Poland

parliamentary republic

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 etymology: the origin of the name is unknown; Warszawa was the name of a fishing village, and several legends link the city's founding to a man named Wars or Warsz

chief of state: President Karol NAWROCKI (since 6 August 2025) head of government: Prime Minister Donald TUSK (since 11 December 2023) cabinet: Council of Ministers proposed by the prime minister, appointed by the president, and approved by the Sejm election/appointment process: president directly elected by absolute-majority popular vote in 2 rounds, if needed, for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); prime minister, deputy prime ministers, and Council of Ministers appointed by the president and confirmed by the Sejm; all presidential candidates resign their party affiliation most recent election date: 18 May 2025, with the second round on 1 June 2025 election results: 2025: Karol NAWROCKI elected president in second round; percent of vote - Karol NAWROCKI (PiS) 50.9%, Rafal TRZASKOWSKI (KO) 49.1%; NAWROCKI takes office 6 August 2025 2025: First round Rafal TRZASKOWSKI (KO) 31.4%, Karol NAWROCKI 29.5% (PiS), Slawomir MENTZEN 14.8%, Grzegorz BRAUN 6.3%, and Szymon HOLOWNIA 5.0%; second round to be held on 1 June 2025; 2020: Andrzej DUDA reelected president in second round; percent of vote - Andrzej DUDA (independent) 51%, Rafal TRZASKOWSKI (KO) 49% 2015: Andrzej DUDA elected president in second round; percent of vote - Andrzej DUDA (independent) 51.5%, Bronislaw KOMOROWSKI (independent) 48.5% expected date of next election: July 2030

legislative structure: bicameral note: the designation "National Assembly" (or Zgromadzenie Narodowe) is only used on those rare occasions when the two houses meet jointly

highest court(s): Supreme Court or Sad Najwyzszy (consists of the first president of the Supreme Court and 120 justices organized in criminal, civil, labor and social insurance, and extraordinary appeals and public affairs and disciplinary chambers); Constitutional Tribunal (consists of 15 judges, including the court president and vice president) judge selection and term of office: president of the Supreme Court nominated by the General Assembly of the Supreme Court and selected by the president of Poland; other judges nominated by the 25-member National Judicial Council and appointed by the president of Poland; judges serve until retirement, usually at age 65, but tenure can be extended; Constitutional Tribunal judges chosen by the Sejm for single 9-year terms subordinate courts: administrative courts; military courts; local, regional and appellate courts subdivided into military, civil, criminal, labor, and family courts

history: several previous; latest adopted 2 April 1997, approved by referendum 25 May 1997, effective 17 October 1997 amendment process: proposed by at least one fifth of Sejm deputies, by the Senate, or by the president of the republic; passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote in the Sejm and absolute majority vote in the Senate; amendments to articles relating to sovereignty, personal freedoms, and constitutional amendment procedures also require passage by majority vote in a referendum

Arctic Council (observer), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS, CD, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECB, EIB, ESA, EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MONUSCO, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, Schengen Convention, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNHRC, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMISS, UNOCI, UNOOSA, UN Security Council (temporary), UNWTO, UPU, Wassenaar Arrangement, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

4.5% of GDP (2025 est.) 3.8% of GDP (2024 est.) 3.3% of GDP (2023 est.) 2.2% of GDP (2022 est.) 2.2% of GDP (2021 est.)

Polish Armed Forces (Polskie Siły Zbrojne): Land Forces (Wojska Ladowe), Navy (Marynarka Wojenna), Air Force (Sily Powietrzne), Special Forces (Wojska Specjalne), Territorial Defense Forces (Wojska Obrony Terytorialnej), Cyberspace Defense Forces (Wojska Obrony Cyberprzestrzeni) Ministry of Interior and Administration: Polish National Police (Policja); Border Guard (Straż Graniczna or SG) (2025)

18 years of age for voluntary military service for men and women; no conscription; professional soldiers serve on a permanent basis (for an unspecified period of time) or on a contract basis (for a specified period of time); initial contract period is 24 months (2025) note 1: as of 2024, women made up about 16.5% of the military's full-time personnel note 2: in 2022, Poland announced a new 12-month voluntary military service program with recruits going through a one-month basic training period with a military unit, followed by 11 months of specialized training; upon completion of service, the volunteers would be allowed to join the Territorial Defense Forces or the active reserve, and have priority to join the professional army and be given preference for employment in the public sector; the program is part of an effort to increase the size of the Polish military

the Polish Armed Forces are responsible for defense of the country's sovereignty and territory, deterring potential threats, and fulfilling Poland's commitments to NATO, EU, and European security; Poland s geographic location on NATO s eastern flank and its history of foreign invasion underpin the Polish military s focus on territorial and border defense; in peacetime, the Armed Forces provide support to the Border Guard; other security concerns include hybrid threats from Russia and Belarus, such as cyberattacks, sabotage, and weaponized migration; since the 2010s, Poland has taken steps to enhance the security of its borders with Russia and Belarus since 2014, Poland has hosted several NATO military formations designed to enhance the defense of Poland and NATO s eastern flank, including a US-led multinational NATO ground force battlegroup as part of the Alliance s Enhanced Forward Presence initiative, NATO fighter detachments at Malbork Air Base, a NATO-led divisional headquarters (Multinational Division Northeast), which coordinates training and preparation activities of its respective subordinate battlegroups in Poland and Lithuania, and a corps-level NATO field headquarters (Multinational Corps Northeast); Poland also has increased the the US military presence in the country; Poland participates in a variety of EU and NATO military deployments in Africa, the Baltic States, Southern Europe, and the Middle East; Poland also provided support to the NATO mission in Afghanistan (2025)

250 Kosovo (NATO/KFOR); up to 300 Latvia (NATO); 190 Lebanon (UNIFIL) (2025) note: Poland has obligated about 2,500 troops to the Lithuania, Poland, and Ukraine joint military brigade (LITPOLUKRBRIG), which was established in 2014; the brigade is headquartered in Poland and is comprised of an international staff, three battalions, and specialized units; units affiliated with the multinational brigade remain within the structures of the armed forces of their respective countries until the brigade is activated for participation in an international operation

$1.649 trillion (2024 est.) $1.602 trillion (2023 est.) $1.598 trillion (2022 est.) note: data in 2021 dollars

$45,100 (2024 est.) $43,700 (2023 est.) $43,400 (2022 est.) note: data in 2021 dollars

2.9% (2024 est.) 0.2% (2023 est.) 5.3% (2022 est.) note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency

3.8% (2024 est.) 11.5% (2023 est.) 14.4% (2022 est.) note: annual % change based on consumer prices

50.6% of GDP (2017 est.) note: data cover general government debt and include debt instruments issued (or owned) by government entities other than the treasury; the data include treasury debt held by foreign entities, the data include subnational entities, as well as intragovernmental debt; intragovernmental debt consists of treasury borrowings from surpluses in the social funds, such as for retirement, medical care, and unemployment; debt instruments for the social funds are not sold at public auctions

$478.579 billion (2024 est.) $471.571 billion (2023 est.) $436.388 billion (2022 est.) note: balance of payments - exports of goods and services in current dollars

$441.945 billion (2024 est.) $423.797 billion (2023 est.) $421.765 billion (2022 est.) note: balance of payments - imports of goods and services in current dollars

2.5% (2024 est.) 2.8% (2023 est.) 2.9% (2022 est.) note: % of labor force seeking employment

revenues: $291.603 billion (2023 est.) expenditures: $328.497 billion (2023 est.) note: central government revenues (excluding grants) and expenditures converted to US dollars at average official exchange rate for year indicated

machine building, iron and steel, coal mining, chemicals, shipbuilding, food processing, glass, beverages, textiles

sugar beets, milk, wheat, maize, potatoes, triticale, apples, rapeseed, barley, rye (2023) note: top ten agricultural products based on tonnage

total: 38,746,310 (2024 est.) male: 18,441,415 female: 20,304,895

-0.98% (2025 est.)

0-14 years: 14.2% (male 2,830,048/female 2,676,300) 15-64 years: 65.9% (male 12,513,402/female 13,036,977) 65 years and over: 19.8% (2024 est.) (male 3,097,965/female 4,591,618)

8.03 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)

11.56 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)

-6.26 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)

total population: 76.7 years (2024 est.) male: 72.8 years female: 80.9 years

urban population: 60.2% of total population (2023) rate of urbanization: -0.16% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Polish 96.9%, Silesian 1.1%, German 0.2%, Ukrainian 0.1%, other and unspecified 1.7% (2011 est.) note: represents ethnicity declared first

Polish (official) 98.2%, Silesian 1.4%, other 1.1%, unspecified 1.2% (2011 est.) major-language sample(s): Księga Fakt w Świata, niezbędne źr dło podstawowych informacji. (Polish) The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information. note 1: shares of languages sum to more than 100% because some respondents gave more than one answer on the census; data represent language spoken at home note 2: Poland also recognizes Kashub as a regional language; Czech, Hebrew, Yiddish, Belarusian, Lithuanian, German, Armenian, Russian, Slovak, and Ukrainian as national minority languages; and Karaim, Lemko, Romani (Polska Roma and Bergitka Roma), and Tatar as ethnic minority languages

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.)

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

Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS) note: details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in the Terrorism reference guide

USG identification: major precursor-chemical producer (2025)

refugees: 1,019,863 (2024 est.) stateless persons: 1,486 (2024 est.)

318 (2025)

total: 19,461 km (2020) 11,946 km electrified

total: 152 (2023) by type: general cargo 6, oil tanker 6, other 140

total subscriptions: 52.4 million (2023 est.) subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 132 (2022 est.)

percent of population: 86% (2023 est.)