300
Poland
EUROPE
FACTFILE
OFFICIAL NAME: Republic of Poland
DATE OF FORMATION: 1918
CAPITAL: Warsaw
POPULATION: 38.1 million
TOTAL AREA: 120,728 sq. miles
(312,685 sq. km)
DENSITY: 324 people per sq. mile
LANGUAGES: Polish
RELIGIONS: Roman Catholic 93%, other
and nonreligious 5%, Orthodox
Christian 2%
ETHNIC MIX: Polish 97%, other 2%,
Silesian 1%
GOVERNMENT: Parliamentary system
CURRENCY: Zloty = 100 groszy
Located in the heart of Europe, Poland has undergone
massive social, economic, and political change since the
collapse of communism in 1989. It joined the EU in 2004.
GEOGRAPHY
Lowlands, part of the North
European Plain, cover most of the
country. The Tatra Mountains run along
the southern border.
CLIMATE
Rainfall peaks during the hot
summers. Cold winters with snow,
especially in mountains.
PEOPLE & SOCIETY
Ethnic homogeneity masks a
number of tensions. Secular liberals
criticize the semiofficial status of the
Roman Catholic Church, and emerging
wealth disparities are resented by those
not profiting from the free market. The
German minority in the west is growing
more assertive.
THE ECONOMY
Foreign investment reflects the
country’s large potential market. Rapid
privatization. Heavy industries dominate,
though services growing. Plans to join
euro in 2012.
INSIGHT: Wild wisent (European
bison) live in the Bialowieza Forest
straddling the Poland–Belarus border
1000m/3281ft
500m/1640ft
200m/656ft
Sea Level100 km100 miles00RUSSIAN
FEDERATION(^)
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LITHUANIA
UKRAINE
SLOVAKIA
CZECH
REP.
Baltic
Sea
Tatra^ Mts.
Od
er
W
is
îa
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Kraków
Wrocïaw
Poznaú
Zielona
Góra
Szczecin
Bydgoszcz
Gliwice Katowice
Czèstochowa
Wîocîawek
Gdaúsk
Rzeszów
Radom
Olsztyn
Lublin
Biaîystok
Gdynia
WARSAW