Poland
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Poland
Poland is the country lying in the northern part of central Europe. Its official name is The Republic of Poland. It shares borders with Germany in the west, the Czech Republic and Slovakia in the south, Ukraine and Belarus in the east and Lithuania and Kaliningrad Oblast (Russian exclave) in the north. However, most of the north border creates Baltic Sea. It is the 69th largest country in the world.
Christianity came to Poland in 966 and at this time the territory of the state was similar to present one. Poland became a kingdom in 1025. From 1569 to 1795 it was a part of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Poland gained its independence in 1918 after the World War I and lost it again in World War II when it was occupied by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. It finally became an independent country in 1989 after the fall of communism.
Poland covers the area of 312,679 square kilometers (120,728 square miles) and only 3 percent of it is water. The north part of the country is created by Baltic seacoast; the centre and parts of the north lie within the Northern European Lowlands. There is a geographical region comprising the four hilly districts of moraines and moraine-dammed lakes (the Pomeranian Lake District, the Greater Polish Lake District, the Kashubian Lake District, and the Masurian Lake District) rising gently above the lowlands. South of it lie the regions of Silesia and Masovia. Farther south there is the Polish mountain region, including the Sudetes, the Cracow-Częstochowa Upland, the Świętokrzyskie Mountains, and the Carpathian Mountains (with Tatra Mountains as the highest part). The longest rivers are the Vistula (1,047 km), the Oder (854 km) and the Warta (808 km). The climate is temperate, oceanic in the north and continental in the south.
There are more than 38,500,000 inhabitants living in Poland. The population density is 122 inhabitants per square kilometre (319.9 inhabitants per square mile). To other nationalities living in Poland belong Silesians, Germans, Ukrainians, Lithuanians, Russians, Jews, Belarusians and others. The number of inhabitants declined after the country had entered the European Union (they moved to other west European countries mostly because of work). There are minorities of Poles living in several countries; the biggest group is in the USA. The number of Poles living abroad is 20 million. Official language is Polish (a Slavonic language). 90 per sent of population is Catholic.
From the governmental point of view is Poland a parliamentary democracy. It is a liberal democracy made up of sixteen administrative regions – voivodeships. Poland is also a member of NATO, OECD and the EU. The capital, as well as the largest city is Warsaw. To other big cities belong Katowice, Łódź, Kraków, the “Tricity” of Gdańsk-Sopot-Gdynia, Poznań, Wrocław and Szczecin.
The international code of Poland is PL, the label of motor vehicles is Pl, internet domain is .pl and code phone number is +48.
Christianity came to Poland in 966 and at this time the territory of the state was similar to present one. Poland became a kingdom in 1025. From 1569 to 1795 it was a part of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Poland gained its independence in 1918 after the World War I and lost it again in World War II when it was occupied by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. It finally became an independent country in 1989 after the fall of communism.
Poland covers the area of 312,679 square kilometers (120,728 square miles) and only 3 percent of it is water. The north part of the country is created by Baltic seacoast; the centre and parts of the north lie within the Northern European Lowlands. There is a geographical region comprising the four hilly districts of moraines and moraine-dammed lakes (the Pomeranian Lake District, the Greater Polish Lake District, the Kashubian Lake District, and the Masurian Lake District) rising gently above the lowlands. South of it lie the regions of Silesia and Masovia. Farther south there is the Polish mountain region, including the Sudetes, the Cracow-Częstochowa Upland, the Świętokrzyskie Mountains, and the Carpathian Mountains (with Tatra Mountains as the highest part). The longest rivers are the Vistula (1,047 km), the Oder (854 km) and the Warta (808 km). The climate is temperate, oceanic in the north and continental in the south.
There are more than 38,500,000 inhabitants living in Poland. The population density is 122 inhabitants per square kilometre (319.9 inhabitants per square mile). To other nationalities living in Poland belong Silesians, Germans, Ukrainians, Lithuanians, Russians, Jews, Belarusians and others. The number of inhabitants declined after the country had entered the European Union (they moved to other west European countries mostly because of work). There are minorities of Poles living in several countries; the biggest group is in the USA. The number of Poles living abroad is 20 million. Official language is Polish (a Slavonic language). 90 per sent of population is Catholic.
From the governmental point of view is Poland a parliamentary democracy. It is a liberal democracy made up of sixteen administrative regions – voivodeships. Poland is also a member of NATO, OECD and the EU. The capital, as well as the largest city is Warsaw. To other big cities belong Katowice, Łódź, Kraków, the “Tricity” of Gdańsk-Sopot-Gdynia, Poznań, Wrocław and Szczecin.
The international code of Poland is PL, the label of motor vehicles is Pl, internet domain is .pl and code phone number is +48.