Poland: Introduction

Total Population: 38,184,000

Natural Increase: 0.1%

Density: 126 Inhabitants/km²

Urban Population: 61.2%

Population of main cities including suburbs: Warsaw (2,375,000); Lodz (1,060,000); Krakow (760,000); Wroclaw (635,000); Poznan (570,000).

Ethnic Origins: 97.8% Poles ; 0.4% Germans ; 0.1% Belarusians ; 0.1% Ukrainians and 2.7% other nationalities.

Official Language: The official language is Polish.

Other Languages Spoken: Polish belongs to the family of West Slavic languages (with Czech and Slovakian).
The most spoken foreign languages are German and English, but it is useful to know a few words of Polish to travel around the country, especially outside large urban areas.

Business Language(s): According to the type of company you contact, the geographical location and the sector of activity, it may be difficult to find someone who speaks English. Insufficient knowledge of English and German often makes it necessary to bring in an interpreter. However, the younger generations speak English more and more frequently.

Religion: Catholics 95%
Orthodox Christians 1.8%
Others 3.2%.

Area: 312,680 km²

Type of State: Poland (official name: Republic of Poland) is a republic based on parliamentary democracy. The country joined the European Union in May 2004.

Type of Economy: Upper-middle-income economy, OECD member, Ex-Transition country, Emerging Financial Market.
EU member since 2004; high GDP growth rate

HDI*: 0.795/1

HDI (World Rank): 41/169

Telephone Code:
To Make a Call From Poland, Dial 00
To Make a Call to Poland, Dial +48

Internet Suffix: .pl

Computers: 16.9 per 100 Inhabitants

Telephone Lines: 27.1 per 100 Inhabitants

Internet Users: 43.9 per 100 Inhabitants