Poland

Central Europe, east of Germany

52 00 N, 20 00 E

Europe

about twice the size of Georgia; slightly smaller than New Mexico

440 km

temperate with cold, cloudy, moderately severe winters with frequent precipitation; mild summers with frequent showers and thundershowers

mostly flat plain; mountains along southern border

coal, sulfur, copper, natural gas, silver, lead, salt, amber, arable land

1,327 sq km (2016)

population concentrated in the southern area around Krakow and the central area around Warsaw and Lodz, with an extension to the northern coastal city of Gdansk

flooding

historically an area of conflict because of flat terrain and the lack of natural barriers on the North European Plain

Polish 96.9%, Silesian 1.1%, German 0.2%, Ukrainian 0.1%, other and unspecified 1.7% (2011 est.)

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.)

-0.98% (2025 est.)

8.03 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)

11.56 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)

-6.26 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)

population concentrated in the southern area around Krakow and the central area around Warsaw and Lodz, with an extension to the northern coastal city of Gdansk

1.798 million WARSAW (capital), 769,000 Krakow (2023)

27.9 years (2020 est.)

2 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)

1.33 children born/woman (2025 est.)

0.65 (2025 est.)

4.03 physicians/1,000 population (2023)

6.1 beds/1,000 population (2020 est.)

23.1% (2016)

0.7% (2019 est.)

58.6% (2021 est.)

parliamentary republic

civil law system; judicial review of legislative, administrative, and other governmental acts; constitutional law rulings of the Constitutional Tribunal are final

accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

18 years of age; universal

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, UNHRC, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMISS, UNOCI, UNOOSA, UN Security Council (temporary), UNWTO, UPU, Wassenaar Arrangement, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

11 November 1918 (republic proclaimed); notable earlier dates: 14 April 966 (adoption of Christianity, traditional founding date), 1 July 1569 (Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth created)

Constitution Day, 3 May (1791)

white crowned eagle

white, red

Poland’s coat of arms was designed in 1927 by noted Polish graphic artist and educator Zygmunt Kaminski. The white crowned eagle is the national symbol, and white and red are the national colors, with white representing purity and truth and red symbolizing courage and the blood shed for freedom.

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

$914.696 billion (2024 est.)

sugar beets, milk, wheat, maize, potatoes, triticale, apples, rapeseed, barley, rye (2023)

machine building, iron and steel, coal mining, chemicals, shipbuilding, food processing, glass, beverages, textiles

-0.6% (2023 est.)

18.245 million (2024 est.)

12.2% (2023 est.)

18% (of GDP) (2023 est.)

Germany 25%, UK 6%, Czechia 6%, France 6%, Italy 5% (2023)

vehicle parts/accessories, electric batteries, plastic products, cars, seats (2023)

Germany 22%, China 12%, Italy 5%, Netherlands 4%, USA 4% (2023)

crude petroleum, cars, garments, vehicle parts/accessories, plastic products (2023)

state-run public TV operates 2 national channels supplemented by 16 regional and several niche channels; privately owned entities operate several national TV networks and some special interest channels; many privately owned local channels; roughly half of all households are linked to satellite or cable TV systems with access to foreign TV; state-run public radio operates 5 national networks and 17 regional stations; 2 privately owned national radio networks, several commercial stations, and many privately owned local radio stations (2019)

.pl

SP

318 (2025)

16 (2025)

approximately 235,000 active military personnel (2025)

the military's inventory consists of a mix of some Soviet-era and a growing amount of more modern, NATO-compatible weapons systems; in recent years, significant suppliers of armaments have included Finland, South Korea, and the US; Poland has a domestic defense sector that produces or provides upgrades to various weapons systems, particularly ground systems such as tanks and other armored vehicles; it also cooperates with the European and US defense sectors (2025)

18 years of age for voluntary military service for men and women; no conscription; 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 (2025)

250 Kosovo (NATO/KFOR); up to 300 Latvia (NATO); 190 Lebanon (UNIFIL) (2025)