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Geography

Location: Central Europe, east of Germany

Geographic coordinates: 52 00 N, 20 00 E

Map references: Europe

Area:
total: 312,685 sq km
land: 304,465 sq km
water: 8,220 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly smaller than New Mexico
Land boundaries:
total: 2,888 km
border countries: Belarus 605 km, Czech Republic 658 km, Germany 456 km, Lithuania 91 km, Russia (Kaliningrad Oblast) 206 km, Slovakia 444 km, Ukraine 428 km

Coastline: 491 km

Maritime claims:
exclusive economic zone: defined by international treaties
territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: temperate with cold, cloudy, moderately severe winters with frequent precipitation; mild summers with frequent showers and thundershowers

Terrain: mostly flat plain; mountains along southern border

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Raczki Elblaskie -2 m
highest point: Rysy 2,499 m
Natural resources: coal, sulfur, copper, natural gas, silver, lead, salt, arable land

Land use:
arable land: 47%
permanent crops: 1%
permanent pastures: 13%
forests and woodland: 29%
other: 10% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 1,000 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: NA

Environment - current issues: situation has improved since 1989 due to decline in heavy industry and increased environmental concern by postcommunist governments; air pollution nonetheless remains serious because of sulfur 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

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol

Geography - note: historically, an area of conflict because of flat terrain and the lack of natural barriers on the North European Plain

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People

Population: 38,646,023 (July 2000 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 19% (male 3,767,454; female 3,587,822)
15-64 years: 69% (male 13,201,825; female 13,352,950)
65 years and over: 12% (male 1,809,839; female 2,926,133) (2000 est.)

Population growth rate: -0.04% (2000 est.)

Birth rate: 10.13 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Death rate: 9.99 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.49 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.62 male(s)/female
total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2000 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 9.61 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 73.19 years
male: 69.01 years
female: 77.6 years (2000 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.38 children born/woman (2000 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Pole(s)
adjective: Polish

Ethnic groups: Polish 97.6%, German 1.3%, Ukrainian 0.6%, Byelorussian 0.5% (1990 est.)

Religions: Roman Catholic 95% (about 75% practicing), Eastern Orthodox, Protestant, and other 5%

Languages: Polish

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99%
male: 99%
female: 98% (1978 est.)

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Communications

Telephones - main lines in use: 8.07 million (1998)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 1.58 million (1998)

Telephone system: underdeveloped and outmoded system; government aims to have 10 million telephones in service by 2000; the process of partial privatization of the state-owned telephone monopoly has begun
domestic: cable, open wire, and microwave radio relay; 3 cellular networks; local exchanges 56.6% digital
international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat, NA Eutelsat, 2 Inmarsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions), and 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 14, FM 777, shortwave 1 (1998)

Radios: 20.2 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations: 150 (1997)

Televisions: 13.05 million (1997)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 161 (1999)

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Transportation

Railways:
total: 23,420 km
broad gauge: 646 km 1.524-m gauge
standard gauge: 21,639 km 1.435-m gauge (11,626 km electrified; 8,978 km double track)
narrow gauge: 1,135 km various gauges including 1.000-m, 0.785-m, 0.750-m, and 0.600-m (1998)

Highways:
total: 381,046 km
paved: 249,966 km (including 268 km of expressways)
unpaved: 131,080 km (1998 est.)

Waterways: 3,812 km navigable rivers and canals (1996)

Pipelines: crude oil and petroleum products 2,280 km; natural gas 17,000 km (1996)
Ports and harbors: Gdansk, Gdynia, Gliwice, Kolobrzeg, Szczecin, Swinoujscie, Ustka, Warsaw, Wroclaw

Merchant marine:
total: 57 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,120,165 GRT/1,799,569 DWT
ships by type: bulk 50, cargo 2, chemical tanker 2, roll-on/roll-off 1, short-sea passenger 2 (1999 est.)

Airports: 123 (1999 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 85
over 3,047 m: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 30
1,524 to 2,437 m: 42
914 to 1,523 m: 7
under 914 m: 3 (1999 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 38
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4
914 to 1,523 m: 13
under 914 m: 20 (1999 est.)

Heliports: 3 (1999 est.)