*Poland, Geography

Location:
  Central Europe, between Germany and Belarus
Map references:
  Asia, Ethnic Groups in Eastern Europe, Europe, Standard Time Zones of the
  World
Area:
 total area:
  312,680 km2
 land area:
  304,510 km2
 comparative area:
  slightly smaller than New Mexico
Land boundaries:
  total 3,114 km, Belarus 605 km, Czech Republic 658 km, Germany 456 km,
  Lithuania 91 km, Russia (Kaliningrad Oblast) 432 km, Slovakia 444 km,
  Ukraine 428 km
Coastline:
  491 km
Maritime claims:
 exclusive economic zone:
  200 nm
 territorial sea:
  12 nm
International disputes:
  none
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
Land use:
 arable land:
  46%
 permanent crops:
  1%
 meadows and pastures:
  13%
 forest and woodland:
  28%
 other:
  12%
Irrigated land:
  1,000 km2 (1989 est.)
Environment:
  plain crossed by a few north flowing, meandering streams; severe air and
  water pollution in south
Note:
  historically, an area of conflict because of flat terrain and the lack of
  natural barriers on the North European Plain

*Poland, People

Population:
  38,519,486 (July 1993 est.)
Population growth rate:
  0.35% (1993 est.)
Birth rate:
  13.59 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Death rate:
  9.59 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Net migration rate:
  -0.52 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
  13.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
 total population:
  72.2 years
 male:
  68.14 years
 female:
  76.51 years (1993 est.)
Total fertility rate:
  1.97 children born/woman (1993 est.)
Nationality:
 noun:
  Pole(s)
 adjective:
  Polish
Ethnic divisions:
  Polish 97.6%, German 1.3%, Ukrainian 0.6%, Belarusian 0.5% (1990 est.)
Religions:
  Roman Catholic 95% (about 75% practicing), Eastern Orthodox, Protestant, and
  other 5%
Languages:
  Polish
Literacy:
  age 15 and over can read and write (1978)
 total population:
  98%
 male:
  99%
 female:
  98%
Labor force:
  15.609 million
 by occupation:
  industry and construction 34.4%, agriculture 27.3%, trade, transport, and
  communications 16.1%, government and other 22.2% (1991)

*Poland, Government

Names:
 conventional long form:
  Republic of Poland
 conventional short form:
  Poland
 local long form:
  Rzeczpospolita Polska
 local short form:
  Polska
Digraph:
  PL
Type:
  democratic state
Capital:
  Warsaw
Administrative divisions:
  49 provinces (wojewodztwa, singular - wojewodztwo); Biala Podlaska,
  Bialystok, Bielsko Biala, Bydgoszcz, Chelm, Ciechanow, Czestochowa, Elblag,
  Gdansk, Gorzow, Jelenia Gora, Kalisz, Katowice, Kielce, Konin, Koszalin,
  Krakow, Krosno, Legnica, Leszno, Lodz, Lomza, Lublin, Nowy Sacz, Olsztyn,
  Opole, Ostroleka, Pila, Piotrkow, Plock, Poznan, Przemysl, Radom, Rzeszow,
  Siedlce, Sieradz, Skierniewice, Slupsk, Suwalki, Szczecin, Tarnobrzeg,
  Tarnow, Torun, Walbrzych, Warszawa, Wloclawek, Wroclaw, Zamosc, Zielona Gora
Independence:
  11 November 1918 (independent republic proclaimed)
Constitution:
  interim "small constitution" came into effect in December 1992 replacing the
  Communist-imposed Constitution of 22 July 1952; new democratic Constitution
  being drafted
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; has
  not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday:
  Constitution Day, 3 May (1791)
Political parties and leaders:
 post-Solidarity parties:
  Democratic Union (UD), Tadeusz MAZOWIECKI; Christian-National Union (ZCHN),
  Wieslaw CHRZANOWSKI; Centrum (PC), Jaroslaw KACZYNSKI; Liberal-Democratic
  Congress, Donald TUSK; Peasant Alliance (PL), Gabriel JANOWSKI; Solidarity
  Trade Union (NSZZ), Marian KRZAKLEWSKI; Union of Labor (UP), Ryszard BUGAJ;
  Christian-Democratic Party (PCHD), Pawel LACZKOWSKI; Conservative Party,
  Alexander HALL
 non-Communist, non-Solidarity:
  Confederation for an Independent Poland (KPN), Leszek MOCZULSKI; Polish
  Economic Program (PPG), Janusz REWINSKI; Christian Democrats (CHD), Andrzej
  OWSINSKI; German Minority (MN), Henryk KROL; Union of Real Politics (UPR),
  Janusz KORWIN-MIKKE; Democratic Party (SD), Antoni MACKIEWICZ; Party X,
  Stanislaw Tyminski
 Communist origin or linked:
  Social Democracy (SDRP, party of Poland), Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz; Polish
  Peasants' Party (PSL), Waldemar PAWLAK
Other political or pressure groups:
  powerful Roman Catholic Church; Solidarity (trade union); All Poland Trade
  Union Alliance (OPZZ), populist program
Suffrage:
  18 years of age; universal

*Poland, Government

Elections:
 president:
  first round held 25 November 1990, second round held 9 December 1990 (next
  to be held NA November 1995); results - second round Lech WALESA 74.7%,
  Stanislaw TYMINSKI 25.3%
 Senat:
  last held 27 October 1991 (next to be held no later than NA October 1995);
  seats - (100 total)
 post-Solidarity bloc:
  UD 21, NSZZ 11, ZCHN 9, PC 9, Liberal-Democratic Congress 6, PL 7, PCHD 3,
  other local candidates 11;
 non-Communist, non-Solidarity:
  KPN 4, CHD 1, MN 1, local candidates 5
 Communist origin or linked:
  PSL 8, SLD 4
 Sejm:
  last held 27 October 1991 (next to be held no later than NA October 1995);
  seats - (460 total)
 post-Solidarity bloc:
  UD 62, ZCHN 49, PC 44, Liberal-Democratic Congress 37, PL 28, NSZZ 27, SP 4,
  PCHD 4, RDS 1, Krackow Coalition in Solidarity with the President 1, Piast
  Agreement 1, Bydgoszcz Peasant List 1, Solidarity 80 1
 non-Communist, non-Solidarity:
  KPN 46, PPPP 16, MN 7, CHD 5, Western Union 4, UPR 3, Autonomous Silesia 2,
  SD 1, Orthodox Election Committee 1, Committee of Women Against Hardships 1,
  Podhale Union 1, Wielkopolska Group 1, Wielkopolska and Lubuski Inhabitants
  1, Party X 3
 Communist origin or linked:
  SLD 60, PSL 48
Executive branch:
  president, prime minister, Council of Ministers (cabinet)
Legislative branch:
  bicameral National Assembly (Zgromadzenie Narodowe) consists of an upper
  house or Senate (Senat) and a lower house or Diet (Sejm)
Judicial branch:
  Supreme Court
Leaders:
 Chief of State:
  President Lech WALESA (since 22 December 1990)
 Head of Government:
  Prime Minister Hanna SUCHOCKA (since 10 July 1992)
Member of:
  BIS, CBSS, CCC, CE, CEI, CERN, CSCE, EBRD, ECE, FAO, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO,
  ICFTU, IDA, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer),
  ISO, ITU, LORCS, MINURSO, NACC, NAM (guest), NSG, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
  UNDOF, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNPROFOR, UNTAC, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
  WTO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in US:
 chief of mission:
  Ambassador Kazimierz DZIEWANOWSKI
 chancery:
  2640 16th Street NW, Washington DC 20009
 telephone:
  (202) 234-3800 through 3802
 FAX:
  (202) 328-6271
 consulates general:
  Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York

*Poland, Government

US diplomatic representation:
 chief of mission:
  Ambassador Thomas W. SIMONS, Jr.  embassy:
  Aleje Ujazdowskie 29/31, Warsaw
 mailing address:
  American Embassy Warsaw, Box 5010, Unit 25402, or APO AE 09213-5010
 telephone:
  [48] (2) 628-3041
 FAX:
  [48] (2) 628-8298
 consulates general:
  Krakow, Poznan
Flag:
  two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red; similar to the flags of
  Indonesia and Monaco which are red (top) and white

*Poland, Economy

Overview:
  Poland is undergoing a difficult transition from a Soviet-style economy -
  with state ownership and control of productive assets - to a market economy.
  On January 1, 1990, the new Solidarity-led government implemented shock
  therapy by slashing subsidies, decontrolling prices, tightening the money
  supply, stabilizing the foreign exchange rate, lowering import barriers, and
  restraining state sector wages. As a result, consumer goods shortages and
  lines disappeared, and inflation fell from 640% in 1989 to 44% in 1992.
  Western governments, which hold two-thirds of Poland's $48 billion external
  debt, pledged in 1991 to forgive half of Poland's official debt by 1994. The
  private sector accounted for 29% of industrial production and nearly half of
  nonagricultural output in 1992. Production fell in state enterprises,
  however, and the unemployment rate climbed steadily from virtually nothing
  in 1989 to 13.6% in December 1992. Poland fell out of compliance with its
  IMF program by mid-1991, and talks with commercial creditors stalled. The
  increase in unemployment and the decline in living standards led to strikes
  in the coal, auto, copper, and railway sectors in 1992. Large state
  enterprises in the coal, steel, and defense sectors plan to halve employment
  over the next decade, and the government expects unemployment to reach 3
  million (16%) in 1993. A shortfall in tax revenues caused the budget deficit
  to reach 6% of GDP in 1992, but industrial production began a slow, uneven
  upturn. In 1993, the government will struggle to win legislative approval
  for faster privatization and to keep the budget deficit within IMF-approved
  limits.
National product:
  GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $167.6 billion (1992 est.)
National product real growth rate:
  2% (1992 est.)
National product per capita:
  $4,400 (1992 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
  44% (1992)
Unemployment rate:
  13.6% (December 1992)
Budget:
  revenues $17.5 billion; expenditures $22.0 billion, including capital
  expenditures of $1.5 billion (1992 est.)
Exports:   $12.8 billion (f.o.b., 1992 est.)
 commodities:
  machinery 22%, metals 16%, chemicals 12%, fuels and power 11%, food 10%
  (1991)
 partners:
  Germany 28.0%, former USSR 11.7%, UK 8.8%, Switzerland 5.5% (1991)
Imports:
  $12.9 billion (f.o.b., 1992 est.)
 commodities:
  machinery 38%, fuels and power 20%, chemicals 13%, food 10%, light industry
  6% (1991)
 partners:
  Germany 17.4%, former USSR 25.6%, Italy 5.3%, Austria 5.2% (1991)
External debt:
  $48.5 billion (January 1992); note - Poland's Western government creditors
  promised in 1991 to forgive 30% of Warsaw's official debt - currently $33
  billion - immediately and to forgive another 20% in 1994, if Poland adheres
  to its IMF program
Industrial production:
  growth rate 3.5% (1992)

*Poland, Economy

Electricity:
  31,530,000 kW capacity; 137,000 million kWh produced, 3,570 kWh per capita
  (1992)
Industries:
  machine building, iron and steel, extractive industries, chemicals,
  shipbuilding, food processing, glass, beverages, textiles
Agriculture:
  accounts for 15% of GDP and 27% of labor force; 75% of output from private
  farms, 25% from state farms; productivity remains low by European standards;
  leading European producer of rye, rapeseed, and potatoes; wide variety of
  other crops and livestock; major exporter of pork products; normally
  self-sufficient in food
Illicit drugs:
  illicit producers of opium for domestic consumption and amphetamines for the
  international market; emerging as a transshipment point for illicit drugs to
  Western Europe
Economic aid:
  donor - bilateral aid to non-Communist less developed countries, $2.2
  billion (1954-89); the G-24 has pledged $8 billion in grants and credit
  guarantees to Poland
Currency:
  1 zloty (Zl) = 100 groszy
Exchange rates:
  zlotych (Zl) per US$1 - 15,879 (January 1993), 13,626 (1992), 10,576 (1991),
  9,500 (1990), 1,439.18 (1989), 430.55 (1988)
Fiscal year:
  calendar year

*Poland, Communications

Railroads:
  26,250 km total; 23,857 km 1.435-meter gauge, 397 km 1.520-meter gauge,
  1,996 km narrow gauge; 8,987 km double track; 11,510 km electrified;
  government owned (1991)
Highways:
  360,629 km total (excluding farm, factory and forest roads); 220 km limited
  access expressways, 45,257 km main highways, 128,775 km regional roads,
  186,377 urban or village roads (local traffic); 220,000 km are paved
  (including all main and regional highways) (1988)
Inland waterways:
  3,997 km navigable rivers and canals (1991)
Pipelines:
  natural gas 4,600 km, crude oil 1,986 km, petroleum products 360 km (1992)
Ports:
  Gdansk, Gdynia, Szczecin, Swinoujscie; principal inland ports are Gliwice on
  Kana Gliwice, Wrocaw on the Oder, and Warsaw on the Vistula
Merchant marine:
  209 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,747,631 GRT/3,992,053 DWT; includes
  5 short-sea passenger, 76 cargo, 1 refrigerated cargo, 11 roll-on/roll-off
  cargo, 9 container, 1 oil tanker, 4 chemical tanker, 101 bulk, 1 passenger;
  Poland owns 1 ship of 6,333 DWT operating under Liberian registry
Airports:
 total:
  163
 usable:
  163
 with permanent-surface runways:
  100
 with runway over 3,659 m:
  0
 with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
  51
 with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
  95
Telecommunications:
  severely underdeveloped and outmoded system; cable, open wire and microwave;
  phone density is 10.5 phones per 100 residents (October 1990); 3.6 million
  telephone subscribers; exchanges are 86% automatic (1991); broadcast
  stations - 27 AM, 27 FM, 40 (5 Soviet repeaters) TV; 9.6 million TVs; 1
  satellite earth station using INTELSAT, EUTELSAT, INMARSAT and Intersputnik

*Poland, Defense Forces

Branches:
  Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Force
Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49 9,914,128; fit for military service 7,774,499; reach
  military age (19) annually 304,956 (1993 est.)
Defense expenditures:
  30.8 trillion zlotych, 1.8% of GNP (1993 est.); note - conversion of defense
  expenditures into US dollars using the current exchange rate could produce
  misleading results