Poland

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Poland's Information


Capital	Warsaw
Languages	Polish (official) 98.2%, Silesian 1.4%, other 1.1%, unspecified 1.3%
Ethnic Groups	Polish 96.9%, Silesian 1.1%, German 0.2%, Ukrainian 0.1%, other and unspecified 1.7%
Religion	Catholic 87.2% (includes Roman Catholic 86.9% 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 10.8% (2012 est.)
Government	Parliamentary republic
Independance	11 November 1918 (republic proclaimed); notable earlier dates: 966 (adoption of Christianity, traditional founding date), 1 July 1569 (Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth created)
Area	312,685.00 km²
Water Area	8,430.00 km²
Land Area	304,255.00 km²
Population	38,523,261.00 Population concentrated in the southern (Krakow) and central (Warsaw, Lodz) areas, with an extension to the northern coastal city of Gdansk
Location	Central Europe, east of Germany
No. Bordering Countries	7
Bordering Countries	Belarus 418 km, Czech Republic 796 km, Germany 467 km, Lithuania 104 km, Russia (Kaliningrad Oblast) 210 km, Slovakia 541 km, Ukraine 535 km
GDP(PPP)	$1,050,000,000,000.00 (USD)
GDP (Per Capita)	$27,700.00 (USD)
Export Partners	Its major export partners are Germany, the United Kingdom, and the Czech Republic.
Export Commodities	Its main exports are machinery and transport equipment, and intermediate manufactured goods.
Import Partners	Its major import partners are Germany, China, and Russia.
Import Commodities	Its major imports include machinery and transport equipment, intermediate manufactured goods, and chemicals.
Climate	Maritime temperate; cool and rainy in north, warmer and drier in south
Terrain	Mostly flat plain; mountains along southern border

Where is Poland?

Located in Central Europe, Poland has a 3,071.00 km border with Belarus (418 km), Czech Republic (796 km), Germany (467 km), Lithuania (104 km), Russia (Kaliningrad Oblast) (210 km), Slovakia (541 km) and Ukraine (535 km). It has a 440.00 km coastline. Poland has implemented strict Schengen border rules in order to restrict illegal immigration and trade along its eastern borders with Belarus and Ukraine.

Warsaw is the capital city of Poland. It is situated on the Vistula River in East-Central Poland. The city was selected to serve as the capital in 1573, due to its centrality. It also served as the capital of The Commonwealth and the Crown Kingdom of Poland. Warsaw is a very populous city, with a metropolitan population of approximately 3.1 million residents. The Old Town of Warsaw has been recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The city is also famous for its museums and galleries. Warsaw experiences a humid continental climate. The winters in Warsaw are usually cold, snowy and cloudy. The summers are usually sunny, warm and stormy. Spring and autumns in the city are quite unpredictable. There tend to be abrupt weather changes during the spring and autumn seasons. The city is the fourth driest city in Europe. The city is among the driest capitals in Europe, receiving an annual precipitation of 529 milliliters.

Geography

Poland has a mean elevation of 173 m above sea level.

It has a martime temperate climate that is cooler and wetter in the north and warmer and drier in the south. Its terrain is mostly flat, with mountains along the southern border.

Population

Poland has a population of 38,523,261 making it the 34th largest in the world. Major population centers are mostly found in the southern and cnetral regions.

Polish is the official language. The majority ethnic group is Polish. The majority of the population is Roman Catholic.

The official language of Poland is Polish. Polish is a West Slavic language under the Lechitic group. It belongs to the Indo-European family of languages. The language is closely related to Czech and Slovak. Excluding all foreign consonants, the Polish alphabet has 32 letters, 23 consonants, and 9 vowels. Polish’s alphabet uses a Latin Script, with some other additional letters from diatric. Polish is the second most spoken Slavic language after Russian. In Poland, approximately 38.5 million people use Polish as their first and native language. The dominant word order used in Polish is subject-verb-object. Just like most Indo-European languages, Polish has its noun categorized into feminine, masculine, and the neuter. The language has quite a large number of loanwords. As Poland interacted with other languages in history, it borrowed words to enrich its vocabulary. There are a number of minority languages spoken in Poland. The minority languages include Czech, Slovak, Kashubian, Belarusian, Lithuanian and Jewish Languages such as Hebrew and Yiddish.

Government

Poland is an independent country. The republic was proclaimed in 1918. Its constitution was last ratified in 1997.

The government of Poland is a representative democracy. Leaders are elected to represent the citizens in parliament. The country is a multi-party state. The political parties often collaborate to form a coalition government. The parliament has two houses, the Senate which is the upper house and Sejm which is the lower house. The two houses are located on the Sejm Complex, Warsaw. The Sejm has 460 elected members whereas the Senate is comprised of 100 elected members. The members of the two houses are elected after every four years. The president is elected after every 5 years. After his election, the president appoints the prime minister who informs the government.

Economy

Factoring in Purchasing Power Parity, Poland's GDP is $1,050,000,000,000.00 (USD) with $27,700.00 (USD) per capita. This makes it the 24th largest economy and its citizens the 65th richest in the world. The currency of Poland is the Zloty (PLN).

Its major export partners are Germany, the United Kingdom, and the Czech Republic. Its main exports are machinery and transport equipment, and intermediate manufactured goods. Its major import partners are Germany, China, and Russia. Its major imports include machinery and transport equipment, intermediate manufactured goods, and chemicals.

Flag

Poland has two flags that are constitutionally recognized. The first flag consists of a white and red horizontal band while the second flag has a coat of arms in addition to the white and red horizontal bands. The two flags are used on different occasions. The white and red insignia was first used in 1831 while the flag itself was used in a patriotic demonstration in 1916. The flag for the demonstration was proposed by the demonstration’s organizing committee. Flag Day has been celebrated on May 2 since the year 2004. The day was set to educate the citizens on the importance of the national symbols. Flags in this country are used according to customary flag protocol.