Poland

Rzeczpospolita Polska Republic of Poland
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: none1
Anthem: Mazurek Dąbrowskiego  (Polish) Dąbrowski's Mazurka
Location of  Poland  (orange) – on the European continent  (camel & white) – in the European Union  (camel)
Capital (and largest city)	Warsaw 3) 52°13′N 21°02′E
Official languages	Polish2
Government	Parliamentary republic
- President	Lech Kaczyński
- Prime minister	Jarosław Kaczyński
Formation
- Christianisation4	966
- Redeclared	November 11, 1918
Accession to EU	May 1, 2004
Area
- Total	312,6833 km² (69th) 120,728 sq mi
- Water (%)	3.07
Population
- 2006 estimate	38,122,000 (31st)
- 2002 census	38,530,080
- Density	122 /km² (83rd) 319.9 /sq mi
GDP (PPP)	2006 estimate
- Total	$546.543 billion (23rd)
- Per capita	$14,400 (48th)
HDI (2004)	0.862 (high) (37th)
Currency	Złoty (PLN)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
- Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Internet TLD	.pl5
Calling code	+48
1 See, however, Unofficial mottos of Poland. 2 Although not official languages, Kashubian, Lithuanian and German are used in fifteen communal offices. 3 The total area of Poland according to the administrative division, as given by the Central Statistical Office, amounts to 312,683 km²: land area (311 889 km²) and part of internal waters (794 km²) cut by the coast line. The area of Poland's territory, including all internal waters and the territorial sea, is 322 575 km². 4 The adoption of Christianity in Poland is seen by many Poles, regardless of their religious affiliation, as one of the most significant national historical events; the new religion was used to unify the tribes in the region. 5 Also .eu, as Poland is a member of the European Union.

Poland (Polish: Polska), officially the Republic of Poland (Polish: Rzeczpospolita Polska), is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine and Belarus to the east; and the Baltic Sea, Lithuania and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north. It also shares a maritime border with Denmark and Sweden. The total area of Poland is 312,683 sq km (120,728 sq mi), making it the 69th largest country in the world. Poland's population is over 38.5 million people, concentrated mainly in large cities such as the historical capital Kraków and the present capital Warsaw.

The first Polish state was created in 966, within territory very similar to the present boundaries of Poland. Poland became a kingdom in 1025, and in 1569 it cemented a long association with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania by uniting to form the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Commonwealth collapsed in 1795. Poland regained its independence in 1918 after World War I but lost it again in World War II, occupied by Nazi Germany and Soviet Union, emerging several years later as a communist country within the Eastern Bloc under control of the former Soviet Union. In 1989, communist rule was overthrown and Poland became what is informally known as the "Third Polish Republic". Today, as the 6th most populated member state of the European Union, Poland is a liberal democracy made up of sixteen voivodeships (Polish: województwo). Poland is also a member of European Union, NATO, the United Nations, OECD and the World Trade Organization.