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Official Name: Known officially as the Republic of Poland, or commonly as Poland.
Capital city: Warsaw, the capital and largest city of Poland is located on the Vistula River roughly 370km from both the Baltic Sea coast and the Carpathian Mountains.
Location: Poland shares borders to the East with the Russian Federation, Belarus, Ukraine and Lithuania, to the South with the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic, to the West with Germany and to the North lies the Baltic Sea.
Size: The total land area of Poland is 312,685 square kilometers and this ranks 76th globally. The size is roughly slightly smaller than New Mexico in the USA.
Climate: Climate in Poland is temperate. Summers are mild with frequent showers and thunderstorms. Winters are cold and wet.
Population: Poland has an estimated population of 38.5 million people and ranks 35th globally. There is a negative population growth rate of -0.047%. Russia, Germany, Italy and The Czech Republic also have a negative population growth rate of -0.47%, -0.053%, -0.047% and -0.094% respectively.
Life expectancy at birth: The average life expectancy at birth for citizens of Poland is 75.63 years, ranking at 75th globally. Females have a longer average life span at 79.85 years, while Males average at 71.65 years from birth.
Prevalence of HIV/AIDS: The prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Poland is about 0.1%, placing 127th globally. This means that around 20,000 people are living with the disease in the country.
Major Illnesses: The risk of major infectious disease in Poland is intermediate. Food or waterborne diseases, such as bacterial diarrhea, have been reported. Other major disease includes Vectorborne disease like tickborne encephalitis. There are also confirmed cases of Swine Flu (H1N1) in Poland.
Ethnic Groups: Poland is mainly comprised of Polish ethnics at 96.7% of the population. Other ethnic groups include German at 0.4%, Belarusian at 0.1%, Ukrainian at 0.1%, other and unspecified at 2.7%.
Languages: Over 97.8% of the population speaks Polish with the remaining 2.2% of the population speak a range of other languages.
Religion: The major religion in Poland is Roman Catholic accounting for 89.8% of the population and other religions include Eastern Orthodox at 1.3%, Protestant at 0.3%, other at 0.3% and unspecified at 8.3%.
Government: The Government of Poland is organised as a parliamentary Democratic Republic. The president, who is the Head of State, is elected for a five-year term and is eligible for a second term. The bicameral National Assembly consists of a 460-seat Sejm (lower house) and a 100-seat Senate (upper house). Members of both bodies are elected for four-year terms. The prime minister, who is the Head of Government, is appointed by the president, as is the cabinet, with the approval of the Sejm.
Head of State: The Head of State in Poland is President Lech Kaczynski who has the power to veto legislation passed by parliament, but otherwise largely a ceremonial role. The President is elected for a 5-year term.
Head of Government: The Head of Government in Poland is the Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who is appointed by the president.
Military: The Federal Armed Forces of Poland consists of three branches namely Land Forces, Navy, Air and Air Defense Aviation Forces and Special Forces. The suitable age for male voluntary or compulsory military service is 18-28 years of age with a service obligation of 9 months.
Economy: Poland is rich in natural and mineral resources particularly coal, it is the fifth largest country in the world in coal deposits. Other mineral resources include copper, zinc, silver and lead. Despite the fact that about 25% of the labor force is employed in agriculture, this sector is not well developed in Poland. It contains structural problems like surplus labor, inefficient small farms and lack of investment. Other industries that contribute to the economy of Poland include food and beverage processing, shipbuilding and manufacture of machinery, iron and steel products, chemicals, glass, and textiles. The contribution of agriculture to the GDP represents only 3%, other sources of Poland's GDP include services at 66% and industry at 31%.
GDP: Poland has a purchasing power parity of US$ 667.9 billion, ranking at 22nd in the world. The country has a growth rate of about 4.8%, which ranks 88th globally.
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