Poland

agricultural land:

48.2%;

• arable land 36.2%;
• permanent crops 1.3%;
• permanent pasture 10.7%

forest:

30.6%

other:

21.2% (2011 est.)

total:

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

per capita:

312.3 cu m/yr (2009)

• decreased emphasis on heavy industry and increased environmental concern by post-communist governments has improved environment;
• air pollution remains serious because of 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

noun:

Pole(s)

adjective:

Polish

at birth:

1.06 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.06 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

1.02 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

0.89 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.64 male(s)/female

total population:

0.94 male(s)/female (2015 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

• 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 Andrzej DUDA (since 6 August 2015)

head of government:

• Prime Minister Ewa KOPACZ (since 22 September 2014);
• Deputy Prime Ministers Janusz PIECHOCINSKI (since 6 December 2012) and Tomasz SIEMONIAK (since 22 September 2014)

cabinet:

Council of Ministers proposed by the prime minister, appointed by the president, and approved by the Sejm

elections/appointments:

• president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term);
• election last held on 10 and 24 May 2015 (next to be held in 2020);
• prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president and confirmed by the Sejm

election results:

Andrzej DUDA elected president; percent of vote in runoff - Andrzej DUDA 51.5%, Bronislaw KOMOROWSKI (independent) 48.5%

description:

• bicameral legislature consists of the Senate or Senat (100 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve 4-year terms) and the Sejm (460 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote to serve 4-year terms);
• note - the designation National Assembly or Zgromadzenie Narodowe is only used on those rare occasions when the two houses meet jointly

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

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 on 25 October 2015)

election results:

• Senate - percent of vote by party - NA;
• seats by party - PO 63, PiS 29, PSL 2, SP 2, independent 4;
• seats by party as of 26 February 2015 - PO 63, PiS 31, PSL 2, independent 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;
• seats by party as of 26 February 2015 - PO 202, PiS 132, TR 16, PSL 39, SLD 34, KPSP (coalition of smaller parties) 15, independent 21, German Minority 1

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, usually 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

• A Just Poland (union of PR and SP) [Jaroslaw GOWIN]
• Civic Platform or PO [Ewa KOPACZ,chairperson; Rafal GRUPINSKI, parliamentary caucus leader]
• Democratic Left Alliance or SLD [Leszek MILLER, chairman, parliamentary caucus leader]
• German Minority of Lower Silesia or MNSO [Ryszard GALLA, representative]
• Law and Justice or PiS [Jaroslaw KACZYNSKI, chairman; Mariusz BLASZCZAK, parliamentary caucus leader]
• New Right Congress or KNP [Michal MARUSIK, chairman]
• Poland Together or PR [Jaroslaw GOWIN, chairman]
• Polish People's Party or PSL [Janusz PIECHOCINSKI, chairman; Jan BURY, parliamentary caucus leader]
• Social Democratic Party of Poland or SDPL [Wojciech FILEMONOWICZ, chairman]
• United Poland or SP [Zbigniew ZIOBRO, chairperson]
• Your Movement or TR [Janusz PALIKOT, chairman, parliamentary caucus leader]

• All Poland Trade Union Alliance or OPZZ [Jan GUZ] (trade union)
• Independent Self-Governing Trade Union "Solidarity" [Piotr DUDA]
• Roman Catholic Church [Archbishop Wojciech POLAK, Archbishop Stanislaw GADECKI]

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

name:

"Mazurek Dabrowskiego" (Dabrowski's Mazurka)

lyrics/music:

Jozef WYBICKI/traditional

note: adopted 1927; the anthem, commonly known as "Jeszcze Polska nie zginela" (Poland Has Not Yet Perished), was written in 1797; the lyrics resonate strongly with Poles because they reflect the numerous occasions in which the nation's lands have been occupied

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 four nation-wide networks;
• 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:

19,837 km

broad gauge:

395 km 1.524-m gauge

standard gauge:

19,442 km 1.435-m gauge (11,899 km electrified) (2014)

country comparison to the world: 15

total:

412,035 km

paved:

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

unpaved:

131,316 km (2012)

country comparison to the world: 16

total:

9

by type:

cargo 7, chemical tanker 1, passenger/cargo 1

registered in other countries:

106 (Antigua and Barbuda 2, Bahamas 34, Cyprus 24, Liberia 13, Malta 21, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 3, Vanuatu 9) (2010)

country comparison to the world: 118

major seaport(s):

Gdansk, Gdynia, Swinoujscie

river port(s):

Szczecin (River Oder)

LNG terminal(s) (import):

Swinoujscie

• 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):

14,277 (Russia) (2014); 71,302 applicants for forms of legal stay other than asylum (Ukraine) (2015)

stateless persons:

10,825 (2014)

• 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