Facts about Poland

Facts about Poland

1. 6th largest country in the EU: Poland is the 6th largest country in the EU – both in terms of area and population (312,685 km2 and 38 million inhabitants respectively)

2. Polish pizzas: In Poland, pizzas are made without tomato sauce. Instead, the waiter serves the tomato sauce on the side (typically in a pitcher) so you can pour it on yourself. Sometimes the tomato sauce is just ketchup

3. Outgoing people: There are approximately 37 million Poles living in Poland and an estimated 21 million Poles living abroad – i.e. about 36% of all Poles outside Poland’s borders. Although information on the total number of Poles in the world varies from source to source, it is estimated to be around 60 million

4. Name days: Traditionally, name days have been celebrated more than birthdays. However, younger generations are starting to celebrate birthdays more than before. The concept of name days is that each day of the year has a series of names associated with it (typically 3-5) and that you celebrate your name day every year

5. Dog names: The most popular dog name in Poland is ‘Burek’, which best translates to “brownish-gray color”. In addition, ‘reks’ from the Latin ‘rex’ (king) is also very popular

Fact: Krakow used to be the capital of Poland - today it's Warsaw
Attribution: FotoCavallo – Wikipedia.org

Fact: Krakow was the capital of Poland from 1038 until 1596, when Warsaw took over the title. Pictured is Wawel in Krakow, which was also the seat of the Polish kings

 

6. Marriage age: Poland has the lowest average marriage age in the EU. The average age for women is 25.6 years, while for men it is 27.5 years. The overall average is 26.6 years

7. Astronomers: Polish-born astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) was the first person to propose the theory that the Earth was not the center of the universe. Another Polish astronomer, Johannes Hevelius (1611-1687), published the first detailed and accurate mapping of the moon

8. Kupala night: Kupala night is a popular holiday and event where some Poles jump over a bonfire. The tradition is related to the summer solstice and is older than Christianity

9. Pope channel: There is a Pope channel in Polish among Polish TV channels. So if you want to watch the Pope, you can simply turn on the TV and select the Pope channel

10. Last Polish king: Poland’s last king, Stanisław August Poniatowski, abdicated in 1795 after 25 years on the throne. He was also the Grand Duke of Lithuania

Fact: Approximately 1.7 million people live in Warsaw, the capital of Poland
Attribution: Radek Kołakowski + N i c o l a – Flickr.com

Poland’s capital Warsaw is home to approximately 1.7 million people, making it the country’s largest city

Geographic facts

  • Location: Central Europe. East of Germany
  • Country borders: Belarus (605 km), Czech Republic (615 km), Germany (456 km), Lithuania (91 km), Russia (Kaliningrad oblast) (432 km), Slovakia (420 km) and Ukraine (428 km)
  • Coastline: 440 km
  • Climate: Temperate. Cold, cloudy winters with lots of precipitation. Mild summers with frequent rains and thunderstorms
  • Landscape: Mainly flat plains. Mountains along the southern border
  • Lowest point: -2 m (at Raczki Elblaskie)
  • Highest point: 2,499 m (Rysy)
  • Natural resources: Coal, sulphur, copper, natural gas, silver, lead, salt, amber and arable land
  • Largest city: Warszawa
  • Capital city: Warszawa
  • Total area (square kilometers): n/a
  • Land areas (km2): n/a
  • Urban areas (km2): n/a
  • Agricultural land (km2): n/a
  • Agricultural area (% of total area): n/a
  • Forest area (% of land area): n/a
  • Plant species (higher), endangered: n/a
  • CO2 emissions (metric tons per capita): n/a

Demographic facts

Population

  • Population density (people per km2 total area): 123,32 (2021)
  • Population of largest city: 1.797.516,00 (2023)
  • Population growth (annual %): -0,37 (2023)
  • Population, total: 36.685.849,00 (2023)
  • Population growth in urban areas (annual %): -0,23 (2023)
  • Population in urban areas (% of total population): 80,14 (2022)
  • Population in rural areas (% of total population): 39,78 (2023)
  • Population growth in rural areas (annual %): -0,58 (2023)
  • Etniske grupper: 96.9% Polish, 1.1% Silesian, 0.2% German, 0.1% Ukrainian, 1.7% other and unspecified
  • Sprog: Polish 96.2%. The remaining 3.8% includes the officially recognized minority languages: Armenian, Belarusian, Czech, German, Hebrew, Yiddish, Lithuanian, Russian, Slovak, Ukrainian and unspecified languages
  • Religioner: 89.8% Roman Catholics (approx. 75% practicing), 1.3% Eastern Orthodox, 0.3% Protestant and 8.3% unspecified
  • Net immigration: -910.475,00 (2023)

Birth and death rates

  • Fertility rate, total (births per woman): 1,26 (2022)
  • Birth rate, gross (per 1,000 inhabitants): 8,30 (2022)
  • Teenage mothers (% of women aged 15-19 who have had children or are pregnant): 11,66 (2020)
  • Death rate, gross (per 1,000 people): 12,20 (2022)
  • Life expectancy at birth, women (years): 81,30 (2022)
  • Life expectancy at birth, men (years): 73,50 (2022)
  • Life expectancy at birth, all (years): 77,30 (2022)
  • Mortality caused by traffic accidents (per 100,000 inhabitants): 9,40 (2019)
  • Mortality, women (per 1,000 adult women): 59,83 (2019)
  • Mortality, male (per 1,000 adult males): 156,20 (2019)
  • Suicide rate, women (per 100,000 women): 3,10 (2019)
  • Mortality, infant (per 1,000 live births): 3,80 (2022)

Work, income and education

  • Wage earners, total (% of total labor force): n/a
  • Income share of the highest 10%: 22,80 (2021)
  • Income share of the lowest 10%: 3,40 (2021)
  • Unemployment, total (% of total labor force): 2,74 (2023)
  • Labor force, total: 18.387.400,00 (2023)
  • Workforce with basic education (% of the workforce): 40,24 (2023)
  • Labor force with medium education (% of labor force): 59,42 (2023)
  • Number of poor cf. national poverty limits (% of the population): 11,80 (2022)
  • Proportion of the population with moderate or severe food insecurity (%): 7,50 (2021)
  • School enrolments, primary school (gross %): 100,59 (2022)
  • Youth unemployment, all young people (% of total labor force aged 15 - 24): 60,22 (2023)
  • Young people not in education, employment or training, total (% of all young people): 10,24 (2023)
  • Literacy/literacy, total adults (% of population over 15): 99,80 (2021)

    Spending

  • Household (and NPIS) consumption expenditure (US$): 971.174.359.691,48 (2023)
  • Electricity consumption (kWh per inhabitant): 3.971,80 (2014)
  • Inhabitants using the Internet (% of the population): 86,41 (2023)
  • Mobile subscriptions (per 100 people): 131,94 (2022)
  • Number of smokers, total (over 15 years): 24,00 (2020)
  • Alcohol consumption per capita (litres of pure alcohol, expected estimates, +15 years): 11,20 (2023)

Business and tourism

  • Employers, total (% of total labor force): 3,91 (2022)
  • New companies (number of registrations): 53.717,00 (2022)
  • New businesses (new registrations per 1,000 inhabitants aged 15 - 64): 2,16 (2022)
  • Listed companies, total: 773,00 (2022)
  • Business conditions (0 = lowest grade to 100 = highest grade): 18.620,00 (2021)
  • International tourism, number of arrivals: 88.515.000,00 (2019)
  • International tourism, number of departures: 50.600.000,00 (2019)
  • Railway lines (total route kilometers): 18.620,00 (2021)
  • Railways, number of passengers transported (million passenger-kilometres): 15.844,00 (2021)

Health

  • Hospital beds (per 1,000 inhabitants): 6,11 (2020)
  • Suicide rate, men (per 100,000 men): 20,10 (2019)
  • Nurses and midwives (per 1,000 inhabitants): 6,76 (2020)
  • Doctors (per 1,000 inhabitants): 3,71 (2020)
  • Prevalence of HIV, total (% of population aged 15 - 49): 158,16 (2023)

Facts Poland's economy

GDP and GNI

  • BNP (US$): 76,38 (2019)
  • GDP growth (annual %): 811.229.100.687,57 (2023)
  • GDP per capita (US$): 0,16 (2023)
  • GDP, KPP (US$): 22.112,86 (2023)
  • BNI (US$): 1.814.628.510.978,85 (2023)
  • GNI growth (annual %): 777.106.512.004,88 (2023)
  • Gross savings (% of GDP): -0,16 (2023)

Inflation, interest rates and consumer prices

  • Deposit rate (%): 10,53 (2021)
  • Lending rate (%): 25,30 (2019)
  • Inflation, consumer prices (annual %): 232.635.696.405,07 (2023)
  • Consumer Price Index (2010 = 100): 158,16 (2023)

Trade and production

  • Trade (% of GDP): 109,54 (2023)
  • Vareeksport (US$): 381.517.000.000,00 (2023)
  • Vareimport (US$): 370.076.000.000,00 (2023)
  • Food exports (% of merchandise exports): 15,30 (2023)
  • Food imports (% of goods imports): 9,76 (2023)
  • Food Production Index (2004 - 2006 = 100): 111,71 (2022)
  • Index of animal production (2004 - 2006 = 100): 113,33 (2022)

Industry

  • Industry (including construction), value added (% of GDP): 19,61 (2023)
  • Industry (including construction), value added (US$): 28,68 (2023)
  • Industry, value added (% of GDP): 16,24 (2023)
  • Industry, value added (US$): 131.711.669.834,93 (2023)

Military

  • Armed forces, total: 189.000,00 (2020)
  • Military expenditure (% of GDP): 2,39 (2022)
  • Military Expenditure (US$): 16.573.133.749,57 (2022)

Others

  • Current health expenditure (% of GDP): 10,53 (2021)
  • Labor tax and contribution (% of company profit): 11,53 (2023)
  • Development Assistance (ODA) received per capita (US$): 0,13 (2017)
  • Social contributions (% of income): 3,37 (2022)