Republic of Poland Rzeczpospolita Polska (Polish) | |
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Anthem: | |
Capital and largest city | Warsaw 52°13′N 21°02′E / 52.217°N 21.033°E |
Official languages | Polish |
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Ethnic groups | |
Religion (2011) |
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Demonym(s) | |
Government | Unitary semi-presidential republic |
Andrzej Duda | |
Mateusz Morawiecki | |
Legislature | National Assembly |
Senate | |
Sejm | |
Formation | |
14 April 966 | |
18 April 1025 | |
1 July 1569 | |
24 October 1795 | |
22 July 1807 | |
9 June 1815 | |
11 November 1918 | |
1 September 1939 | |
8 April 1945 | |
13 September 1989 | |
1 May 2004 | |
Area | |
• Total | Lua error in Module:Convert at line 1850: attempt to index local 'en_value' (a nil value). (69th) |
• Water (%) | 3.07 |
Population | |
• 2018 estimate | 38,420,687 (34th) |
• Density | Lua error in Module:Convert at line 1850: attempt to index local 'en_value' (a nil value). (83rd) |
GDP (PPP) | 2017 estimate |
• Total | $1,110 trillion (21st) |
• Per capita | $29,250 |
GDP (nominal) | 2017 estimate |
• Total | $509.955 billion (23rd) |
• Per capita | $13,429 |
Gini (2014) | ▼ 32.08 medium |
HDI (2015) | 0.855 very high · 36th |
Currency | Polish złoty (PLN) |
Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
Driving side | right |
Calling code | +48 |
ISO 3166 code | PL |
Internet TLD | .pl |
Website poland.pl | |
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Poland is a country in the eastern region of Central Europe. Its official name is Republic of Poland. It is on the east of Germany (along Oder and Lusatian Neisse). The Czech Republic and Slovakia are to the south, Ukraine and Belarus to the east, and the Baltic Sea, Lithuania, and the Russian exclave Kaliningrad to the north. The total land area of Poland is about 312,679 km2 (120,728 mi2), slightly larger than Oman. This makes Poland the 77th largest country in the world with over 38.5 million people. Most Polish people live in large cities, including the capital, Warsaw (Polish: Warszawa), Łódź, Cracow (Polish: Kraków), the second capital of Poland (first was Gniezno), Szczecin, Gdańsk, Wrocław and Poznań.
The word "Poland" was written officially for the first time in 966. In 1569, Poland formed a strong union with Lithuania called the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. At some point in its history, it was the largest state in Europe and became very influential. Much of the territory that now makes up Central European states used to belong to that Commonwealth. Eventually, after a slow decline, the Commonwealth collapsed in 1795. Poland regained its independence in 1918 after World War I. In 1921, Poland defeated Soviet Russia in the Polish-Soviet War that started in 1919.