The Republic of Poland is a sovereign country located in Central Europe

Central Europe

Central Europe or alternatively Middle Europe is a region of the European continent lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe...

. Poland is bordered by Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 to the west; the Czech Republic

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

 and Slovakia

Slovakia

The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...

 to the south; Ukraine

Ukraine

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...

, Belarus

Belarus

Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...

 and Lithuania

Lithuania

Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...

 to the east; and the Baltic Sea

Baltic Sea

The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...

 and Kaliningrad Oblast

Kaliningrad Oblast

Kaliningrad Oblast is a federal subject of Russia situated on the Baltic coast. It has a population of The oblast forms the westernmost part of the Russian Federation, but it has no land connection to the rest of Russia. Since its creation it has been an exclave of the Russian SFSR and then the...

, a Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n exclave

Enclave and exclave

In political geography, an enclave is a territory whose geographical boundaries lie entirely within the boundaries of another territory.An exclave, on the other hand, is a territory legally or politically attached to another territory with which it is not physically contiguous.These are two...

, to the north. The total area of Poland

Area of Poland

The following numbers characterize the area of Poland* Area of Polish territory - * Administrative area of Poland - . This is calculated according to the official definition of the coastline...

 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.

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

Baptism of Poland

The Baptism of Poland was the event in 966 that signified the beginning of the Christianization of Poland, commencing with the baptism of Mieszko I, who was the first ruler of the Polish state. The next significant step in Poland's adoption of Christianity was the establishment of various...

), when the state covered territory similar to that of present-day Poland. Poland became a kingdom

Kingdom of Poland (1025–1138)

The Kingdom of Poland was the Polish state from the coronation of the first King Bolesław I the Brave in 1025 to the union with Lithuania and the rule of the Jagiellon dynasty in 1385.-Early Kingdom:The basis for the development of a Polish state was laid by the Piast, which were preeminent since...

 in 1025, and in 1569 it cemented a long association

Polish-Lithuanian Union

The term Polish–Lithuanian Union sometimes called as United Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania refers to a series of acts and alliances between the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania that lasted for prolonged periods of time and led to the creation of the Polish–Lithuanian...

 with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania

Grand Duchy of Lithuania

The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state from the 12th /13th century until 1569 and then as a constituent part of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1791 when Constitution of May 3, 1791 abolished it in favor of unitary state. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic...

 by uniting

Union of Lublin

The Union of Lublin replaced the personal union of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania with a real union and an elective monarchy, since Sigismund II Augustus, the last of the Jagiellons, remained childless after three marriages. In addition, the autonomy of Royal Prussia was...

 to form the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...

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

Partitions of Poland

The Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland for 123 years...

 among Prussia

Prussia

Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...

, Russia, and Austria. Poland regained its independence

Second Polish Republic

The Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; a period in Polish history in which Poland was restored as an independent state. Officially known as the Republic of Poland or the Commonwealth of Poland , the Polish state was...

 in 1918 after World War I but lost it again in World War II, occupied by Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...

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

People's Republic of Poland

The People's Republic of Poland was the official name of Poland from 1952 to 1990. Although the Soviet Union took control of the country immediately after the liberation from Nazi Germany in 1944, the name of the state was not changed until eight years later...

 within the Eastern Bloc

Eastern bloc

The term Eastern Bloc or Communist Bloc refers to the former communist states of Eastern and Central Europe, generally the Soviet Union and the countries of the Warsaw Pact...

 under strong Soviet influence. In 1989 communist

Communism

Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...

 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

Voivodeships of Poland

The voivodeship, or province, called in Polish województwo , has been a high-level administrative subdivision of Poland since the 14th century....

 . Poland is also a member of the European Union

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

, NATO and OECD.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Poland.

General reference

• Pronunciation: ˈpoʊlənd
• 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
  Name of Poland
  The ethnonyms for the Poles and Poland include endonyms and exonyms...
  
  
• International rankings of Poland
• ISO country codes: PL, POL, 616
• ISO region codes: See ISO 3166-2:PL
  ISO 3166-2:PL
  ISO 3166-2:PL is the entry for Poland in ISO 3166-2, part of the ISO 3166 standard published by the International Organization for Standardization , which defines codes for the names of the principal subdivisions of all countries coded in ISO 3166-1.Currently for Poland, ISO 3166-2 codes are...
  
  
• Internet country code top-level domain
  Country code top-level domain
  A country code top-level domain is an Internet top-level domain generally used or reserved for a country, a sovereign state, or a dependent territory....
  
  : .pl
  .pl
  .pl is the Internet country code top-level domain for Poland, administered by NASK, Polish research and development organization. It is one of the founding members of CENTR.- History :...
  
  

Geography of Poland

• Poland is: a sovereign state
  Sovereign state
  A sovereign state, or simply, state, is a state with a defined territory on which it exercises internal and external sovereignty, a permanent population, a government, and the capacity to enter into relations with other sovereign states. It is also normally understood to be a state which is neither...
  
  
  • Member state of the European Union
    Member State of the European Union
    A member state of the European Union is a state that is party to treaties of the European Union and has thereby undertaken the privileges and obligations that EU membership entails. Unlike membership of an international organisation, being an EU member state places a country under binding laws in...
    
    
• Location:
  • Northern Hemisphere
    Northern Hemisphere
    The Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is north of its equator—the word hemisphere literally means “half sphere”. It is also that half of the celestial sphere north of the celestial equator...
    
     and Eastern Hemisphere
    Eastern Hemisphere
    The Eastern Hemisphere, also Eastern hemisphere or eastern hemisphere, is a geographical term for the half of the Earth that is east of the Prime Meridian and west of 180° longitude. It is also used to refer to Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australasia, vis-à-vis the Western Hemisphere, which includes...
    
    
  • Eurasia
    • Europe
      • Central Europe
        Central Europe
        Central Europe or alternatively Middle Europe is a region of the European continent lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe...
        
        
      • Eastern Europe
        Eastern Europe
        Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
        
        
  • Time zone: Central European Time
    Central European Time
    Central European Time , used in most parts of the European Union, is a standard time that is 1 hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time . The time offset from UTC can be written as +01:00...
    
     (UTC+01), Central European Summer Time
    Central European Summer Time
    Central European Summer Time is one of the names of the Daylight saving time offset using the UTC offset of UTC+02:00, 2 hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. It is used as a summer daylight saving time in most European countries. During the winter, Central European Time is used...
    
     (UTC+02)
  • Extreme points of Poland
    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:...
    
    
    • High: Rysy
      Rysy
      Rysy is a mountain in the crest of the High Tatras, lying on the border between Poland and Slovakia. Rysy has three peaks: the middle at ; the north-western at ; and the south-eastern at...
      
       2499 m (8,199 ft)
    • Low: Żuławy Wiślane -1.8 m
  • Land boundaries: 3,071 km

 Czech Republic 796 km

 Slovakia 541 km

 Ukraine 535 km

 Germany 467 km

 Belarus 418 km

 Russia 210 km

 Lithuania 104 km

• Coastline: Baltic Sea
  Baltic Sea
  The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
  
   440 km
• Population of Poland: 38,115,967 (June 30, 2007) - 33rd most populous country
• Area of Poland
  Area of Poland
  The following numbers characterize the area of Poland* Area of Polish territory - * Administrative area of Poland - . This is calculated according to the official definition of the coastline...
  
  : 312679 km²
• Atlas of Poland

Environment of Poland

• Climate of Poland
• Environmental issues in Poland
• Ecoregions in Poland
• Renewable energy in Poland
• Geology of Poland
• Protected areas of Poland
  Protected areas of Poland
  Protected areas of Poland include the following types, as defined by the Act on Protection of Nature of 16 April 2004:* 23 National Parks...
  
  
  • Biosphere reserves in Poland
  • National parks of Poland
• Wildlife of Poland
  • Flora of Poland
  • Fauna of Poland
    Fauna of Poland
    Fauna of Poland, according the the Polish Museum and Institute of Zoology, numbers about 36,000 species. The most common type of fauna in Poland are anthropods , and within them, insects ....
    
    
    • Birds of Poland
    • Mammals of Poland

Natural geographic features of Poland

• Glaciers of Poland
• Islands of Poland
• Lakes of Poland
• Mountains of Poland
  • Volcanoes in Poland
• Rivers of Poland
  • Waterfalls of Poland
• Valleys of Poland
• World Heritage Sites in Poland

Administrative divisions of Poland

• Voivodeships of Poland
  Voivodeships of Poland
  The voivodeship, or province, called in Polish województwo , has been a high-level administrative subdivision of Poland since the 14th century....
  
  
  • Powiats of Poland
    Powiat
    A powiat is the second-level unit of local government and administration in Poland, equivalent to a county, district or prefecture in other countries. The term powiat is most often translated into English as "county", although other terms are also sometimes used...
    
    
    • Gminas of Poland
      Gmina
      The gmina is the principal unit of administrative division of Poland at its lowest uniform level. It is often translated as "commune" or "municipality." As of 2010 there were 2,479 gminas throughout the country...
      
      

Municipalities of Poland

• Capital of Poland: Warsaw
  Warsaw
  Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
  
  
• Cities of Poland

Government and politics of Poland

• Form of government
  Form of government
  A form of government, or form of state governance, refers to the set of political institutions by which a government of a state is organized. Synonyms include "regime type" and "system of government".-Empirical and conceptual problems:...
  
  :
• Capital of Poland: Warsaw
  Warsaw
  Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
  
  

• Elections in Poland
  Elections in Poland
  Elections in Poland gives information on election and election results in Poland. Poland has a multi-party political system. Poland elects on national level a head of state - the president - and a legislature...
  
  
  • (specific elections)
• Political parties in Poland
• Political scandals of Poland
• Taxation in Poland

Executive branch of the government of Poland

• Head of state: President of Poland,
• Head of government: Prime Minister of Poland,
• Cabinet of Poland

Legislative branch of the government of Poland

• National Assembly of the Republic of Poland (bicameral)
  • Upper house: Senate of Poland
    Senate of Poland
    The Senate is the upper house of the Polish parliament, the lower house being the 'Sejm'. The history of the Polish Senate is rich in tradition and stretches back over 500 years, it was one of the first constituent bodies of a bicameral parliament in Europe and existed without hiatus until the...
    
    
  • Lower house: Sejm of Poland

Judicial branch of the government of Poland

• Supreme Court of Poland
  Supreme Court of Poland
  The Supreme Court of the Republic of Poland supervises the adjudication in:* General courts - these are district, regional, and appeal courts. They adjudicate in the areas of civil, criminal, family and labour law....
  
  

Foreign relations of Poland

• Diplomatic missions in Poland
• Diplomatic missions of Poland
  Diplomatic missions of Poland
  This is a list of diplomatic missions of Poland, excluding honorary consulates. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has reduced the number of Polish diplomatic missions in September 2008...
  
  

International organization membership

The Republic of Poland is a member of:

• Arctic Council
  Arctic Council
  The Arctic Council is a high-level intergovernmental forum which addresses issues faced by the Arctic governments and the indigenous people of the Arctic.- History of the Arctic Council :...
  
   (observer)
• Australia Group
  Australia Group
  The Australia Group is an informal group of countries established in 1985 to help member countries to identify those of their exports which need to be controlled so as not to contribute to the spread of chemical and biological weapons .The group, initially consisting of 15 members, held its first...
  
  
• Bank for International Settlements
  Bank for International Settlements
  The Bank for International Settlements is an intergovernmental organization of central banks which "fosters international monetary and financial cooperation and serves as a bank for central banks." It is not accountable to any national government...
  
   (BIS)
• Black Sea Economic Cooperation Zone (BSEC) (observer)
• Central European Initiative
  Central European Initiative
  The Central European Initiative is a forum of regional cooperation in Central, Eastern and South Eastern Europe, counting 18 member states. It was formed in Budapest in 1989.-History:...
  
   (CEI)
• Council of Europe
  Council of Europe
  The Council of Europe is an international organisation promoting co-operation between all countries of Europe in the areas of legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation...
  
   (CE)
• Council of the Baltic Sea States
  Council of the Baltic Sea States
  The Council of the Baltic Sea States is an overall political forum for regional intergovernmental cooperation which addresses the five priority areas of the environment, economic development, energy, education and culture, civil security and human dimension, including trafficking in human...
  
   (CBSS)
• Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council
  Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council
  The Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council , a NATO institution, is a multilateral forum created to improve relations between NATO and non-NATO countries in Europe and those parts of Asia on the European periphery. The member states meet to cooperate and consult on a range of political and security issues...
  
   (EAPC)
• European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
  European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
  Founded in 1991, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development uses the tools of investment to help build market economies and democracies in 30 countries from central Europe to central Asia. Its mission was to support the formerly communist countries in the process of establishing their...
  
   (EBRD)
• European Investment Bank
  European Investment Bank
  The European Investment Bank is the European Union's long-term lending institution established in 1958 under the Treaty of Rome. A policy-driven bank, the EIB supports the EU’s priority objectives, especially European integration and the development of economically weak regions...
  
   (EIB)
• European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN)
• European Space Agency
  European Space Agency
  The European Space Agency , established in 1975, is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 18 member states...
  
   (ESA) (cooperating state)
• European Union
  European Union
  The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
  
   (EU)
• Food and Agriculture Organization
  Food and Agriculture Organization
  The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations is a specialised agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger. Serving both developed and developing countries, FAO acts as a neutral forum where all nations meet as equals to negotiate agreements and...
  
   (FAO)
• International Atomic Energy Agency
  International Atomic Energy Agency
  The International Atomic Energy Agency is an international organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. The IAEA was established as an autonomous organization on 29 July 1957...
  
   (IAEA)
• International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
  International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
  The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development is one of five institutions that compose the World Bank Group. The IBRD is an international organization whose original mission was to finance the reconstruction of nations devastated by World War II. Now, its mission has expanded to fight...
  
   (IBRD)
• International Chamber of Commerce
  International Chamber of Commerce
  The International Chamber of Commerce is the largest, most representative business organization in the world. Its hundreds of thousands of member companies in over 130 countries have interests spanning every sector of private enterprise....
  
   (ICC)
• International Civil Aviation Organization
  International Civil Aviation Organization
  The International Civil Aviation Organization , pronounced , , is a specialized agency of the United Nations. It codifies the principles and techniques of international air navigation and fosters the planning and development of international air transport to ensure safe and orderly growth...
  
   (ICAO)
• International Criminal Court
  International Criminal Court
  The International Criminal Court is a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression .It came into being on 1 July 2002—the date its founding treaty, the Rome Statute of the...
  
   (ICCt)
• International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol)
• International Development Association
  International Development Association
  The International Development Association , is the part of the World Bank that helps the world’s poorest countries. It complements the World Bank's other lending arm — the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development — which serves middle-income countries with capital investment and...
  
   (IDA)
• International Energy Agency
  International Energy Agency
  The International Energy Agency is a Paris-based autonomous intergovernmental organization established in the framework of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in 1974 in the wake of the 1973 oil crisis...
  
   (IEA)
• International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
  International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
  The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies is a humanitarian institution that is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement along with the ICRC and 186 distinct National Societies...
  
   (IFRCS)
• International Finance Corporation
  International Finance Corporation
  The International Finance Corporation promotes sustainable private sector investment in developing countries.IFC is a member of the World Bank Group and is headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States....
  
   (IFC)
• International Hydrographic Organization
  International Hydrographic Organization
  The International Hydrographic Organization is the inter-governmental organisation representing the hydrographic community. It enjoys observer status at the UN and is the recognised competent authority on hydrographic surveying and nautical charting...
  
   (IHO)
• International Labour Organization
  International Labour Organization
  The International Labour Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that deals with labour issues pertaining to international labour standards. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland. Its secretariat — the people who are employed by it throughout the world — is known as the...
  
   (ILO)
• International Maritime Organization
  International Maritime Organization
  The International Maritime Organization , formerly known as the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization , was established in Geneva in 1948, and came into force ten years later, meeting for the first time in 1959...
  
   (IMO)
• International Mobile Satellite Organization
  International Mobile Satellite Organization
  The International Mobile Satellite Organization is the intergovernmental organization that oversees certain public satellite safety and security communication services provided via the Inmarsat satellites...
  
   (IMSO)
• International Monetary Fund
  International Monetary Fund
  The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
  
   (IMF)
• International Olympic Committee
  International Olympic Committee
  The International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...
  
   (IOC)
• International Organization for Migration
  International Organization for Migration
  The International Organization for Migration is an intergovernmental organization. It was initially established in 1951 as the Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration to help resettle people displaced by World War II....
  
   (IOM)
• International Organization for Standardization
  International Organization for Standardization
  The International Organization for Standardization , widely known as ISO, is an international standard-setting body composed of representatives from various national standards organizations. Founded on February 23, 1947, the organization promulgates worldwide proprietary, industrial and commercial...
  
   (ISO)
• International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
  International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
  The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is an international humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide which was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and to prevent and alleviate human...
  
   (ICRM)
• International Telecommunication Union
  International Telecommunication Union
  The International Telecommunication Union is the specialized agency of the United Nations which is responsible for information and communication technologies...
  
   (ITU)
• International Telecommunications Satellite Organization
  International Telecommunications Satellite Organization
  The International Telecommunications Satellite Organization is an intergovernmental organisation charged with overseeing the public service obligations of Intelsat.-External links:*...
  
   (ITSO)
• International Trade Union Confederation
  International Trade Union Confederation
  The International Trade Union Confederation is the world's largest trade union federation. It was formed on November 1, 2006 out of the merger of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions and the World Confederation of Labour...
  
   (ITUC)
• Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU)

• Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency
  Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency
  The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency is a member organization of the World Bank Group that offers political risk insurance. It was established to promote foreign direct investment into developing countries. MIGA was founded in 1988 with a capital base of $1 billion and is headquartered in...
  
   (MIGA)
• Nonaligned Movement (NAM) (guest)
• North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
• Nuclear Suppliers Group
  Nuclear Suppliers Group
  Nuclear Suppliers Group is a multinational body concerned with reducing nuclear proliferation by controlling the export and re-transfer of materials that may be applicable to nuclear weapon development and by improving safeguards and protection on existing materials.- History :It was founded in...
  
   (NSG)
• Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) (observer)
• Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
• Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
• Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)
• Organization of American States
  Organization of American States
  The Organization of American States is a regional international organization, headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States...
  
   (OAS) (observer)
• Permanent Court of Arbitration
  Permanent Court of Arbitration
  The Permanent Court of Arbitration , is an international organization based in The Hague in the Netherlands.-History:The court was established in 1899 as one of the acts of the first Hague Peace Conference, which makes it the oldest institution for international dispute resolution.The creation of...
  
   (PCA)
• Schengen Convention
• Southeast European Cooperative Initiative
  Southeast European Cooperative Initiative
  The Southeast European Cooperative Initiative, or the SECI, has been an initiative that, under the auspices of men like Erhard Busek and Richard Schifter, has been successful in providing stability in an unstable region and has found support in international organizations and countries...
  
   (SECI) (observer)
• United Nations
  United Nations
  The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
  
   (UN)
• United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
  United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
  The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development was established in 1964 as a permanent intergovernmental body. It is the principal organ of the United Nations General Assembly dealing with trade, investment, and development issues....
  
   (UNCTAD)
• United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF)
• United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
• United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
  United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
  The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees , also known as The UN Refugee Agency is a United Nations agency mandated to protect and support refugees at the request of a government or the UN itself and assists in their voluntary repatriation, local integration or resettlement to...
  
   (UNHCR)
• United Nations Industrial Development Organization
  United Nations Industrial Development Organization
  The United Nations Industrial Development Organization , French/Spanish acronym ONUDI, is a specialized agency in the United Nations system, headquartered in Vienna, Austria...
  
   (UNIDO)
• United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon
  United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon
  The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, or UNIFIL, was created by the United Nations, with the adoption of Security Council Resolution 425 and 426 on 19 March 1978, to confirm Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon which Israel had invaded five days prior, restore international peace and security,...
  
   (UNIFIL)
• United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara
  United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara
  MINURSO is the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara. The name is a French acronym for "Mission des Nations Unies pour l'Organisation d'un Référendum au Sahara Occidental" — United Nations Mission for the organization of a Referendum in Western Sahara.-Purpose of the mission:MINURSO...
  
   (MINURSO)
• United Nations Mission in Liberia
  United Nations Mission in Liberia
  The United Nations Mission in Liberia is a peace-keeping force established in September 2003 to monitor a ceasefire agreement in Liberia following the resignation of President Charles Taylor and the conclusion of the Second Liberian Civil War....
  
   (UNMIL)
• United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad
  United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad
  The United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad was a United Nations peacekeeping mission established by the United Nations Security Council on September 25, 2007 to provide a multidimensional presence of up to 350 police and military personnel to eastern Chad and north-eastern...
  
   (MINURCAT)
• United Nations Mission in the Sudan (UNMIS)
• United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia
  United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia
  The United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia was established by United Nations Security Council Resolution 858 in August 1993 to verify compliance with a 27 July 1993 ceasefire agreement between the Republic of Georgia and forces in Abkhazia with special attention given to the situation in the...
  
   (UNOMIG)
• United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire
  United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire
  The United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire is a peacekeeping mission whose objective is "to facilitate the implementation by the Ivorian parties of the peace agreement signed by them in January 2003"...
  
   (UNOCI)
• United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC)
• Universal Postal Union
  Universal Postal Union
  The Universal Postal Union is an international organization that coordinates postal policies among member nations, in addition to the worldwide postal system. The UPU contains four bodies consisting of the Congress, the Council of Administration , the Postal Operations Council and the...
  
   (UPU)
• Western European Union
  Western European Union
  The Western European Union was an international organisation tasked with implementing the Modified Treaty of Brussels , an amended version of the original 1948 Treaty of Brussels...
  
   (WEU) (associate)
• World Confederation of Labour
  World Confederation of Labour
  The World Confederation of Labour was an international labour organization founded in 1920 and based in Europe. Totalitarian governments of the 1930s repressed the federation and imprisoned many of its leaders, limiting operations until the end of World War II...
  
   (WCL)
• World Customs Organization
  World Customs Organization
  The World Customs Organization is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. With its worldwide membership, the WCO is recognized as the voice of the global customs community...
  
   (WCO)
• World Federation of Trade Unions
  World Federation of Trade Unions
  The World Federation of Trade Unions was established in 1945 to replace the International Federation of Trade Unions. Its mission was to bring together trade unions across the world in a single international organization, much like the United Nations...
  
   (WFTU)
• World Health Organization
  World Health Organization
  The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...
  
   (WHO)
• World Intellectual Property Organization
  World Intellectual Property Organization
  The World Intellectual Property Organization is one of the 17 specialized agencies of the United Nations. WIPO was created in 1967 "to encourage creative activity, to promote the protection of intellectual property throughout the world"....
  
   (WIPO)
• World Meteorological Organization
  World Meteorological Organization
  The World Meteorological Organization is an intergovernmental organization with a membership of 189 Member States and Territories. It originated from the International Meteorological Organization , which was founded in 1873...
  
   (WMO)
• World Tourism Organization
  World Tourism Organization
  The World Tourism Organization , based in Madrid, Spain, is a United Nations agency dealing with questions relating to tourism. It compiles the World Tourism rankings. The World Tourism Organization is a significant global body, concerned with the collection and collation of statistical information...
  
   (UNWTO)
• World Trade Organization
  World Trade Organization
  The World Trade Organization is an organization that intends to supervise and liberalize international trade. The organization officially commenced on January 1, 1995 under the Marrakech Agreement, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade , which commenced in 1948...
  
   (WTO)
• Zangger Committee
  Zangger Committee
  The Zangger Committee, also known as the Nuclear Exporters Committee, sprang from Article III.2 of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons which entered into force on March 5, 1970...
  
   (ZC)

Law and order in Poland

• Capital punishment in Poland
  Capital punishment in Poland
  Capital punishment remained in Polish law until April 1, 1998, but from 1989 there was a moratorium on executions, with the last execution taking place one year earlier...
  
  
• Constitution of Poland
  Constitution of Poland
  The current Constitution of Poland was adopted on 2 April 1997. Formally known as the Constitution of the Republic of Poland , it replaced the temporary amendments put into place in 1992 designed to reverse the effects of Communism, establishing the nation as "a democratic state ruled by law and...
  
  
• Crime in Poland
  Crime in Poland
  Crime in Poland is lower than in many countries of Western Europe. The 2005 surveys placed Poland below the European average, with victimisation rate lower than in Ireland, England and Wales, Iceland, Northern Ireland, Estonia, Netherlands, Denmark, Switzerland, Belgium, Sweden and Norway...
  
  
• Human rights in Poland
  Human rights in Poland
  Human rights in Poland are guaranteed by the second chapter of the Constitution of Poland. Poland is part to all important international agreements relevant to human rights. Death Penalty is abolished for all crimes and Poland has ratified the International Criminal Court agreement...
  
  
  • LGBT rights in Poland
  • Freedom of religion in Poland
• Law enforcement in Poland
  Law enforcement in Poland
  Law enforcement in Poland consists of the police force, independent judiciary, prosecutors , and smaller, specialized formations.-Pre 20th Century:...
  
  

Military of Poland

• Command
  • Commander-in-chief
    Commander-in-Chief
    A commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function. As a practical term it refers to the military...
    
    :
    • Ministry of Defence of Poland
• Forces
  • Army of Poland
  • Navy of Poland
  • Air Force of Poland
  • Special forces of Poland
    Special forces of Poland
    Wojska Specjalne Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, WS RP is the 4th branch of Armed Forces of Republic of Poland formed in early 2007...
    
    
• Military history of Poland
• Military ranks of Poland

History of Poland

Main articles: History of Poland

History of Poland

The History of Poland is rooted in the arrival of the Slavs, who gave rise to permanent settlement and historic development on Polish lands. During the Piast dynasty Christianity was adopted in 966 and medieval monarchy established...

, Timeline of the history of Poland, and Current events of Poland

• Economic history of Poland
• Military history of Poland

Culture of Poland

• Architecture of Poland
• Cuisine of Poland
• Ethnic minorities in Poland
  Ethnic minorities in Poland
  96.7% of the people of Poland claim Polish nationality, and 97.8% declare that they speak Polish at home . The population of Poland became one of the most ethnically homogeneous in the world as a result of the radically altered borders after World War II and the subsequent migrations...
  
  
• Festivals in Poland
• Humor in Poland
• Languages of Poland
  Languages of Poland
  The main language spoken in Poland is Polish. The following languages are spoken as well:* German* Belarusan* Romani languages: Romani Vlax, Romani Carpathian, Romani Sinte, Baltic Romani* Ukrainian* Upper-Silesian* Silesian* Kashubian* Wymysorys...
  
  
• Media in Poland
  Media in Poland
  - Media and politics :Poland has instituted freedom of press since the fall of communism. However, public TV and radio are still politically controlled, via...
  
  
• National symbols of Poland
  • Coat of arms of Poland
    Coat of arms of Poland
    The White Eagle is the national coat of arms of Poland. It is a stylized white eagle with a golden beak and talons, and wearing a golden crown, in a red shield.- Legal basis :...
    
    
  • Flag of Poland
    Flag of Poland
    The flag of Poland consists of two horizontal stripes of equal width, the upper one white and the lower one red. The two colors are defined in the Polish constitution as the national colors. A variant of the flag with the national coat of arms in the middle of the white stripe is legally reserved...
    
    
  • National anthem of Poland
• People of Poland
• Prostitution in Poland
  Prostitution in Poland
  Prostitution in Poland is legal, but operating brothels or other forms of pimping or coercive prostitution and prostitution of minors are prohibited.- Early period :The travelling prostitute is recorded in the tenth century...
  
  
• Public holidays in Poland
  Public holidays in Poland
  Holidays in Poland are regulated by the Non-working Days Act of 18 January 1951 — Journal of Laws, No. 4 of 1960, item No. 28. The Act, as amended in 2010, currently defines thirteen public holidays....
  
  
• Records of Poland
• Religion in Poland
  Religion in Poland
  Most residents of Poland adhere to the Christian faith, with 89.8% belonging to the Roman Catholic Church. Catholicism plays an important role in the lives of many Poles and the Roman Catholic Church in Poland enjoys social prestige and political influence. The Church is widely respected by its...
  
  
  • Buddhism in Poland
    Buddhism in Poland
    The roots of Buddhism in Poland can be found in the early 20th century in the nation's connections to the origin countries of the religion, like China, Vietnam, Japan, and Korea. After World War II, primarily expatriate Poles joined various Buddhist groups and organizations...
    
    
  • Christianity in Poland
  • Hinduism in Poland
    Hinduism in Poland
    Hinduism in Poland is a minority religion.Hinduism has spread to Poland through ISKCON missionaries since 1976. First groups of Polish devotees were established in Warszawa and Wrocław. The first Polish Hindu temple was established in 1980 in Czarnów, Lower Silesian Voivodeship . Main ISKCON temple...
    
    
  • Islam in Poland
    Islam in Poland
    The first ever written account of Poland was recorded by the Muslim Caliphate of Córdoba's 10th-century envoy, Ibrahim ibn Jakub. A continuous presence of Islam in Poland began in the 14th century. From this time it was primarily associated with the Tatars, many of whom settled in the...
    
    
  • Judaism in Poland
  • Sikhism in Poland
• List of World Heritage Sites in Poland

Art in Poland

• Art in Poland
• Cinema of Poland
  Cinema of Poland
  The history of cinema in Poland is almost as long as history of cinematography, and it has universal achievements, even though Polish movies tend to be less commercially available than movies from several other European nations....
  
  
• Literature of Poland
• Music of Poland
  Music of Poland
  Artists from Poland, including famous composers like Chopin or Lutosławski and traditional, regionalized folk musicians, create a lively and diverse music scene, which even recognizes its own music genres, such as poezja śpiewana.- Beginning :...
  
  
• Television in Poland
  Television in Poland
  Television in Poland was introduced in 1937. It was state owned, and was interrupted by the Second World War in 1939. Television returned to Poland in 1951 and for several decades was controlled by the communist government. Colour television was introduced in Poland in 1971...
  
  
• Theatre in Poland

Sports in Poland

• Football in Poland
  Football in Poland
  Football is the most popular sport in Poland. Over 400,000 Poles play football regularly, with millions more playing occasionally. The first professional clubs were founded in the early 1900s, and the Polish national football team played its first international match in 1921.There are hundreds of...
  
  
• Poland at the Olympics
  Poland at the Olympics
  Poland first participated at the Olympic Games in 1924, and has sent athletes to compete in every Summer Olympic Games since then, except for the 1984 Games, when they participated in the Soviet-led boycott of the 1984 Summer Olympics...
  
  

Economy and infrastructure of Poland

• Economic rank, by nominal GDP (2007): 22nd (twenty-second)

• Agriculture in Poland
  Agriculture in Poland
  Agriculture in Poland has always been an important part of the country's economy. Of the 18,727,000 hectares of agricultural land , 14,413,000 hectares were used for crop cultivation, 265,000 for orchards, and about 4,048,500 for meadows and pastures in 1989...
  
  
• Banking in Poland
  • National Bank of Poland
    National Bank of Poland
    Narodowy Bank Polski is the central bank of Poland. It controls the issuing of Poland's currency, the złoty. The Bank is headquartered in Warsaw, and has branches in every major Polish town...
    
    
• Communications in Poland
  Communications in Poland
  - Telephone system :From the communist era Poland inherited an underdeveloped and outmoded system of telephones, with some areas being served by manual exchanges. In December 2005 the last analog exchange was shut down. All telephone lines are now served by modern fully computerised exchanges...
  
  
  • Internet in Poland
    Internet in Poland
    The most popular ADSL services for home users in Poland are Neostrada provided by TPSA and Net24 provided by Netia. Both provide download speeds in the range of 1 to 6 Mb/sec. and upload speeds of 512kb/sec or more. Business users as well as some home users use Internet DSL TP also offered by TPSA...
    
    
• Companies of Poland

• Currency of Poland
  Currency
  In economics, currency refers to a generally accepted medium of exchange. These are usually the coins and banknotes of a particular government, which comprise the physical aspects of a nation's money supply...
  
  : Złoty
  • ISO 4217
    ISO 4217
    ISO 4217 is a standard published by the International Standards Organization, which delineates currency designators, country codes , and references to minor units in three tables:* Table A.1 – Current currency & funds code list...
    
    : PLN

• Economic history of Poland
• Energy in Poland
  Energy in Poland
  Energy in Poland describes energy and electricity production, consumption and import in Poland.In 2009, Poland was world's 9th largest hard coal producer...
  
  
  • Energy policy of Poland
  • Oil industry in Poland
• Mining in Poland
• Tourism in Poland
  Tourism in Poland
  Poland is a part of the global tourism market with constantly increasing number of visitors, particularly after joining the European Union. Tourism in Poland contributes to the country's overall economy. The most popular cities are Warsaw, Kraków, Wrocław, Gdańsk, Poznań, Lublin, Toruń and the...
  
  
• Transport in Poland
  Transport in Poland
  The transport in Poland involves air traffic, waterways, and railroads.As a country located at the 'cross-roads' of Europe, Poland, with its developed economy is a nation with a large and increasingly modern network of transport infrastructure....
  
  

• Poland Stock Exchange

Transportation in Poland

• Airports in Poland
• Rail transport in Poland
  Rail transport in Poland
  The Polish railways network consists of around of track as of 2008, of which the vast majority is electrified using a 3 kV DC overhead line system.Poland is a member of the International Union of Railways...
  
  
  • High-speed rail in Poland
    High-speed rail in Poland
    As of December 2009, Poland had 700–800 km of railways suited for rail transport reaching 160 km/h. An additional 1,500 km are expected by 2015, including some sections allowing 200 km/h. While previously the Polish government had invested primarily in Poland's road network,...
    
    
• Roads in Poland
  • National roads in Poland
    National roads in Poland
    National road in Poland refers to a public trunk road controlled by the Polish central government authority, the General Directorship of National Roads and Motorways...
    
    
    • Motorways in Poland
    • Expressways in Poland
  • Voivodeship road
    Voivodeship road
    A voivodeship road is a category of road in Poland. Voivodeship roads fall one step below national roads in importance. The roads are numbered from 100 to 993...
    
    s
  • Powiat roads
  • Gmina roads

See also

• List of international rankings
• Member state of the European Union
  Member State of the European Union
  A member state of the European Union is a state that is party to treaties of the European Union and has thereby undertaken the privileges and obligations that EU membership entails. Unlike membership of an international organisation, being an EU member state places a country under binding laws in...
  
  
• Member state of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
• Member state of the United Nations
• Outline of Europe
• Outline of geography
  Outline of geography
  The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to geography:Geography – science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth.- Geography is :...
  
  

External links

General

• Poland.gov.pl - Polish national portal
• Polish Information
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• Poland at the World Factbook
• Background Note: Poland

Travel

• Commonwealth of Diverse Cultures: Poland's Heritage

Photos

• Photos from Poland