Poland

democratic state

Poland as the 1994 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 135 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalWarsaw
LocationCentral Europe, between Germany and Belarus
1994

Every edition of Poland

Populationas each edition published it
38.65 million July 1994 est. · 37.78m in 1990
Population growth% a year
0.35% 1994 est. · 0.35% in 1993
Median ageyears
Not in this edition 36 yrs in 2003
Life expectancyyears at birth
Not in this edition 72.2 yrs in 1993
Fertility ratechildren per woman
1.94 children per woman 1994 est. · 2.1 in 1990
Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births
13.1 deaths per 1,000 live births 1994 est. · 13 in 1990
GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars
$4,680 1993 est. · $4,400 in 1993
GDP real growth% a year
4.1% 1993 est. · 2% in 1993

Geography

Central Europe, between Germany and Belarus

23 fields
Land boundaries
3,114km
total · Belarus 605 km, Czech Republic 658 km, Germany 456 km, Lithuania 91 km, Russia (Kaliningrad Oblast) 432 km, Slovakia 444 km, Ukraine 428 km
Irrigated land
1,000sq km
(1989 est.)

Location

Central Europe, between Germany and Belarus

Map references

Asia, Ethnic Groups in Eastern Europe, Europe, Standard Time Zones of the World

total area

312,680 sq km

land area

304,510 sq km

comparative area

slightly smaller than New Mexico

exclusive economic zone

200 nm

territorial sea

12 nm

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

arable land

46%

permanent crops

1%

meadows and pastures

13%

forest and woodland

28%

other

12%

current issues

  • forest damage due to air pollution;
  • improper means for disposal of large amounts of hazardous and industrial waste;
  • severe water pollution from industrial and municipal sources;
  • severe air pollution results from emissions of sulfur dioxide from coal-fired power plants

natural hazards

NA

international agreements

  • party to - Air Pollution, Antarctic Treaty, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands;
  • signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law of the Sea

Note

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

People

21 fields
Population
38,654,561
(July 1994 est.)growth rate: 0.35% (1994 est.)

Per 1,000 population(1994 est.)

Birth
13.44Death
9.4Net migration
-0.52

Ethnic divisions

Polish 97.6%German 1.3%Ukrainian 0.6%Byelorussian 0.5% (1990 est.)
Labor force
17.329million
Literacy
15and over can read and write
age · (1978)

Infant mortality rate

13.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)

total population

72.66 years

male

68.64 years

female

76.91 years (1994 est.)

Total fertility rate

1.94 children born/woman (1994 est.)

noun

Pole(s)

adjective

Polish

Religions

Roman Catholic 95% (about 75% practicing), Eastern Orthodox, Protestant, and other 5%

Languages

Polish

total population

98%

male

99%

female

98%

by occupation

industry and construction 32.0%, agriculture 27.6%, trade, transport, and communications 14.7%, government and other 24.6% (1992)

Government

Democratic state

44 fields

conventional long form

Republic of Poland

conventional short form

Poland

local long form

Rzeczpospolita Polska

local short form

Polska

Type

democratic state

Capital

Warsaw

Administrative divisions

49 provinces (wojewodztwa, singular - wojewodztwo); Biala Podlaska, Bialystok, Bielsko Biala, Bydgoszcz, Chelm, Ciechanow, Czestochowa, Elblag, Gdansk, Gorzow, Jelenia Gora, Kalisz, Katowice, Kielce, Konin, Koszalin, Krakow, Krosno, Legnica, Leszno, Lodz, Lomza, Lublin, Nowy Sacz, Olsztyn, Opole, Ostroleka, Pila, Piotrkow, Plock, Poznan, Przemysl, Radom, Rzeszow, Siedlce, Sieradz, Skierniewice, Slupsk, Suwalki, Szczecin, Tarnobrzeg, Tarnow, Torun, Walbrzych, Warszawa, Wloclawek, Wroclaw, Zamosc, Zielona Gora

Independence

11 November 1918 (independent republic proclaimed)

National holiday

Constitution Day, 3 May (1791)

Constitution

  • interim "small constitution" came into effect in December 1992 replacing the Communist-imposed Constitution of 22 July 1952;
  • new democratic Constitution being drafted

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

chief of state

  • President Lech WALESA (since 22 December 1990);
  • election first round held 25 November 1990, second round held 9 December 1990 (next to be held NA November 1995);
  • results - second round Lech WALESA 74.7%, Stanislaw TYMINSKI 25.3%

head of government

Prime Minister Waldemar PAWLAK (since 26 October 1993)

cabinet

Council of Ministers; responsible to the president and the Sejm

Legislative branch

bicameral National Assembly (Zgromadzenie Narodowe)

Senate (Senat)

elections last held 19 September 1993 (next to be held no later than NA October 1997); seats - (100 total)

post-Solidarity bloc

UW 6, NSZZ 12, BBWR 2

non-Communist, non-Solidarity

independents 7, unaffiliated 1, vacant 1 (to be filled in a 19 June election)

Communist origin or linked

PSL 34, SLD 37

Diet (Sejm)

elections last held 19 September 1993 (next to be held no later than NA October 1997); seats - (460 total)

post-Solidarity bloc

UW 74, UP 41, BBWR 16

non-Communist, non-Solidarity

KPN 22

Communist origin or linked

SLD 171, PSL 132

note

4 seats were won by ethnic Germans

Judicial branch

Supreme Court

post-Solidarity parties

  • Freedom Union (WD; UD and Liberal Democratic Congress merged to form Freedom Union), Tadeusz MAZOWIECKI;
  • Christian-National Union (ZCHN), Wieslaw CHRZANOWSKI;
  • Centrum (PC), Jaroslaw KACZYNSKI;
  • Peasant Alliance (PL), Gabriel JANOWSKI;
  • Solidarity Trade Union (NSZZ), Marian KRZAKLEWSKI;
  • Union of Labor (UP), Ryszard BUGAJ;
  • Christian-Democratic Party (PCHD), Pawel LACZKOWSKI;
  • Conservative Party, Alexander HALL;
  • Nonparty Bloc for the Support of the Reforms (BBWR)

non-Communist, non-Solidarity

  • Confederation for an Independent Poland (KPN), Leszek MOCZULSKI;
  • Polish Economic Program (PPG), Janusz REWINSKI;
  • Christian Democrats (CHD), Andrzej OWSINSKI;
  • German Minority (MN), Henryk KROL;
  • Union of Real Politics (UPR), Janusz KORWIN-MIKKE;
  • Democratic Party (SD), Antoni MACKIEWICZ;
  • Party X, Stanislaw Tyminski

Communist origin or linked

  • Social Democracy (SDRP, party of Poland), Aleksander KWASNIEWSKI;
  • Polish Peasants' Party (PSL), Waldemar PAWLAK;
  • Democratic Left Alliance, Aleksander KWASNIEWSKI

Other political or pressure groups

  • powerful Roman Catholic Church;
  • Solidarity (trade union);
  • All Poland Trade Union Alliance (OPZZ), populist program

Member of

BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS, CCC, CE, CEI, CERN, COCOM (cooperating), CSCE, EBRD, ECE, FAO, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT (nonsignatory user), INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LORCS, MINURSO, NACC, NAM (guest), NSG, OAS (observer), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNDOF, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNOMIG, UNPROFOR, UNTAC, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

chief of mission

Ambassador Jerzy KOZMINSKI

chancery

2640 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009

telephone

(202) 234-3800 through 3802

FAX

(202) 328-6271

consulate(s) general

Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York

chief of mission

Ambassador Nicholas A. REY

embassy

Aleje Ujazdowskie 29/31, Warsaw

mailing address

American Embassy Warsaw, Unit 1340, or APO AE 09213-1340

telephone

[48] (2) 628-3041

FAX

[48] (2) 628-8298

consulate(s) general

Krakow, Poznan

Flag

two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red; similar to the flags of Indonesia and Monaco which are red (top) and white

Economy

27 fields
GDP per capita, PPP
$4,680
(1993 est.)
Real growth rate
4.1%
(1993 est.)industrial production growth: growth rate 7% (1993)
Unemployment rate
15.7%
(December 1993)

Overview

Poland is continuing the difficult transition to a market economy that began on 1 January 1990, when the new democratic government instituted "shock therapy" by decontrolling prices, slashing subsidies, and drastically reducing import barriers. The economy contracted sharply in 1990 and 1991, but in 1992 real GDP grew 1% despite a severe drought.

Real GDP expanded about 4% in 1993, the highest rate in Europe except for Albania. About half of GDP now comes from the private sector even though privatization of the large state-owned enterprises is proceeding slowly and most industry remains in state hands. The pattern of industrial production is changing rapidly;

output of textiles and construction materials is well above 1990 levels, while output of basic metals remains depressed. Inflation, which had exceeded 50% monthly in late 1989, was down to about 37% for all of 1993, as the government held the budget deficit below 3% of GDP. Unemployment has risen steadily, however, to about 16%. The trade deficit is also a problem, in part due to recession in Western Europe, Poland's main customer. The new government elected in September 1993 is politically to the left of its predecessor but is continuing the reform process.

National product

GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $180.4 billion (1993 est.)

revenues

$24.3 billion

expenditures

$27.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.5 billion (1993 est.)

Exports

$13.5 billion (f.o.b., 1993 est.)

commodities

machinery 24%, metals 17%, chemicals 12%, fuels and power 11%, food 10% (1992)

partners

Germany 31.4%, Netherlands 6.0%, Italy 5.6%, Russia 5.5% (1992)

Imports

$15.6 billion (f.o.b., 1993 est.)

commodities

fuels and power 17%, machinery 36%, chemicals 17%, food 8% (1992)

partners

Germany 23.9%, Russia 8.5%, Italy 6.9%, UK 6.7% (1992)

External debt

  • $47 billion (1993);
  • note - Poland's Western government creditors promised in 1991 to forgive 30% of Warsaw's $35 billion official debt immediately and to forgive another 20% in 1994;
  • foreign banks agreed in early 1994 to forgive 45% of their $12 billion debt claim

capacity

31,530,000 kW

production

137 billion kWh

consumption per capita

3,570 kWh (1992)

Industries

machine building, iron and steel, extractive industries, chemicals, shipbuilding, food processing, glass, beverages, textiles

Agriculture

  • accounts for 7% of GDP and a much larger share of labor force;
  • 75% of output from private farms, 25% from state farms;
  • productivity remains low by European standards;
  • leading European producer of rye, rapeseed, and potatoes;
  • wide variety of other crops and livestock;
  • major exporter of pork products;
  • normally self-sufficient in food

Illicit drugs

  • illicit producers of opium for domestic consumption and amphetamines for the international market;
  • transshipment point for Asian and Latin American illicit drugs to Western Europe

donor

bilateral aid to non-Communist less developed countries (1954-89), $2.2 billion

recipient

Western governments and institutions have pledged $8 billion in grants and loans since 1989, but most of the money has not been disbursed

Currency

1 zloty (Zl) = 100 groszy

Exchange rates

zlotych (Zl) per US$1 - 21,080 (January 1994), 18,115 (1993), 13,626 (1992), 10,576 (1991), 9,500 (1990), 1,439.18 (1989)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Communications

17 fields

Railroads

  • 26,250 km total;
  • 23,857 km 1.435-meter gauge, 397 km 1.520-meter gauge, 1,996 km narrow gauge;
  • 8,987 km double track;
  • 11,510 km electrified;
  • government owned (1991)

total

360,629 km (excluding farm, factory and forest roads)

paved

220,000 km (220 km of which are limited access expressways)

unpaved

140,629 km (1988)

Inland waterways

3,997 km navigable rivers and canals (1991)

Pipelines

crude oil 1,986 km; petroleum products 360 km; natural gas 4,600 km (1992)

Ports

Gdansk, Gdynia, Szczecin, Swinoujscie; principal inland ports are Gliwice on Kanal Gliwicki, Wrocaw on the Oder, and Warsaw on the Vistula

Merchant marine

173 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,327,855 GRT/3,458,445 DWT, bulk 89, cargo 57, chemical tanker 4, container 8, oil tanker 1, passenger 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 8, short-sea passenger 5

note

Poland owns 3 ships operating under Liberian registry

total

209

usable

167

with permanent-surface runways

70

with runway over 3,659 m

1

with runways 2,440-3,659 m

47

with runways 1,060-2,439 m

78

note

a C-130 can land on a 1,060-m airstrip

Telecommunications

  • severely underdeveloped and outmoded system;
  • cable, open wire and microwave;
  • phone density is 10.5 phones per 100 residents (October 1990);
  • 3.6 million telephone subscribers;
  • exchanges are 86% automatic (1991);
  • broadcast stations - 27 AM, 27 FM, 40 (5 Soviet repeaters) TV;
  • 9.6 million TVs;
  • 1 satellite earth station using INTELSAT, EUTELSAT, INMARSAT and Intersputnik

Defense Forces

Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Force

3 fields
Defense expenditures
30.8trillion zlotych
1.8% of GNP (1993 est.); note - conversion of defense expenditures into US dollars using the current exchange rate could produce misleading results

Branches

Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Force

Manpower availability

  • males age 15-49 10,046,993;
  • fit for military service 7,856,680;
  • reach military age (19) annually 316,339 (1994 est.)

Central Intelligence Agency. “Poland.” The World Factbook 1994. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/poland/1994.

How to cite ← 1993 edition 1995 edition →