Poland
The Country of the Week
Quick Facts
- Capital
- Warsaw
- Population
- 38,746,310 (2024 est.)
- Area
- 312,685 sq km
- Government
- parliamentary republic
- Religions
- Roman Catholic 70.7%, refused to answer 20.9%, no religion 6.9%; less than 1 percent: Orthodox, Jehovah Witness, Evangelic of Augsburg, Greek Catholic, Pentecostal, other Protestant, not stated, old Catholic Mariavite Church, other Christians, Islam, Buddhist, Polish Catholic Church, other, Baptist Union of Poland, Pagan, Seventh Day Adventist, Hindu, other Catholic (2021 est.)
- Ethnic Groups
- Polish 96.9%, Silesian 1.1%, German 0.2%, Ukrainian 0.1%, other and unspecified 1.7% (2011 est.)
- Currency
- zlotych (PLN)
- Life Expectancy
- 76.7 years (2024 est.)
- Internet Domain
- .pl
- 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
- Natural Resources
- coal, sulfur, copper, natural gas, silver, lead, salt, amber, arable land
- Major Exports
- vehicle parts/accessories, electric batteries, plastic products, cars, seats (2023)
Source: CIA World Factbook (public domain)
Overview
Poland's history as a state began near the middle of the 10th century. By the mid-16th century, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth ruled a vast tract of land in Central and Eastern Europe.