Constitution-based federal republic; strong democratic tradition
Independence date
11 November 1918 (republic proclaimed)
4 July 1776 (from Great Britain)
Religions
Roman Catholic 89.8% (about 75% practicing), Eastern Orthodox 1.3%, Protestant 0.3%, other 0.3%, unspecified 8.3% (2002)
Protestant 51.3%, Roman Catholic 23.9%, Mormon 1.7%, other Christian 1.6%, Jewish 1.7%, Buddhist 0.7%, Muslim 0.6%, other or unspecified 2.5%, unaffiliated 12.1%, none 4% (2007 est.)
Languages
Polish 97.8%, other and unspecified 2.2% (2002 census)
English 82.1%, Spanish 10.7%, other Indo-European 3.8%, Asian and Pacific island 2.7%, other 0.7% (2000 census) note: Hawaiian is an official language in the state of Hawaii
Exports
machinery and transport equipment 37.8%, intermediate manufactured goods 23.7%, miscellaneous manufactured goods 17.1%, food and live animals 7.6% (2003)
zlotych (PLN) per US dollar - 2.3 (2008 est.), 2.81 (2007), 3.1032 (2006), 3.2355 (2005), 3.6576 (2004) note: zlotych is the plural form of zloty
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
1.900%
4.060%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
10
110
Location
Central Europe, east of Germany
North America, bordering both the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean, between Canada and Mexico
Area
312,685 km sq
9,826,675 km sq
Coastline
440 km
19,924 km
Climate
temperate with cold, cloudy, moderately severe winters with frequent precipitation; mild summers with frequent showers and thundershowers
mostly temperate, but tropical in Hawaii and Florida, arctic in Alaska, semiarid in the great plains west of the Mississippi River, and arid in the Great Basin of the southwest; low winter temperatures in the northwest are ameliorated occasionally in January and February by warm chinook winds from the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains
