Poland

Location

• Central Europe, east of Germany
• historically an area of conflict because of flat terrain and the lack of natural barriers on the North European Plain

Population

Notable Population Centers

City	Population	Note
Warsaw	1,702,139	Capital
Łódź	768,755
Kraków	755,050
Wrocław	634,893
Poznań	570,352
Gdańsk	461,865
Szczecin	407,811
Bydgoszcz	366,452
Lublin	360,044
Katowice	317,316

Size

• 120,728 square miles
• 312,685 square kilometers
• about twice the size of Georgia; slightly smaller than New Mexico

History

Poland's history as a state began near the middle of the 10th century. By the mid-16th century, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth ruled a vast tract of land in Central and Eastern Europe. During the 18th century, internal disorder weakened the nation, and in a series of agreements between 1772 and 1795, Russia, Prussia, and Austria partitioned Poland among 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. Labor turmoil in 1980 led to the formation of the independent trade union Solidarity that over time became a political force with over 10 million members. Free elections in 1989 and 1990 won Solidarity control of the parliament and the presidency, bringing the communist era to a close. A "shock therapy" program during the early 1990s enabled the country to transform its economy into one of the most robust in Central Europe. Poland joined NATO in 1999 and the EU in 2004.

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

Languages

Polish (official) 98.2%, Silesian 1.4%, other 1.1%, unspecified 1.2% (2011 est.)major-language sample(s): Księga Faktów Świata, niezbędne źródło podstawowych informacji. (Polish)The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.note 1: shares of languages sum to more than 100% because some respondents gave more than one answer on the census; data represent language spoken at homenote 2: Poland also recognizes Kashub as a regional language; Czech, Hebrew, Yiddish, Belarusian, Lithuanian, German, Armenian, Russian, Slovak, and Ukrainian as national minority languages; and Karaim, Lemko, Romani (Polska Roma and Bergitka Roma), and Tatar as ethnic minority languages

Religions

Roman Catholic 70.7%, refused to answer 20.9%, no religion 6.9%; less than 1 percent: Orthodox, Jehovah Witness, Evangelic of Augsburg, Greek Catholic, Pentecostal, other Protestant, not stated, old Catholic Mariavite Church, other Christians, Islam, Buddhist, Polish Catholic Church, other, Baptist Union of Poland, Pagan, Seventh Day Adventist, Hindu, other Catholic (2021 est.)

Government

parliamentary republic

• Constitution: history: several previous; latest adopted 2 April 1997, approved by referendum 25 May 1997, effective 17 October 1997amendment process: proposed by at least one fifth of Sejm deputies, by the Senate, or by the president of the republic; passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote in the Sejm and absolute majority vote in the Senate; amendments to articles relating to sovereignty, personal freedoms, and constitutional amendment procedures also require passage by majority vote in a referendum
• Political Parties and Leaders: n/a
• Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
• Legal System: civil law system; judicial review of legislative, administrative, and other governmental acts; constitutional law rulings of the Constitutional Tribunal are final
• Executive Branch: chief of state: President Karol NAWROCKI (since 6 August 2025)head of government: Prime Minister Donald TUSK (since 11 December 2023)cabinet: Council of Ministers proposed by the prime minister, appointed by the president, and approved by the Sejmelection/appointment process: president directly elected by absolute-majority popular vote in 2 rounds, if needed, for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); prime minister, deputy prime ministers, and Council of Ministers appointed by the president and confirmed by the Sejm; all presidential candidates resign their party affiliationmost recent election date: 18 May 2025, with the second round on 1 June 2025election results: 2025: Karol NAWROCKI elected president in second round; percent of vote - Karol NAWROCKI (PiS) 50.9%, Rafal TRZASKOWSKI (KO) 49.1%; NAWROCKI takes office 6 August 20252025: First round Rafal TRZASKOWSKI (KO) 31.4%, Karol NAWROCKI 29.5% (PiS), Slawomir MENTZEN 14.8%, Grzegorz BRAUN 6.3%, and Szymon HOLOWNIA 5.0%; second round to be held on 1 June 2025; 2020: Andrzej DUDA reelected president in second round; percent of vote - Andrzej DUDA (independent) 51%, Rafal TRZASKOWSKI (KO) 49%2015: Andrzej DUDA elected president in second round; percent of vote - Andrzej DUDA (independent) 51.5%, Bronislaw KOMOROWSKI (independent) 48.5%expected date of next election: July 2030
• Judicial Branch: highest court(s): Supreme Court or Sad Najwyzszy (consists of the first president of the Supreme Court and 120 justices organized in criminal, civil, labor and social insurance, and extraordinary appeals and public affairs and disciplinary chambers); Constitutional Tribunal (consists of 15 judges, including the court president and vice president)judge selection and term of office: president of the Supreme Court nominated by the General Assembly of the Supreme Court and selected by the president of Poland; other judges nominated by the 25-member National Judicial Council and appointed by the president of Poland; judges serve until retirement, usually at age 65, but tenure can be extended; Constitutional Tribunal judges chosen by the Sejm for single 9-year termssubordinate courts: administrative courts; military courts; local, regional and appellate courts subdivided into military, civil, criminal, labor, and family courts
• Legislative Branch: legislative structure: bicameralnote: the designation "National Assembly" (or Zgromadzenie Narodowe) is only used on those rare occasions when the two houses meet jointly

Demographic Profile

n/a

Economy

• high-income, diversified, EU-member economy; significant growth in GDP, trade, and investment since joining EU in 2004; private consumption and EU-funded public investments driving GDP growth; increased social spending, flooding recovery costs, and defense spending have added to public debt
• Budget: revenues: $291.603 billion (2023 est.)expenditures: $328.497 billion (2023 est.)note: central government revenues (excluding grants) and expenditures converted to US dollars at average official exchange rate for year indicated
• Credit Rating: n/a
• Natural Resources: coal, sulfur, copper, natural gas, silver, lead, salt, amber, arable land
• Industries: machine building, iron and steel, coal mining, chemicals, shipbuilding, food processing, glass, beverages, textiles
• Agricultural Products: sugar beets, milk, wheat, maize, potatoes, triticale, apples, rapeseed, barley, rye (2023)note: top ten agricultural products based on tonnage
• Land Use: agricultural land: 46.3% (2022 est.)arable land: 36.5% (2022 est.)permanent crops: 1.2% (2022 est.)permanent pasture: 8.6% (2022 est.)forest: 31.1% (2022 est.)other: 22.6% (2022 est.)
• Labor Force by Occupation: n/a
• Imports
• Imported Commodities: crude petroleum, cars, garments, vehicle parts/accessories, plastic products (2023)note: top five import commodities based on value in dollars
• Import Partners: Germany 22%, China 12%, Italy 5%, Netherlands 4%, USA 4% (2023)note: top five import partners based on percentage share of imports
• Exports
• Exported Commodities: vehicle parts/accessories, electric batteries, plastic products, cars, seats (2023)note: top five export commodities based on value in dollars
• Export Partners: Germany 25%, UK 6%, Czechia 6%, France 6%, Italy 5% (2023)note: top five export partners based on percentage share of exports