Profile
Background and figures as recorded in the CIA World Factbook.
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.
- Capital
- Warsaw
- Government
- parliamentary republic
- Population
- 38,746,310
- Area
- 312,685 sq km
- Location
- Central Europe, east of Germany
- Climate
- temperate with cold, cloudy, moderately severe winters with frequent precipitation;
- Natural resources
- coal; sulfur; copper; natural gas; silver; lead…
- Languages
- Polish (official) 98.2%; Silesian 1.4%; other 1.1%; unspecified 1.2%
- Religions
- Roman Catholic 70.7%; refused to answer 20.9%; no religion 6.9%; less than 1 percent: Orthodox…
- Independence
- 11 November 1918 (republic proclaimed); notable earlier dates: 14 April 966 (adoption of C…
- Administrative divisions
- 16 provinces or voivodships (wojewodztwa, singular - wojewodztwo); Dolnoslaskie (Lower Silesia), Kujawsko-Pomorskie (Kuy…
- Currency
- zlotych (PLN)
- Export partners
- Germany 25%; UK 6%; Czechia 6%; France 6%…
- Import partners
- Germany 22%; China 12%; Italy 5%; Netherlands 4%…
Source: CIA World Factbook — a work of the US government, in the public domain