The following

outline Outline or outlining may refer to: * Outline (list), a document summary, in hierarchical list format * Code folding, a method of hiding or collapsing code or text to see content in outline form * Outline drawing, a sketch depicting the outer edge ...

is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Poland: The Republic of Poland is a

sovereign country A sovereign state or sovereign country, is a political entity represented by one central government that has supreme legitimate authority over territory. International law defines sovereign states as having a permanent population, defined terr ...

located in

Central Europe Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the a ...

. Poland is bordered by

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

to the west; the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

and

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

to the south;

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

and Lithuania to the east; and the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and ...

and

Kaliningrad Oblast Kaliningrad Oblast (russian: Калинингра́дская о́бласть, translit=Kaliningradskaya oblast') is the westernmost federal subject of Russia. It is a semi-exclave situated on the Baltic Sea. The largest city and admin ...

, a

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

n exclave, to the north. The total area of Poland is 312,679 km² (120,728 sq mi), making it the 69th largest country in the world and 9th in Europe. Poland has a population of over 38.5 million people, which makes it the 33rd most populous country in the world.NationMaster.com 2003-2007
Poland, Facts and figures
/ref> The establishment of a Polish state is often identified with the adoption of Christianity by its ruler Mieszko I in 966 (see

Baptism of Poland The Christianization of Poland ( pl, chrystianizacja Polski) refers to the introduction and subsequent spread of Christianity in Poland. The impetus to the process was the Baptism of Poland ( pl, chrzest Polski), the personal baptism of Mieszk ...

), when the state covered territory similar to that of present-day Poland. Poland became a kingdom in 1025, and in 1569 it cemented a long

association Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associatio ...

with the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire of Austria. The state was founded by Lit ...

by uniting to form the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi- confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Poland and Lithuania ru ...

. The Commonwealth collapsed in 1795, and its territory was partitioned among

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

, Russia, and Austria. Poland regained its independence in 1918 after World War I but lost it again in World War II, occupied by

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

and the Soviet Union. Poland lost over six million citizens in World War II, and emerged several years later as a

socialist republic Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ec ...

within the Eastern Bloc under strong Soviet influence. In 1989 communist rule was overthrown and Poland became what is constitutionally known as the "Third Polish Republic". Poland is a unitary state made up of sixteen

voivodeships A voivodeship is the area administered by a voivode (Governor) in several countries of central and eastern Europe. Voivodeships have existed since medieval times and the area of extent of voivodeship resembles that of a duchy in western medieval ...

( pl, województwo). Poland is also a member of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

and

OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate e ...

General reference

* Pronunciation: * Common English country name: Poland * Official English country name: The Republic of Poland * Common endonym(s): Polska * Official endonym(s): Rzeczpospolita Polska * Adjectival(s): Polish, polski(a)–polskie * Demonym(s): Polish * Etymology:

Name of Poland The ethnonyms for the Poles (people) and Poland (their country) include endonyms (the way Polish people refer to themselves and their country) and exonyms (the way other peoples refer to the Poles and their country). Endonyms and most exonyms ...

* International rankings of Poland *

ISO country codes ISO 3166-1 (''Codes for the representation of names of countries and their subdivisions – Part 1: Country codes'') is a standard defining codes for the names of countries, dependent territories, and special areas of geographical interest. It ...

: PL, POL, 616 *

ISO region codes ISO 3166-2 is part of the ISO 3166 standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and defines codes for identifying the principal subdivisions (e.g., provinces or states) of all countries coded in ISO 3166-1. The ...

: See ISO 3166-2:PL * Internet

country code top-level domain A country code top-level domain (ccTLD) is an Internet top-level domain generally used or reserved for a country, sovereign state, or dependent territory identified with a country code. All ASCII ccTLD identifiers are two letters long, and all ...

.pl is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Poland, administered by NASK, the Polish research and development organization. It is one of the founding members of CENTR. History The domain was created in 1990, following the mit ...

Geography of Poland

Geography of Poland Poland ( pl, Polska) is a country that extends across the North European Plain from the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south to the sandy beaches of the Baltic Sea in the north. Poland is the fifth-most populous country of the Europe ...

* Poland is: a

sovereign state A sovereign state or sovereign country, is a political entity represented by one central government that has supreme legitimate authority over territory. International law defines sovereign states as having a permanent population, defined te ...

** Member state of the European Union * Location: ** Northern Hemisphere and Eastern Hemisphere ** Eurasia *** Europe ****

****

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whic ...

** Time zone:

Central European Time Central European Time (CET) is a standard time which is 1 hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). The time offset from UTC can be written as UTC+01:00. It is used in most parts of Europe and in a few North African countries. CET ...

(UTC+01),

Central European Summer Time Central European Summer Time (CEST), sometimes referred to as Central European Daylight Time (CEDT), is the standard clock time observed during the period of summer daylight-saving in those European countries which observe Central European Time ...

(UTC+02) **

Extreme points of Poland This is a list of the extreme points of Poland, the points that are farther north, south, east or west than any other location. Latitude and longitude * Northernmost point: *: A beach in Jastrzębia Góra, near the town Władysławowo, P ...

*** High:

Rysy Rysy (; ; german: Meeraugspitze, hu, Tengerszem-csúcs) is a mountain in the crest of the High Tatras, eastern part of the Tatra Mountains, lying on the border between Poland and Slovakia. Rysy has three summits: the middle at ; the north-wester ...

*** Low:

Żuławy Wiślane Żuławy Wiślane (i.e. "the Vistula fens", plural from "żuława") is the alluvial delta area of the Vistula, in the northern part of Poland, in large part reclaimed artificially by means of dykes, pumps, channels (over 17000 km of total ...

** Land boundaries: 3,071 km :: 796 km :: 541 km :: 535 km :: 467 km :: 418 km :: 210 km :: 104 km :* Coastline:

440 km * Population of Poland: 38,115,967 (June 30, 2007) - 33rd most populous country * * Area of Poland: 312679 km² * Atlas of Poland

Environment of Poland

Main:

Environment of Poland Poland ( pl, Polska) is a country that extends across the North European Plain from the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south to the sandy beaches of the Baltic Sea in the north. Poland is the fifth-most populous country of the Europe ...

* Climate of Poland * Ecoregions in Poland * Renewable energy in Poland *

Geology of Poland Poland ( pl, Polska) is a country that extends across the North European Plain from the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south to the sandy beaches of the Baltic Sea in the north. Poland is the fifth-most populous country of the Europe ...

* Protected areas of Poland ** Biosphere reserves in Poland **

National parks of Poland __NOTOC__ There are 23 national parks in Poland. These were formerly run by the Polish Board of National Parks ( Polish: ''Krajowy Zarząd Parków Narodowych''), but in 2004 responsibility for them was transferred to the Ministry of the Environmen ...

* Wildlife of Poland **

Fauna of Poland Fauna of Poland, according to the Polish Museum and Institute of Zoology, includes approximately 36,000 species. The most common type of fauna in Poland are arthropods (Arthropoda), and within the phyla, insects (Insecta) are most numerous. Polis ...

*** Amphibians of Poland *** Birds of Poland *** Mammals of Poland

Natural geographic features of Poland

* Glaciers of Poland *

Islands of Poland An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

Lakes of Poland The following is a list of lakes of Poland. * Lake Dabie (Jezioro Dąbie in Szczecin) * Lake Mamry (Jezioro Mamry in Mazury lake district) * Lake Sniardwy (Jezioro Śniardwy in Mazury lake district) * Lake Lebsko (Jezioro Łebsko) * Lake M ...

Mountains of Poland A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher ...

** Volcanoes in Poland * Rivers of Poland ** Waterfalls of Poland * Valleys of Poland * World Heritage Sites in Poland

Regions of Poland

Regions of Poland Polish regions are regions located within the present-day Poland without being identified in its administrative division. Geophysical regions ''(Transborder regions = *)'' ;Northern & Western Poland * Central European Plain* (Nizina Środkowoeur ...

Ecoregions of Poland

List of ecoregions in Poland * Ecoregions in Poland

Administrative divisions of Poland

Administrative divisions of Poland The administrative division of Poland since 1999 has been based on three levels of subdivision. The territory of Poland is divided into ''voivodeships'' (provinces); these are further divided into '' powiats'' (counties or districts), and these ...

Voivodeships of Poland , alt_name = province, state , map = , category = Provinces (unitary local government subdivision) , territory = Republic of Poland , start_date = , current_number = 16 voivodeships ...

** Powiats of Poland *** Gminas of Poland

= Provinces of Poland

= Provinces of Poland ::* Districts of Poland

= Municipalities of Poland

= Municipalities of Poland * Capital of Poland:

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

* Cities of Poland

Demography of Poland

Demographics of Poland The demographics of Poland constitute all demographic features of the population of Poland, including population density, ethnicity, education level, the health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations, and other aspects of the po ...

Government and politics of Poland

* Form of government:

unitary Unitary may refer to: Mathematics * Unitary divisor * Unitary element * Unitary group * Unitary matrix * Unitary morphism * Unitary operator * Unitary transformation * Unitary representation * Unitarity (physics) * ''E''-unitary inverse semigrou ...

semi-presidential A semi-presidential republic, is a republic in which a president exists alongside a prime minister and a cabinet, with the latter two being responsible to the legislature of the state. It differs from a parliamentary republic in that it has a ...

representative democratic republic * Capital of Poland:

* Elections in Poland *

Political parties in Poland This article lists current political parties in Poland, as well as former parties dating back as far as 1918. Since 1989, Poland has had a multi-party system, with numerous competing political parties. Individual parties normally do not manage t ...

Branches of the government of Poland

Government of Poland The Government of Poland takes the form of a unitary parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the President is the head of state and the Prime Minister is the head of government. However, its form of government has also been iden ...

Executive branch of the government of Poland

* Head of state:

President of Poland The president of Poland ( pl, Prezydent RP), officially the president of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Prezydent Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej), is the head of state of Poland. Their rights and obligations are determined in the Constitution of Pola ...

Andrzej Duda Andrzej Sebastian Duda (; born 16 May 1972) is a Polish lawyer and politician who has served as president of Poland since 6 August 2015. Before becoming president, Andrzej Duda was a member of Polish Lower House (Sejm) from 2011 to 2014 and th ...

* Head of government:

Prime Minister of Poland The President of the Council of Ministers ( pl, Prezes Rady Ministrów, lit=Chairman of the Council of Ministers), colloquially referred to as the prime minister (), is the head of the cabinet and the head of government of Poland. The responsibi ...

Mateusz Morawiecki Mateusz Jakub Morawiecki (; born 20 June 1968) is a Polish economist, historian and politician who has served as prime minister of Poland since 2017. A member of Law and Justice (PiS), he previously served in the cabinet of prime minister Beata ...

Cabinet of Poland Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

Legislative branch of the government of Poland

National Assembly of the Republic of Poland The parliament of Poland is the bicameral legislature of Poland. It is composed of an upper house (the Senate) and a lower house (the Sejm). Both houses are accommodated in the ''Sejm'' complex in Warsaw. The Constitution of Poland does not ref ...

( bicameral) ** Upper house:

Senate of Poland The Senate ( pl, Senat) is the upper house of the Polish parliament, the lower house being the Sejm. The history of the Polish Senate stretches back over 500 years; it was one of the first constituent bodies of a bicameral parliament in Europe ...

** Lower house: Sejm of Poland

Judicial branch of the government of Poland

Court system of Poland *

Supreme Court of Poland The Supreme Court ( pl, Sąd Najwyższy) is the highest court in the Republic of Poland. It is located in the Krasiński Square, Warsaw. One of the chambers of the Supreme Court, the Disciplinary Chamber, was suspended by a judgment of the CJ ...

Foreign relations of Poland

Foreign relations of Poland The Republic of Poland is a Central European country and member of the European Union and NATO, among others. Poland wields considerable influence in Central and Eastern Europe and is a middle power in international affairs. The foreign policy o ...

* Diplomatic missions in Poland *

Diplomatic missions of Poland This is a list of diplomatic missions of Poland Excluding from this listing are honorary consulates, cultural institutes, and trade missions. On the other hand, the Polish Office in Taipei is included, as it serves as a de facto embassy to Taiwan ...

International organization membership

The Republic of Poland is a member of: *

Arctic Council The Arctic Council is a high-level intergovernmental forum that addresses issues faced by the Arctic governments and the indigenous people of the Arctic. At present, eight countries exercise sovereignty over the lands within the Arctic Circle ...

(observer) *

Australia Group The Australia Group is a multilateral export control regime (MECR) and an informal group of countries (now joined by the European Commission) established in 1985 (after the use of chemical weapons by Iraq in 1984) to help member countries to i ...

Bank for International Settlements The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) is an international financial institution owned by central banks that "fosters international monetary and financial cooperation and serves as a bank for central banks". The BIS carries out its work thr ...

(BIS) *

Black Sea Economic Cooperation Zone The Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) is a regional international organization focusing on multilateral political and economic initiatives aimed at fostering cooperation, peace, stability and prosperity in the Black Sea ...

(BSEC) (observer) * Central European Initiative (CEI) *Confederation of European Paper Industries (CEPI) *Council of Europe (CE) *Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) *Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC) *European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) *European Investment Bank (EIB) *European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) *European Space Agency (ESA) (cooperating state) *

(EU) *Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) *International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) *International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) *International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) *International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) *International Criminal Court (ICCt) *International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) *International Development Association (IDA) *International Energy Agency (IEA) *International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRCS) *International Finance Corporation (IFC) *International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) *International Labour Organization (ILO) *International Maritime Organization (IMO) *International Mobile Satellite Organization (IMSO) *International Monetary Fund (IMF) *International Olympic Committee (IOC) *International Organization for Migration (IOM) *International Organization for Standardization (ISO) *International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (ICRM) *International Telecommunication Union (ITU) *International Telecommunications Satellite Organization (ITSO) *International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) *Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) *Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) *Nonaligned Movement (NAM) (guest) *North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) *Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) *''Organisation internationale de la Francophonie'' (OIF) (observer) *Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) *Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) *Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) *Organization of American States (OAS) (observer) *Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) *Schengen Convention *Southeast European Cooperative Initiative (SECI) (observer) *United Nations (UN) *United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) *United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) *United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) *United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) *United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) *United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) *United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) *United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) *United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad (MINURCAT) *United Nations Mission in the Sudan (UNMIS) *United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) *United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI) *United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) *Universal Postal Union (UPU) *Western European Union (WEU) (associate) *World Confederation of Labour (WCL) *World Customs Organization (WCO) *World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) *World Health Organization (WHO) *World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) *World Meteorological Organization (WMO) *World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) *World Trade Organization (WTO) *World Veterans Federation *Zangger Committee (ZC)

Law and order in Poland

Law of Poland * Capital punishment in Poland * Constitution of Poland * Crime in Poland * Human rights in Poland ** LGBT rights in Poland ** Freedom of religion in Poland * Law enforcement in Poland

Military of Poland

Military of Poland * Command ** Commander-in-chief: *** Ministry of Defence (Poland), Ministry of Defence of Poland * Forces ** Army of Poland ** Navy of Poland ** Air Force of Poland ** Special forces of Poland * Military history of Poland * Military ranks of Poland

Local government in Poland

Other

* Political scandals of Poland

History of Poland

History of Poland *Timeline of the history of Poland *Portal:Current events/Poland, Current events of Poland * Military history of Poland * History of rail transport in Poland

Culture of Poland

Culture of Poland * Architecture of Poland * Cuisine of Poland * Ethnic minorities in Poland * Festivals in Poland * Languages of Poland * Media in Poland * National symbols of Poland ** Coat of arms of Poland ** Flag of Poland ** National anthem of Poland * People of Poland * Prostitution in Poland * Public holidays in Poland * List of records of Poland, Records of Poland * Religion in Poland ** Buddhism in Poland ** Christianity in Poland ** Hinduism in Poland ** Islam in Poland ** Judaism in Poland ** Sikhism in Poland * World Heritage Sites of Poland

Art in Poland

* Art in Poland * Cinema of Poland * Literature of Poland * Music of Poland * Television in Poland * Theatre in Poland

Sports in Poland

Sports in Poland * Football in Poland * Poland at the Olympics

Economy and infrastructure of Poland

Economy of Poland * List of countries by GDP (nominal), Economic rank, by nominal GDP (2018): 22nd (twenty-second) * Agriculture in Poland * Banking in Poland ** National Bank of Poland * Communications in Poland ** Internet in Poland * List of companies of Poland, Companies of Poland *Currency, Currency of Poland: Polish złoty, Złoty **ISO 4217: PLN * Energy in Poland ** Bełchatów Power Station – largest thermal power station in Europe, and one of largest fossil fuel power stations in the world. It produces 27-28 TWh of electricity per year, 20% of Poland's total power generation. ** Energy policy of Poland ** Oil industry in Poland * Health care in Poland * Mining in Poland * Poland Stock Exchange * Tourism in Poland * Water supply and sanitation in Poland

Transportation in Poland

Transport in Poland * List of airports in Poland, Airports in Poland * Rail transport in Poland ** High-speed rail in Poland * Roads in Poland ** National roads in Poland *** Motorways in Poland *** Expressways in Poland ** Voivodeship roads ** Powiat roads ** Gmina roads

Education in Poland

Education in Poland *List of schools in Poland *List of universities in Poland

Health in Poland

References

External links

; General
Poland.gov.pl - Polish national portalPolish InformationMinistry of Foreign AffairsPoland at the World Factbook
; Travel *
Commonwealth of Diverse Cultures: Poland's Heritage
; Photos
Photos from Poland
{{DEFAULTSORT:Poland Outlines of countries, Poland Poland, 1 Poland-related lists,