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Communications

Airports [time series]

160 total, 160 usable; 85 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with runway over 3,659 m; 35 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 65 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Civil air [time series]

48 major transport aircraft

Roadways (Highways) [time series]

299,887 km total; 130,000 km improved hard surface (concrete, asphalt, stone block); 24,000 km unimproved hard surface (crushed stone, gravel); 100,000 km earth; 45,887 km other urban roads (1985)

Waterways (Inland waterways) [time series]

3,997 km navigable rivers and canals (1989)

Merchant marine [time series]

222 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,851,016 GRT/4,019,531 DWT; includes 5 short-sea passenger, 79 cargo, 4 refrigerated cargo, 14 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 12 container, 1 petroleum tanker, 4 chemical tanker, 102 bulk, 1 passenger; Poland owns 1 ship of 6,333 DWT operating under Liberian registry

Pipelines [time series]

natural gas 4,500 km, crude oil 1,986 km, petroleum products 360 km (1987)

Ports [time series]

Gdansk, Gdynia, Szczecin, Swinoujscie; principal inland ports are Gliwice on Kana Gliwice, Wrocaw on the Oder, and Warsaw on the Vistula

Railways (Railroads) [time series]

27,041 km total; 24,287 km 1.435-meter gauge, 397 km 1.520-meter gauge, 2,357 km narrow gauge; 8,987 km double track; 11,016 km electrified; government owned (1989)

Telecommunication systems (Telecommunications) [time series]

severely underdeveloped and outmoded system; cable, open wire and microwave; phone density is 10.5 phones per 100 residents (October 1990); 3.1 million subscribers; exchanges are 86% automatic (February 1990); 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

Defense Forces

Military and security forces (Branches) [time series]

Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Force

Military expenditures (Defense expenditures) [time series]

exchange rate conversion - 19.2 trillion zotych, NA% of GDP (1991); note - conversion of defense expenditures into US dollars using the current exchange rate could produce misleading results

Manpower availability [time series]

males 15-49, 9,785,823; 7,696,425 fit for military service; 294,191 reach military age (19) annually

Economy

Agricultural products (Agriculture) [time series]

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

Budget [time series]

revenues $19.5 billion; expenditures $22.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.5 billion (1991 est.)

Exchange rates (Currency) [time series]

Zoty (plural - Zotych); 1 Zoty (Z) = 100 groszy

Economic aid [time series]

donor - bilateral aid to non-Communist less developed countries, $2.2 billion (1954-89); note - the G-24 has pledged $8 billion in grants and credit guarantees to Poland

Electricity [time series]

31,530,000 kW capacity; 136,300 million kWh produced, 3,610 kWh per capita (1990)

Exchange rates [time series]

Zotych (z) per US$1 - 13,443 (March 1992), 10,576 (1991), 9,500 (1990), 1,439.18 (1989), 430.55 (1988), 265.08 (1987)

Exports [time series]

$12.8 billion (f.o.b., 1991 est.) commodities: machinery 23%, metals 17%, chemicals 13%, fuels 11%, food 10% (1991 est.) partners: FRG 25.1%, former USSR 15.3%, UK 7.1%, Switzerland 4.7% (1990)

Debt - external (External debt) [time series]

$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% by 1994, if Poland adheres to its IMF program

Fiscal year [time series]

calendar year

Real GDP (purchasing power parity) (GDP) [time series]

purchasing power equivalent - $162.7 billion, per capita $4,300; real growth rate -5% (1991 est.)

Illicit drugs [time series]

illicit producers of opium for domestic consumption and amphetamines for the international market; emerging as a transshipment point for illicit drugs to Western Europe

Imports [time series]

$12.9 billion (f.o.b., 1991 est.) commodities: machinery 35%, fuels 20%, chemicals 13%, food 11%, light industry 7% (1991 est.) partners: FRG 20.1%, former USSR 19.8%, Italy 7.5%, Switzerland 6.4% (1990)

Industrial production growth rate (Industrial production) [time series]

growth rate -14% (State sector 1991 est.)

Industries [time series]

machine building, iron and steel, extractive industries, chemicals, shipbuilding, food processing, glass, beverages, textiles

Inflation rate (consumer prices) [time series]

60% (1991 est.)

Economic overview (Overview) [time series]

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 60% in 1991. 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, and the private sector grew, accounting for 22% of industrial production and 40% of nonagricultural output by 1991. Production fell in state enterprises, however, and the unemployment rate climbed steadily from virtually nothing in 1989 to 11.4% in December 1991. 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 popular discontent and a change in government in January 1991 and again in December. The new government has promised selective industrial intervention, some relaxation in monetary policy, and an improved social safety net, but will be constrained by the decline in output and the growing budget deficit.

Unemployment rate [time series]

11.4% (end December 1991)

Geography

Climate [time series]

temperate with cold, cloudy, moderately severe winters with frequent precipitation; mild summers with frequent showers and thundershowers

Coastline [time series]

491 km

Area - comparative (Comparative area) [time series]

slightly smaller than New Mexico

Disputes - international (Disputes) [time series]

none

Environment - current issues (Environment) [time series]

plain crossed by a few north flowing, meandering streams; severe air and water pollution in south

Area (Land area) [time series]

304,510 km2

Land boundaries [time series]

3,321 km total; Belarus 605 km, Czechoslovakia 1,309 km, Germany 456 km, Lithuania 91 km, Russia (Kaliningrad Oblast) 432 km, Ukraine 428 km

Land use [time series]

arable land 46%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and pastures 13%; forest and woodland 28%; other 12%; includes irrigated NEGL%

Maritime claims [time series]

Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm Territorial sea: 12 nm

Natural resources [time series]

coal, sulfur, copper, natural gas, silver, lead, salt

Note [time series]

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

Terrain [time series]

mostly flat plain; mountains along southern border

Area (Total area) [time series]

312,680 km2

Government

Administrative divisions [time series]

49 provinces (wojewodztwa, singular - wojewodztwo); Biaa Podlaska, Biaystok, Bielsko, Bydgoszcz, Chem, Ciechanow, Czestochowa, Elblag, Gdansk, Gorzow, Jelenia Gora, Kalisz, Katowice, Kielce, Konin, Koszalin, Krakow, Krosno, Legnica, Leszno, odz, omza, Lublin, Nowy Sacz, Olsztyn, Opole, Ostroteka, Pia, Piotrkow, Pock, Poznan, Przemysl, Radom, Rzeszow, Siedlce, Sieradz, Skierniewice, Supsk, Suwaki, Szczecin, Tarnobrzeg, Tarnow, Torun, Wabrzych, Warszawa, Wocawek, Wrocaw, Zamosc, Zielona Gora

Capital [time series]

Warsaw

Political parties (Communists) [time series]

70,000 members in the Communist successor parties (1990)

Constitution [time series]

Communist-imposed Constitution of 22 July 1952; developing a democratic Constitution

Diplomatic representation in the US (Diplomatic representation) [time series]

Ambassador Kazimierz DZIEWANOWSKI; Chancery at 2640 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009; telephone (202) 234-3800 through 3802; there are Polish Consulates General in Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York US: Ambassador Thomas W. SIMONS, Jr.; Embassy at Aleje Ujazdowskie 29/31, Warsaw (mailing address is American Embassy Warsaw, Box 5010, or APO AE 09213-5010); telephone [48] (2) 628-8298; FAX [48] (2) 628-9326; there is a US Consulate General in Krakow and a Consulate in Poznan

Executive branch (Elections) [time series]

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% Senate: last held 27 October 1991 (next to be held no later than NA October 1995); results - 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%; seats - (100 total) Solidarity Bloc: UD 21, NSZZ 11, ZCHN 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); results - Solidarity Bloc: UD 12.31%, ZCHN 8.73%, PL 8.71%, Liberal-Democratic Congress 7.48%, PL 5.46%, NSZZ 5.05%, SP 2.05%, PCHD 1.11% Non-Communist, Non-Solidarity: KPN 7.50%, PPPP 3.27%, CHD 2.36%, UPR 2.25%, MN 1.70% Communist origin or linked: SLD 11.98%, PSL 8.67%; seats - (460 total) Solidarity Bloc: UD 62, ZCHN 9, 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 Communist origin or linked: SLD 60, PSL 48, Party X 3

Executive branch [time series]

president, prime minister, Council of Ministers (cabinet)

Flag [time series]

two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red; similar to the flags of Indonesia and Monaco which are red (top) and white

Independence [time series]

11 November 1918, independent republic proclaimed

Judicial branch [time series]

Supreme Court

Executive branch (Leaders) [time series]

Chief of State: President Lech WALESA (since 22 December 1990) Head of Government: Prime Minister Hanna SUCHOCKA (since 10 July 1992)

Legal system [time series]

mixture of Continental (Napoleonic) civil law and holdover Communist legal theory; changes being gradually introduced as part of broader democratization process; no judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Legislative branch [time series]

bicameral National Assembly (Zgromadzenie Narodowe) consists of an upper house or Senate (Senat) and a lower house or Diet (Sejm)

Country name (Long-form name) [time series]

Republic of Poland

International organization participation (Member of) [time series]

BIS, CCC, CE, CERN, CSCE, ECE, FAO, GATT, Hexagonale, IAEA, IBEC, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IIB, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNDOF, UNIDO, UNIIMOG, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO

National holiday [time series]

Constitution Day, 3 May (1794)

Political parties (Other political or pressure groups) [time series]

powerful Roman Catholic Church; Confederation for an Independent Poland (KPN), a nationalist group; Solidarity (trade union); All Poland Trade Union Alliance (OPZZ), populist program; Clubs of Catholic Intellectuals (KIKs)

Political parties (Political parties and leaders) [time series]

Solidarity Bloc: 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; Solidarity Labor (SP), Ryszard BUGAJ; Christian-Democratic Party (PCHD), Pawel LACZKOWSKI; Democratic-Social Movement (RDS), Zbigniew BUJAK; Kracow Coalition in Solidarity with the President, Mieczyslaw GIL; Solidarity 80, Marian JURCZYK Non-Communist, Non-Solidarity: Confederation for an Independent Poland (KPN), Leszek MOCZULSKI; Beer Lovers' Party (PPPP), Janusz REWINSKI; Christian Democrats (CHD), Andrzej OWSINSKI; German Minority (MN), Henryk KROL; Western Union (KPN Front), Damian JAKUBOWSKI; RealPolitik (UPR), Janusz KORWIN-MIKKE; Democratic Party (SD), Antoni MACKIEWICZ Communist origin or linked: Social Democracy (SDRP, or SLD), Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz; Polish Peasants' Party (PSL), Waldermar PAWLAK; Party X, Stanislaw Tyminski

Suffrage [time series]

universal at age 18

Government type (Type) [time series]

democratic state

People

Birth rate [time series]

14 births/1,000 population (1992)

Death rate [time series]

10 deaths/1,000 population (1992)

Ethnic groups (Ethnic divisions) [time series]

Polish 97.6%, German 1.3%, Ukrainian 0.6%, Belorussian 0.5% (1990 est.)

Infant mortality rate [time series]

14 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)

Labor force [time series]

17,104,000; industry and construction 36.1%; agriculture 27.3%; trade, transport, and communications 14.8%; government and other 21.8% (1989)

Languages [time series]

Polish

Life expectancy at birth [time series]

68 years male, 76 years female (1992)

Literacy [time series]

98% (male 99%, female 98%) age 15 and over can read and write (1978)

Nationality [time series]

noun - Pole(s); adjective - Polish

Net migration rate [time series]

-1 migrant/1,000 population (1992)

Organized labor [time series]

trade union pluralism

Population [time series]

38,385,617 (July 1992), growth rate 0.4% (1992)

Religions [time series]

Roman Catholic 95% (about 75% practicing), Russian Orthodox, Protestant, and other 5%

Total fertility rate [time series]

2.0 children born/woman(1992)