Country data

Location: Central Europe

Time zone: CET

Total area: 312,685 km²

Land area: 304,255 km²

Water area: 8,430 km²

Length of the state border: 3,071 km

Bordering countries:
Germany: 467 km
Lithuania: 104 km
Russian Federation: 210 km
Slovakia: 541 km
Czech Republic: 796 km
Ukraine: 535 km
Belarus / Belarus: 418 km

Coastline: 440 km

Capital: Warsaw

Provinces: 16
Dolnoslaskie, Kujawsko-Pomorskie, Lodzkie, Lubelskie, Lubuskie, Malopolskie, Mazowieckie, Opolskie, Podkarpackie, Podlaskie, Pomorskie, Slaskie, Swietokrzyskie, Warminsko-Mazurskie, Wielkopolskie

Electric current: 220 V / 50 Hz

Telephone code: 00 48 (Source: Allcitycodes)

Highest point: Rysy 2,499 m

Population

Population: approx. 38.3 million residents (Countryaah, 2021)

Population growth: -0.1% per year

Population density (residents per km²): 122

Life expectancy: 73 (male), 81 (female)

Official language: Polish

Religions:

• 87% Roman Catholic
• 13% other

Climate

In the Eastern European climate, the summers are warm and the winters are cold. The summer lasts from mid-June to the end of August, the winter months from November to February (in the mountains from December to March).

Currency / finance

Currency unit: Zloty (PLN)

Division: 1 zloty = 100 groszy

ATMs: These are available in all major cities and tourist areas. The withdrawal is made using an EC card / credit card.

International credit cards: These are accepted by many hotels and shops.

Regulations: National and foreign currencies can be imported in unlimited amounts. A declaration is required from an equivalent value of 10,000 euros.

Customs regulations

The following may be carried duty-free:

• 200 cigarettes or 50 cigars or 250 g of tobacco
• 1 liter of alcoholic beverages
• small amounts of perfume

(Information applies to people aged 18 and over)

Tourists and people in transit can bring items of personal use with them duty-free.

If fur goods and objects made of gold are carried, these must be cleared when crossing the border.

Antiques and works of art of any kind may not be exported.

Travel advice

There is currently no country-specific safety notice for Poland.

Economy

Many of the products manufactured in Poland are exported to western countries for foreign exchange.

Industries: chemistry, iron and steel processing, coal mining, food production, mechanical engineering, shipbuilding, textiles

Natural resources: lead, natural gas, coal, copper, farmland, salt, silver

Land use:

• Land: 47%
• Grain cultivation: 1%
• Pasture area: 13%
• Forests: 29%
• other: 10%

Plants

With over 1,000 nature reserves and over 20 national parks, a lot is done in Poland to preserve nature.

In order to stimulate tourism for those interested in nature, care is taken to preserve the existing ecological areas in their natural way.

Animals

Eagles, beavers, brown bears, moose, otters, lynxes, storks, wild cats and wolves can still be found in the wild in Poland’s diverse fauna.

Farm animals mainly include ducks, chickens, cows, horses and pigs.

There are also a large number of smaller animal species that have found their home here quite undisturbed by Central European standards.

The established national parks are particularly interesting for animal lovers.