BASIC INFORMATION

Full Country Name:�The Republic of Poland


Country Profile:

Area: 312,685 sq. km (120,728 sq. mi)
Population: 38.6m
Capital City: Warsaw (population: 1,932,500)
People: Polish 97.6%, German 1.3%, Ukrainian 0.6%, Byelorussian 0.5%
Languages: Polish
Religion(s): Roman Catholic (95%), Eastern Orthodox, Protestant, and Other (1.5%)
Currency: 1 zloty (PLN) = 100 groszys
Major political parties: Alliance of the Democratic Left (SLD), Union of Labour (UP), Civic Platform (PO), Samoobronna, Law & Justice (PiS), Polish Peasant Party (PSL), League of Polish Family (LPR), Freedom Union (UW), Social Democracy Poland (SdPL)
Government: Bicameral parliamentary democracy
President: Lech Kaczynski
Prime Minister: Jaroslaw Kaczynski
Foreign Minister: Anna Fotyga
Membership of international groupings/ organisations: Australia Group, Bank for International Settlements (BIS), Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) (observer), Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS), CCC, Council of Europe (CE), Central European Initiative (CEI), European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC), European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), European Union (EU), Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), International Finance Corporation (IFC), International Hydrographic Organization (IHO), International Labour Organisation (ILO), International Monetary Fund (IMF), International Maritime Organisation (IMO), Interpol, Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), Non Aligned Movement (NAM) (guest), North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Organisation for Co-operation and Security in Europe (OSCE), Partnership for Peace (PfP), United Nations (UN), WCL, Western European Union (WEU) (associate), WFTU, World Health Organisation (WHO), World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), World Meteorological Organization (WMO), World Trade Organization (WTO), World Tourism Organization (WtoO), WtrO


GENERAL

Poland became the first of the central European countries to overthrow communist rule in 1989. It is the most populous state in central Europe. In 1989 it was on the verge of economic collapse, weighed down by massive foreign debt. Today, it is one of the fastest growing economies in Europe and a significant trading partner for the . On 13 December 2002 completed negotiations to join the European Union. It signed an Accession Treaty in April 2003 and, following the public support shown in the referendum held on 8 June 2003, became a full member of the European Union on 1 May 2004. It became a member of NATO on 12 March 1999.

GEOGRAPHY

Covering an area of 312,685 sq km, is the largest country in central Europe. It is bordered by , the , , , , , the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, and to the north the Baltic Sea. is a mainly flat country: most lies at an altitude of less than 200 metres above sea level. However, the high Tatra and Carpathian mountain ranges in the south rise to a peak of 2,499 metres at Rysy on the Slovakian border. The fertile country – 47% of which is arable land – is traversed by large and slow moving rivers such as the Vistula and the Bug.

has a temperate climate with seasonal variations between -15C in winter and 35C in the summer. Extremes of temperature are more pronounced in the mountains of the south and in the lake area in the north.

The population of is approximately 38.6m. The capital Warsaw (population 1,932,500) is the financial and commercial centre. Other major cities in are Lodz (786,530), Krakow (740,740), Wroclaw (634,050), Poznan (571,990) Gdansk, Bialystok, Poznan and Katowice (population data from 2001).

Natural resources include coal, sulphur, copper, natural gas, silver, amber, lead, salt and arable land.

HISTORY

Recent History
After World War I regained its independence after over a hundred years of partition by , and . The democratic system established proved unsustainable and, after a coup in 1926, became increasingly authoritarian. The invasion of by Nazi Germany in September 1939 precipitated the outbreak of the Second World War. Two weeks after the Nazi invasion, Soviet forces attacked and invaded from the east and set up their own occupation according to the Molotov-Ribbentrop Non-Aggression Pact. The Nazis extended their brutal occupation further east after the outbreak of the Russo-German War in 1941. During the War a Government-in-Exile was formed in London, and an underground army and administration loyal to the exiled government functioned in occupied . 600,000 Poles fought on the Allied side under British or Soviet Command. Polish cryptographers were the first to break the Enigma codes facilitating an early reading of German codes.

About 6 million Poles lost their lives during the war, including the vast majority of the country’s large Jewish population. Warsaw was levelled to the ground. The country was liberated from Nazism by the Red Army, but then in turn Soviet political and security forces succeeded in imposing their brand of totalitarianism. became a communist state and member of the Warsaw Pact. Major revolts were staged in 1956, 1968, 1976 and 1980. It was only in 1989, after round-table talks between the communist authorities and the Solidarity opposition movement, that partially free elections took place. The collapse of communism quickly followed. Since 1990 has been a democratic state and has built a free-market economy.

A chronology of key events
1918 - Independent Polish state created after the end of World War I.

1939 - (September) Nazi Germany and Soviet Union invade Poland.

1943 - Warsaw ghetto uprising.

1944 - Warsaw uprising.

1945 - Soviet forces capture Warsaw in January.

1956 - (June) Poznan rising. Stalinism abandoned in .

1957 - (March) Student demonstrations suppressed.

1978 - Karol Wojtyla, Cardinal of Krakow, elected Pope.

1979 - The Pope visits , giving a huge boost to opponents of communism.

1980 - Wave of strikes result in agreements allowing for the creation of the Solidarity Trade Union.

1981 - Martial law imposed.

1983 - Martial law lifted.

1989 - Round-table talks between Solidarity, the Communists and the Church. Partially democratic elections herald the collapse of the communist system

1990 - Solidarity leader Lech Walesa elected President of Poland.

1992 - Soviet troops start to leave.

1998 - The EU and open talks on membership.

1999 - joins Nato.

2002 - EU summit in Copenhagen formally invites to join in 2004.

2003 - Poles vote in referendum in favour of joining EU.

2004 – (1 May) joins the EU.

Longer Historical Perspective

adopted Christianity in 966. reached the zenith of its power under the Jagiellonian dynasty after forming a union with in 1386. At one stage the Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth stretched from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea. Its power declined during the 16th and 17th centuries, ending with the partition of by , , and at the end of the 18th century.