

Powerful Roman Catholic Church; Solidarity (trade union); All Poland Trade Union Alliance (OPZZ), trade union

Member of

Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS, CCC, CE, CEI, CERN, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarset, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, NACC, NAM (guest), NSG, OAS (observer), OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNAVEM III, UNCRO, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UNPREDEP, UNPROFOR, UPU, WCL, WEU (associate partner), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC

National Anthem

Flag

Two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red; similar to the flags of Indonesia and Monaco which are red (top) and white

ECONOMY

Overview

In 1995, Poland continued to make good progress in the difficult transition to a market economy that began on 1 January 1990, when the new democratic government instituted "shock therapy" by decontrolling prices, slashing subsidies, and drastically reducing import barriers. Although real GDP fell sharply in 1990 and 1991, in 1992 Poland became the first country in the region to resume economic growth with a 2.6% increase. Growth advanced to 3.8% in 1993, 5.2% in 1994, and 6.5% in 1995. Most of the growth since 1991 had come from the booming private sector, which now accounts for about 60% of GDP, due in large part to the creation of new private firms. The slow pace of privatization picked up somewhat in 1995, as 512 smaller state enterprises were transferred to private National Investment Funds under the Mass Privatization Program, but large-scale industry remains largely in state hands. Industrial production increased 10.2% in 1995, following a 13.2% rise in 1994, yet remains about 13% below the 1989 level. Inflation, which had approached 1,200% annually in early 1990, fell to 21.6% in December 1995, as the government held the 1995 budget deficit to less than 3% of GDP. After peaking at 16.9% in July 1994, unemployment gradually fell to 14.9% in December 1995 - although the rate still approaches 30% in some regions. The trade and current account balances officially are in deficit but in fact both have comfortable surpluses because of large, unrecorded sales to cross-border visitors. Prospects for 1996 are good, with the government promising to push privatization and social welfare reform. Economic growth should remain above 5%, with inflation dropping below 20% by yearend 1996 and unemployment continuing its slow decline. As for external debt, the burden was sharply reduced by reschedulings and write-offs of both private and official debt during 1991-94.

National Product

GDP - purchasing power parity - $226.7 billion (1995 est.), 91.1 billion (1994 est.)

National Product Real Growth Rate

6.5% (1997)
6.5% (1995 est.)

National Product Per Capita

$5,800 (1995 est.)

Inflation Rate (consumer Prices)

12% (1997)
21.6% (December 1995)

Unemployment Rate

10.3% (1997)
14.9% (December 1995)
21.6% (November 1994)

Budget

Exports

$22.2 billion (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
$16.3 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.)

Commodities:

Partners:

Imports

$23.4 billion (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
$18.1 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.)

Commodities:

Partners:

External Debt

$42.1 billion (yearend 1995 est.), $47 billion (1993); note - Poland's Western government creditors promised in 1991 to forgive 30% of Warsaw's $35 billion official debt immediately and to forgive another 20% in 1994; foreign banks agreed in early 1994 to forgive 45% of their $12 billion debt claim

Industrial Production

Growth rate: 10.2% (1995), 12% (1994 est.)

Electricity

Industries

Agriculture

Accounts for 7% of GDP; 75% of output from private farms, 25% from state farms; productivity remains low by European standards; leading European producer of rye, rapeseed, and potatoes; wide variety of other crops and livestock; major exporter of pork products; normally self-sufficient in food

Illicit Drugs

Illicit producer of opium for domestic consumption and amphetamines for the international market; transshipment point for Asian and Latin American illicit drugs to Western Europe; producer of precursor chemicals

Economic Aid

Currency

1 zloty (Zl) = 100 groszy

Exchange Rates

Zlotych (Zl) per US$1 - 2.55 (January 1996) 2.4250 (1995); note - a currency reform on 1 January 1995 replaced 10,000 old zlotys with 1 new zloty; 22,723 (1994), 18,115 (1993), 13,626 (1992), 10,576 (1991), 9,500 (1990)

Fiscal Year

Calendar year

TRANSPORTATION

Railroads

Highways

Inland Waterways

3,997 km navigable rivers and canals (1991)

Pipelines

Crude oil 1,986 km; petroleum products 360 km; natural gas 4,600 km (1992)

Ports

Gdansk, Gdynia, Gliwice, Kolobrzeg, Szczecin, Swinoujscie, Ustka, Warsaw, Wrocaw

Merchant Marine

Note: Poland owns an additional 18 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 179,913 DWT operating under the registries of The Bahamas, Liberia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Vanuatu, and Cyprus (1995 est.)

Airports

COMMUNICATIONS

Telephone System

5 million telephones; 12.7 phones/100 residents (1994); severely underdeveloped and outmoded system; government aims to have 10 million phones in service by the year 2000

Radio

Television

DEFENSE FORCES

Branches

Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Force

Manpower Availability

Males age 15-49 10,267,551; males fit for military service 7,994,460; males reach military age (19) annually 324,960 (1996 est.)

Defense Expenditures

$2.4 billion, 2.4% of GDP (1995)

History
World Atlas