Poland Population: 38,420,687
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| 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 disorders 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. With its transformation to a democratic, market-oriented country largely completed and with large investments in defense, energy, and other infrastructure, Poland is an increasingly active member of Euro-Atlantic organizations. |
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| Geography | |
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| Location: | Central Europe, east of Germany |
| Geographic coordinates: | 52 00 N, 20 00 E |
| Area: | total: 312,685 sq km land: 304,255 sq km water: 8,430 sq km Size comparison: about twice the size of Georgia; slightly smaller than New Mexico |
| Land Boundaries: | total: 3,071 km border countries (7): Belarus 418 km, Czech Republic 796 km, Germany 467 km, Lithuania 104 km, Russia (Kaliningrad Oblast) 210 km, Slovakia 541 km, Ukraine 535 km |
| Coastline: | 440 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 |
| Natural resources: | coal, sulfur, copper, natural gas, silver, lead, salt, amber, arable land |
| Land use: | agricultural land: 48.2% (2011 est.) arable land: 36.2% (2011 est.) permanent crops: 1.3% (2011 est.) permanent pasture: 10.7% (2011 est.) forest: 30.6% (2011 est.) other: 21.2% (2011 est.) |
| Irrigated land: | 970 sq km (2012) |
| Natural hazards: | flooding |
| Current Environment Issues: | decreased emphasis on heavy industry and increased environmental concern by post-communist governments has improved environment; air pollution remains serious because of emissions from burning low-quality coals in homes and from coal-fired power plants; the resulting acid rain causes forest damage; water pollution from industrial and municipal sources is a problem, as is disposal of hazardous wastes |
| International Environment 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, 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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| People | |
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| Nationality: | noun: Pole(s) adjective: Polish |
| Ethnic groups: | Polish 96.9%, Silesian 1.1%, German 0.2%, Ukrainian 0.1%, other and unspecified 1.7% (2011 est.) note: represents ethnicity declared first |
| Languages: | Polish (official) 98.2%, Silesian 1.4%, other 1.1%, unspecified 1.3% (2011 est.) note: data represents the language spoken at home; shares sum to more than 100% because some respondents gave more than one answer on the census; Poland ratified the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in 2009 recognizing 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: | Catholic 85.9% (includes Roman Catholic 85.6% and Greek Catholic, Armenian Catholic, and Byzantine-Slavic Catholic .3%), Orthodox 1.3% (almost all are Polish Autocephalous Orthodox), Protestant 0.4% (mainly Augsburg Evangelical and Pentacostal), other 0.4% (includes Jehovah's Witness, Buddhist, Hare Krishna, Gaudiya Vaishnavism, Muslim, Jewish, Mormon), unspecified 12.1% (2017 est.) |
| Population: | 38,420,687 (July 2018 est.) |
| Age structure: | 0-14 years: 14.8% (male 2,924,077 /female 2,762,634) 15-24 years: 10.34% (male 2,040,043 /female 1,932,009) 25-54 years: 43.44% (male 8,431,045 /female 8,260,124) 55-64 years: 13.95% (male 2,538,566 /female 2,819,544) 65 years and over: 17.47% (male 2,663,364 /female 4,049,281) (2018 est.) |
| Dependency ratios: | total dependency ratio: 43.9 (2015 est.) youth dependency ratio: 21.4 (2015 est.) elderly dependency ratio: 22.5 (2015 est.) potential support ratio: 4.5 (2015 est.) |
| Median age: | total: 41.1 years male: 39.4 years female: 42.8 years (2018 est.) |
| Population growth rate: | -0.16% (2018 est.) |
| Birth rate: | 9.3 births/1,000 population (2018 est.) |
| Death rate: | 10.5 deaths/1,000 population (2018 est.) |
| Net migration rate: | -0.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2018 est.) |
| Urbanization: | urban population: 60.1% of total population (2018) rate of urbanization: -0.25% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.) |
| Major urban areas - population: | 1.768 million WARSAW (capital) 767,000 Krakow (2018) |
| Sex ratio: | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female 0-14 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-24 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 25-54 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 55-64 years: 0.9 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.66 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2018 est.) Mother's mean age at first birth: 27.4 years (2014 est.) |
| Maternal mortality rate: | 3 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.) |
| Infant mortality rate: | total: 4.4 deaths/1,000 live births male: 4.7 deaths/1,000 live births female: 3.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2018 est.) |
| Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 77.9 years male: 74.1 years female: 82 years (2018 est.) |
| Total fertility rate: | 1.36 children born/woman (2018 est.) |
| Contraceptive prevalence rate: | 62.3% (2014) |
| Physicians density: | 2.4 physicians/1,000 population (2016) |
| Hospital bed density: | 6.5 beds/1,000 population (2013) |
| Drinking water source: | improved: urban: 99.3% of population rural: 96.9% of population total: 98.3% of population unimproved: urban: 0.7% of population rural: 3.1% of population total: 1.7% of population (2015 est.) |
| Sanitation facility access: | improved: urban: 97.5% of population (2015 est.) rural: 96.7% of population (2015 est.) total: 97.2% of population (2015 est.) unimproved: urban: 2.5% of population (2015 est.) rural: 3.3% of population (2015 est.) total: 2.8% of population (2015 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: | n/a |
| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: | n/a |
| HIV/AIDS - deaths: | n/a |
| Obesity - adult prevalence rate: | 23.1% (2016) |
| Education expenditures: | 4.8% of GDP (2015) |
| Literacy: | definition: age 15 and over can read and write (2015 est.) total population: 99.8% male: 99.9% female: 99.7% (2015 est.) |
| School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education): | total: 16 years male: 16 years female: 17 years (2016) Unemployment, youth ages 15-24: total: 14.8% male: 14.6% female: 15.1% (2017 est.) |
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| Government | |
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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 former: Polish People's Republic etymology: name derives from the Polanians, a west Slavic tribe that united several surrounding Slavic groups (9th-10th centuries A.D.) and who passed on their name to the country; the name of the tribe likely comes from the Slavic "pole" (field or plain), indicating the flat nature of their country |
| Government type: | parliamentary republic |
| Capital: | name: Warsaw geographic coordinates: 52 15 N, 21 00 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October etymology: the origin of the name is unknown; the Polish designation "Warszawa" was the name of a fishing village and several legends/traditions link the city's founding to a man named Wars or Warsz |
| Administrative divisions: | 16 voivodships [provinces] (wojewodztwa, singular - wojewodztwo); Dolnoslaskie (Lower Silesia), Kujawsko-Pomorskie (Kuyavia-Pomerania), Lodzkie (Lodz), Lubelskie (Lublin), Lubuskie (Lubusz), Malopolskie (Lesser Poland), Mazowieckie (Masovia), Opolskie (Opole), Podkarpackie (Subcarpathia), Podlaskie, Pomorskie (Pomerania), Slaskie (Silesia), Swietokrzyskie (Holy Cross), Warminsko-Mazurskie (Warmia-Masuria), Wielkopolskie (Greater Poland), Zachodniopomorskie (West Pomerania) |
| Independence: | 11 November 1918 (republic proclaimed); notable earlier dates: 966 (adoption of Christianity, traditional founding date), 1 July 1569 (Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth created) |
| National holiday: | Constitution Day, 3 May (1791) |
| Constitution: | history: several previous; latest adopted 2 April 1997, approved by referendum 25 May 1997, effective 17 October 1997 amendments: 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; amended 2006, 2009, latest submitted in 2015 and is pending legislative process (2019) |
| Legal system: | civil law system; judicial review of legislative, administrative, and other governmental acts; constitutional law rulings of the Constitutional Tribunal are final |
| Suffrage: | 18 years of age; universal |
| Executive branch: | chief of state: President Andrzej DUDA (since 6 August 2015) head of government: Prime Minister Mateusz MORAWIECKI (since 11 December 2017); Deputy Prime Ministers Piotr GLINSKI and Jaroslaw GOWIN (since 16 November 2015), Jacek SASIN (since 4 June 2019) cabinet: Council of Ministers proposed by the prime minister, appointed by the president, and approved by the Sejm elections/appointments: president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 10 May 2015 with a second round on 24 May 2015 (next to be held in May 2020); prime minister, deputy prime ministers, and Council of Ministers appointed by the president and confirmed by the Sejm election results: Andrzej DUDA elected president in runoff; percent of vote - Andrzej DUDA (independent) 51.5%, Bronislaw KOMOROWSKI (independent) 48.5% |
| Legislative branch: | description: bicameral legislature consists of: Senate or Senat (100 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve 4-year terms) Sejm (460 seats; members elected in multi-seat constituencies by party-list proportional representation vote with 5% threshold of total votes needed for parties and 8% for coalitions to gain seats; minorities exempt from threshold; members serve 4-year terms) elections: Senate - last held on 25 October 2015 (next to be held in October 2019) Sejm - last held on 25 October 2015 (next to be held in October 2019) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PiS 61, PO 34, PSL 1, independent 4; composition - men 87, women 13, percent of women 13% Sejm - percent of vote by party - PiS 37.6%, PO 24.1%, K15 8.8%, N 7.6%, PSL 5.1% other 16.8%; seats by party - PiS 235, PO 138, K15 42, N 28, PSL 16, German minority 1; men 334, women 126, percent of women 27.4%; note - total legislature percent of women 24.8% note: the designation National Assembly or Zgromadzenie Narodowe is only used on those rare occasions when the 2 houses meet jointly |
| Judicial branch: | highest courts: 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 9-year terms subordinate courts: administrative courts; military courts; local, regional and appellate courts subdivided into military, civil, criminal, labor, and family courts |
| Political parties and leaders: | Civic Platform or PO [Grzegorz SCHETYNA] Democratic Left Alliance or SLD [Wlodzimierz CZARZASTY] German Minority or MN [Ryszard GALLA] Kukiz 15 or K15 [Pawel KUKIZ] Law and Justice or PiS [Jaroslaw KACZYNSKI] KORWIN (formerly the Coalition for the Renewal of the Republic-Liberty and Hope or Liberty) [Janusz KORWIN-MIKKE] TERAZ! (NOW!) [Ryszard PETRU] Nowoczesna (Modern) or N [Katarzyna LUBNAUER] Polish People's Party or PSL [Wladyslaw KOSINIAK-KAMYSZ] Razem (Together) [collective leadership] Wiosna (Spring) [Robert BIEDRON] |
| International organization participation: | Arctic Council (observer), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS, CD, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECB, EIB, ESA, EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MONUSCO, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, Schengen Convention, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMISS, UNOCI, UN Security Council (temporary), UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC |
| National symbol(s): | white crowned eagle; national colors: white, red |
| National anthem: | name: "Mazurek Dabrowskiego" (Dabrowski's Mazurka) lyrics/music: Jozef WYBICKI/traditional note: adopted 1927; the anthem, commonly known as "Jeszcze Polska nie zginela" (Poland Has Not Yet Perished), was written in 1797; the lyrics resonate strongly with Poles because they reflect the numerous occasions in which the nation's lands have been occupied |
| Diplomatic representation in the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Piotr Antoni WILCZEK (since 18 January 2017) chancery: 2640 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 499-1700 FAX: [1] (202) 328-6271 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, New York |
| Diplomatic representation from the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Georgette MOSBACHER (since 6 September 2018) embassy: Aleje Ujazdowskie 29/31 00-540 Warsaw mailing address: American Embassy Warsaw, US Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-5010 (pouch) telephone: [48] (22) 504-2000 FAX: [48] (22) 504-2226 consulate(s) general: Krakow |
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| Economy | |
Poland has the sixth-largest economy in the EU and has long had a reputation as a business-friendly country with largely sound macroeconomic policies. Since 1990, Poland has pursued a policy of economic liberalization. During the 2008-09 economic slowdown Poland was the only EU country to avoid a recession, in part because of the government’s loose fiscal policy combined with a commitment to rein in spending in the medium-term Poland is the largest recipient of EU development funds and their cyclical allocation can significantly impact the rate of economic growth. The Polish economy performed well during the 2014-17 period, with the real GDP growth rate generally exceeding 3%, in part because of increases in government social spending that have helped to accelerate consumer-driven growth. However, since 2015, Poland has implemented new business restrictions and taxes on foreign-dominated economic sectors, including banking and insurance, energy, and healthcare, that have dampened investor sentiment and has increased the government’s ownership of some firms. The government reduced the retirement age in 2016 and has had mixed success in introducing new taxes and boosting tax compliance to offset the increased costs of social spending programs and relieve upward pressure on the budget deficit. Some credit ratings agencies estimate that Poland during the next few years is at risk of exceeding the EU’s 3%-of-GDP limit on budget deficits, possibly impacting its access to future EU funds. Poland’s economy is projected to perform well in the next few years in part because of an anticipated cyclical increase in the use of its EU development funds and continued, robust household spending. Poland faces several systemic challenges, which include addressing some of the remaining deficiencies in its road and rail infrastructure, business environment, rigid labor code, commercial court system, government red tape, and burdensome tax system, especially for entrepreneurs. Additional long-term challenges include diversifying Poland’s energy mix, strengthening investments in innovation, research, and development, as well as stemming the outflow of educated young Poles to other EU member states, especially in light of a coming demographic contraction due to emigration, persistently low fertility rates, and the aging of the Solidarity-era baby boom generation. | |
| GDP (purchasing power parity): | $1.126 trillion (2017 est.) $1.076 trillion (2016 est.) $1.045 trillion (2015 est.) note: data are in 2017 dollars |
| GDP (official exchange rate): | $524.8 billion (2017 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate: | 4.7% (2017 est.) 3% (2016 est.) 3.8% (2015 est.) |
| GDP - per capita (PPP): | $29,600 (2017 est.) $28,300 (2016 est.) $27,500 (2015 est.) note: data are in 2017 dollars |
| Gross national saving: | 20% of GDP (2017 est.) 19.2% of GDP (2016 est.) 19.9% of GDP (2015 est.) GDP - composition, by end use: household consumption: 58.6% (2017 est.) government consumption: 17.7% (2017 est.) investment in fixed capital: 17.7% (2017 est.) investment in inventories: 2% (2017 est.) exports of goods and services: 54% (2017 est.) imports of goods and services: -49.9% (2017 est.) GDP - composition, by sector of origin: agriculture: 2.4% (2017 est.) industry: 40.2% (2017 est.) services: 57.4% (2017 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: | 7.5% (2017 est.) |
| Labor force: | 17.6 million (2017 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation: | agriculture: 11.5% industry: 30.4% services: 57.6% (2015) |
| Unemployment rate: | 4.9% (2017 est.) 6.2% (2016 est.) |
| Population below poverty line: | 17.6% (2015 est.) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share: | lowest 10%: 3% highest 10%: 23.9% (2015 est.) |
| Distribution of family income - Gini index: | 30.8 (2015) 33.7 (2008) |
| Budget: | revenues: 207.5 billion (2017 est.) expenditures: 216.2 billion (2017 est.) |
| Taxes and other revenues: | 39.5% (of GDP) (2017 est.) Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-): -1.7% (of GDP) (2017 est.) |
| Public debt: | 50.6% of GDP (2017 est.) 54.2% of GDP (2016 est.) note: data cover general government debt and include debt instruments issued (or owned) by government entities other than the treasury; the data include treasury debt held by foreign entities, the data include subnational entities, as well as intragovernmental debt; intragovernmental debt consists of treasury borrowings from surpluses in the social funds, such as for retirement, medical care, and unemployment; debt instruments for the social funds are not sold at public auctions |
| Fiscal year: | calendar year |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices): | 2% (2017 est.) -0.6% (2016 est.) |
| Current account balance: | $1.584 billion (2017 est.) -$1.369 billion (2016 est.) |
| Exports: | $224.6 billion (2017 est.) $195.7 billion (2016 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% (2012 est.) |
| Exports - partners: | Germany 27.4%, Czech Republic 6.4%, UK 6.4%, France 5.6%, Italy 4.9%, Netherlands 4.4% (2017) |
| Imports: | $223.8 billion (2017 est.) $193.2 billion (2016 est.) |
| Imports - commodities: | machinery and transport equipment 38%, intermediate manufactured goods 21%, chemicals 15%, minerals, fuels, lubricants, and related materials 9% (2011 est.) |
| Imports - partners: | Germany 27.9%, China 8%, Russia 6.4%, Netherlands 6%, Italy 5.3%, France 4.2%, Czech Republic 4% (2017) |
| Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: | $113.3 billion (31 December 2017 est.) $114.4 billion (31 December 2016 est.) |
| Debt - external: | $241 billion (31 December 2017 est.) $347.8 billion (31 December 2016 est.) |
| Stock of direct foreign investment - at home: | $282.6 billion (31 December 2017 est.) $224.5 billion (31 December 2016 est.) |
| Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad: | $72.87 billion (31 December 2017 est.) $64.52 billion (31 December 2016 est.) |
| Market value of publicly traded shares: | $397 billion (31 December 2017 est.) $265.4 billion (31 December 2016 est.) $277.4 billion (31 December 2015 est.) |
| Exchange rates: | zlotych (PLN) per US dollar - 3.748 (2017 est.) 3.9459 (2016 est.) 3.9459 (2015 est.) 3.7721 (2014 est.) 3.1538 (2013 est.) |
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| Energy | |
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| Electricity - production: | 156.9 billion kWh (2016 est.) |
| Electricity - consumption: | 149.4 billion kWh (2016 est.) |
| Electricity - exports: | 12.02 billion kWh (2016) |
| Electricity - imports: | 14.02 billion kWh (2016 est.) |
| Electricity - installed generating capacity: | 38.11 million kW (2016 est.) |
| Electricity - from fossil fuels: | 79% of total installed capacity (2016 est.) |
| Electricity - from nuclear fuels: | 0% of total installed capacity (2017 est.) |
| Electricity - from hydroelectric plants: | 2% of total installed capacity (2017 est.) |
| Electricity - from other renewable sources: | 19% of total installed capacity (2017 est.) |
| Crude oil - production: | 20,070 bbl/day (2017 est.) |
| Crude oil - exports: | 4,451 bbl/day (2017 est.) |
| Crude oil - imports: | 493,100 bbl/day (2017 est.) |
| Crude oil - proved reserves: | 126 million bbl (1 January 2018) |
| Refined petroleum products - production: | 554,200 bbl/day (2017 est.) |
| Refined petroleum products - consumption: | 649,600 bbl/day (2017 est.) |
| Refined petroleum products - exports: | 104,800 bbl/day (2017 est.) |
| Refined petroleum products - imports: | 222,300 bbl/day (2017 est.) |
| Natural gas - production: | 5.748 billion cu m (2017 est.) |
| Natural gas - consumption: | 20.1 billion cu m (2017 est.) |
| Natural gas - exports: | 1.246 billion cu m (2017 est.) |
| Natural gas - imports: | 15.72 billion cu m (2017 est.) |
| Natural gas - proved reserves: | 79.79 billion cu m (1 January 2018 est.) |
| Carbon dioxide emissions from consumption of energy: | 359 million Mt (2017 est.) |
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| Communications | |
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| Cellular Phones in use: | total subscriptions: 49,828,596 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 130 (2017 est.) |
| Telephone system: | general assessment: modernization of the telecommunications network has accelerated with market-based competition; fixed-line service, dominated by the former state-owned company, is dwarfed by the growth in mobile-cellular services; regulatory is framed by EU principles of competition; mobile penetration is above European average; 5G trials begin; LTE-B and VoWi-Fi technologies; launch of 1Gb/s cable services (2018) domestic: several nation-wide networks provide mobile-cellular service; coverage is generally good; fixed-line 24 per 100 service lags in rural areas, mobile-cellular 130 per 100 persons (2018) international: country code - 48; international direct dialing with automated exchanges; satellite earth station - 1 with access to Intelsat, Eutelsat, Inmarsat, and Intersputnik |
| Broadcast media: | state-run public TV operates 2 national channels supplemented by 16 regional channels and several niche channels; privately owned entities operate several national TV networks and a number of special interest channels; many privately owned channels broadcasting locally; roughly half of all households are linked to either satellite or cable TV systems providing access to foreign television networks; state-run public radio operates 5 national networks and 17 regional radio stations; 2 privately owned national radio networks, several commercial stations broadcasting to multiple cities, and many privately owned local radio stations (2019) |
| Internet country code: | .pl |
| Internet users: | total: 28,237,820 percent of population: 73.3% (July 2016 est.) |
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| Transportation | |
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| Airports: | 126 (2013) |
| Airports (paved runways): | total 87 (2017) over 3,047 m: 5 (2017) 2,438 to 3,047 m: 30 (2017) 1,524 to 2,437 m: 36 (2017) 914 to 1,523 m: 10 (2017) under 914 m: 6 (2017) |
| Airports (unpaved runways): | total 39 (2013) 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2013) 914 to 1,523 m: 17 (2013) under 914 m: 21 (2013) |
| Heliports: | 6 (2013) |
| Pipelines: | 14198 km gas, 1374 km oil, 2483 km refined products (2016) |
| Railways: | total 19,231 km (2016) standard gauge: 18,836 km 1.435-m gauge (11,874 km electrified) (2016) broad gauge: 395 km 1.524-m gauge (2016) |
| Roadways: | total 420,000 km (2016) paved: 291,000 km (includes 1,492 km of expressways, 1,559 of motorways) (2016) unpaved: 129,000 km (2016) |
| Waterways: | 3,997 km (navigable rivers and canals) (2009) |
| Merchant marine: | total 148 by type: bulk carrier 1, container ship 1, general cargo 13, oil tanker 7, other 126 (2018) |
| Ports and terminals: | major seaport(s): Gdansk, Gdynia, Swinoujscie container port(s) (TEUs): Gdansk (1,593,761) (2017) LNG terminal(s) (import): Swinoujscie river port(s): Szczecin (River Oder) |
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| Military | |
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| Military branches: | Polish Armed Forces: Land Forces (Wojska Ladowe), Navy (Marynarka Wojenna), Air Force (Sily Powietrzne), Special Forces (Wojska Specjalne), Territorial Defense Force (Wojska Obrony Terytorialnej) (2019) note: Territorial Defense Force only began recruitment in winter 2016 |
| Military service age and obligation: | 18-28 years of age for male and female voluntary military service; conscription phased out in 2009-12; professional soldiers serve on a permanent basis (for an unspecified period of time) or on a contract basis (for a specified period of time); initial contract period is 24 months; women serve in the military on the same terms as men (2019) |
| Military expenditures: | 2% of GDP (2018 est.) 1.99% of GDP (2017) 1.99% of GDP (2016) 2.14% of GDP (2015) 1.9% of GDP (2014) |
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| Transnational Issues | |
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| Disputes - International: | as a member state that forms part of the EU's external border, Poland has implemented the strict Schengen border rules to restrict illegal immigration and trade along its eastern borders with Belarus and Ukraine |
| Refugees and internally displaced persons: | refugees (country of origin): 9,893 (Russia) (2018) stateless persons: 10,825 (2018) |
| Illicit drugs: | despite diligent counternarcotics measures and international information sharing on cross-border crimes, a major illicit producer of synthetic drugs for the international market; minor transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and Latin American cocaine to Western Europe |
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