Poland

Because of You…

The youth of Poland are being reached with the Gospel primarily through Rock Solid Clubs, one to one programs, school assemblies, Manifest rallies, excursions, camps and the internet.

Prayer Needs

Adequate resources for staff and events
Wisdom in reaching young people
Spiritual development of staff and volunteers
Development of a new ministry for high school students
Development of a SLOT Art Festival, follow-up and discipleship program
God’s provision of a new director, new board and new leadership team
Expansion and spreading of the Manifest rallies and other programs nationally

About Poland

Introduction

Poland is an ancient nation that was conceived near the middle of the 10th century. Its golden age occurred in the 16th century. During the following century, the strengthening of the gentry and internal disorders weakened the nation. In a series of agreements between 1772 and 1795, Russia, Prussia, and Austria partitioned Poland amongst themselves. Poland regained its independence in 1918 only to be overrun by Germany and the Soviet Union in World War II. It became a Soviet satellite state following the war, but its government was comparatively tolerant and progressive. Labor turmoil in 1980 led to the formation of the independent trade union "Solidarity" that over time became a political force and by 1990 had swept parliamentary elections and the presidency. A "shock therapy" program during the early 1990s enabled the country to transform its economy into one of the most robust in Central Europe, but Poland still faces the lingering challenges of high unemployment, underdeveloped and dilapidated infrastructure, and a poor rural underclass. Solidarity suffered a major defeat in the 2001 parliamentary elections when it failed to elect a single deputy to the lower house of Parliament, and the new leaders of the Solidarity Trade Union subsequently pledged to reduce the Trade Union's political role. Poland joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004. With its transformation to a democratic, market-oriented country largely completed, Poland is an increasingly active member of Euro-Atlantic organizations.

Geography

Location

Location: Central Europe, east of Germany

Geographic Coordinates: 52 00 N, 20 00 E

Area

Total Area: 312,685 sq km Rank: 69

Land Area: 304,255 sq km

Water Area: 8,430 sq km

Comparison: slightly smaller than New Mexico

Land Boundaries: 3,047 km

Bordering Countries: Belarus 605 km, Czech Republic 615 km, Germany 456 km, Lithuania 91 km, Russia (Kaliningrad Oblast) 432 km, Slovakia 420 km, Ukraine 428 km

Coastline: 440 km

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

Elevations

Lowest Point: near Raczki Elblaskie -2 m

Highest Point: Rysy 2,499 m

Natural Resources

coal, sulfur, copper, natural gas, silver, lead, salt, amber, arable land

Land Use

Arable land: 40.25%

Permanent Crops: 1%

Other: 58.75% (2005)

Irrigated Land: 1,000 sq km (2003)

Renewable Water Resources: 63.1 cu km (2005)

Total Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural): 11.73 cu km/yr (13%/79%/8%)

Freshwater Withdrawal Per Capita: 304 cu m/yr (2002)

Environment

Natural Hazards: flooding

Environmental Issues: situation has improved since 1989 due to decline in heavy industry and increased environmental concern by post-Communist 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; pollution levels should continue to decrease as industrial establishments bring their facilities up to EU code, but at substantial cost to business and the government

Environmental Agreements: Party to: Air Pollution, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Kyoto Protocol, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

Geography Notes

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

People

Population: 38,482,919 (July 2010 est.) Rank: 34

Age Structure

0-14 years: 15% (male 2,964,995/female 2,802,278)

15-64 years: 71.6% (male 13,713,078/female 13,845,251)

65 years and over: 13.4% (male 1,966,406/female 3,190,911) (2010 est.)

Median Age: 36.5 years

Population Growth

Growth Rate: -0.047% (2010 est.) Rank: 208

Birth Rate: 10.04 births/1,000 population (2010 est.) Rank: 195

Death Rate: 10.05 deaths/1,000 population (July 2010 est.) Rank: 62

Net Migration Rate: -0.47 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2010 est.) Rank: 106

Urbanization

Urban Population: 61% of total population (2008)

Rate of Urbanization: -0.3% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)

Life and Death

Infant Mortality Rate: 6.8 deaths/1,000 live births Rank: 173

Life Expectancy at Birth: 75.63 years Rank: 75

Fertility Rate: 1.29 children born/woman (2010 est.) Rank: 209

Health and Disease

HIV/AIDS - Adult Prevalence Rate: 0.1%; note - no country specific models provided (2007 est.) Rank: 128

People living with HIV/AIDS: 20,000 (2007 est.) Rank: 80

HIV/AIDS Deaths: fewer than 200 (2007 est.) Rank: 119

Degree of Risk for Major Infectious Diseases: intermediate

Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea

Vectorborne disease: tickborne encephalitis

note: highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been identified in this country; it poses a negligible risk with extremely rare cases possible among US citizens who have close contact with birds (2009)

Nationality and Culture

Noun: Pole(s)

Adjective: Polish

Ethnic Groups: Polish 96.7%, German 0.4%, Belarusian 0.1%, Ukrainian 0.1%, other and unspecified 2.7% (2002 census)

Religion: Roman Catholic 89.8% (about 75% practicing), Eastern Orthodox 1.3%, Protestant 0.3%, other 0.3%, unspecified 8.3% (2002)

Languages: Polish 97.8%, other and unspecified 2.2% (2002 census)

Education

Literacy (Meaning, age 15 and over can read and write): 99.8% Male: 99.8% Female: 99.7% (2003 est.)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education): 15 years Male: 15 years Female: 16 years (2006)

Education expenditures: 5.5% of GDP (2005) Rank: 49

Government

Country Name

Conventional Long Form: Republic of Poland

Conventional Short Form: Poland

Local Long Form: Rzeczpospolita Polska

Local Short Form: Polska

Government Type: republic

Capital: Warsaw Geographic Coordinates: 52 15 N, 21 00 E

Administrative divisions

16 provinces (wojewodztwa, singular - wojewodztwo); Dolnoslaskie (Lower Silesia), Kujawsko-Pomorskie (Kuyavia-Pomerania), Lodzkie, Lubelskie (Lublin), Lubuskie (Lubusz), Malopolskie (Lesser Poland), Mazowieckie (Masovia), Opolskie, Podkarpackie (Subcarpathia), Podlaskie, Pomorskie (Pomerania), Slaskie (Silesia), Swietokrzyskie, Warminsko-Mazurskie (Warmia-Masuria), Wielkopolskie (Greater Poland), Zachodniopomorskie (West Pomerania)

Independence: 11 November 1918 (republic proclaimed)

National holiday: Constitution Day, 3 May (1791)

Constitution: adopted by the National Assembly 2 April 1997; passed by national referendum 25 May 1997; effective 17 October 1997

Legal system: based on a 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, but rulings of the Constitutional Tribunal are final; court decisions can be appealed to the European Court of Justice in Strasbourg; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive Branch

Chief of State: President Bronislaw KOMOROWSKI (since 6 August 2010)

Head of Government: Prime Minister Donald TUSK (since 16 November 2007); Deputy Prime Minister Waldemar PAWLAK (since 16 November 2007)

Cabinet: Council of Ministers responsible to the prime minister and the Sejm; the prime minister proposes, the president appoints, and the Sejm approves the Council of Ministers

Elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 20 June and 4 July 2010 (next to be held in 2015); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president and confirmed by the Sejm

Election Results: Bronislaw KOMOROWSKI elected president; percent of popular vote - Bronislaw KOMOROWSKI 53%, Jaroslaw KACZYNSKI 47%

Legislative Branch

bicameral legislature consists of an upper house, the Senate or Senat (100 seats; members elected by a majority vote on a provincial basis to serve four-year terms), and a lower house, the Sejm (460 seats; members elected under a complex system of proportional representation to serve four-year terms); the designation of National Assembly or Zgromadzenie Narodowe is only used on those rare occasions when the two houses meet jointly

Elections: Senate - last held on 21 October 2007 (next to be held by October 2011); Sejm - last held on 21 October 2007 (next to be held by October 2011)

Election Results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PO 60, PiS 39, independents 1; Sejm - percent of vote by party - PO 41.5%, PiS 32.1%, LiD 13.2%, PSL 8.9%, other 4.3%; seats by party - PO 209, PiS 166, LiD 53, PSL 31, German minorities 1; note - seats by parliamentary grouping as of December 2009 - PO 206, PiS 154, Left 43, PSL 31, SDPL 4, Polska Plus 9, DKP SD 3, German minorities 1, nonaffiliated 9

Note: one seat is assigned to ethnic minority parties in the Sejm only

Judicial branch

Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president on the recommendation of the National Council of the Judiciary for an indefinite period); Constitutional Tribunal (judges are chosen by the Sejm for nine-year terms)

Political parties and leaders:

Civic Platform or PO [Donald TUSK, chairman; Tomasz TOMCZYKIEWICZ, parliamentary caucus leader]; Democratic Caucus of the Democratic Party (SD) or DKP SD [Bogdan LIS, parliamentary caucus leader]; Democratic Left Alliance or SLD [Grzegorz NAPIERALSKI, chairman]; Democratic Party or PD [Brygida KUZNIAK, chairwoman]; Democratic Party or SD [Pawel PISKORSKI, chairman]; German Minority of Lower Silesia or MNSO [Henryk KROLL, representative]; Law and Justice or PiS [Jaroslaw KACZYNSKI, chairman; Mariusz BLASZCZAK, parliamentary caucus leader]; League of Polish Families or LPR [Witold BALAZAK, chairman]; Left (Democratic Left Alliance and independents) [Grzegorz NAPIERALSKI, parliamentary caucus leader]; Polish People's Party or PSL [Waldemar PAWLAK, chairman; Stanislaw ZELICHOWSKI, parliamentary caucus leader]; Polska Plus [Jerzy POLACZEK, chairman; Ludwik DORN, parliamentary caucus leader] ; Samoobrona or SO [Andrzej LEPPER, chairman]; Social Democratic Party of Poland or SDPL [Wojciech FILEMONOWICZ, chairman; Marek BOROWSKI, parliamentary caucus leader]; Union of Labor or UP [Waldemar WITKOWSKI, chairman]

Political Pressure Groups and Leaders: All Poland Trade Union Alliance or OPZZ (trade union) [Jan GUZ]; Roman Catholic Church [Cardinal Stanislaw DZIWISZ, Archbishop Jozef MICHALIK]; Solidarity Trade Union [Janusz SNIADEK]

International Organization Participation: Arctic Council (observer), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS, CD, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, ESA (cooperating state), EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINURCAT, MINURSO, MONUC, NATO, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, Schengen Convention, SECI (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

Flag Description: two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red; colors derive from the Polish emblem - a white eagle on a red field

Note: similar to the flags of Indonesia and Monaco which are red (top) and white

Economy

Economy Overview: Poland has pursued a policy of economic liberalization since 1990 and today stands out as a success story among transition economies. Before 2009, GDP had grown about 5% annually, based on rising private consumption, a jump in corporate investment, and EU funds inflows. GDP per capita is still much below the EU average, but is similar to that of the three Baltic states. Since 2004, EU membership and access to EU structural funds have provided a major boost to the economy. Unemployment fell rapidly to 6.4% in October 2008, climbed back to 8.9% by January 2010, but remains below the EU average. In 2008 inflation reached 4.2%, more than the upper limit of the National Bank of Poland's target range, but fell to 3.5% in January 2010 due to global economic slowdown. Poland's economic performance could improve over the longer term if the country addresses some of the remaining deficiencies in its road and rail infrastructure and its business environment. An inefficient commercial court system, a rigid labor code, bureaucratic red tape, burdensome tax system, and persistent low-level corruption keep the private sector from performing up to its full potential. Rising demands to fund health care, education, and the state pension system present a challenge to the Polish Government's effort to hold the consolidated public sector budget deficit under 3.0% of GDP, a target which was achieved in 2007-09. The PO/PSL coalition government, which came to power in November 2007, plans to reduce the budget deficit in 2010 and has also announced its intention to enact business-friendly reforms, increase workforce participation, reduce public sector spending growth, lower taxes, and accelerate privatization. The government, however, has moved slowly on major reforms. The legislature passed a law significantly limiting early retirement benefits. A health-care bill also passed through the legislature, but the legislature failed to overturn a presidential veto.

Gross Domestic Product

GDP (purchasing power parity): $689.3 billion (2009 est.) Rank: 21

GDP - real growth rate: 1.7% (2009 est.) Rank: 91

GDP - per capita (PPP): $17,900 (2009 est.) Rank: 65

GDP - Composition by Sector: Agriculture: 4.6% Industry: 28.1% Services: 67.3% (2009 est.)

Labor Force

Labor Force: 17.28 million (2009 est.) Rank: 36

Labor force - by occupation: Agriculture: 17.4% Industry: 29.2% Services: 53.4% (2005)

Unemployment Rate: 8.9% (January 2010 est.) Rank: 103

Poverty

Population below poverty line: 17% (2003 est.)

country comparison to the world: 36

$22.56 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

standard gauge: 21,681 km 1.435-m gauge (11,769 km electrified) (2007)

Transnational Issues

International Disputes: as a member state that forms part of the EU's external border, Poland has implemented the strict Schengen border rules to restrict illegal immigration and trade along its eastern borders with Belarus and Ukraine

Stories from Poland