Poland

total:

11.96 cu km/yr (31%/60%/10%)

per capita:

312.3 cu m/yr (2009)

• situation has improved since 1989 due to decline in heavy industry and increased environmental concern by post-Communist governments;
• air pollution nonetheless remains serious because of sulfur dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants, and the resulting acid rain has caused forest damage;
• water pollution from industrial and municipal sources is also a problem, as is disposal of hazardous wastes;
• pollution levels should continue to decrease as industrial establishments bring their facilities up to EU code, but at substantial cost to business and the government

noun:

Pole(s)

adjective:

Polish

at birth:

1.06 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.06 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

1.01 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

0.89 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.62 male(s)/female

total population:

0.94 male(s)/female (2013 est.)

degree of risk:

intermediate

vectorborne disease:

tickborne encephalitis

note: highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been identified in this country; it poses a negligible risk with extremely rare cases possible among US citizens who have close contact with birds (2013)

conventional long form:

Republic of Poland

conventional short form:

Poland

local long form:

Rzeczpospolita Polska

local short form:

Polska

name:

Warsaw

geographic coordinates:

52 15 N, 21 00 E

time difference:

UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

daylight saving time:

+1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

• 16 provinces (wojewodztwa, singular - wojewodztwo);
• Dolnoslaskie (Lower Silesia), Kujawsko-Pomorskie (Kuyavia-Pomerania), Lodzkie, Lubelskie (Lublin), Lubuskie (Lubusz), Malopolskie (Lesser Poland), Mazowieckie (Masovia), Opolskie, Podkarpackie (Subcarpathia), Podlaskie, Pomorskie (Pomerania), Slaskie (Silesia), Swietokrzyskie, Warminsko-Mazurskie (Warmia-Masuria), Wielkopolskie (Greater Poland), Zachodniopomorskie (West Pomerania)

• several previous;
• latest adopted 2 April 1997, approved by referendum 25 May 1997, effective 17 October 1997;
• amended 2006, 2009 (2013)

• civil law system;
• changes gradually being introduced as part of broader democratization process;
• limited judicial review of legislative acts, but rulings of the Constitutional Tribunal are final

chief of state:

President Bronislaw KOMOROWSKI (since 6 August 2010)

head of government:

• Prime Minister Donald TUSK (since 16 November 2007);
• Deputy Prime Ministers Janusz PIECHOCINSKI (since 6 December 2012) and Elzbieta BIENKOWSKA (since 27 November 2013)

cabinet:

• Council of Ministers responsible to the prime minister and the Sejm;
• the prime minister proposes, the president appoints, and the Sejm approves the Council of Ministers

; (For more information visit theWorld Leaders website)

elections:

• president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term);
• election last held on 20 June and 4 July 2010 (next to be held in 2015);
• prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president and confirmed by the Sejm

election results:

Bronislaw KOMOROWSKI elected president; percent of popular vote - Bronislaw KOMOROWSKI 53%, Jaroslaw KACZYNSKI 47%

• bicameral legislature consists of an upper house, the Senate or Senat (100 seats; members elected by a majority vote on a provincial basis to serve four-year terms), and a lower house, the Sejm (460 seats; members elected under a complex system of proportional representation to serve four-year terms);
• the designation of National Assembly or Zgromadzenie Narodowe is only used on those rare occasions when the two houses meet jointly

elections:

Senate - last held on 9 October 2011 (next to be held by October 2015); Sejm - last held on 9 October 2011 (next to be held by October 2015)

election results and current seat distribution:

• Senate - percent of vote by party - NA;
• seats by party - PO 63, PiS 29, PSL 2, SP 2, independents 4;
• Sejm - percent of vote by party - PO 39.2%, PiS 29.9%, RP 10%, PSL 8.4%, SLD 8.2%, other 4.3%;
• seats by party - PO 206, PiS 137, RP 43, PSL 28, SLD 25, SP 19, independent 1, German minority 1

note: the German minority is exempt from the 5% threshold requirement for seats to the Sejm

highest court(s):

Supreme Court or Sad Najwyzszy (consists of the president of the Supreme Court and 116 judges organized in criminal, civil, labor and social insurance, and military chambers)

judge selection and term of office:

• president of the Supreme Court nominated by the General Assembly of the Supreme Court and selected by the president of Poland;
• other judges nominated by the 25-member National Judiciary Council, and appointed by the president of Poland;
• judges appointed until retirement, normally at age 65, but tenure can be extended

subordinate courts:

Constitutional Tribunal; regional and appellate courts subdivided into military, civil, criminal, labor, and family courts

• Civic Platform or PO [Donald TUSK, chairman; Rafal GRUPINSKI, parliamentary caucus leader]
• Democratic Left Alliance or SLD [Leszek MILLER, chairman, parliamentary caucus leader]
• Democratic Party or PD [Andrzej CELINSKI, chairman]
• Democratic Party or SD [Pawel PISKORSKI, chairman]
• German Minority of Lower Silesia or MNSO [Ryszard GALLA, representative]
• Law and Justice or PiS [Jaroslaw KACZYNSKI, chairman; Mariusz BLASZCZAK, parliamentary caucus leader]
• League of Polish Families or LPR [Witold BALAZAK, chairman]
• Palikot's Movement or RP [Janusz PALIKOT, chairman]
• Poland Comes First or PJN [Pawel KOWAL, chairperson]
• Polish People's Party or PSL [Janusz PIECHOCINSKI, chairman; Jan BURY, parliamentary caucus leader]
• Social Democratic Party of Poland or SDPL [Wojciech FILEMONOWICZ, chairman]
• Union of Labor or UP [Waldemar WITKOWSKI, chairman]
• United Poland or SP (political grouping of former PiS members, not officially registered) [Arkadiusz MULARCZYK, chairperson; Patrick JAKI, parliamentary caucus leader]

• All Poland Trade Union Alliance or OPZZ (trade union) [Jan GUZ]
• Roman Catholic Church [Cardinal Stanislaw DZIWISZ, Archbishop Jozef MICHALIK]
• Solidarity Trade Union [Piotr DUDA]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Ryszard SCHNEPF (since 28 September 2012)

chancery:

2640 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009

telephone:

[1] (202) 234-3800 through 3802

FAX:

[1] (202) 328-6271

consulate(s) general:

Chicago, Los Angeles, New York

chief of mission:

Ambassador Stephen MULL (since 24 October 2012)

embassy:

Aleje Ujazdowskie 29/31 00-540 Warsaw

mailing address:

American Embassy Warsaw, US Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-5010 (pouch)

telephone:

[48] (22) 504-2000

FAX:

[48] (22) 504-2688

consulate(s) general:

Krakow

agriculture:

12.9%

industry:

30.2%

services:

57% (2010)

lowest 10%:

3.3%

highest 10%:

27.1% (2009 est.)

general assessment:

• modernization of the telecommunications network has accelerated with market-based competition;
• fixed-line service, dominated by the former state-owned company, is dwarfed by the growth in mobile-cellular services

domestic:

• mobile-cellular service available since 1993 and provided by three nation-wide networks with a fourth provider beginning operations in late 2006;
• coverage is generally good with some gaps in the east;
• fixed-line service lags in rural areas

international:

• country code - 48;
• international direct dialing with automated exchanges;
• satellite earth station - 1 with access to Intelsat, Eutelsat, Inmarsat, and Intersputnik (2011)

• state-run public TV operates 2 national channels supplemented by 16 regional channels and several niche channels;
• privately owned entities operate several national TV networks and a number of special interest channels;
• many privately owned channels broadcasting locally;
• roughly half of all households are linked to either satellite or cable TV systems providing access to foreign television networks;
• state-run public radio operates 5 national networks and 17 regional radio stations;
• 2 privately owned national radio networks, several commercial stations broadcasting to multiple cities, and many privately owned local radio stations (2007)

total:

19,428 km

country comparison to the world: 15

broad gauge:

399 km 1.524-m gauge

standard gauge:

19,029 km 1.435-m gauge (11,805 km electrified) (2007)

total:

412,035 km

country comparison to the world: 15

paved:

280,719 km (includes 2,418 km of expressways)

unpaved:

131,316 km (2012)

• 18-28 years of age for male and female voluntary military service;
• conscription phased out in 2009-12;
• service obligation shortened from 12 to 9 months in 2005;
• women only allowed to serve as officers and noncommissioned officers (2013)

males age 16-49:

9,531,855

females age 16-49:

9,298,593 (2010 est.)

males age 16-49:

7,817,556

females age 16-49:

7,766,361 (2010 est.)

male:

221,889

female:

211,172 (2010 est.)

refugees (country of origin):

14,938 (Russia) (2012)

stateless persons:

10,825 (2012)

• despite diligent counternarcotics measures and international information sharing on cross-border crimes, a major illicit producer of synthetic drugs for the international market;
• minor transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and Latin American cocaine to Western Europe