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Poland - Social & Geographic Profile
| Climate: |
Temperate with cold, cloudy, moderately severe winters with frequent precipitation; mild summers with frequent showers and thundershowers |
| Natural resources: |
Coal, sulphur, copper, natural gas, silver, lead, salt, amber, arable land |
| Environment - current issues: |
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 sulphur 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. |
| Population: |
38,536,869 (July 2006 est.) |
| Age structure: |
0-14 years: 15.9% (male 3,142,811/female 2,976,363)
15-64 years: 70.8% (male 13,585,306/female 13,704,763)
65 years and over: 13.3% (male 1,961,326/female 3,166,300) (2006 est.) |
| Ethnic groups: |
Polish 96.7%, German 0.4%, Belarusian 0.1%, Ukrainian 0.1%, other and unspecified 2.7% (2002 census) |
| Religions: |
Roman Catholic 89.8% (about 75% practicing), Eastern Orthodox 1.3%, Protestant 0.3%, other 0.3%, unspecified 8.3% (2002) |
| Languages: |
Polish 97.8%, other and unspecified 2.2% (2002 census) |
| Capital: |
name: Warsaw
time difference: GMT+1
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
| Administrative divisions: |
16 provinces (wojewodztwa, singular - wojewodztwo); Dolnoslaskie, Kujawsko-Pomorskie, Lodzkie, Lubelskie, Lubuskie, Malopolskie, Mazowieckie, Opolskie, Podkarpackie, Podlaskie, Pomorskie, Slaskie, Swietokrzyskie, Warminsko-Mazurskie, Wielkopolskie, Zachodniopomorskie |
| Legal system: |
Mixture of Continental (Napoleonic) civil law and holdover Communist legal theory; changes being gradually introduced as part of broader democratization process; limited judicial review of legislative acts, but rulings of the Constitutional Tribunal are final; court decisions can be appealed to the European Court of Justice in Strasbourg; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
| Executive branch: |
chief of state: President Lech KACZYNSKI (since 23 December 2005)
head of government: Prime Minister Jaroslaw KACZYNSKI (since 10 July 2006); Deputy Prime Ministers Ludwik DORN (since 23 November 2005), Roman GIERTYCH (since 5 May 2006), Zyta GILOWSKA (since 22 September 2006), Andrzej LEPPER (since 16 October 2006)
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
elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 9 and 23 October 2005 (next to be held October 2010); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president and confirmed by the Sejm
election results: Lech KACZYNSKI elected president; percent of popular vote - Lech KACZYNSKI 54%, Donald Tusk 46% |
| Diplomatic representation from the UK: |
The British Embassy
Al. Róż 1
00-556 Warszawa
The British Embassy
Warsaw Corporate Centre
ul. E. Plater 28
00-688 Warsaw
tel +48 22 311 00 00
fax +48 22311 03 11
Honrary Consulate
Gdańsk/Warminsko-Mazurskie
ul. Starego Wiarusa 32
71-206 Szczecin
tel +48 (91) 487 03 02
fax +48 (91) 487 36 97 |
| GDP (purchasing power parity): |
£257.8 billion (2005 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices): |
2.2% (2005 est.) |
| Industries: |
machine building, iron and steel, coal mining, chemicals, shipbuilding, food processing, glass, beverages, textiles |
| Exports: |
£47.31 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.) |
| Exports - commodities: |
machinery and transport equipment 37.8%, intermediate manufactured goods 23.7%, miscellaneous manufactured goods 17.1%, food and live animals 7.6% (2003) |
| Exports - partners: |
Germany 28.2%, France 6.2%, Italy 6.1%, UK 5.6%, Czech Republic 4.6%, Russia 4.4%, Netherlands 4.2% (2005) |
| Imports: |
£48.81 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.) |
| Imports - commodities: |
machinery and transport equipment 38%, intermediate manufactured goods 21%, chemicals 14.8%, minerals, fuels, lubricants, and related materials 9.1% (2003) |
| Imports - partners: |
Germany 29.6%, Russia 8.7%, Italy 6.6%, Netherlands 5.9%, France 5.7% (2005) |
| Economic aid - recipient: |
£7.1 billion in available EU structural adjustment and cohesion funds (2004-06) |
| Currency (code): |
zloty (PLN) |
| Exchange rates: |
zlotych per UK Pound - 5.889
note: zlotych is the plural form of zloty |
| Airports: |
The largest commercial airport is Warsaw’s Frederic Chopin Airport (named after the famous Polish composer).
Other international airports servicing Poland include from the UK include:
- Lech Wałęsa Airport, Gdansk
- Katowice International Airport
- John Paul II International Airport, Krakow
- Szczecin-Goleniów "Solidarność" Airport
- Szczytno-Szymany International Airport
- Copernicus Airport, Wrocław
- Lublinek Airport, Łódź
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| Railways: |
total: 23,072 km
broad gauge: 629 km 1.524-m gauge
standard gauge: 22,443 km 1.435-m gauge (20,555 km operational; 11,910 km electrified) (2005) |
| Roadways: |
total: 423,997 km
paved: 295,356 km (including 405 km of expressways)
unpaved: 128,641 km (2004) |
| Ports and terminals: |
Gdansk, Gdynia, Swinoujscie, Szczecin |
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