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.