National emblem: a white eagle in a gold crown against a red background.
Flag: White and red.

System: republic.

Capital city: Warsaw (population: over 2.2 million)
Other large cities: Kraków, Pozna?, Wroc?aw, Gda?sk, Katowice, ?ód?.

Administrative division: 16 provinces, divided into smaller units – counties.

Location: Poland lies in Central Europe (52.00N, 20.00S). The lines leading from Nordkyn in Norway in the north to Matapan in Greece in the south, and from Cabo da Roca in Portugal in the west to the central Urals in the east, intersect close to Warsaw, marking the geometrical centre of the continent.

Area: 322,500 square km, of which 312,600 square km is land, 1,200 square km is inland waters, and 8,700 square km is territorial waters. This places Poland ninth in Europe and 63rd in the world.

Borders: 2,788 km in total. In the west, where the border is formed by the Odra and Nysa ?u?ycka rivers, Poland borders on Germany (456 km). The northern border is formed by the Baltic Sea coast (491 km). Another 206 km in the north is Poland’s border with Russia. The north-eastern corner of Poland is its border with Lithuania (91 km). In the east, Poland borders on Belarus (407 km) and Ukraine (526 km). The southern border is delineated by the Carpathian Mountains, along which Poland borders on Slovakia (444 km) and the Czech Republic (658 km).

Territorial waters: a strip 12 nautical miles from the shore.

Longest rivers: Wis?a (Vistula) – 1,092 km, Odra (Oder) – 854 km.

Lakes: 9,300, of which approx. 3,000 are in Warmia and Mazuria.

Landscape: Predominantly flatlands. In the south, gently sloping uplands and hills, with mountains on the border: the Sudetes and Carpathians. The highest part of the Carpathians is the Tatra Mountains, with some characteristic features of an Alpine landscape. Highest peak: Rysy – 2,499 m. Lowest point – minus 2, in Raczki Elbl?skie.

Natural resources: coal, lignite, sulphur, copper, silver, lead, salt, amber.

Crops: rye, wheat and other cereals, potatoes, sugar beets, vegetables.

Animal breeding: meat and milk cattle, pigs.

The economy: Poland has been undergoing economic reform since 1989. The law has been reformed, and most state-run enterprises have been privatised; most regulations are compatible with European standards. On 1 May 2004, Poland joined the European Union.
Gross Domestic Product: $427.1 billion.
GDP growth: 3.7%
Inflation: 0.7%

Population: 38,626,349. The population has been decreasing for a few years. Similarly to the rest of Europe, Polish society is ageing rather rapidly. The main cause is the low birth rate. The most popular family models are 2+2 and 2+1.
Average age: 36.2 years
Population growth: 0.02%
Number of births: 10.64/1,000 (2004)
Life expectancy: 74.16 (F 78.52, M 70.04)
Number of people of productive age: 16.92 million
62% of the population lives in cities.
Literacy: 99.8%
Infant mortality: 8.73/1,000
Number of HIV-positive people: 14,000 (2003)

Ethnic groups: Poles 96.7%, Germans 0.4%, Ukrainians 0.1%, Belarusians 0.1%, other 2.7%.

The Polish diaspora is estimated to number 12 million, including 5.6 million people of Polish descent in the United States, 2.5 million in the former Soviet Union, 1 million in France, 800,000 in Germany, 800,000 in Canada, 200,000 in Brazil, 150,000 in Australia, 140,000 in Great Britain. The largest centres are Chicago, Toronto and New York City.

Religion: Roman Catholic – 95% (practising Catholics 75%), Orthodox, Protestant – 5%