Poland

total:

11.73 cu km/yr (13%/79%/8%)

per capita:

304 cu m/yr (2002)

• 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

noun:

Pole(s)

adjective:

Polish

at birth:

1.06 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.06 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

0.99 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.62 male(s)/female

total population:

0.94 male(s)/female (2011 est.)

degree of risk:

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)

conventional long form:

Republic of Poland

conventional short form:

Poland

local long form:

Rzeczpospolita Polska

local short form:

Polska

name:

Warsaw

geographic coordinates:

52 15 N, 21 00 E

time difference:

UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

daylight saving time:

+1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

• 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)

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

• civil law system;
• changes gradually being introduced as part of broader democratization process;
• limited judicial review of legislative acts, but rulings of the Constitutional Tribunal are final

chief of state:

President Bronislaw KOMOROWSKI (since 6 August 2010)

head of government:

Prime Minister Donald TUSK (since 16 November 2007); Deputy Prime Minister Janusz PIECHOCINSKI (since 6 December 2012)

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

; (For more information visit theWorld Leaders website)

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%

• 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 9 October 2011 (next to be held by October 2015); Sejm - last held on 9 October 2011 (next to be held by October 2015)

election results and current seat distribution:

• Senate - percent of vote by party - NA;
• seats by party - PO 63, PiS 29, PSL 2, SP 2, independents 4;
• Sejm - percent of vote by party - PO 39.2%, PiS 29.9%, RD 10%, PSL 8.4%, SLD 8.2%, other 4.3%;
• seats by party - PO 206, PiS 137, RP 43, PSL 28, SLD 25, SP 19, independent 1, German minority 1

note: the German minority is exempt from the 5% threshold requirement for seats to the Sejm

• 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)

• Civic Platform or PO [Donald TUSK, chairman; Rafal GRUPINSKI, parliamentary caucus leader];
• Democratic Left Alliance or SLD [Leszek MILLER, chairman, parliamentary caucus leader];
• Democratic Party or PD [Brygida KUZNIAK, chairwoman];
• Democratic Party or SD [Pawel PISKORSKI, chairman];
• German Minority of Lower Silesia or MNSO [Ryszard GALLA, representative];
• Law and Justice or PiS [Jaroslaw KACZYNSKI, chairman; Mariusz BLASZCZAK, parliamentary caucus leader];
• League of Polish Families or LPR [Witold BALAZAK, chairman];
• Palikot's Movement or RP [Janusz PALIKOT, chairman];
• Poland Comes First or PJN [Pawel KOWAL, chairperson];
• Polish People's Party or PSL [Janusz PIECHOCINSKI, chairman; Jan BURY, parliamentary caucus leader];
• Social Democratic Party of Poland or SDPL [Wojciech FILEMONOWICZ, chairman];
• Union of Labor or UP [Waldemar WITKOWSKI, chairman];
• United Poland or SP (political grouping of former PiS members, not officially registered) [Arkadiusz MULARCZYK, chairperson; Patrick HOW, parliamentary caucus leader]

• All Poland Trade Union Alliance or OPZZ (trade union) [Jan GUZ];
• Roman Catholic Church [Cardinal Stanislaw DZIWISZ, Archbishop Jozef MICHALIK];
• Solidarity Trade Union [Piotr DUDA]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Ryszard SCHNEPF

chancery:

2640 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009

telephone:

[1] (202) 234-3800 through 3802

FAX:

[1] (202) 328-6271

consulate(s) general:

Chicago, Los Angeles, New York

chief of mission:

Ambassador Stephen MULL

embassy:

Aleje Ujazdowskie 29/31 00-540 Warsaw

mailing address:

American Embassy Warsaw, US Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-5010 (pouch)

telephone:

[48] (22) 504-2000

FAX:

[48] (22) 504-2688

consulate(s) general:

Krakow

name:

"Mazurek Dabrowskiego" (Dabrowski's Mazurka)

lyrics/music:

Jozef WYBICKI/traditional

note: adopted 1927; the anthem, commonly known as "Jeszcze Polska nie zginela" (Poland Has Not Yet Perished), was written in 1797; the lyrics resonate strongly with Poles because they reflect the numerous occasions in which the nation's lands have been occupied

agriculture:

17.4%

industry:

29.2%

services:

53.4% (2005)

lowest 10%:

3.3%

highest 10%:

27.1% (2009 est.)

general assessment:

• modernization of the telecommunications network has accelerated with market-based competition;
• fixed-line service, dominated by the former state-owned company, is dwarfed by the growth in mobile-cellular services

domestic:

• mobile-cellular service available since 1993 and provided by three nation-wide networks with a fourth provider beginning operations in late 2006;
• coverage is generally good with some gaps in the east;
• fixed-line service lags in rural areas

international:

• country code - 48;
• international direct dialing with automated exchanges;
• satellite earth station - 1 with access to Intelsat, Eutelsat, Inmarsat, and Intersputnik

• state-run public TV operates 2 national channels supplemented by 16 regional channels and several niche channels;
• privately-owned entities operate several national TV networks and a number of special interest channels;
• many privately-owned channels broadcasting locally;
• roughly half of all households are linked to either satellite or cable TV systems providing access to foreign television networks;
• state-run public radio operates 5 national networks and 17 regional radio stations;
• 2 privately-owned national radio networks, several commercial stations broadcasting to multiple cities, and many privately-owned local radio stations (2007)

total:

19,428 km

country comparison to the world: 15

broad gauge:

399 km 1.524-m gauge

standard gauge:

19,029 km 1.435-m gauge (11,805 km electrified) (2007)

total:

423,997 km

country comparison to the world: 15

paved:

295,356 km (includes 765 km of expressways)

unpaved:

128,641 km (2008)

• 18-28 years of age for male voluntary or compulsory military service;
• conscription suspended in 2009;
• reserve obligation to age 50 (2009)

males age 16-49:

9,531,855

females age 16-49:

9,298,593 (2010 est.)

males age 16-49:

7,817,556

females age 16-49:

7,766,361 (2010 est.)

male:

221,889

female:

211,172 (2010 est.)

• despite diligent counternarcotics measures and international information sharing on cross-border crimes, a major illicit producer of synthetic drugs for the international market;
• minor transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and Latin American cocaine to Western Europe