Poland

noun:

Pole(s)

adjective:

Polish

total:

42.9 years (2024 est.)

male:

41.5 years

female:

44.3 years

at birth:

1.06 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.06 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

0.96 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.67 male(s)/female

total population:

0.91 male(s)/female (2024 est.)

total:

4.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)

male:

5.3 deaths/1,000 live births

female:

4.4 deaths/1,000 live births

total population:

76.7 years (2024 est.)

male:

72.8 years

female:

80.9 years

total:

10.96 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

beer:

5.72 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

wine:

0.88 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

spirits:

4.36 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

other alcohols:

0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

total:

24% (2020 est.)

male:

27.9% (2020 est.)

female:

20.1% (2020 est.)

• decreased emphasis on heavy industry and increased environmental concern by post-communist governments has improved environment;
• air pollution remains serious because of emissions from burning low-quality coals in homes and from coal-fired power plants;
• the resulting acid rain causes forest damage;
• water pollution from industrial and municipal sources is a problem, as is disposal of hazardous wastes

urban population:

60.2% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization:

-0.16% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

particulate matter emissions:

18.83 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions:

299.04 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions:

46.62 megatons (2020 est.)

municipal solid waste generated annually:

10.863 million tons (2015 est.)

municipal solid waste recycled annually:

2,866,746 tons (2015 est.)

percent of municipal solid waste recycled:

26.4% (2015 est.)

municipal:

1.96 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

industrial:

5.87 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

agricultural:

1.39 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

total global geoparks and regional networks:

3 (2024)

global geoparks and regional networks:

• Land of Extinct Volcanoes;
• Muskauer Faltenbogen / Łuk Mużakowa (includes Germany);
• Holy Cross Mountains (2024)

conventional long form:

Republic of Poland

conventional short form:

Poland

local long form:

Rzeczpospolita Polska

local short form:

Polska

former:

Polish People's Republic

etymology:

• name derives from the Polanians, a west Slavic tribe that united several surrounding Slavic groups (9th-10th centuries A.D.) and who passed on their name to the country;
• the name of the tribe likely comes from the Slavic "pole" (field or plain), indicating the flat nature of their country

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

etymology:

the origin of the name is unknown; the Polish designation "Warszawa" was the name of a fishing village and several legends/traditions link the city's founding to a man named Wars or Warsz

• civil law system;
• judicial review of legislative, administrative, and other governmental acts;
• constitutional law rulings of the Constitutional Tribunal are final

history:

several previous; latest adopted 2 April 1997, approved by referendum 25 May 1997, effective 17 October 1997

amendments:

• proposed by at least one fifth of Sejm deputies, by the Senate, or by the president of the republic;
• passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote in the Sejm and absolute majority vote in the Senate;
• amendments to articles relating to sovereignty, personal freedoms, and constitutional amendment procedures also require passage by majority vote in a referendum;
• amended 2006, 2009

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

both parents must be citizens of Poland

dual citizenship recognized:

no

residency requirement for naturalization:

5 years

chief of state:

President Andrzej DUDA (since 6 August 2015)

head of government:

Prime Minister Donald TUSK (since 11 December 2023)

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 28 June 2020 with a second round on 12 July 2020 (next to be held in 2025);
• prime minister, deputy prime ministers, and Council of Ministers appointed by the president and confirmed by the Sejm;
• all presidential candidates resign their party affiliation

election results:

2020: Andrzej DUDA reelected president in second round; percent of vote - Andrzej DUDA (independent) 51%, Rafal TRZASKOWSKI (KO) 49%; 2015: Andrzej DUDA elected president in second round; percent of vote - Andrzej DUDA (independent) 51.5%, Bronislaw KOMOROWSKI (independent) 48.5%

highest court(s):

• Supreme Court or Sad Najwyzszy (consists of the first president of the Supreme Court and 120 justices organized in criminal, civil, labor and social insurance, and extraordinary appeals and public affairs and disciplinary chambers);
• Constitutional Tribunal (consists of 15 judges, including the court president and vice president)

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 Judicial Council and appointed by the president of Poland;
• judges serve until retirement, usually at age 65, but tenure can be extended;
• Constitutional Tribunal judges chosen by the Sejm for single 9-year terms

subordinate courts:

• administrative courts;
• military courts;
• local, regional and appellate courts subdivided into military, civil, criminal, labor, and family courts

• AGROunion or AU
• Center for Poland or CdP
• Civic Platform or PO
• Confederation of the Polish Crown or KKP
• Kukiz' 15 or K'15
• Labor Union or UP
• Law and Justice or PiS
• Left Together or LR
• Modern or .N
• National Movement or NN
• New Hope or RN
• New Left or NL
• Poland 2050 or PL2050
• Polish Initiative or iPL
• Polish People's Party or PSL
• Polish Socialist Party or PPS
• Renewal of the Republic of Poland or ON RP
• Sovereign Poland or SP
• The Greens or Zieloni
• Union of European Democrats or UED
• Yes! For Poland or T!DPL

chief of mission:

Ambassador (vacant); Chargé d'Affaires Bogdan KLICH (since 18 November 2024)

chancery:

2640 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009

telephone:

[1] (202) 499-1700

FAX:

[1] (202) 328-2152

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://www.gov.pl/web/usa-en/embassy-washington

consulate(s) general:

Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York

chief of mission:

Ambassador Mark BRZEZINSKI (since 19 January 2022)

embassy:

Aleje Ujazdowskie 29/31, 00-540 Warsaw

mailing address:

5010 Warsaw Place, Washington, DC 20521-5010

telephone:

[48] (22) 504-2000

FAX:

[48] (22) 504-2088

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://pl.usembassy.gov/

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

total World Heritage Sites:

17 (15 cultural, 2 natural)

selected World Heritage Site locales:

• Historic Krakow (c);
• Historic Warsaw (c);
• Medieval Torun (c);
• Wooden Tserkvas of the Carpathian Region (c);
• Castle of the Teutonic Order in Malbork (c);
• Wieliczka and Bochnia Royal Salt Mines (c);
• Auschwitz Birkenau Concentration Camp (c);
• Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians (n);
• Białowieza Forest (n);
• Old City of Zamość (c)

• high-income, diversified, EU-member economy;
• significant growth in GDP, trade, and investment since joining EU in 2004;
• rebounding from slowdown triggered by inflation and fall in consumer demand;
• strong foreign investment supported by EU structural funds;
• income tax reform and defense spending have added to public debt

Fitch rating:

A- (2007)

Moody's rating:

A2 (2002)

Standard & Poors rating: A- (2018)

note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained.

agriculture:

2.9% (2023 est.)

industry:

28.7% (2023 est.)

services:

58.8% (2023 est.)

note: figures may not total 100% due to non-allocated consumption not captured in sector-reported data

total:

11.6% (2023 est.)

male:

12% (2023 est.)

female:

11.1% (2023 est.)

note: % of labor force ages 15-24 seeking employment

on food:

19.4% of household expenditures (2022 est.)

on alcohol and tobacco:

6.4% of household expenditures (2022 est.)

lowest 10%:

3.4% (2021 est.)

highest 10%:

22.8% (2021 est.)

note: % share of income accruing to lowest and highest 10% of population

production:

116.682 million metric tons (2022 est.)

consumption:

123.782 million metric tons (2022 est.)

exports:

12.047 million metric tons (2022 est.)

imports:

13.347 million metric tons (2022 est.)

proven reserves:

28.531 billion metric tons (2022 est.)

total petroleum production:

24,000 bbl/day (2023 est.)

refined petroleum consumption:

722,000 bbl/day (2023 est.)

crude oil estimated reserves:

113 million barrels (2021 est.)

production:

5.551 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

consumption:

20.056 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

exports:

587.771 million cubic meters (2022 est.)

imports:

14.42 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

proven reserves:

91.492 billion cubic meters (2021 est.)

general assessment:

• the liberalized telecom market has seen considerable development in the broadband and mobile sectors;
• the regulatory environment has encouraged market competition, partly by encouraging operators to secure spectrum and also by ensuring access to cable and fiber infrastructure;
• the mobile market in recent years has been characterized by the rapid extension of LTE and 5G networks, and the development of mobile data services based on newly released and re-farmed spectrum;
• the regulator’s attempts to auction spectrum in a range of bands has been delayed, with spectrum in the 5G-suitable 3.4-3.8GHz range having been put back to later in 2023 as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak and changes to legislation (2024)

domestic:

fixed-line is 13 per 100 (service lags in rural areas), mobile-cellular is 132 per 100 persons (2022)

international:

• country code - 48;
• landing points for the Baltica and the Denmark-Poland2 submarine cables connecting Poland, Denmark and Sweden;
• international direct dialing with automated exchanges;
• satellite earth station - 1 with access to Intelsat, Eutelsat, Inmarsat, and Intersputnik (2019)

• 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 (2019)

number of registered air carriers:

6 (2020); inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 169

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

9,277,538 (2018)

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

271.49 million (2018) mt-km

total ports:

10 (2024)

large:

2

medium:

2

small:

4

very small:

2

ports with oil terminals:

5

key ports:

Gdansk, Gdynia, Port Polnochny, Szczecin

• Polish Space Agency (POLSA; established 2014; operational in 2015);
• Space Research Center (SRC, interdisciplinary research institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences that acted as Poland’s space agency until POLSA was established in 1977) (2024)