Poland (2004) | Yemen (2007) | |
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Administrative divisions | 16 provinces (wojewodztwa, singular - wojewodztwo); Dolnoslaskie, Kujawsko-Pomorskie, Lodzkie, Lubelskie, Lubuskie, Malopolskie, Mazowieckie, Opolskie, Podkarpackie, Podlaskie, Pomorskie, Slaskie, Swietokrzyskie, Warminsko-Mazurskie, Wielkopolskie, Zachodniopomorskie | 19 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Abyan, 'Adan, Ad Dali', Al Bayda', Al Hudaydah, Al Jawf, Al Mahrah, Al Mahwit, 'Amran, Dhamar, Hadramawt, Hajjah, Ibb, Lahij, Ma'rib, Sa'dah, San'a', Shabwah, Ta'izz
note: for electoral and administrative purposes, the capital city of Sanaa is treated as an additional governorate |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 17.1% (male 3,388,247; female 3,216,085)
15-64 years: 70% (male 13,454,820; female 13,591,814) 65 years and over: 12.9% (male 1,896,940; female 3,078,443) (2004 est.) |
0-14 years: 46.3% (male 5,239,003/female 5,047,301)
15-64 years: 51.1% (male 5,781,491/female 5,585,152) 65 years and over: 2.6% (male 281,121/female 296,463) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | potatoes, fruits, vegetables, wheat; poultry, eggs, pork | grain, fruits, vegetables, pulses, qat, coffee, cotton; dairy products, livestock (sheep, goats, cattle, camels), poultry; fish |
Airports | 122 (2003 est.) | 50 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 84
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 30 1,524 to 2,437 m: 40 914 to 1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
total: 17
over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 39
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 13 under 914 m: 21 (2004 est.) |
total: 33
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 13 under 914 m: 4 (2007) |
Area | total: 312,685 sq km
land: 304,465 sq km water: 8,220 sq km |
total: 527,970 sq km
land: 527,970 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Perim, Socotra, the former Yemen Arab Republic (YAR or North Yemen), and the former People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY or South Yemen) |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than New Mexico | slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming |
Background | Poland is an ancient nation that was conceived around the middle of the 10th century. Its golden age occurred in the 16th century. During the following century, the strengthening of the gentry and internal disorders weakened the nation. In a series of agreements between 1772 and 1795, Russia, Prussia, and Austria partitioned Poland amongst themselves. Poland regained its independence in 1918 only to be overrun by Germany and the Soviet Union in World War II. It became a Soviet satellite state following the war, but its government was comparatively tolerant and progressive. Labor turmoil in 1980 led to the formation of the independent trade union "Solidarity" that over time became a political force and by 1990 had swept parliamentary elections and the presidency. A "shock therapy" program during the early 1990s enabled the country to transform its economy into one of the most robust in Central Europe, but Poland currently suffers low GDP growth and high unemployment. Solidarity suffered a major defeat in the 2001 parliamentary elections when it failed to elect a single deputy to the lower house of Parliament, and the new leaders of the Solidarity Trade Union subsequently pledged to reduce the Trade Union's political role. Poland joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004. | North Yemen became independent of the Ottoman Empire in 1918. The British, who had set up a protectorate area around the southern port of Aden in the 19th century, withdrew in 1967 from what became South Yemen. Three years later, the southern government adopted a Marxist orientation. The massive exodus of hundreds of thousands of Yemenis from the south to the north contributed to two decades of hostility between the states. The two countries were formally unified as the Republic of Yemen in 1990. A southern secessionist movement in 1994 was quickly subdued. In 2000, Saudi Arabia and Yemen agreed to a delimitation of their border. |
Birth rate | 10.64 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 42.67 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $39.13 billion
expenditures: $48.64 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003) |
revenues: $7.363 billion
expenditures: $7.199 billion (2006 est.) |
Capital | Warsaw | name: Sanaa
geographic coordinates: 15 21 N, 44 12 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | temperate with cold, cloudy, moderately severe winters with frequent precipitation; mild summers with frequent showers and thundershowers | mostly desert; hot and humid along west coast; temperate in western mountains affected by seasonal monsoon; extraordinarily hot, dry, harsh desert in east |
Coastline | 491 km | 1,906 km |
Constitution | adopted by the National Assembly 2 April 1997; passed by national referendum 25 May 1997; effective 17 October 1997 | 16 May 1991; amended 29 September 1994 and February 2001 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Poland
conventional short form: Poland local long form: Rzeczpospolita Polska local short form: Polska |
conventional long form: Republic of Yemen
conventional short form: Yemen local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Yamaniyah local short form: Al Yaman former: Yemen Arab Republic [Yemen (Sanaa) or North Yemen] and People's Democratic Republic of Yemen [Yemen (Aden) or South Yemen] |
Currency | zloty (PLN) | - |
Death rate | 9.97 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 8.05 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $86.82 billion (2003) | $5.494 billion (2006 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Victor ASHE
embassy: Aleje Ujazdowskie 29/31 00-540 Warsaw mailing address: American Embassy Warsaw, US Department of State, 5010 Warsaw Place, Washington, DC 20521-5010 (pouch) telephone: [48] (22) 504-2000 FAX: [48] (22) 504-2688 consulate(s) general: Krakow |
chief of mission: Ambassador Thomas C. KRAJESKI
embassy: Sa'awan Street, Sanaa mailing address: P. O. Box 22347, Sanaa telephone: [967] (1) 755-2000 ext. 2153 or 2266 FAX: [967] (1) 303-182 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Przemyslaw GRUDZINSKI
chancery: 2640 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 234-3800 through 3802 FAX: [1] (202) 328-6270 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador Abd al-Wahab Abdallah al-HAJRI
chancery: 2319 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 965-4760 FAX: [1] (202) 337-2017 |
Disputes - international | none | Saudi Arabia has reinforced its concrete-filled security barrier along sections of the fully demarcated border with Yemen to stem illegal cross-border activities |
Economic aid - recipient | EU structural adjustment funds (2000) | $2.3 billion (2003-07 disbursements) |
Economy - overview | Poland has steadfastly pursued a policy of economic liberalization throughout the 1990s and today stands out as a success story among transition economies. Even so, much remains to be done. The privatization of small and medium state-owned companies and a liberal law on establishing new firms has encouraged the development of the private business sector, but legal and bureaucratic obstacles alongside persistent corruption are hampering its further development. Poland's agricultural sector remains handicapped by structural problems, surplus labor, inefficient small farms, and lack of investment. Restructuring and privatization of "sensitive sectors" (e.g., coal, steel, railroads, and energy), while recently initiated, have stalled. Reforms in health care, education, the pension system, and state administration have resulted in larger than expected fiscal pressures. Further progress in public finance depends mainly on privatization of Poland's remaining state sector, the reduction of state employment, and an overhaul of the tax code to incorporate the growing gray economy and farmers, most of whom pay no tax. The government's determination to enter the EU has shaped most aspects of its economic policy and new legislation; in a nationwide referendum in November 2003, 77% of the voters voted in favor of Poland's EU accession, now scheduled for May 2004. Improving Poland's export competitiveness and containing the internal budget deficit are top priorities. Due to political uncertainty, the zloty has recently depreciated in relation to the euro, while currencies of the other euro-zone aspirants have been appreciating. GDP per capita equals that of the three Baltic states. | Yemen, one of the poorest countries in the Arab world, reported average annual growth of 3.5% from 2000 through 2006. Its economic fortunes depend mostly on oil. Oil revenues probably increased in 2006 as a result of higher prices. Yemen was on an IMF-supported structural adjustment program designed to modernize and streamline the economy, which led to substantial foreign debt relief and restructuring. However, government dedication to the program waned in 2001 for political reasons. Yemen is struggling to control excessive spending and rampant corruption. Yemen is dependent on foreign aid to finance its budget deficits and development projects. In November, Yemen secured $4.7 billion in assistance from Arabian Gulf and Western donors. |
Electricity - consumption | 118.8 billion kWh (2001) | 3.381 billion kWh (2005 est.) |
Electricity - exports | 11.04 billion kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 4.306 billion kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 135 billion kWh (2001) | 4.456 billion kWh (2005 est.) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: near Raczki Elblaskie -2 m
highest point: Rysy 2,499 m |
lowest point: Arabian Sea 0 m
highest point: Jabal an Nabi Shu'ayb 3,760 m |
Environment - current issues | situation has improved since 1989 due to decline in heavy industry and increased environmental concern by post-Communist governments; air pollution nonetheless remains serious because of sulfur dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants, and the resulting acid rain has caused forest damage; water pollution from industrial and municipal sources is also a problem, as is disposal of hazardous wastes; pollution levels should continue to decrease as industrial establishments bring their facilities up to European Union code, but at substantial cost to business and the government | very limited natural fresh water resources; inadequate supplies of potable water; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Air Pollution, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Kyoto Protocol, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94 |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Polish 96.7%, German 0.4%, Belarusian 0.1%, Ukrainian 0.1%, other 2.7% (2002) | predominantly Arab; but also Afro-Arab, South Asians, Europeans |
Exchange rates | zlotych per US dollar - 3.8891 (2003), 4.08 (2002), 4.0939 (2001), 4.3461 (2000), 3.9671 (1999)
note: zlotych is the plural form of zloty |
Yemeni rials per US dollar - 197.18 (2006), 192.67 (2005), 184.78 (2004), 183.45 (2003), 175.63 (2002) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Aleksander KWASNIEWSKI (since 23 December 1995)
head of government: Prime Minister Marek BELKA (since 24 June 2004); Deputy Prime Minister Jerzy HAUSNER (since 11 June 2003) cabinet: Council of Ministers responsible to the prime minister and the Sejm; the prime minister proposes, the president appoints, and the Sejm approves the Council of Ministers elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 8 October 2000 (next to be held NA October 2005); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president and confirmed by the Sejm election results: Aleksander KWASNIEWSKI reelected president; percent of popular vote - Aleksander KWASNIEWSKI 53.9%, Andrzej OLECHOWSKI 17.3%, Marian KRZAKLEWSKI 15.6%, Lech WALESA 1% |
chief of state: President Ali Abdallah SALIH (since 22 May 1990, the former president of North Yemen, assumed office upon the merger of North and South Yemen); Vice President Maj. Gen. Abd al-Rab Mansur al-HADI (since 3 October 1994)
head of government: Prime Minister Ali Muhammad MUJAWWAR (since 31 March 2007); Deputy Prime Minister Rashad Muhammad al-ALIMI cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 20 September 2006 (next to be held in September 2013); vice president appointed by the president; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president election results: Ali Abdallah SALIH elected president; percent of vote - Ali Abdallah SALIH 77.2%, Faysal BIN SHAMLAN 21.8% |
Exports | 53,000 bbl/day (2001) | 320,600 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment 30.2%, intermediate manufactured goods 25.5%, miscellaneous manufactured goods 20.9%, food and live animals 8.5% (1999) | crude oil, coffee, dried and salted fish |
Exports - partners | Germany 32.3%, France 6.1%, Italy 5.8%, UK 5%, Netherlands 4.5%, Czech Republic 4.1% (2003) | China 31.4%, India 17.4%, Thailand 16.7%, South Korea 7%, US 6.7%, UAE 4.1% (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red; similar to the flags of Indonesia and Monaco which are red (top) and white | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black; similar to the flag of Syria, which has two green stars, and of Iraq, which has three green stars (plus an Arabic inscription), in a horizontal line centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Egypt, which has a heraldic eagle centered in the white band |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $427.1 billion (2003 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3.1%
industry: 31% services: 65.9% (2003 est.) |
agriculture: 12.4%
industry: 42.2% services: 45.4% (2006 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $11,100 (2003 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.7% (2003 est.) | 2.6% (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 52 00 N, 20 00 E | 15 00 N, 48 00 E |
Geography - note | historically, an area of conflict because of flat terrain and the lack of natural barriers on the North European Plain | strategic location on Bab el Mandeb, the strait linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, one of world's most active shipping lanes |
Heliports | 3 (2003 est.) | - |
Highways | total: 364,656 km
paved: 249,060 km (including 358 km of expressways) unpaved: 115,596 km (2000) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3.2%
highest 10%: 24.7% (1998) |
lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 25.9% (2003) |
Illicit drugs | major illicit producer of synthetic drugs for the international market; minor transshipment point for Asian and Latin American illicit drugs to Western Europe | - |
Imports | 413,700 bbl/day (2001) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment 38.2%, intermediate manufactured goods 20.8%, chemicals 14.3%, miscellaneous manufactured goods 9.5% (1999) | food and live animals, machinery and equipment, chemicals |
Imports - partners | Germany 24.4%, Italy 8.5%, Russia 7.7%, France 7.1%, China 4.3% (2003) | UAE 16.4%, China 12.8%, Saudi Arabia 7.7%, Kuwait 5.8%, Brazil 4.5%, Malaysia 4.2%, US 4% (2006) |
Independence | 11 November 1918 (independent republic proclaimed) | 22 May 1990 (Republic of Yemen established with the merger of the Yemen Arab Republic [Yemen (Sanaa) or North Yemen] and the Marxist-dominated People's Democratic Republic of Yemen [Yemen (Aden) or South Yemen]); note - previously North Yemen had become independent in November 1918 (from the Ottoman Empire) and South Yemen became independent on 30 November 1967 (from the UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 8.6% (2003) | 3% (2003 est.) |
Industries | machine building, iron and steel, coal mining, chemicals, shipbuilding, food processing, glass, beverages, textiles | crude oil production and petroleum refining; small-scale production of cotton textiles and leather goods; food processing; handicrafts; small aluminum products factory; cement; commercial ship repair |
Infant mortality rate | total: 8.73 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 9.82 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.59 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
total: 57.88 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 62.48 deaths/1,000 live births female: 53.05 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 0.7% (2003 est.) | 20.8% (2006 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT (observer), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EU (new member), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (member affiliate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC | AFESD, AMF, CAEU, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) |
Irrigated land | 1,000 sq km (1998 est.) | 5,500 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president on the recommendation of the National Council of the Judiciary for an indefinite period); Constitutional Tribunal (judges are chosen by the Sejm for nine-year terms) | Supreme Court |
Labor force | 16.92 million (2003 est.) | 5.972 million (2006 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 27.5%, industry 22.1%, services 50.4% (1999) | note: most people are employed in agriculture and herding; services, construction, industry, and commerce account for less than one-fourth of the labor force |
Land boundaries | total: 2,788 km
border countries: Belarus 407 km, Czech Republic 658 km, Germany 456 km, Lithuania 91 km, Russia (Kaliningrad Oblast) 206 km, Slovakia 444 km, Ukraine 526 km |
total: 1,746 km
border countries: Oman 288 km, Saudi Arabia 1,458 km |
Land use | arable land: 45.91%
permanent crops: 1.12% other: 52.97% (2001) |
arable land: 2.91%
permanent crops: 0.25% other: 96.84% (2005) |
Languages | Polish | Arabic |
Legal system | mixture of Continental (Napoleonic) civil law and holdover Communist legal theory; changes being gradually introduced as part of broader democratization process; limited judicial review of legislative acts, but rulings of the Constitutional Tribunal are final; court decisions can be appealed to the European Court of Justice in Strasbourg | based on Islamic law, Turkish law, English common law, and local tribal customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | bicameral legislature consisting of an upper house, the Senate or Senat (100 seats; members are elected by a majority vote on a provincial basis to serve four-year terms), and a lower house, the Sejm (460 seats; members are elected under a complex system of proportional representation to serve four-year terms); the designation of National Assembly or Zgromadzenie Narodowe is only used on those rare occasions when the two houses meet jointly
elections: Sejm elections last held 23 September 2001 (next to be held by September 2005); Senate - last held 23 September 2001 (next to be held by September 2005) election results: Sejm - percent of vote by party - SLD-UP 41%, PO 12.7%, Samoobrona 10.2%, PiS 9.5%, PSL 9%, LPR 7.9%, AWSP 5.6% UW 3.1%, other 1%; seats by party (as of 10 December 2004) - SLD 154, PO 56, PiS 44, PSL 40, SDPL 33, SO 30, LPR 25, UP 15, PLD 11, SKL 6, RKN 5, Dom Ojczysty 4, PP 3, ROP 3, German minorities 2, independents 26; Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party (as of 10 December 2004)- SLD-UP 74, Block Senate 2001 10, PSL and unaffiliated 5, UW 4, SO 2, LPR 2, independents 2, PiS 1 note: two seats are assigned to ethnic minority parties in the Sejm only |
a bicameral legislature consisting of a Shura Council (111 seats; members appointed by the president) and a House of Representatives (301 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: last held on 27 April 2003 (next to be held in April 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - GPC 228, Islah 47, YSP 7, Nasserite Unionist Party 3, National Arab Socialist Ba'th Party 2, independents 14 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 74.16 years
male: 70.04 years female: 78.52 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 62.52 years
male: 60.61 years female: 64.54 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.8% male: 99.8% female: 99.7% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 50.2% male: 70.5% female: 30% (2003 est.) |
Location | Central Europe, east of Germany | Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea, between Oman and Saudi Arabia |
Map references | Europe | Middle East |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: defined by international treaties |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
Merchant marine | total: 14 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 154,710 GRT/228,132 DWT
by type: bulk 7, cargo 3, chemical tanker 3, roll on/roll off 1 registered in other countries: 100 (2004 est.) |
total: 4 ships (1000 GRT or over) 15,474 GRT/18,072 DWT
by type: cargo 1, chemical tanker 1, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 1 registered in other countries: 12 (Bolivia 1, Cambodia 3, North Korea 2, Panama 5, St Kitts and Nevis 1) (2007) |
Military - note | - | a Coast Guard was established in 2002 |
Military branches | Land Forces, Navy, Air Force | Army (includes Republican Guard), Navy (includes Marines), Yemen Air Force (includes Air Defense Force) (2007) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $3.5 billion (2002) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.71% (2002) | 6.6% (2006) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 10,291,628 (2004 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 8,034,577 (2004 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 329,743 (2004 est.) | - |
National holiday | Constitution Day, 3 May (1791) | Unification Day, 22 May (1990) |
Nationality | noun: Pole(s)
adjective: Polish |
noun: Yemeni(s)
adjective: Yemeni |
Natural hazards | flooding | sandstorms and dust storms in summer |
Natural resources | coal, sulfur, copper, natural gas, silver, lead, salt, amber, arable land | petroleum, fish, rock salt, marble; small deposits of coal, gold, lead, nickel, and copper; fertile soil in west |
Net migration rate | -0.49 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 13,552 km; oil 1,772 km (2004) | gas 71 km; liquid petroleum gas 22 km; oil 1,284 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | Catholic-National Movement or RKN [Antoni MACIEREWICZ]; Citizens Platform or PO [Donald TUSK]; Coalition Electoral Action Solidarity of the Right or AWSP; Conservative Peasants Party or SKL-RNP [Artur BALAZS]; Democratic Left Alliance or SLD [Krzysztof JANIK]; Freedom Union or UW [Wladyslaw FRASYNIUK]; German Minority of Lower Silesia or MNSO [Henryk KROLL]; Law and Justice or PiS [Jaroslaw KACZYNSKI]; League of Polish Families or LPR [Marek KOTLINOWSKI]; Movement for the Reconstruction of Poland or ROP [Jan OLSZEWSKI]; Peasant-Democratic Party or PLD [Roman JAGIELINSKI]; Polish Accord or PP [Jan LOPUSZANSKI]; Polish Peasant Bloc or PBL [Wojciech MOJZESOWICZ]; Polish Peasant Party or PSL [Janusz WOJCIECHOWSKI]; Polish Raison d'Etat or PRS [Piotr MUSIAL]; Samoobrona or SO [Andrzej LEPPER]; Social Democratic Party of Poland or SDPL [Marek BOROWSKI]; Social Movement or RS [Krzysztof PIESIEWICZ]; Union of Labor or UP [Izabela JARUAGA-NOWACKA] | General People's Congress or GPC [Abdul-Kader BAJAMMAL]; Islamic Reform Grouping or Islah [Shaykh Abdallah bin Husayn al-AHMAR]; Nasserite Unionist Party [Abdal Malik al-MAKHLAFI]; National Arab Socialist Ba'th Party [Dr. Qasim SALAM]; Yemeni Socialist Party or YSP [Ali Salih MUQBIL]; note - there are at least seven more active political parties |
Political pressure groups and leaders | All Poland Trade Union Alliance or OPZZ (trade union) [Maciej MANICKI]; Roman Catholic Church [Cardinal Jozef GLEMP]; Solidarity Trade Union [Janusz SNIADEK] | NA |
Population | 38,626,349 (July 2004 est.) | 22,230,531 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 18.4% (2000 est.) | 45.2% (2003) |
Population growth rate | 0.02% (2004 est.) | 3.461% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Gdansk, Gdynia, Gliwice, Kolobrzeg, Szczecin, Swinoujscie, Ustka, Warsaw, Wroclaw | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 14, FM 777, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 6, FM 1, shortwave 2 (1998) |
Railways | total: 23,852 km
broad gauge: 629 km 1.524-m gauge standard gauge: 23,223 km 1.435-m gauge (11,962 km electrified) (2003) |
- |
Religions | Roman Catholic 95% (about 75% practicing), Eastern Orthodox, Protestant, and other 5% | Muslim including Shaf'i (Sunni) and Zaydi (Shi'a), small numbers of Jewish, Christian, and Hindu |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.62 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.038 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.035 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.948 male(s)/female total population: 1.034 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: underdeveloped and outmoded system in the process of being overhauled; partial privatization of the state-owned telephone monopoly is underway; the long waiting list for main line telephone service has resulted in a boom in mobile cellular telephone use
domestic: cable, open-wire, and microwave radio relay; 3 cellular networks; local exchanges 56.6% digital international: country code - 48; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat, NA Eutelsat, 2 Inmarsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions), and 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) |
general assessment: since unification in 1990, efforts have been made to create a national telecommunications network
domestic: the national network consists of microwave radio relay, cable, tropospheric scatter, and GSM cellular mobile telephone systems international: country code - 967; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region), and 2 Arabsat; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia and Djibouti |
Telephones - main lines in use | 12.3 million (2003) | 968,400 (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 17.4 million (2003) | 2 million (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 179 (plus 256 repeaters) (September 1995) | 7 (plus several repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly flat plain; mountains along southern border | narrow coastal plain backed by flat-topped hills and rugged mountains; dissected upland desert plains in center slope into the desert interior of the Arabian Peninsula |
Total fertility rate | 1.38 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 6.49 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 20% (2003) | 35% (2003 est.) |
Waterways | 3,997 km (navigable rivers and canals) (2003) | - |