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			{{Short description|Country in Central Europe}}
	{{Redirect|Polska|the dance|Polska (dance)}}
			{{redirect2|Polska|Rzeczpospolita Polska|the dance|Polska (dance)|other uses|Poland (disambiguation)|and|Rzeczpospolita (disambiguation)}}
	{{other uses}}
			{{pp-move}}
	{{Redirect|Rzeczpospolita Polska}}
	{{pp-protect|small=yes}}		{{pp|small=yes}}
	{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2015}}		{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2024}}
			{{Use British English|date=June 2024}}
	{{Coord|52|N|20|E|type:country_region:PL|display=title}}
	{{Infobox country		{{Infobox country
			| conventional_long_name = Republic of Poland
	|latd=52
			| common_name = Poland
	|latm=13
			| native_name = {{native name|pl|Rzeczpospolita Polska}}
	|latNS=N
			| image_flag = Flag of Poland.svg
	|longd=21
			| flag_border = Flag of Poland (normative).svgize
	|longm=02
			| image_coat = Herb Polski.svg
	|longEW=E
			| national_anthem = {{lang|pl|"]"|italics=no}}<br />("Poland Is Not Yet Lost")<br /><div style="padding-top:0.5em;">{{center|]}}</div>
	|languages_type = ]
			| demonym = {{hlist|]|Pole}}
	|languages2_type = ]
			<!-- Maps and coordinates -->| image_map = {{Switcher|]|Show globe|]|Show map of Europe|default=1}}
	|leader_name2 = ]
			| map_caption = {{map caption |location_color=dark green |region=Europe |region_color=dark grey |subregion=the ] |subregion_color=green |legend=EU-Poland.svg}}
	|conventional_long_name = Republic of Poland
			| capital = ]
	|native_name = {{native name|pl|Rzeczpospolita Polska|icon=no}}{{Ref label|a|a|none}}
			| coordinates = {{Coord|52|13|N|21|02|E|type:city}}
	|image_flag = Flag of Poland.svg
			| largest_city = capital
	|image_coat = Herb Polski.svg
			<!-- Language -->| languages_type = ]
	|flag_border = Flag of Poland (normative).svg
			| languages = ]<ref>], Article 27.</ref>
	|common_name = Poland
			<!-- Population, ethnic groups -->| population_census = {{IncreaseNeutral}} 38,036,118<ref>{{Cite web |title=Statistical Bulletin No 11/2022 |url=https://stat.gov.pl/en/topics/other-studies/informations-on-socio-economic-situation/statistical-bulletin-no-112022,4,145.html |access-date=23 December 2022 |website=Statistics Poland |archive-date=23 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221223120843/https://stat.gov.pl/en/topics/other-studies/informations-on-socio-economic-situation/statistical-bulletin-no-112022,4,145.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
	|national_anthem =<center>'']''<br />{{small|''Poland Is Not Yet Lost''}}<br />]</center>
			| population_census_year = 2022
	|image_map = EU-Poland.svg
			| population_census_rank = 38th
	|map_caption = {{map_caption |location_color=dark green |region=Europe |region_color=dark grey |subregion=the ] |subregion_color=green |legend=EU-Poland.svg}}
			| population_density_km2 = 122
	|image_map2 = Un-poland.png
			| population_density_sq_mi = 315.9 <!--Do not remove per ]. -->
	|capital = ]
			| population_density_rank = 75th
	|largest_city = capital
			| ethnic_groups = {{tree list}}
	|official_languages = ]<ref>], Article 27.</ref>
			*98.8% ]{{efn|Multiple national identity was available in the census.}}
	|languages = ]<ref name="Language Rich Europe"/>
			**96.2% only Polish
	|languages2 = ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ]<ref name="Language Rich Europe"/>
			**2.5% Polish and others
	|ethnic_groups =
			*1.1% only ]
	{{unbulleted list
			{{tree list/end}}
	| 93.52% ]
			| ethnic_groups_year = 2021
	| 1.09% ]
			| ethnic_groups_ref = <ref name="2021 Census">{{cite web|url=https://stat.gov.pl/en/national-census/national-population-and-housing-census-2021/final-results-of-the-national-population-and-housing-census-2021/size-and-demographic-social-structure-in-the-light-of-the-2021-census-results,6,1.html |title=National Population and Housing Census 2021 Population. Size and demographic-social structure in the light of the 2021 Census results |language=en }}</ref>
	| 0.28% ]
			| religion = {{ublist|item_style=white-space:
	| 0.12% ]
			|{{Tree list}}
	| 0.12% ]
	| 0.04% ]		* 72.4% ]
			** 71.3% ]
	| 0.03% ]
			** 1.1% ]
	| 0.02% ]
			{{Tree list/end}}
	| 4.78% other
			|6.9% ]
	}}
			|0.1% ]
	|ethnic_groups_year = 2011<ref>{{cite web|format=PDF |url=http://stat.gov.pl/cps/rde/xbcr/gus/lu_nps2011_wyniki_nsp2011_22032012.pdf |title=Wyniki Narodowego Spisu Powszechnego Ludności i Mieszkań 2011 |trans-title=Results of the National Census of Population and Housing 2011 |language=pl |work=Central Statistical Office |date=March 2012 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116214520/http://www.stat.gov.pl/cps/rde/xbcr/gus/PUBL_lu_nps2011_wyniki_nsp2011_22032012.pdf |archivedate=16 January 2013}}</ref>
			|20.6% unanswered
	|demonym = {{hlist |]|]}}
			}}
	|government_type = ]
			| religion_year = 2021<ref name="Census 2021">{{Cite web |title=Final results of the National Population and Housing Census 2021 |url=https://stat.gov.pl/download/gfx/portalinformacyjny/pl/defaultaktualnosci/6536/10/1/1/wyniki_ostateczne_nsp2021_nar_jezyk_wyznanie_29_09_202.xlsx |publisher=Statistics Poland}}</ref>
	|leader_title1 = ]
			<!-- Government type, leaders -->| government_type = Unitary ]{{refn|name=SEMIPRES|<ref>{{cite web |title=Poland 1997 (rev. 2009) |url=https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Poland_2009?lang=en |website=www.constituteproject.org |access-date=9 October 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Veser |first=Ernst |author-link=:de:Ernst Veser |date=23 September 1997 |title=Semi-Presidentialism-Duverger's Concept — A New Political System Model |url=https://www.rchss.sinica.edu.tw/files_news/11-01-1999/11_1_2.pdf|access-date=21 August 2017 |publisher=Department of Education, School of Education, ], zh |pages=39–60 |quote=Duhamel has developed the approach further: He stresses that the French construction does not correspond to either parliamentary or the presidential form of government, and then develops the distinction of 'système politique' and 'régime constitutionnel'. While the former comprises the exercise of power that results from the dominant institutional practice, the latter is the totality of the rules for the dominant institutional practice of power. In this way, France appears as 'presidentialist system' endowed with a 'semi-presidential regime' (1983: 587). By this standard, he recognizes Duverger's ''pléiade'' as semi-presidential regimes, as well as Poland, Romania, Bulgaria and Lithuania (1993: 87). }}</ref><ref name="Draft">{{cite journal |last=Shugart |first=Matthew Søberg |author-link=Matthew Søberg Shugart |date=September 2005 |title=Semi-Presidential Systems: Dual Executive and Mixed Authority Patterns |url=http://dss.ucsd.edu/~mshugart/semi-presidentialism.pdf |journal=Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080819200307/http://dss.ucsd.edu/~mshugart/semi-presidentialism.pdf |archive-date=19 August 2008 |access-date=21 August 2017 }}</ref><ref name="Shugart2005">{{cite journal |last=Shugart |first=Matthew Søberg |author-link=Matthew Søberg Shugart |date=December 2005 |title=Semi-Presidential Systems: Dual Executive And Mixed Authority Patterns |url=https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1057%2Fpalgrave.fp.8200087.pdf |journal=French Politics |volume=3 |issue=3 |pages=323–351 |doi=10.1057/palgrave.fp.8200087 |doi-access=free |access-date=21 August 2017 |quote=Even if the president has no discretion in the forming of cabinets or the right to dissolve parliament, his or her constitutional authority can be regarded as 'quite considerable' in Duverger's sense if cabinet legislation approved in parliament can be blocked by the people's elected agent. Such powers are especially relevant if an extraordinary majority is required to override a veto, as in Mongolia, Poland, and Senegal. In these cases, while the government is fully accountable to Parliament, it cannot legislate without taking the potentially different policy preferences of the president into account. }}</ref><ref name="McMenamin" >{{cite web |last=McMenamin |first=Iain |title=Semi-Presidentialism and Democratisation in Poland |url= http://webpages.dcu.ie/~mcmenami/Poland_semi-presidentialism_2.pdf |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120212225305/http://webpages.dcu.ie/~mcmenami/Poland_semi-presidentialism_2.pdf |archive-date=12 February 2012 |publisher=School of Law and Government, ] |access-date=11 December 2017 }}</ref>}}
	|leader_name1 = {{nowrap|]}}
	|leader_title2 = ]		| leader_title1 = ]
			| leader_name1 = {{nowrap|]}}
	|legislature = ]
	|upper_house = ]		| leader_title2 = ]
			| leader_name2 = ]
	|lower_house = '']''
	|established_event1 = ]{{ref label|b|b}}		| legislature = ]
			| upper_house = ]
	|sovereignty_type = Formation
			| lower_house = ]
	|established_event2 = ]
			<!-- Events -->| sovereignty_type = ]
	|established_date1 = 14 April 966
			| established_event1 = ]{{efn|"The dukes (dux) were originally the commanders of an armed retinue (drużyna) with which they broke the authority of the chieftains of the clans, thus transforming the original tribal organisation into a territorial unit."<ref name="britannica_com">{{cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Poland/History |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |title=Poland |date=2023 |access-date=31 December 2023 |archive-date=19 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240119191221/https://www.britannica.com/place/Poland/History |url-status=live }}</ref>}}
	|established_event3 = ]
			| established_date1 = {{circa}} 960
	|established_date2 = 18 April 1025
			| established_event2 = ]{{efn|"Mieszko accepted Roman Catholicism via Bohemia in 966. A missionary bishopric directly dependent on the papacy was established in Poznań. This was the true beginning of Polish history, for Christianity was a carrier of Western civilisation with which Poland was henceforth associated."<ref name="britannica_com" />}}
	|established_event4 = ]
			| established_date2 = 14 April 966
	|established_date3 = 1 July 1569
	|established_event5 = ]		| established_event3 = {{nowrap|]}}
			| established_date3 = 18 April 1025
	|established_date4 = 24 October 1795
			| established_event4 = ]
	|established_event6 = ]
	|established_date5 = 22 July 1807		| established_date4 = 1 July 1569
			| established_event6 = {{nowrap|]}}
	|established_event7 = ]
	|established_date6 = 9 June 1815		| established_date6 = 11 November 1918
			| established_event7 = {{nowrap|]}}
	|established_event8 = ], World War II
	|established_date7 = 11 November 1918		| established_date7 = 17 September 1939
	|established_event9 = ]		| established_event8 = {{nowrap|]}}
	|established_date8 = 1 September 1939		| established_date8 = 22 July 1944
	|established_event10 = ]		| established_event9 = {{nowrap|]}}
			| established_date9 = {{nowrap|31 December 1989}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/DocDetails.xsp?id=WDU19890750444|title=The Act of December 29, 1989 amending the Constitution of the Polish People's Republic.|publisher=Internetowy System Aktów Prawnych|access-date=18 October 2020|archive-date=19 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201019101959/http://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/DocDetails.xsp?id=WDU19890750444|url-status=live}} {{in lang|pl}}</ref>
	|established_date9 = 8 April 1945
			<!-- Area -->| area_km2 = 312696
	|established_event11 = ] the ]
			| area_footnote = <ref name="GUS">{{Cite web |last=GUS |title=Powierzchnia i ludność w przekroju terytorialnym w 2023 roku |url=https://stat.gov.pl/obszary-tematyczne/ludnosc/ludnosc/powierzchnia-i-ludnosc-w-przekroju-terytorialnym-w-2023-roku,7,20.html |access-date=19 October 2023 |archive-date=22 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230922225517/https://stat.gov.pl/obszary-tematyczne/ludnosc/ludnosc/powierzchnia-i-ludnosc-w-przekroju-terytorialnym-w-2023-roku,7,20.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="BBC News 2023">{{Cite web |date=12 November 2023 |title=Poland country profile |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-17753718 |access-date=12 November 2023 |website=BBC News |archive-date=21 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231021204608/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-17753718 |url-status=live }}</ref>
	|established_date10 = 13 September 1989
			| area_rank = 69th
	|established_date11 = 1 May 2004
			| area_sq_mi = 121,209.44 <!-- Do not remove per ]. -->
	|area_km2 = 312679
			| percent_water = 1.48 (2015)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Surface water and surface water change |url=https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=SURFACE_WATER |access-date=11 October 2020 |publisher=] (OECD) |archive-date=24 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210324133453/https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=SURFACE_WATER |url-status=live }}</ref>
	|area_footnote = {{ref label|a|a}}
			| GDP_PPP = {{increase}} $1.890 trillion<ref name="IMFWEO.PL">{{Cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2024/October/weo-report?c=964,&s=NGDPD,PPPGDP,NGDPDPC,PPPPC,&sy=2022&ey=2029&ssm=0&scsm=1&scc=0&ssd=1&ssc=0&sic=0&sort=country&ds=.&br=1 |title=World Economic Outlook Database, October 2024 Edition. (Poland) |publisher=] |date=22 October 2024 |access-date=22 October 2024}}</ref>
	|area_rank = 69th
			| GDP_PPP_year = 2024
	|area_sq_mi = 120,696.41 <!--Do not remove per ]-->
			| GDP_PPP_rank = 20th
	|percent_water = 3.07
			| GDP_PPP_per_capita = {{increase}} $51,628<ref name="IMFWEO.PL" />
	|population_estimate =38,483,957 <ref>Central Statistical Office data http://demografia.stat.gov.pl/bazademografia/Tables.aspx</ref>
			| GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 39th
	|population_estimate_year = 30 June 2014
			| GDP_nominal = {{increase}} $862.908 billion<ref name="IMFWEO.PL" />
	|population_estimate_rank = 34th
			| GDP_nominal_year = 2024
	|population_density_km2 = 123
			| GDP_nominal_rank = 21st
	|population_density_rank = 83rd
			| GDP_nominal_per_capita = {{increase}} $23,563<ref name="IMFWEO.PL" />
	|population_density_sq_mi = 319.9 <!--Do not remove per ]-->
			| GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = 45th
	|GDP_PPP = $1.051 trillion<ref name=imf-gdp>{{cite web|title=5. Report for Selected Countries and Subjects|url=http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2015/02/weodata/weorept.aspx?pr.x=64&pr.y=5&sy=2014&ey=2020&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=964&s=NGDPD%2CNGDPDPC%2CPPPGDP%2CPPPPC&grp=0&a=|publisher=]|accessdate=October 2015}}</ref>
			<!-- Gini -->| Gini = 26.3 <!--number only-->
	|GDP_PPP_year = 2016
			| Gini_year = 2022
	|GDP_PPP_rank = 21st
			| Gini_change = decrease <!--increase/decrease/steady-->
	|GDP_PPP_per_capita = $27,654
			| Gini_ref = <ref name=eurogini>{{cite web |url=https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/tessi190/default/table?lang=en |title=Gini coefficient of equivalised disposable income – EU-SILC survey|publisher=] |website=ec.europa.eu |access-date=13 April 2024}}</ref>
	|GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 45th
			<!-- HDI -->| HDI = 0.881<!--number only-->
	|GDP_nominal = $508.857 billion<ref name=imf-gdp/>
			| HDI_year = 2022<!-- Please use the year to which the data refers, not the publication year. -->
	|GDP_nominal_year = 2016
			| HDI_change = increase<!--increase/decrease/steady-->
	|GDP_nominal_rank = 23rd
			| HDI_ref = <ref name="HDI">{{cite web|url=https://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/2023-24_HDR/HDR23-24_Statistical_Annex_HDI_Table.xlsx|title=Human Development Report 2023/2024|language=en|publisher=]|date=19 March 2024|access-date=19 March 2024|archive-date=19 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240319085123/https://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/2023-24_HDR/HDR23-24_Statistical_Annex_HDI_Table.xlsx|url-status=live}}</ref>
	|GDP_nominal_per_capita = $13,390
			| HDI_rank = 36th
	|GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = 54th
			<!-- Currency -->| currency = ]
	|Gini = 32.73 <!--number only-->
			| currency_code = PLN
	|Gini_year = 2013
			<!-- Time zone, date format, other -->| time_zone = ]
	|Gini_change = increase <!--increase/decrease/steady-->
			| utc_offset = +1
	|Gini_ref = <ref name=UNDP>{{cite web|title=Human Development Indicators of Poland|url=http://hdr.undp.org/en/countries/profiles/POL|website=UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME|accessdate=10 May 2015}}</ref>
			| utc_offset_DST = +2
	|Gini_rank =
			| time_zone_DST = ]
	|HDI = 0.843 <!--number only-->
			| date_format = dd.mm.yyyy (])
	|HDI_year = 2014<!-- Please use the year to which the data refers, not the publication year-->
			| drives_on = right
	|HDI_change = increase<!--increase/decrease/steady-->
			| calling_code = ]
	|HDI_ref = <ref name="HDI">{{cite web |url=http://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/hdr_2015_statistical_annex.pdf |title=2015 Human Development Report |date=2015 |accessdate=14 December 2015 |publisher=United Nations Development Programme }}</ref>
			| cctld = ]<sup></sup>
	|HDI_rank = 36th
			| footnote_a = Also .eu, shared with other European Union member states
	|currency = '']''
			}}
	|currency_code = PLN
	|time_zone = ]
	|utc_offset = +1
	|utc_offset_DST = +2
	|time_zone_DST = ]
	|drives_on = right
	|calling_code = ]
	|cctld = ]
	|footnote_a = {{note|a|a}} The area of Poland, as given by the Central Statistical Office, is {{convert|312679|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}, of which {{convert|311888|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} is land and {{convert|791|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} is internal water surface area.<ref name="CSO_2008"/>
	|footnote_b = {{note|b|b}} The adoption of Christianity in Poland is seen by many Poles, regardless of their religious affiliation or lack thereof, as one of the most significant events in their country's history, as it was used to unify the tribes in the region.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=39SoSG4NGAoC&pg=PA77&lpg=PA77&dq=poland%27s+millennium&sig=uQ-qK9oxqMuHmVvZJj8lszrm1 |title=Disruptive Religion: The Force of Faith in Social-movement Activism |work=Books.google.com |date= |accessdate=9 September 2013}}</ref>
	<!----ORPHANED:
	|footnote_? = {{note|?|?}} See, however, ].
	|footnote_? = {{note|?|?}} Although not ]s, ], ], ] and ] are used in ].{{cn}}
	----->
	|accessionEUdate = 1 May 2004
	|EUseats = 54
	|area_magnitude = 1 E11
	}}<!--
	PLEASE DO NOT make any changes to the following section before discussing them on the discussion page (Talk:Poland). Thank you.
	------>
	'''Poland''' (<!--Do not add English pronunciation per ]-->{{lang-pl|Polska}} {{IPA-pl|ˈpɔlska||Pl-Polska.ogg}}), officially the '''Republic of Poland''' ({{lang-pl|] Polska|links=no}},{{Ref label|a|a|none}} {{Audio|Pl-Rzeczpospolita_Polska.ogg|listen}}<!--IPA:{{IPA-pl|ʐɛt͡ʂpɔˈspɔlʲita ˈpɔlska}}-->), is a country in ],<ref name="Fawn2013">{{cite book | url=https://books.google.ca/books?id=rUIAAgAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q=%22definition%20of%20central%20Europe%22&f=false | title=The Elusive Defined? Visegard Co-operation as the Contemporary Contours of Central Europe | publisher=Routledge | work=Political Science: "definition of central Europe" | date=2013 | accessdate=28 June 2015 | author=Prof. Rick Fawn, Oxbridge | pages=47, 49 | ISBN=1135314020}}</ref> situated between the ] in the north and two ]s (the ] and ]) in the south. ] by ] to the west; the ] and ] to the south; ] and ] to the east; and the ], ] (a ]n ]) and ] to the north. The total ] is {{convert|312679|km2|sqmi}},<ref name="CSO_2008"/> making it the ] in the world and the 9th largest in Europe. With a population of over 38.5&nbsp;million people,<ref name="CSO_2008"/> Poland is the ] in the world,<ref name="nationmaster"/> the 8th most populous country in Europe and the sixth most populous ], as well as the most populous ] member of the European Union. Poland is a ] divided into 16 ], and its capital and largest ] is ]. Other metropolises include ], ], ], ] and ]—the country's largest urban agglomeration is the ].		'''Poland'''<!-- Do not add English pronunciation per ]. -->,{{efn|{{langx|pl|Polska}} {{IPA|pl|ˈpɔlska||Pl-Polska.ogg}}}} officially the '''Republic of Poland''',{{efn|{{langx|pl|] Polska|links=no}} {{IPA|pl|ʐɛt͡ʂpɔsˈpɔlita ˈpɔlska||Pl-Rzeczpospolita Polska.ogg}}}} is a country in ]. It extends from the ] in the north to the ] and ] in the south, bordered by ] and ]{{efn|], an ] of Russia}} to the northeast, ] and ] to the east, ] and the ] to the south, and ] to the west. The territory is characterised by a varied landscape, diverse ecosystems, and ] climate. Poland is composed of ] and is the fifth most populous ] (EU), with over 38 million people, and the ] by land area, covering a combined area of {{convert|312696|km2|abbr=on}}. The capital and ] is ]; other major cities include ], ], ], ], ], and ].
			] dates to the ], with continuous settlement since the end of the ]. Culturally diverse throughout ], in the ] the region became inhabited by the ] tribal ], who gave ]. The process of establishing statehood coincided with the conversion of a ] to Christianity, under the auspices of the ] in 966. The ] emerged in 1025, and in 1569 cemented its long-standing ], thus forming the ]. At the time, the Commonwealth was one of the ] of Europe, with an ] and a ] political system, which adopted ] in 1791.
	The establishment of a Polish state can be traced back to 966, when ],<ref name="A Concise History of Poland"/> ruler of a territory roughly coextensive with that of present-day Poland, converted to Christianity. The ] was founded in 1025, and in 1569 it cemented ] with the ] by signing the ]. This union formed the ], one of the largest and most populous countries of 16th and 17th century Europe.<ref>Norman Davies, ''Europe: A History'', Pimlico 1997, p. 554: ''Poland-Lithuania was another country which experienced its 'Golden Age' during the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. The realm of the last Jagiellons was absolutely the largest state in Europe''</ref><ref name="Wandycz2001-66">{{cite book|author=Piotr Stefan Wandycz|title=The price of freedom: a history of East Central Europe from the Middle Ages to the present|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m5plR3x6jLAC&pg=PA66|accessdate=13 August 2011|year=2001|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=978-0-415-25491-5|page=66}}</ref> The Commonwealth ceased to exist in the years 1772–95, when its ] among ], the ], and ]. ] (as the ]) at the end of ], in 1918.
			With the passing of the prosperous ], the country was ] at the end of the 18th century. Poland regained its ] at the end of ] in 1918 with the creation of the ], which emerged ] in ] of the ] period. In September 1939, the ] by ] ] ] marked the beginning of ], which resulted in ] and millions of ]. Forced into the ] in the global ], the ] was a founding signatory of the ]. Through the emergence and contributions of the ], the ] was ] and Poland re-established itself as a ] in 1989, as the ] of its neighbours.
	In September 1939, ] started with the invasions of Poland by ] and the ] (as part of the ]). More than six million Polish citizens died in the war.<ref name="posterum0">Project in Posterum, Retrieved 20 September 2013.</ref><ref name=szma>] & Wojciech Materski, ''Polska 1939–1945. Straty osobowe i ofiary represji pod dwiema okupacjami'', Warsaw, IPN 2009, ISBN 978-83-7629-067-6 ()</ref> The borders of Poland were ] westwards according to the ] in the ]. After the war, with the backing of the Soviet Union, a communist ] was formed, and after a falsified ] in 1946, it took control of the country—turning Poland into a ]<ref>Rao, B. V. (2006), History of Modern Europe Ad 1789–2002: A.D. 1789–2002, Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd.</ref> of the ] (as the ]). During the ] Poland's Communist government was overthrown and Poland adopted a new constitution establishing itself as a democracy. Despite ] and destruction the country ], the country managed to preserve much of ]. There are 14 heritage sites inscribed on the ] ]<ref name="Poland – UNESCO World Heritage Centre"/> and 54 ] and many ].
			Poland is a ] with its ] comprising the ] and the ]. Considered a ], it is a ] and ] that is the ] in the ] by nominal ] and the ]. Poland enjoys a ], safety, and ], as well as free ] and ]. The country has 17 ] ], 15 of which are cultural. Poland is a founding member state of the United Nations and a member of the ], ], ], and the European Union (including the ]).
	Since the beginning of the transition to a primarily market-based economy that took place in the early 1990s, Poland has achieved a "very high" ranking on the ],<ref name="Human Development Index and its components"/> as well as gradually improving economic freedom.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2015/01/asia-pacific |title=Hong Kong Declines, but Remains the World's Freest Economy, 2015 Index of Economic Freedom Shows |work=The Heritage Foundation |date=27 January 2015 |accessdate=10 February 2016}}</ref> Poland is a democratic country with an advanced ],<ref name="worldbank8"/> a high quality of life and a very high standard of living.<ref>{{cite web|title=SPI PROGRESS INDEX 2015|url=http://www.socialprogressimperative.org/data/spi|accessdate=16 December 2015}}</ref><ref> Numbeo Quality of Life Index 2015 Mid Year</ref> Moreover, the country is visited by nearly 16 million tourists every year (2013), which makes it one of the most visited countries in the world.<ref>{{cite web|format=PDF |url=http://www.e-unwto.org/doi/pdf/10.18111/9789284416226 |title=UNWTO Tourism Highlights |work=United Nations World Tourism Organization |date=2014 |accessdate=10 February 2016}}</ref> Poland is the eighth largest ] and among the fastest growing European economies.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/02/europe-s-10-fastest-growing-economies/ | title = Europe’s 10 fastest growing economies | last = Myers
	| first = Joe | date = 18 February 2016 | website = World Economic Forum | publisher = World Economic Forum | access-date = 13 September 2016 | quote = }}</ref> Furthermore, according to the ] for 2014, Poland is one of the safest countries in the world to live in.<ref name="SzefsBielawska">{{cite web|author1=Sławek Szefs |author2=Agnieszka Bielawska |url=http://www.thenews.pl/1/6/Artykul/211421,Whats-Up-Poland-a-safe-country |title=What's Up:: Poland a safe country |publisher=Radio Poland |date=28 June 2015 |accessdate=10 February 2016}}</ref>
	==Etymology==<!--linked-->		== Etymology ==
	{{main article|Name of Poland}}		{{Main|Names of Poland}}
			The native ] name for Poland is {{lang|pl|Polska}}.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Thompson |first=Wayne C. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lttJEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22name%2Bpoland%2B%2522polska%2522%2Bderived%22&pg=PA322 |title=Nordic, Central, and Southeastern Europe 2020–2022 |date=2021 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers |isbn=978-1-4758-5626-2 |location=Blue Ridge Summit |page=322 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=7 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240207011846/https://books.google.com/books?id=lttJEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA322&dq=%22name%2Bpoland%2B%2522polska%2522%2Bderived%22 |url-status=live }}</ref> The name is derived from the ], a ] tribe who inhabited the ] basin of present-day ] region (6th–8th century CE).<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Lukowski |first1=Jerzy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NpMxTvBuWHYC&dq=%22polanie%2Bpoland%2Bwarta%2Bhistory%22&pg=PA4 |title=A Concise History of Poland |last2=Zawadzki |first2=Hubert |date=2001 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=0-521-55109-9 |location=Cambridge |page=4 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=4 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240204080145/https://books.google.com/books?id=NpMxTvBuWHYC&pg=PA4&dq=%22polanie%2Bpoland%2Bwarta%2Bhistory%22 |url-status=live }}</ref> The tribe's name stems from the ] noun ''pole'' meaning field, which itself originates from the ] word ''*pleh₂-'' indicating flatland.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lehr-Spławiński |first=Tadeusz |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EjJHAAAAIAAJ&q=Je%25CC%25A8zyk%2Bpolski%2B:%2Bpochodzenie,%2Bpowstanie,%2Brozwo%25CC%2581j |title=Język polski. Pochodzenie, powstanie, rozwój |date=1978 |publisher=Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe |location=Warszawa (Warsaw) |page=64 |language=Polish |oclc=4307116 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=24 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230724235955/https://books.google.com/books?id=EjJHAAAAIAAJ&q=Je%25CC%25A8zyk%2Bpolski%2B:%2Bpochodzenie,%2Bpowstanie,%2Brozwo%25CC%2581j |url-status=live }}</ref> The etymology alludes to the ] of the region and the flat landscape of Greater Poland.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Potkański |first=Karol |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b78eAAAAMAAJ&q=p%25C5%2582aska%2520wielkopolska%2520polanie |title=Pisma pośmiertne. Granice plemienia Polan |date=2004 |publisher=Polska Akademia Umiejętności |isbn=978-83-7063-411-7 |volume=1 |location=Kraków |page=423 |language=Polish |orig-date=1922 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=24 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230724235906/https://books.google.com/books?id=b78eAAAAMAAJ&q=p%25C5%2582aska%2520wielkopolska%2520polanie |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Everett-Heath |first=John |title=The Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names |date=2019 |publisher=University Press |isbn=978-0-19-190563-6 |location=Oxford |chapter=Poland (Polska) |author-link=John Everett-Heath |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ufkFEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22poland%2Bfield%2Bpolanie%22&pg=PT1498 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=4 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240204080136/https://books.google.com/books?id=ufkFEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT1498&dq=%22poland%2Bfield%2Bpolanie%22 |url-status=live }}</ref> During the ], the ] form ''Polonia'' was widely used throughout Europe.<ref name="Buko 2014">{{Cite book |last=Buko |first=Andrzej |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VAOjBQAAQBAJ |title=Bodzia. A Late Viking-Age Elite Cemetery in Central Poland |date=2014 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-28132-5 |location=Leiden |pages=36, 62 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=7 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407051434/https://books.google.com/books?id=VAOjBQAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref>
	The origin of the name ''Poland'' derives from a ] tribe of ] (''Polanie'') that inhabited the ] basin of the historic ] region in the 8th century. The origin of the name ''Polanie'' itself derives from the western Slavic word ''pole'' (field). In some foreign languages such as Hungarian, Lithuanian, Persian and Turkish the exonym for Poland is ] (''Lechici''), which derives from the name of a semi-legendary ruler of Polans, ].
			The country's alternative archaic name is '']'' and its root syllable remains in official use in several languages, notably ], ], and ].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hannan |first=Kevin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YmrlAAAAMAAJ&q=poland%2Bpersian%2Blithuanian%2Bhungarian%2Blechitic |title=Language and Identity in a West Slavic Borderland: The Case of Teschen Silesia |date=1994 |publisher=University of Texas |location=Austin |page=127 |oclc=35825118 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=24 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230724235904/https://books.google.com/books?id=YmrlAAAAMAAJ&q=poland%2Bpersian%2Blithuanian%2Bhungarian%2Blechitic |url-status=live }}</ref> The ] possibly derives from either ], a legendary ruler of the ], or from the ], a West Slavic tribe that dwelt on the south-easternmost edge of ].<ref name="Dabrowski 2014">{{Cite book |last=Dabrowski |first=Patrice M. |url={{GBurl|id=X__-DwAAQBAJ}} |title=Poland. The First Thousand Years |date=2014 |publisher=Cornell University Press |isbn=978-1-5017-5740-2 |location=New York}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Kamusella |first=Tomasz |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=spRUEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22lendians%2Blech%2Bpoland%22&pg=PA9 |title=Words in Space and Time: A Historical Atlas of Language Politics in Modern Central Europe |date=2022 |publisher=Central European University Press |isbn=978-963-386-418-0 |location=Budapest |page=9 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=4 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240204080203/https://books.google.com/books?id=spRUEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA9&dq=%22lendians%2Blech%2Bpoland%22 |url-status=live }}</ref> The origin of the tribe's name lies in the ] word ''lęda'' (plain).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Małecki |first=Antoni |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dYwBAAAAMAAJ&q=Lechici%2Bw%2B%25C5%259Bwietle%2Bhistorycznej%2Bkrytyki |title=Lechici w świetle historycznej krytyki |date=1907 |publisher=Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich |isbn=978-83-65746-64-1 |location=Lwów (Lviv) |page=37 |language=Polish |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=24 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230724235910/https://books.google.com/books?id=dYwBAAAAMAAJ&q=Lechici%2Bw%2B%25C5%259Bwietle%2Bhistorycznej%2Bkrytyki |url-status=live }}</ref> Initially, both names ''Lechia'' and ''Polonia'' were used interchangeably when referring to Poland by chroniclers during the ].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Andersson |first1=Theodore Murdock |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lrdcDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22The%2BEarliest%2BIcelandic%2BChronicle%2Bof%2Bthe%2BNorwegian%2BKings%2B%25281030-1157%2529%2B2000%22&pg=PR4 |title=The Earliest Icelandic Chronicle of the Norwegian Kings (1030–1157) |last2=Morkinskinna |first2=Ellen Gade |date=2000 |publisher=Cornell University Press |isbn=978-0-8014-3694-9 |location=Ithaca |page=471 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=4 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240204080133/https://books.google.com/books?id=lrdcDwAAQBAJ&pg=PR4&dq=%22The%2BEarliest%2BIcelandic%2BChronicle%2Bof%2Bthe%2BNorwegian%2BKings%2B%25281030-1157%2529%2B2000%22 |url-status=live }}</ref>
	==History==
	{{main article|History of Poland}}
			== History ==
	===Prehistory and protohistory===
			{{Main|History of Poland}}
	{{main article|Bronze- and Iron-Age Poland|Poland in Antiquity|Poland in the Early Middle Ages}}
	], ] settlement in ], c. 700 BC]]
			=== Prehistory and protohistory ===
	Historians have postulated that throughout ], many distinct ethnic groups populated the regions of what is now Poland. The ] and ] affiliation of these groups have been hotly debated; the time and route of the original settlement of ] in these regions lacks written records and can only be defined as fragmented.<ref name="muzeumczestochowa.pl">{{cite book | url=http://www.muzeumczestochowa.pl/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/folder.pdf | title=Z mroku dziejów. Kultura Łużycka | publisher=Muzeum Częstochowskie. Rezerwat archeologiczny (Museum of Częstochowa) | year=2007 | accessdate=9 January 2013 |author1=Maciej Kosiński |author2=Magdalena Wieczorek-Szmal | pages=3–4 | quote=Możemy jedynie stwierdzić, że kultura łużycka nie tworzyła jednej zwartej całości. Jak się wydaje, jej skład etniczny był niejednorodny. | isbn=978-83-60128-11-4 | format=PDF file, direct download 1.95 MB}}</ref>
			{{Main|Stone Age Poland|Bronze and Iron Age Poland|Poland in antiquity|Early Slavs|West Slavs|Lechites|Poland in the Early Middle Ages}}
			], ] settlement in ], 8th century BC]]
			The first ] archaic humans and '']'' species settled what was to become Poland approximately 500,000 years ago, though the ensuing hostile climate prevented early humans from founding more permanent encampments.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Fabisiak |first=Wojciech |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g_8jAQAAIAAJ&q=500%2520000%2520lat%2520temu%2520polska%2520homo%2520erectus |title=Dzieje powiatu wrocławskiego |date=2002 |publisher=Starostwo Powiatowe |isbn=978-83-913985-3-1 |location=Wrocław |page=9 |language=pl |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=24 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230724235907/https://books.google.com/books?id=g_8jAQAAIAAJ&q=500%2520000%2520lat%2520temu%2520polska%2520homo%2520erectus |url-status=live }}</ref> The arrival of '']'' and ] coincided with the climatic discontinuity at the end of the ] (] 10,000 BC), when Poland became habitable.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Jurek |first=Krzysztof |title=Poznać przeszłość 1. Karty pracy ucznia. Poziom podstawowy |date=2019 |publisher=Nowa Era |isbn=978-83-267-3653-7 |location=Warszawa (Warsaw) |page=93 |language=pl}}</ref> ] excavations indicated broad-ranging development in that era; the earliest evidence of European cheesemaking (5500 BC) was discovered in Polish ],<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Subbaraman |first=Nidhi |date=12 December 2012 |title=Art of cheese-making is 7,500 years old |url=http://www.nature.com/news/art-of-cheese-making-is-7-500-years-old-1.12020 |journal=Nature News |doi=10.1038/nature.2012.12020 |s2cid=180646880 |access-date=7 August 2021 |archive-date=8 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210508085311/https://www.nature.com/news/art-of-cheese-making-is-7-500-years-old-1.12020 |url-status=live | issn=0028-0836}}</ref> and the ] is incised with the earliest known depiction of what may be a wheeled vehicle (3400 BC).<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Attema |first1=P. A. J. |last2=Los-Weijns |first2=Ma |last3=Pers |first3=N. D. Maring-Van der |date=December 2006 |title=Bronocice, Flintbek, Uruk, Jebel Aruda and Arslantepe: The Earliest Evidence Of Wheeled Vehicles In Europe And The Near East |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qqEqjtKJQ3YC&dq=%22Bronocice,+Flintbek,+Uruk,+Jebel+Aruda+and+Arslantepe:+The+Earliest+Evidence+Of+Wheeled+Vehicles+In+Europe+And+The+Near+East%22&pg=PA10 |journal=Palaeohistoria |publisher=] |volume=47 |pages=10–28 (11) |isbn=9789077922187}}</ref>
	The most famous archaeological find from ] is the ] fortified settlement (now reconstructed as an open-air museum), dating from the ] of the early ], around 700 BC. The Slavic groups who would form Poland migrated to these areas in the second half of the 5th century AD. Up until the creation of ] state and his subsequent conversion to ] in 966 AD, the main religion of Slavic tribes that inhabited the geographical area of present-day Poland was ]. With the ] the Polish rulers accepted Christianity and the religious authority of the ]. However, the transition from paganism was not a smooth and instantaneous process for the rest of the population as evident from the ].<ref name="Labuda1992">{{cite book |author=Gerard Labuda |title=Mieszko II król Polski: 1025–1034 : czasy przełomu w dziejach państwa polskiego |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gb8gAAAAIAAJ&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=1032 |accessdate=26 October 2014 |year=1992 |publisher=Secesja |isbn=978-83-85483-46-5 |page=112 |quote=... w wersji Anonima Minoryty mówi się znowu, iż w Polsce "paliły się kościoły i klasztory", co koresponduje w przekazaną przez Anonima Galla wiadomością o zniszczeniu kościołów katedralnych w Gnieźnie...}}</ref>
			The period spanning the ] and the ] (1300 BC–500 BC) was marked by an increase in population density, establishment of ]d settlements (]) and the expansion of ].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Harding |first=Anthony |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XoxoAgAAQBAJ&dq=%22bronze%2Bage%2Bpoland%2Blusatian%22&pg=PA772 |title=The Oxford Handbook of the European Bronze Age |date=2020 |publisher=University Press |isbn=978-0-19-885507-1 |location=Oxford |pages=766–783 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002180454/https://books.google.com/books?id=XoxoAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA772&dq=%22bronze+age+poland+lusatian%22 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Price |first=T. Douglas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IZ_KBwAAQBAJ&dq=%22lusatian%2Bculture%2B1300%2BBC%2B%25E2%2580%2593%2B500%2BBC%22&pg=PA212 |title=Ancient Scandinavia: an archaeological history from the first humans to the Vikings |date=2015 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-023198-9 |location=New York |page=212 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002180455/https://books.google.com/books?id=IZ_KBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA212&dq=%22lusatian+culture+1300+BC+%E2%80%93+500+BC%22 |url-status=live }}</ref> A significant archaeological find from ] is a fortified settlement at ], attributed to the Lusatian culture of the ] (mid-8th century BC).<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Ring |first1=Trudy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yfPYAQAAQBAJ&q=biskupin&pg=PA96 |title=Northern Europe: International Dictionary of Historic Places |last2=Watson |first2=Noelle |last3=Schellinger |first3=Paul |date=28 October 2013 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-63944-9 |language=en |access-date=31 March 2019 |archive-date=24 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210824094046/https://books.google.com/books?id=yfPYAQAAQBAJ&q=biskupin&pg=PA96 |url-status=live }}</ref>
	===Piast dynasty===
	{{main article|History of Poland during the Piast dynasty|Civitas Schinesghe|Gesta principum Polonorum}}
	] who is considered the '']'' creator of the Polish state, c. 960–992]]
			Throughout ] (400 BC–500 AD), many distinct ancient populations inhabited the territory of present-day Poland, notably ], ]n, ], ], ] and ] tribes.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Davies |first=Norman |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mkcSDAAAQBAJ |title=Heart of Europe. The Past in Poland's Present |date=2001 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-280126-5 |location=Oxford |page=247 |language=en |author-link=Norman Davies |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=18 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230518111254/https://books.google.com/books?id=mkcSDAAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> Furthermore, archaeological findings confirmed the presence of ] sent to protect the ].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Zdziebłowski |first=Szymon |date=9 May 2018 |title=Archaeologist: We have evidence of the presence of Roman legionaries in Poland |url=https://scienceinpoland.pap.pl/en/news/news%2C29414%2Carchaeologist-we-have-evidence-presence-roman-legionaries-poland.html |access-date=8 August 2021 |website=Science in Poland |publisher=Polish Ministry of Education and Science |archive-date=15 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220215225927/https://scienceinpoland.pap.pl/en/news/news,29414,archaeologist-we-have-evidence-presence-roman-legionaries-poland.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The ] emerged following the ] around the 6th century AD;<ref name="Buko 2014" /> they were ] and may have included assimilated remnants of peoples that earlier dwelled in the area.<ref>{{Citation |last=Mielnik-Sikorska |first=Marta |title=The History of Slavs Inferred from Complete Mitochondrial Genome Sequences |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=e54360 |year=2013 |bibcode=2013PLoSO...854360M |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0054360 |pmc=3544712 |pmid=23342138 |display-authors=etal |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Brather |first=Sebastian |year=2004 |title=The Archaeology of the Northwestern Slavs (Seventh To Ninth Centuries) |journal=East Central Europe |volume=31 |issue=1 |pages=78–81 |doi=10.1163/187633004x00116}}</ref> Beginning in the early 10th century, the ] would come to dominate other ] tribes in the region, initially forming a tribal federation and later a centralised monarchical state.<ref>{{Cite book |last=McKenna |first=Amy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ef2cAAAAQBAJ&dq=%22polanie%2Btribal%2Bmonarchy%22&pg=PA132 |title=Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland |date=2013 |publisher=Britannica Educational Publishing |isbn=978-1-61530-991-7 |page=132 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002180456/https://books.google.com/books?id=Ef2cAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA132&dq=%22polanie+tribal+monarchy%22 |url-status=live }}</ref>
	Poland began to form into a recognizable unitary and ] around the middle of the 10th century under the ]. Poland's first ] ruler, ], accepted ] with the ] in 966, as the new ] of his subjects. The bulk of ] in the course of the next few centuries. In 1000, ], continuing the policy of his father Mieszko, held a ] and created the ] of ] and the ]s of ], ], and ]. However, the pagan unrest led to the transfer of the capital to Kraków in 1038 by ].<ref name="Prazmowska2011">{{cite book |author=Anita J. Prazmowska |title=A History of Poland |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r_0-BjHIkh4C&lpg=PT34&pg=PT28#v=onepage&q&f=false |accessdate=26 October 2014 |date=13 July 2011 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |isbn=978-0-230-34537-9 |pages=34–35}}</ref>
			=== Kingdom of Poland ===
	] of Poland, who ruled between 1025 and 1031, being presented with a ] by ]]]
			{{Main|History of Poland during the Piast dynasty|History of Poland during the Jagiellonian dynasty|Baptism of Poland|Kingdom of Poland}}
			], whose acceptance of Christianity under the auspices of the ] and the ] marked the beginning of statehood in 966]]
			Poland began to form into a recognisable unitary and territorial entity around the middle of the 10th century under the ].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dabrowski |first=Patrice |title=Poland: The First Thousand Years |date=2014 |publisher=Cornell University Press |isbn=978-1-5017-5740-2 |location=Ithaca |pages=21–22}}</ref> In 966 the ruler of the Polans, ], accepted Christianity under the auspices of the ] with the ].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ramet |first=Sabrina |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D2gpDwAAQBAJ |title=The Catholic Church in Polish History. From 966 to the Present |date=2017 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan US |isbn=978-1-137-40281-3 |location=New York |page=15 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=14 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230414113421/https://books.google.com/books?id=D2gpDwAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 968, a missionary ] was established in ]. An ] titled ] first defined Poland's geographical boundaries with its capital in ] and affirmed that its monarchy was under the protection of the ].<ref name="Curta 2016">{{Cite book |last1=Curta |first1=Florin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dgF9DQAAQBAJ&dq=%22dagome%2Biudex%2Bgniezno%2Bpoland%22&pg=PA468 |title=Great Events in Religion |last2=Holt |first2=Andrew |date=2016 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-61069-566-4 |location=Santa Barbara |pages=468, 480–481 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002180512/https://books.google.com/books?id=dgF9DQAAQBAJ&pg=PA468&dq=%22dagome+iudex+gniezno+poland%22 |url-status=live }}</ref> The country's early origins were described by ] in {{Lang|la|]}}, the oldest Polish chronicle.<ref>{{Citation |title=Gesta Principum Polonorum / The Deeds of the Princes of the Poles |volume=3 |pages=87–211 |year=2003 |editor-last=Knoll |editor-first=Paul W. |series=Central European Medieval Texts, General Editors János M. Bak, Urszula Borkowska, Giles Constable & Gábor Klaniczay |place=Budapest/ New York |publisher=Central European University Press |isbn=978-963-9241-40-4 |editor2-last=Schaer |editor2-first=Frank}}</ref> An important national event of the period was the ] of ], who was killed by ] pagans in 997 and whose remains were reputedly bought back for their weight in gold by Mieszko's successor, ].<ref name="Curta 2016" />
	In 1109, Prince ] defeated the King of Germany ] at the ], stopping the German march into Poland. The significance of the event was documented by ] in ].<ref>{{Citation |editor-last=Knoll |editor-first=Paul W. |editor2-last=Schaer |editor2-first=Frank |title=Gesta Principum Polonorum / The Deeds of the Princes of the Poles |place=Budapest/ New York |publisher=Central European University Press |year=2003 |series=Central European Medieval Texts, General Editors János M. Bak, Urszula Borkowska, Giles Constable & Gábor Klaniczay, Volume 3 |isbn=963-9241-40-7 |pages=87&ndash;211}}</ref> In 1138, Poland fragmented into several smaller duchies when Bolesław divided his lands among his sons. In 1226, ], one of the regional ] dukes, invited the ] to help him fight the ] ] pagans; a decision which led to centuries of warfare with the Knights. In 1264, the ] or the General Charter of Jewish Liberties introduced numerous right for the Jews in Poland, leading to a nearly autonomous "nation within a nation".<ref name="Dembkowski/Lublin">{{cite book |title=The union of Lublin, Polish federalism in the golden age |first=Harry E. |last=Dembkowski |publisher=East European Monographs, 1982 |isbn= 978-0-88033-009-1 |page=271 |url=https://books.google.com/?id=svAaAAAAMAAJ&q=poland+lithuania+1588+slavery&dq=poland+lithuania+1588+slavery |year =1982 }}</ref>
			In 1000, at the ], Bolesław obtained the right of ] from ], who assented to the creation of additional bishoprics and an archdioceses in Gniezno.<ref name="Curta 2016" /> Three new dioceses were subsequently established in ], ], and ].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ożóg |first=Krzysztof |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VbouAQAAIAAJ&q=gniezno%2520krakow%2520wroclaw%2520ko%25C5%2582obrzeg |title=The Role of Poland in the Intellectual Development of Europe in the Middle Ages |date=2009 |publisher=Societas Vistulana |isbn=978-83-61033-36-3 |location=Kraków |page=7 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=24 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230724235925/https://books.google.com/books?id=VbouAQAAIAAJ&q=gniezno%2520krakow%2520wroclaw%2520ko%25C5%2582obrzeg |url-status=live }}</ref> Also, Otto bestowed upon Bolesław royal ] and a replica of the ], which were later used at his coronation as the first ] in {{Circa|1025}}, when Bolesław received permission for his coronation from ].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Urbańczyk |first=Przemysław |title=Bolesław Chrobry – lew ryczący |date=2017 |publisher=Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu Mikołaja Kopernika |isbn=978-8-323-13886-0 |location=Toruń |pages=309–310 |language=pl}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Davies |first=Norman |title=God's Playground: A History of Poland |title-link=God's Playground |publisher=] |year=2005a |isbn=978-0-231-12817-9 |edition=2nd |volume=I |location=Oxford |pages=27–28 |author-link=Norman Davies}}</ref> Bolesław also expanded the realm considerably by seizing parts of German ], Czech ], ], and southwestern regions of the ].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Kumor |first1=Bolesław |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3LrYAAAAMAAJ&q=boles%25C5%2582aw%2520morawy%2520%25C5%2582u%25C5%25BCyce%2520w%25C4%2599gry |title=Historia Kościoła w Polsce |last2=Obertyński |first2=Zdzisław |date=1974 |publisher=Pallottinum |location=Poznań |page=12 |oclc=174416485 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=24 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230724235917/https://books.google.com/books?id=3LrYAAAAMAAJ&q=boles%25C5%2582aw%2520morawy%2520%25C5%2582u%25C5%25BCyce%2520w%25C4%2599gry |url-status=live }}</ref>
	In the middle of the 13th century, the Silesian branch of the Piast dynasty (] and ], ruled 1238–41) nearly succeeded in uniting the Polish lands, but the ] invaded the country from the east and defeated the combined Polish forces at the ] where Duke Henry II the Pious died. In 1320, after a number of earlier unsuccessful attempts by regional rulers at uniting the Polish dukedoms, ] consolidated his power, took the throne and became the first king of ]. His son, ] (reigned 1333–70), has a reputation as one of the greatest Polish kings, and gained wide recognition for improving the country's infrastructure.<ref name="Sokol1992-60">{{cite book|author=Stanley S. Sokol|title=The Polish Biographical Dictionary: Profiles of Nearly 900 Poles who Have Made Lasting Contributions to World Civilization|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IGOhdT-w1eIC&pg=PA60|year=1992|publisher=Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers|isbn=978-0-86516-245-7|page=60}}</ref><ref name="Publishing2013">{{cite book|author=Britannica Educational Publishing|title=Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ef2cAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA139|date=1 June 2013|publisher=Britanncia Educational Publishing|isbn=978-1-61530-991-7|page=139}}</ref> He also extended royal protection to ], and encouraged their immigration to Poland.<ref name="Sokol1992-60"/><ref name="Haumann2002">{{cite book|author=Heiko Haumann|title=A History of East European Jews|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ypcWuuGVvX8C&pg=PA4|year=2002|publisher=Central European University Press|isbn=978-963-9241-26-8|page=4}}</ref> Casimir III realized that the nation needed a class of educated people, especially lawyers, who could codify the country's laws and administer the courts and offices. His efforts to create an institution of higher learning in Poland were finally rewarded when ] granted him permission to open the ].
	] is the only Polish king to receive the title of ''Great''. He built extensively during his reign, and reformed the Polish army along with the country's civil and criminal laws, 1333–70]]		] is the only Polish king to receive the title of ''Great''. He built extensively during his reign, and reformed the Polish army along with the country's legal code, 1333–70]]
			The transition from ] in Poland was not instantaneous and resulted in the ].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gerard Labuda |url={{GBurl|id=Gb8gAAAAIAAJ|q=1032}} |title=Mieszko II król Polski: 1025–1034: czasy przełomu w dziejach państwa polskiego |publisher=Secesja |year=1992 |isbn=978-83-85483-46-5 |page=112 |quote=... w wersji Anonima Minoryty mówi się znowu, iż w Polsce "paliły się kościoły i klasztory", co koresponduje w przekazaną przez Anonima Galla wiadomością o zniszczeniu kościołów katedralnych w Gnieźnie... |access-date=26 October 2014}}</ref> In 1031, ] lost the title of king and fled amidst the violence.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Krajewska |first=Monika |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BnlGAQAAIAAJ&q=mieszko%2520II%2520w%25201031%2520utraci%25C5%2582%25201032%2520ksi%25C4%2585%25C5%25BC%25C4%2599 |title=Integracja i dezintegracja państwa Piastów w kronikach polskich Marcina Kromera oraz Marcina i Joachima Bielskich9 |date=2010 |publisher=W. Neriton |isbn=978-83-909852-1-3 |location=Warszawa (Warsaw) |page=82 |language=pl |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=25 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230725000011/https://books.google.com/books?id=BnlGAQAAIAAJ&q=mieszko%2520II%2520w%25201031%2520utraci%25C5%2582%25201032%2520ksi%25C4%2585%25C5%25BC%25C4%2599 |url-status=live }}</ref> The unrest led to the transfer of the capital to Kraków in 1038 by ].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Anita J. Prazmowska |url={{GBurl|id=r_0-BjHIkh4C|pg=PT28}} |title=A History of Poland |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-230-34537-9 |pages=34–35 |access-date=26 October 2014}}{{Dead link|date=February 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> In 1076, ] re-instituted the office of king, but was banished in 1079 for murdering his opponent, ].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Melton |first=J. Gordon |url={{GBurl|id=lD_2J7W_2hQC}} |title=Religious Celebrations. An Encyclopedia of Holidays, Festivals, Solemn Observances, and Spiritual Commemorations |date=2011 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-59884-206-7 |location=Santa Barbara |page=834}}</ref> In 1138, the country ] into five principalities when ] divided his lands among his sons.<ref name="Dabrowski 2014" /> These were ], Greater Poland, ], ] and ], with intermittent hold over ].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hourihane |first=Colum |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FtlMAgAAQBAJ&dq=%221138%2B%2522five%2522%2Bsilesia%2Bmazovia%2Bsandomierz%2Bpomerania%22&pg=RA4-PA14 |title=The Grove encyclopedia of medieval art and architecture |date=2012 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-539536-5 |volume=2 |location=New York |page=14 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002180502/https://books.google.com/books?id=FtlMAgAAQBAJ&pg=RA4-PA14&dq=%221138+%22five%22+silesia+mazovia+sandomierz+pomerania%22 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1226, ] invited the ] to aid in combating the ] Prussians; a decision that later led to centuries of warfare with the Knights.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Biber |first1=Tomasz |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AbYjAQAAIAAJ&q=konrad%2520mazowiecki%2520krzy%25C5%25BCacy%2520sprowadzi%25C5%2582 |title=Encyklopedia Polska 2000. Poczet władców |last2=Leszczyński |first2=Maciej |date=2000 |publisher=Podsiedlik-Raniowski |isbn=978-83-7212-307-7 |location=Poznań |page=47 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=24 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230724235942/https://books.google.com/books?id=AbYjAQAAIAAJ&q=konrad%2520mazowiecki%2520krzy%25C5%25BCacy%2520sprowadzi%25C5%2582 |url-status=live }}</ref>
	The ] of the nobles began to develop under Casimir's rule, when in return for their ], the king made a series of concessions to the nobility, and establishing their legal status as superior to that of the townsmen. When Casimir the Great died in 1370, leaving no legitimate male heir, the ] came to an end.
			In the first half of the 13th century, ] and ] aimed to unite the fragmented dukedoms, but the ] and the death of Henry II in ] hindered the unification.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Krasuski |first=Jerzy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vBcsAQAAMAAJ&q=henryk%2520pobo%25C5%25BCny%2520zjednoczenie |title=Polska-Niemcy. Stosunki polityczne od zarania po czasy najnowsze |date=2009 |publisher=Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich |isbn=978-83-04-04985-7 |location=Wrocław |page=53 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=24 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230724235916/https://books.google.com/books?id=vBcsAQAAMAAJ&q=henryk%2520pobo%25C5%25BCny%2520zjednoczenie |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Maroń |first=Jerzy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CASkn7zoJj8C |title=Legnica 1241 |date=1996 |publisher=Bellona |isbn=978-83-11-11171-4 |location=Warszawa (Warsaw) |language=pl |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=20 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230420034201/https://books.google.com/books?id=CASkn7zoJj8C |url-status=live }}</ref> As a result of the devastation which followed, depopulation and the demand for craft labour spurred a migration of ] into Poland, which was encouraged by the Polish dukes.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Davies |first=Norman |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vD7SWb5lXBAC&dq=%22germans%2Bflemish%2Binto%2Bpoland%2Bmongol%2Binvasion%22&pg=PA366 |title=Europe: A History |date=2010 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-820171-7 |location=New York |page=366 |orig-date=1996 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002180457/https://books.google.com/books?id=vD7SWb5lXBAC&pg=PA366&dq=%22germans+flemish+into+poland+mongol+invasion%22 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1264, the ] introduced unprecedented autonomy for the ], who came to Poland fleeing persecution elsewhere in Europe.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dembkowski |first=Harry E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=svAaAAAAMAAJ&q=poland%2Blithuania%2B1588%2Bslavery |title=The union of Lublin, Polish federalism in the golden age |publisher=East European Monographs |year=1982 |isbn=978-0-88033-009-1 |page=271 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=24 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230724235935/https://books.google.com/books?id=svAaAAAAMAAJ&q=poland%2Blithuania%2B1588%2Bslavery |url-status=live }}</ref>
	During the 12th and 13th centuries, Poland became a destination for German, Flemish and to a lesser extent Scottish, Danish and Walloon migrants. Also, the Jews and Armenians began to settle and flourish in Poland during this era (see ] and ]).
			In 1320, ] became the first king of ] since ] in 1296,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kula |first=Marcin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VBa1AAAAIAAJ&q=%25C5%2582okietek%25201320%2520zjednoczenie |title=Zupełnie normalna historia, czyli, Dzieje Polski zanalizowane przez Marcina Kulę w krótkich słowach, subiektywnie, ku pożytkowi miejscowych i cudzoziemców |date=2000 |publisher=Więzi |isbn=978-83-88032-27-1 |location=Warszawa (Warsaw) |pages=58–59 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=24 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230724235910/https://books.google.com/books?id=VBa1AAAAIAAJ&q=%25C5%2582okietek%25201320%2520zjednoczenie |url-status=live }}</ref> and the first to be crowned at ] in Kraków.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wróblewski |first=Bohdan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=unEWAQAAIAAJ&q=%25C5%2582okietek%25201320%2520szczerbiec |title=Jaki znak twój? Orzeł Biały |date=2006 |publisher=ZP Grupa |isbn=978-83-922944-3-6 |location=Piekary Śląskie |page=28 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=24 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230724235959/https://books.google.com/books?id=unEWAQAAIAAJ&q=%25C5%2582okietek%25201320%2520szczerbiec |url-status=live }}</ref> Beginning in 1333, the reign of ] was marked by developments in ], army, judiciary and ].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Stanley S. Sokol |url=https://archive.org/details/polishbiographic00soko |title=The Polish Biographical Dictionary: Profiles of Nearly 900 Poles who Have Made Lasting Contributions to World Civilization |publisher=Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers |year=1992 |isbn=978-0-86516-245-7 |page= |url-access=registration}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Britannica Educational Publishing |url={{GBurl|id=Ef2cAAAAQBAJ|p=139}} |title=Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland |publisher=Britannica Educational Publishing |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-61530-991-7 |page=139}}</ref> Under his authority, Poland transformed into a major European power; he instituted Polish rule over ] in 1340 and imposed quarantine that prevented the spread of ].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wróbel |first=Piotr |url=https://archive.org/details/easterneuropeint0000unse/page/10 |title=Eastern Europe: An Introduction to the People, Lands, and Culture |date=2004 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-57607-800-6 |editor-last=Frucht |editor-first=Richard C. |volume=1 |page= |chapter=Poland |quote=At the same time, when most of Europe was decimated by the Black Death, Poland developed quickly and reached the levels of the wealthiest countries of the West in its economy and culture. |access-date=8 April 2013 |chapter-url={{GBurl|id=lVBB1a0rC70C}}}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Magill |first=Frank N. |url={{GBurl|id=aBHSc2hTfeUC}} |title=The Middle Ages. Dictionary of World Biography |date=2012 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-136-59313-0 |volume=2 |location=Hoboken |page=210}}</ref> In 1364, Casimir inaugurated the ], one of the oldest institutions of higher learning in Europe.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Watson |first=Noelle |url={{GBurl|id=yfPYAQAAQBAJ}} |title=Northern Europe. International Dictionary of Historic Places |date=2013 |publisher=Routledge, Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-136-63944-9 |location=New York |page=388}}</ref> Upon his death in 1370, the Piast dynasty came to an end.<ref>{{Harvnb|Magill|2012|p=64}}</ref> He was succeeded by his closest male relative, ], who ruled Poland, ], and ] in a ].<ref name="Davies 2001">{{Harvnb|Davies|2001|p=256}}</ref> Louis' younger daughter ] became Poland's first female monarch in 1384.<ref name="Davies 2001" />
	The ], a plague that ravaged Europe from 1347 to 1351 did not significantly affect Poland, and the country was spared from a major outbreak of the disease.<ref name="REF03" /><ref>{{cite book
	| editor-last = Frucht | editor-first = Richard C.
	| author-last = Wróbel | author-first = Piotr
	| title = Eastern Europe: An Introduction to the People, Lands, and Culture | chapter = Poland
	| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=lVBB1a0rC70C
	| access-date = 8 April 2013
	| date = 2004
	| publisher = ]
	| volume = 1
	| isbn = 978-1-57607-800-6
	| page = 10
	| quote = At the same time, when most of Europe was decimated by the Black Death, Poland developed quickly and reached the levels of the wealthiest countries of the West in its economy and culture.
	}}</ref> The reason for this was the decision of Casimir the Great to quarantine the nation's borders.
			] was fought against the ], and resulted in a decisive victory for the ], 15 July 1410]]
	===Jagiellon dynasty===
	{{main article|History of Poland during the Jagiellon dynasty|Renaissance in Poland}}
	] was fought against the ], and resulted in a decisive victory for the ], 15 July 1410]]
			In 1386, Jadwiga of Poland entered a marriage of convenience with ], the ], thus forming the ] and the ] which spanned the late ] and early ].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Halecki |first=Oscar |title=Jadwiga of Anjou and the Rise of East-Central Europe |publisher=Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences of America |year=1991 |isbn=978-0-88033-206-4 |pages=116–117, 152 |author-link=Oscar Halecki}}</ref> The partnership between Poles and Lithuanians brought the vast multi-ethnic ] territories into Poland's sphere of influence and proved beneficial for its inhabitants, who coexisted in one of the largest European ] of the time.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Griessler |first=Christina |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=inb4DwAAQBAJ |title=The Visegrad Four and the Western Balkans |date=2020 |publisher=Nomos |isbn=978-3-7489-0113-6 |location=Baden-Baden |page=173 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=4 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404210019/https://books.google.com/books?id=inb4DwAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref>
	The ] spanned the late ] and early ] of Polish history. Beginning with the ] ] (Władysław II Jagiełło), the Jagiellon dynasty (1386–1572) formed the ]. The partnership brought vast ]-controlled ] into Poland's sphere of influence and proved beneficial for the Poles and ], who coexisted and cooperated in one of the largest ] in Europe for the next four centuries. In the Baltic Sea region Poland's struggle with the Teutonic Knights continued and culminated in the ] (1410), where a combined Polish-Lithuanian army inflicted a decisive victory against the Teutonic Knights, allowing for territorial expansion of both nations into the far north region of ].<ref name="Wyrozumski"/> In 1466, after the ], King ] gave royal consent to the ], which created the future ], a Polish vassal. The Jagiellon dynasty at one point also established dynastic control over the kingdoms of ] (1471 onwards) and ].<ref name="Europe: a history"/><ref name="britannica"/> In the south, Poland confronted the ] and the ] (by whom they were attacked on 75 separate occasions between 1474 and 1569),<ref name="google"/> and in the east helped Lithuania fight the ]. Some historians estimate that Crimean Tatar slave-raiding cost Poland-Lithuania one million of its population between the years of 1494 and 1694.<ref name="hit-u"/>
	] in ], seat of Polish kings from 1038 until the capital was moved to ] in 1596. The royal residence is an example of early ] architecture in Poland]]
	Poland was developing as a ] state, with a predominantly agricultural economy and an increasingly powerful ]. The '']'' act adopted by the Polish ] (parliament) in 1505, transferred most of the ] from the monarch to the Sejm, an event which marked the beginning of the period known as "Golden Liberty", when the state was ruled by the "free and equal" ]. ] movements made deep inroads into Polish Christianity, which resulted in the establishment of policies promoting ], unique in Europe at that time.<ref name="LouthanCohen2011"/> This tolerance allowed the country to avoid most the religious turmoil that spread over Europe during the 16th century.<ref name="LouthanCohen2011">{{cite book|author=Paul W. Knoll|chapter=Religious Toleration in Sixteenth-Century Poland. Political Realities and Social Constrains.|editor1=Howard Louthan|editor2=Gary B. Cohen|editor3=Franz A. J. Szabo|title=Diversity and Dissent: Negotiating Religious Difference in Central Europe, 1500–1800|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KuzLNXpa-hYC&pg=PA30|date=15 March 2011|publisher=Berghahn Books|isbn=978-0-85745-109-5|pages=30–45}}</ref>
			In the Baltic Sea region, the struggle of Poland and Lithuania with the ] continued and culminated at the ] in 1410, where a combined Polish-Lithuanian army inflicted a decisive victory against them.<ref name="Wyrozumski 1986" /> In 1466, after the ], king ] gave royal consent to the ], which created the future ] under Polish suzerainty and forced the Prussian rulers to pay ].<ref name="Dabrowski 2014" /> The Jagiellonian dynasty also established dynastic control over the kingdoms of ] (1471 onwards) and Hungary.<ref name="Norman Davies 1996" /> In the south, Poland confronted the ] (at the ]) and the ], and in the east helped Lithuania to combat ].<ref name="Dabrowski 2014" />
	The European ] evoked in late Jagiellon Poland (kings ] and ]) a sense of urgency in the need to promote a ], and during this period Polish culture and the nation's economy flourished. In 1543, ] a Polish astronomer from ], published his epochal work '']'' (''On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres''), and thus became the first proponent of a predictive mathematical model confirming the ], which became the accepted basic model for the practice of modern astronomy. Another major figure associated with the era is the classicist poet ].<ref name="Gierowski"/>
			Poland was developing as a ] state, with a predominantly agricultural economy and an increasingly powerful ] that confined the population to private manorial farmstead known as ].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Frost |first=Robert I. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=245lDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22poland%2Bfeudal%2Bagricultural%2Bfolwark%2Bnobility%22&pg=PA242 |title=The Making of the Polish-Lithuanian Union 1385–1569 |date=2018 |publisher=University Press |isbn=978-0-19-880020-0 |volume=1 |location=Oxford |page=242 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002180501/https://books.google.com/books?id=245lDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA242&dq=%22poland+feudal+agricultural+folwark+nobility%22 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1493, ] sanctioned the creation of a ] (the Sejm) composed of a lower house, the chamber of deputies, and an upper house, the chamber of senators.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Graves |first=M. A. R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R2rJAwAAQBAJ |title=The Parliaments of Early Modern Europe |date=2014 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-317-88433-0 |location=Hoboken |page=101 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=5 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405192005/https://books.google.com/books?id=R2rJAwAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> The '']'' act adopted by the Polish ] in 1505, transferred most of the ] from the monarch to the parliament, an event which marked the beginning of the period known as ], when the state was ruled by the seemingly free and equal ].<ref>{{Harvnb|Graves|2014|pp=101, 197}}</ref>
	===Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth===
	{{main article|History of Poland in the Early Modern era (1569–1795)|Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth|Sarmatism}}
	] was an important development in the history of Poland that extended religious freedoms and tolerance, and is the first such document in Europe, 28 January 1573]]
			] in ], seat of ] from 1038 until the capital was moved to ] in 1596]]
	The 1569 ] established the ], a more closely unified federal state with an ], but which was governed largely by the nobility, through a system of ] with a central parliament. The ] (1573) confirmed the ] of all residents of Poland, which was extremely important for the stability of the multiethnic Polish society of the time.<ref name="Dembkowski/Lublin"/> ] was banned in 1588.<ref>{{cite book |title =The union of Lublin, Polish federalism in the golden age |first=Harry E. |last=Dembkowski |publisher=East European Monographs, 1982 |isbn= 978-0-88033-009-1 |page=271 |url=https://books.google.com/?id=svAaAAAAMAAJ&q=poland+lithuania+1588+slavery&dq=poland+lithuania+1588+slavery |year =1982 }}</ref> The establishment of the Commonwealth coincided with a period of stability and prosperity in Poland, with the union thereafter becoming a European power and a major cultural entity, occupying approximately one million square kilometers of Central and Eastern Europe, as well as an agent for the dissemination of ] through ] into areas of modern-day Lithuania, Ukraine, Belarus and Western Russia.
			The 16th century saw ] movements making deep inroads into Polish Christianity, which resulted in the establishment of policies promoting religious tolerance, unique in Europe at that time.<ref name="Knoll 2011" /> This tolerance allowed the country to avoid the religious turmoil and ] that beset Europe.<ref name="Knoll 2011">{{Cite book |last=Paul W. Knoll |title=Diversity and Dissent: Negotiating Religious Difference in Central Europe, 1500–1800 |publisher=Berghahn Books |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-85745-109-5 |editor-last=Howard Louthan |pages=30–45 |chapter=Religious Toleration in Sixteenth-Century Poland. Political Realities and Social Constrains. |editor-last2=Gary B. Cohen |editor-last3=Franz A.J. Szabo |chapter-url={{GBurl|id=KuzLNXpa-hYC|p=30}}}}</ref> In Poland, ] became the doctrine of the so-called ], who separated from their ] denomination and became the co-founders of global ].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Houlden |first=J. L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mf7WCQAAQBAJ |title=Jesus in History, Legend, Scripture, and Tradition: A World Encyclopedia |date=2015 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-61069-804-7 |location=Denver, Colorado |pages=577–578 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=24 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230524182450/https://books.google.com/books?id=mf7WCQAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref>
	In the 16th and 17th centuries, ] suffered from a number of dynastic crises during the reigns of the ] kings ] and ] and found itself engaged in major conflicts with ], Sweden and the Ottoman Empire, as well as a series of minor ] uprisings.<ref name="gierowski"/> In 1610 ] ] seized Moscow after winning the ].
			The European ] evoked under ] and ] a sense of urgency in the need to promote a ].<ref name="Dabrowski 2014" /> During the ], the nation's economy and culture flourished.<ref name="Dabrowski 2014" /> The Italian-born ], daughter of the ] and queen consort to Sigismund I, made considerable contributions to ], ], language and court customs at ].<ref name="Dabrowski 2014" />
	] at its greatest extent after the ], 1619]]
			=== Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth ===
	From the middle of the 17th century, the nobles' democracy, suffering from internal disorder, gradually declined, thus leaving the once powerful Commonwealth vulnerable to foreign intervention. Starting in 1648, the ] ] engulfed the south and east eventually leaving ] divided, with the eastern part, lost by the Commonwealth, becoming a dependency of the Tsardom of Russia. This was followed by the ] of Poland, which marched through the Polish heartlands and ruined the country's population, culture and infrastructure. Around four million of Poland's eleven million inhabitants died in famines and epidemics.<ref name="britannica1"/> However, under ] the Commonwealth's military prowess was re-established, and in 1683 Polish forces played a major role in the ] against the ], commanded by ] the grand vizier of the ].
			{{Main|History of Poland in the Early Modern era (1569–1795)|Crown of the Kingdom of Poland|Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth}}
			] at its greatest extent in 1619. At that time it was the largest country in Europe]]
			The ] of 1569 established the ], a unified federal state with an ] that was largely governed by the nobility.<ref name="Butterwick 2021">{{Cite book |last=Butterwick |first=Richard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g2cOEAAAQBAJ |title=The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, 1733–1795 |date=2021 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-25220-0 |pages=21, 14 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=4 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404210123/https://books.google.com/books?id=g2cOEAAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> The latter coincided with a period of prosperity. The Polish-dominated union thereafter became a leading power and a major cultural entity, exercising political control over parts of Central, ], ] and Northern Europe. The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth occupied approximately {{convert|1|e6km2|sqmi|abbr=unit}} ] and was the largest state in Europe.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Parker |first=Geoffrey |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1GMlDwAAQBAJ |title=Global Crisis. War, Climate Change and Catastrophe in the Seventeenth Century |date=2017 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-21936-4 |location=New Haven |page=122 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=5 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405150949/https://books.google.com/books?id=1GMlDwAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Parker|2017|p=122}}</ref> Simultaneously, Poland imposed ] policies in newly acquired territories which were met with resistance from ethnic and religious minorities.<ref name="Butterwick 2021" />
	] defeated the ] at the ] on 12 September 1683]]
			In 1573, ], the first elected king, approbated the ] which obliged future monarchs to respect the rights of nobles.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Ward |first1=Adolphus |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nrJ4DwAAQBAJ |title=The Wars of Religion in Europe |last2=Hume |first2=Martin |date=2018 |publisher=Perennial Press |isbn=978-1-5312-6318-8 |location=Vachendorf |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=9 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230709175950/https://books.google.com/books?id=nrJ4DwAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> When he left Poland to become ], his successor, ], led a successful ] in the ], granting Poland more ] of the Baltic Sea.<ref>{{Cite book |last=O'Connor |first=Kevin |url={{GBurl|id=OOdjCAAAQBAJ}} |title=The History of the Baltic States – 2nd Edition |date=2015 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-61069-916-7 |location=Westport |pages=37–38}}</ref> State affairs were then headed by ], the ].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Halina Lerski |url={{GBurl|id=luRry4Y5NIYC|p=678}} |title=Historical Dictionary of Poland, 966–1945 |date=30 January 1996 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-0-313-03456-5 |page=678 |access-date=2 July 2012}}</ref> Stephen's successor, ], defeated a rival ] electoral candidate, ], in the ]. In 1592, Sigismund succeeded his father and ], in ].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Szujski |first=Józef |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JlAFSS-12xwC |title=Dzieła Józefa Szujskiego. Dzieje Polski |date=1894 |publisher=Szujski-Kluczycki |volume=3 |location=Kraków |pages=162–163 |language=Polish |oclc=717123162 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=4 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404210017/https://books.google.com/books?id=JlAFSS-12xwC |url-status=live }}</ref> The ] endured until 1599, when he was ] by the Swedes.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Peterson |first=Gary Dean |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FtFDthqmB2wC |title=Warrior Kings of Sweden. The Rise of an Empire in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries |date=2014 |publisher=McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers |isbn=978-1-4766-0411-4 |page=107 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=27 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230727002356/https://books.google.com/books?id=FtFDthqmB2wC |url-status=live }}</ref>
	Sobieski's reign marked the end of the nation's golden-era. Finding itself subjected to almost constant warfare and suffering enormous population losses as well as massive damage to its economy, the Commonwealth fell into decline. The government became ineffective as a result of large-scale internal conflicts (e.g. ] against ] and rebellious ]) and corrupted legislative processes. The nobility fell under the control of a handful of '']s'', and this, compounded with two relatively weak kings of the ] ], ] and ], as well as the rise of ] and ] after the ] only served to worsen the Commonwealth's plight. Despite this The Commonwealth-Saxony ] gave rise to the emergence of the Commonwealth's first reform movement, and laid the foundations for the ].<ref name="gierowski2"/>
	], the last King of Poland—acceded to the throne in 1764 and reigned until his abdication on 25 November 1795]]		] defeated the ] at the ] on 12 September 1683]]
			In 1609, Sigismund ] ] which was engulfed in a ],<ref name="Dabrowski 2014" /> and a year later the Polish ] units under ] ] Moscow for two years after defeating the Russians at ].<ref name="Dabrowski 2014" /> Sigismund also countered the ] in the southeast; at ] in 1621 ] achieved a decisive victory against the Turks, which ushered the downfall of Sultan ].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dyer |first=Thomas Henry |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kQZOAAAAcAAJ |title=The History of Modern Europe – From the Fall of Constantinople, in 1453, to the War in the Crimea, in 1857 |date=1861 |publisher=J. Murray |isbn=978-3-337-75029-9 |volume=2 |location=London |page=504 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=5 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405060718/https://books.google.com/books?id=kQZOAAAAcAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Dzięgielewski |first=Jan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qRAsAQAAMAAJ&q=Bitwa%2520pod%2520Chocimiem%252050%2520tysi%25C4%2599cy%25201621 |title=Encyklopedia historii Polski: A-M |date=1994 |publisher=Morex |isbn=978-83-902522-1-6 |location=Polska |page=101 |language=Polish |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=24 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230724235956/https://books.google.com/books?id=qRAsAQAAMAAJ&q=Bitwa%2520pod%2520Chocimiem%252050%2520tysi%25C4%2599cy%25201621 |url-status=live }}</ref>
	During the later part of the 18th century, the Commonwealth made attempts to implement fundamental internal reforms; with the second half of the century bringing a much improved economy, significant population growth and far-reaching progress in the areas of education, intellectual life, art, and especially toward the end of the period, evolution of the social and political system. The most populous capital city of ] replaced ] (Danzig) as the leading centre of commerce, and the role of the more prosperous townsmen increased.
			Sigismund's long reign in Poland coincided with the ].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kizwalter |first=Tomasz |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p7JFAAAAIAAJ&q=srebrn%2520wiek%2520%2520z%25C5%2582oty%2520waz%25C3%25B3w |title=Kryzys Oświecenia a początki konserwatyzmu polskiego |date=1987 |publisher=Uniwersytet Warszawski |location=Warszawa (Warsaw) |page=21 |language=Polish |oclc=23942204 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=24 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230724235936/https://books.google.com/books?id=p7JFAAAAIAAJ&q=srebrn%2520wiek%2520%2520z%25C5%2582oty%2520waz%25C3%25B3w |url-status=live }}</ref> The liberal ] effectively defended Poland's territorial possessions but after his death the vast Commonwealth began declining from internal disorder and constant warfare.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Scott |first=H. M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jb4DCgAAQBAJ |title=The Oxford Handbook of Early Modern European History, 1350–1750 |date=2015 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-102000-1 |volume=2 |location=Oxford |pages=409–413 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=6 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406180731/https://books.google.com/books?id=Jb4DCgAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Czapliński |first=Władysław |title=Władysław IV i jego czasy |publisher=PW "Wiedza Poweszechna" |year=1976 |location=Warsaw |pages=170, 217–218 |language=pl |trans-title=Władysław IV and His Times |author-link=Władysław Czapliński}}</ref> In 1648, the Polish hegemony over Ukraine sparked the ],<ref>{{Harvnb|Scott|2015|p=409}}</ref> followed by the decimating ] during the ],<ref name="Scott 2015">{{Harvnb|Scott|2015|pp=409–413}}</ref> and Prussia's ] in 1657.<ref name="Scott 2015" /> In 1683, ] re-established military prowess when he halted the advance of an ] into Europe at the ].<ref>{{Harvnb|Scott|2015|p=411}}</ref> The ] era, under ] and ], saw neighboring powers grow in strength at the expense of Poland. Both Saxon kings faced opposition from ] during the ] (1700) and the ].<ref>{{Harvnb|Scott|2015|pp=409–412, 666}}</ref>
	===Age of partitions===
	{{main article|History of Poland (1795–1918)|Partitions of Poland|}}
	The ] of 1764 resulted in the elevation of ], a Polish aristocrat connected to major ] ], to the monarchy. However, a one-time lover of Empress ], the new king spent much of his reign torn between his desire to implement reforms necessary to save his nation, and his perceived necessity to remain in a political relationship with his Russian sponsor. This led to the formation of the 1768 ], a ''szlachta'' rebellion directed against Russia and the Polish king that fought to preserve Poland's independence and the ''szlachta'''s traditional privileges.
	Attempts at reform provoked the union's neighbours, and in 1772 the ] by Prussia, Russia and Austria took place; an act which the "]", under considerable duress, eventually "ratified" ''fait accompli''.<ref name="wydawnictwo"/> Disregarding this loss, in 1773 the king established the ], the first government education authority in Europe. ] of children was officially prohibited in 1783.
			=== Partitions ===
	], enactment ceremony inside the Senate Chamber at the ], 1791]]
			{{Main|History of Poland (1795–1918)|Partitions of Poland}}
			], the last ], reigned from 1764 until his abdication on 25 November 1795]]
			The ] of 1764 resulted in the elevation of ] to the monarchy.<ref>{{Harvnb|Butterwick|2021|p=88}}</ref> His candidacy was extensively funded by his sponsor and former lover, Empress ].<ref>{{Harvnb|Butterwick|2021|pp=83–88}}</ref> The new king maneuvered between his desire to implement necessary modernising reforms, and the necessity to remain at peace with surrounding states.<ref>{{Harvnb|Butterwick|2021|pp=89–91}}</ref> His ideals led to the formation of the 1768 ], a rebellion directed against the Poniatowski and all external influence, which ineptly aimed to preserve Poland's sovereignty and privileges held by the nobility.<ref>{{Harvnb|Butterwick|2021|pp=108–109}}</ref> The failed attempts at government restructuring as well as the domestic turmoil provoked its neighbours to invade.<ref>{{Harvnb|Butterwick|2021|pp=108–116}}</ref>
	The ] convened by Stanisław II August in 1788 successfully adopted the ], the first set of modern supreme national laws in Europe. However, this document, accused by detractors of harbouring revolutionary sympathies, generated strong opposition from the Commonwealth's nobles and conservatives as well as from Catherine II, who, determined to prevent the rebirth of a strong Commonwealth set about planning the final dismemberment of the Polish-Lithuanian state. Russia was aided in achieving its goal when the ], an organisation of Polish nobles, appealed to the Empress for help. In May 1792, Russian forces crossed the Commonwealth's frontier, thus beginning the ].
			In 1772, the ] by Prussia, Russia and Austria took place, an act which the ], under considerable duress, eventually ratified as a ].<ref name="Gierowski 1986" /> Disregarding the territorial losses, in 1773 a plan of critical reforms was established, in which the ], the first government education authority in Europe, was inaugurated.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Ted Tapper |url={{GBurl|id=riv0UCM90AMC|pg=RA2-PA140}} |title=Understanding Mass Higher Education: Comparative Perspectives On Access |last2=David Palfreyman |publisher=RoutledgeFalmer |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-415-35491-2 |page=140 |access-date=17 March 2013}}</ref> Corporal punishment of schoolchildren was officially prohibited in 1783. Poniatowski was the head figure of the ], encouraged the development of industries, and embraced republican ].<ref>{{Harvnb|Butterwick|2021|p=176}}</ref> For his contributions to the arts and sciences he was awarded a ].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Polska Akademia Nauk |url={{GBurl|id=Bfs5AQAAIAAJ}} |title=Nauka polska |publisher=Polska Akademia Nauk |year=1973 |page=151 |access-date=30 August 2021}}</ref>
	The defensive war fought by the Poles ended prematurely when the King, convinced of the futility of resistance, capitulated and joined the Targowica Confederation. The Confederation then took over the government. Russia and Prussia, fearing the mere existence of a Polish state, arranged for, and in 1793 executed, the ], which left the country deprived of so much territory that it was practically incapable of independent existence. Eventually, in 1795, following the failed ], the Commonwealth was ] by all three of its more powerful neighbours, and with this, effectively ceased to exist.<ref name="gierowski3"/>
			In 1791, ] adopted the ], the first set of supreme national laws, and introduced a ].<ref>{{Harvnb|Butterwick|2021|p=260}}</ref> The ], an organisation of nobles and deputies opposing the act, appealed to Catherine and caused the ].<ref>{{Harvnb|Butterwick|2021|p=310}}</ref> Fearing the reemergence of Polish hegemony, Russia and Prussia arranged and in 1793 executed, the ], which left the country deprived of territory and incapable of independent existence. On 24 October 1795, the Commonwealth was ] and ceased to exist as a territorial entity.<ref name="Gierowski" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bertholet |first=Auguste |date=2021 |title=Constant, Sismondi et la Pologne |url=https://www.slatkine.com/fr/editions-slatkine/75250-book-05077807-3600120175625.html |journal=Annales Benjamin Constant |volume=46 |pages=65–85 |access-date=20 January 2022 |archive-date=12 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512143530/https://www.slatkine.com/fr/editions-slatkine/75250-book-05077807-3600120175625.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Stanisław Augustus, the last King of Poland, abdicated the throne on 25 November 1795.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Schulz-Forberg |first=Hagen |title=Unravelling Civilisation: European Travel and Travel Writing |publisher=Peter Lang |year=2005 |isbn=90-5201-235-0 |page=162}}</ref>
	===Era of insurrections===
	{{main article|Duchy of Warsaw|Grand Duchy of Posen||Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria|Congress Poland}}
	], carried out by ], ] and ] in ], ] and ]]]
			=== Era of insurrections ===
	Poles ], particularly near the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century. An unsuccessful attempt at defending Poland's sovereignty took place in 1794 during the ], where a popular and distinguished general ], who had several years earlier served under ] in the ], led Polish insurrectionists against numerically superior Russian forces. Despite the victory at the ], his ultimate defeat ended Poland's independent existence ].<ref name="Gardner">{{cite book |last=Gardner |first=Monica Mary |url=http://www.gutenberg.org/files/27882/27882-h/27882-h.htm#CHAPTER_VII |title=The Rising of Kościuszko (Chapter VII) |work=Kościuszko: A Biography |publisher=G. Allen & Unwin., ltd, 136 pages |year=1942 |isbn= |format=Project Gutenberg }}</ref>
			{{Main|Austrian Partition|Prussian Partition|Russian Partition}}
			], carried out by the ] (''blue''), the ] (''brown''), and the ] (''green'') in ], ] and ]]]
			The Polish people ] and occupying armies. An unsuccessful attempt at defending Poland's sovereignty took place in the 1794 ], where a popular and distinguished general ], who had several years earlier served under ] in the ], led Polish insurgents.<ref name="Storozynski 2009">{{Cite book |last=Storozynski |first=Alex |url={{GBurl|id=wVqnlTbsdXcC}} |title=The Peasant Prince: Thaddeus Kosciuszko and the Age of Revolution |publisher=St. Martin's Press, 352 pages |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-4299-6607-8 |location=New York |via=Google Books}}</ref> Despite the victory at the ], his ultimate defeat ended Poland's independent existence ].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gardner |first=Monica Mary |title=Kościuszko: A Biography |publisher=G. Allen & Unwin., ltd, 136 pages |year=1942 |chapter=The Rising of Kościuszko (Chapter VII) |chapter-url=http://www.gutenberg.org/files/27882/27882-h/27882-h.htm#CHAPTER_VII |via=Project Gutenberg |access-date=29 October 2014 |archive-date=19 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319203228/https://www.gutenberg.org/files/27882/27882-h/27882-h.htm#CHAPTER_VII |url-status=live }}</ref>
	In 1807, ] temporarily recreated a Polish state as the satellite ], after a successful ] against Prussian rule. But, after the failed ], Poland was again split between the victorious powers at the ] of 1815.<ref name="Lukowski313">{{cite book |last=Lukowski |first=Jerzy |last2=Zawadzki |first2=W. H. |ref=Lukowski2001 |authorlink= |title=A Concise History of Poland |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=313 |location=Cambridge, United Kingdom |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-521-55917-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NpMxTvBuWHYC&lpg=PA313&vq=1794&pg=PA115#v=onepage&q=1807&f=false}}</ref> The eastern part was ruled by the Russian ] as ], which had a very ]. However, over time the Russian tsar reduced Polish freedoms, and Russia annexed the country in virtually all but name. Meanwhile, the Prussian controlled territory of Poland came under increased Germanization. Thus, in the 19th century, only Austrian ruled ], and particularly the ], allowed free Polish culture to flourish.
			In 1806, an ] organised by ] liberated western Poland ahead of ] advance into Prussia during the ]. In accordance with the 1807 ], Napoleon proclaimed the ], a ] ruled by his ally ]. The Poles actively aided French troops in the ], particularly those under ] who became ] shortly before his death at ] in 1813.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Nicholls |first=David |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PmCdv91zPS0C |title=Napoleon |date=1999 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-0-87436-957-1 |location=Oxford |page=204 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=18 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230418035320/https://books.google.com/books?id=PmCdv91zPS0C |url-status=live }}</ref> In the aftermath of Napoleon's exile, the Duchy of Warsaw was abolished at the ] in 1815 and its territory was divided into Russian ], the Prussian ], and ] with the ].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Lukowski |first1=Jerzy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NpMxTvBuWHYC&q=1807&pg=PA115 |title=A Concise History of Poland |last2=Zawadzki |first2=W.H. |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-521-55917-1 |location=Cambridge |page=313 |ref=Lukowski2001 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=24 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230724235918/https://books.google.com/books?id=NpMxTvBuWHYC&pg=PA115&q=1807 |url-status=live }}</ref>
	] takes the ] in ], vowing to fight against ] of the partitioning powers, 1794 ]]
			{{Annotated image |float=left |width=150 |height=160 |image=Karl G Schweikart - Tadeusz Kościuszko (ÖaL).jpg|caption=] was a veteran and hero of both the ] and ] wars of independence<ref name="Storozynski 2009" />|annotations=<!--none--> |image-top=-25 |image-left=-25 |image-width=200}}
	Throughout the period of the partitions, political and cultural repression of the Polish nation led to the organisation of a number of uprisings against the authorities of the occupying Russian, Prussian and Austrian governments.
			In 1830, ]s at Warsaw's ] rebelled in what was the ].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Carolina Armenteros |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A4hJDAAAQBAJ |title=Historicising the French Revolution |last2=Dawn Dodds |last3=Isabel Divanna |last4=Tim Blanning |date=2008 |publisher=Cambridge Scholars |isbn=978-1-4438-1157-6 |location=Newcastle |page=247 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=9 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230709185017/https://books.google.com/books?id=A4hJDAAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> After its collapse, Congress Poland lost its ], ] and legislative assembly.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kappeler |first=Andreas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JZ9eBAAAQBAJ&q=congress%2Bpoland%2Bintegration%2Bpaskevich&pg=PA249 |title=The Russian Empire: A Multi-ethnic History |date=27 August 2014 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-56810-0 |via=Google Books |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=24 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230724235904/https://books.google.com/books?id=JZ9eBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA249&q=congress%2Bpoland%2Bintegration%2Bpaskevich |url-status=live }}</ref> During the ], Poles took up arms in the ] to resist ], but its failure saw duchy's status reduced to a mere ]; and subsequent integration into the ] in 1871.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Lucassen |first1=Leo |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8YUuGSKXsFUC&q=1848%2Bprussia%2Buprising%2Bposen&pg=PA140 |title=Paths of Integration: Migrants in Western Europe (1880–2004) |last2=Feldman |first2=David |last3=Oltmer |first3=Jochen |date=6 September 2006 |publisher=Amsterdam University Press |isbn=978-90-5356-883-5 |via=Google Books |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=24 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230724235933/https://books.google.com/books?id=8YUuGSKXsFUC&pg=PA140&q=1848%2Bprussia%2Buprising%2Bposen |url-status=live }}</ref> In Russia, the fall of the ] (1863–1864) prompted severe ], followed by deportations and ] of the Polish-Jewish population. Towards the end of the 19th century, Congress Poland became heavily industrialised; its primary exports being coal, ], iron and textiles.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Restivo |first=Sal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4_tQEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22economy%2Bof%2BRussian%2Bpoland%2Bzinc%2Btextiles%22&pg=PA613 |title=Science, Technology, and Society: An Encyclopedia |date=2005 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=1-280-83513-3 |location=New York |page=613 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002173910/https://books.google.com/books?id=4_tQEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA613&dq=%22economy+of+Russian+poland+zinc+textiles%22 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Koryś |first=Piotr |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kKR8DwAAQBAJ&q=january%2Buprising%2Beconomic&pg=PA181 |title=Poland From Partitions to EU Accession: A Modern Economic History, 1772–2004 |date=2018 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-319-97126-1 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=25 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230725000016/https://books.google.com/books?id=kKR8DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA181&q=january%2Buprising%2Beconomic |url-status=live }}</ref>
	In 1830, the ] began in ] when, led by Lieutenant ], young ]s at the ] in Warsaw revolted. They were joined by large segments of Polish society, and together forced Warsaw's Russian garrison to withdraw north of the city.
			=== Second Polish Republic ===
	] by the Polish army during the ], 29 November 1830]]
			{{Main|History of Poland (1918–1939)|Battle of Warsaw (1920)|Second Polish Republic}}
			] Marshal ] was a hero of the Polish independence campaign and the nation's premiere statesman from 1918 until his death on 12 May 1935]]
			In the aftermath of ], the ] agreed on the reconstitution of Poland, confirmed through the ] of June 1919.<ref>According to ], "The rebirth of Poland was one of the great stories of the ]." Margaret MacMillan, ''Paris 1919: Six Months that Changed the World'' (2001), p. 208.</ref> A total of 2 million Polish troops fought with the armies of the three occupying powers, and over 450,000 died.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Glenn E. Curtis |title=Poland: A Country Study |date=1994 |publisher=Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress |isbn=978-0-8444-0827-9 |edition=3 |volume=550 |page=29 |issue=162–994}}</ref> Following the ] in November 1918, Poland regained its independence as the ].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Piotr S. Wandycz |date=2009 |title=The Second Republic, 1921–1939 |journal=The Polish Review |publisher=University of Illinois Press |volume=54 |pages=159–171 |jstor=25779809 |number=2}}</ref>
			The Second Polish Republic reaffirmed its sovereignty after ], most notably the ], when Poland inflicted a crushing defeat on the ] at the ].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Marjan Kukiel |year=1929 |title=The Polish-Soviet Campaign of 1920 |journal=The Slavonic and East European Review |publisher=Modern Humanities Research Association |volume=8 |pages=48–65 |jstor=4202361 |number=22}}</ref>
	Over the course of the next seven months, Polish forces successfully defeated the Russian armies of Field Marshal ] and a number of other Russian commanders; however, finding themselves in a position unsupported by any other foreign powers, save distant France and the newborn United States, and with Prussia and Austria refusing to allow the import of military supplies through their territories, the Poles accepted that the uprising was doomed to failure. Upon the surrender of Warsaw to General ], many Polish troops, feeling they could not go on, withdrew into Prussia and there laid down their arms. After the defeat, the semi-independent Congress Poland lost its constitution, army and legislative assembly, and was integrated more closely with the Russian Empire.
			The inter-war period heralded a new era of Polish politics. Whilst Polish political activists had faced heavy censorship in the decades up until ], a new political tradition was established in the country. Many exiled Polish activists, such as ], who would later become prime minister, returned home. A significant number of them then went on to take key positions in the newly formed political and governmental structures. Tragedy struck in 1922 when ], inaugural holder of the presidency, was assassinated at the ] Gallery in Warsaw by a painter and right-wing nationalist ].<ref name="Bitter glory" />
	During the ] (a series of revolutions which swept across Europe), Poles took up arms in the ] to resist Prussian rule. Initially, the uprising manifested itself in the form of civil disobedience, but eventually turned into an armed struggle when the Prussian military was sent in to pacify the region. Eventually, after several battles the uprising was suppressed by the Prussians, and the ] was stripped of its autonomy and completely incorporated into the ].
			In 1926, the ], led by the hero of the Polish independence campaign Marshal ], turned rule of the Second Polish Republic over to the nonpartisan ] (''Healing'') movement to prevent radical political organisations on both the left and the right from destabilising the country.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Robert Machray |date=November 1930 |title=Pilsudski, the Strong Man of Poland |journal=Current History |publisher=University of California Press |volume=33 |pages=195–199 |doi=10.1525/curh.1930.33.2.195 |jstor=45333442 |number=2}}</ref> By the late 1930s, due to increased threats posed by political extremism inside the country, the Polish government became increasingly heavy-handed, banning a number of radical organisations, including communist and ultra-nationalist political parties, which threatened the stability of the country.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Brian Porter-Szücs |title=Poland in the Modern World: Beyond Martyrdom |date=6 January 2014 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-118-59808-5}}</ref>
	In 1863, a new Polish uprising against Russian rule began. The ] started out as a spontaneous protest by young Poles against ] into the Imperial Russian Army. However, the insurrectionists, despite being joined by high-ranking Polish-Lithuanian officers and numerous politicians, were still severely outnumbered and lacking in foreign support. They were forced to resort to ] tactics and failed to win any major military victories. Afterwards no major uprising was witnessed in the Russian-controlled Congress Poland, and Poles resorted instead to fostering economic and cultural self-improvement.
			=== World War II ===
	Despite the political unrest experienced during the partitions, Poland did benefit from large-scale industrialisation and modernisation programs, instituted by the occupying powers, which helped it develop into a more economically coherent and viable entity. This was particularly true in Greater Poland, Silesia and Eastern Pomerania controlled by Prussia (later becoming a part of the ]); areas which eventually, thanks largely to the ] and ], were reconstituted as a part of the ], becoming the country's most prosperous regions.
			{{Main|History of Poland (1939–1945)|Invasion of Poland|Military history of Poland during World War II|War crimes in occupied Poland during World War II}}
			] ] tanks on military manoeuvres shortly before the ] in 1939]]
			World War II began with the ] ] on 1 September 1939, followed by the ] on 17 September. On 28 September 1939, ]. As agreed in the ], Poland was split into two zones, ], the other by ]. In 1939–1941, the Soviets deported hundreds of thousands of Poles. The Soviet ] executed thousands of Polish prisoners of war (among other incidents in the ]) ahead of ].<ref name="BBC 2010" /> German planners had in November 1939 called for "the complete destruction of all Poles" and their fate as outlined in the genocidal '']''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Michael Geyer |url={{GBurl|id=IcB3oASHnkAC|p=152}} |title=Beyond Totalitarianism: Stalinism and Nazism Compared |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-521-89796-9 |pages=152–153}}</ref>
	===Reconstruction===
	{{main article|History of Poland (1918–39)|Kingdom of Poland (1916–18)|Second Polish Republic|Battle of Warsaw (1920)}}
	] Marshal ] was the nation's premiere statesman between 1918 until his death on 12 May 1935]]
			] during the ], October 1940]]
	During ], all the ] agreed on the reconstitution of Poland that United States President ] proclaimed in Point 13 of his ]. A total of 2 million Polish troops fought with the armies of the three occupying powers, and 450,000 died. Shortly after the ], Poland regained its independence as the ] (''II Rzeczpospolita Polska''). It reaffirmed its independence after ], the most notable being the ] (1919–21) when Poland inflicted a crushing defeat on the ] at the ], an event which is considered to have halted the advance of Communism into Europe and forced ] to rethink his objective of achieving global socialism. The event is often referred to as the "Miracle at the Vistula".<ref name="Głos"/>
			Poland made the fourth-largest troop contribution in Europe,<ref name="Zaloga 1982" /><ref name="Lerski 1996a" /><ref name="Walters 1988" /> and its troops served both the ] in the ] and Soviet leadership in the ]. Polish troops played an important role in the ], ], ]s and ] and are particularly remembered for the ] and ].<ref name="tobruk" /><ref name="including" /> Polish intelligence operatives proved extremely valuable to the Allies, providing much of the intelligence from Europe and beyond,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kochanski |first=Halik |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EJ5vIyDBpLcC&q=22%252C047%2BPolish&pg=PA234 |title=The Eagle Unbowed: Poland and the Poles in the Second World War |publisher=Harvard University Press |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-674-06814-8 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=25 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230725000018/https://books.google.com/books?id=EJ5vIyDBpLcC&pg=PA234&q=22%252C047%2BPolish |url-status=live }}</ref> ] were responsible for ] and Polish scientists participating in the ] were co-creators of the American ]. In the east, the Soviet-backed ] distinguished itself in the battles for ] and ].<ref name="Lerski 1996b" />
	], 1918–39]]
			The ], and the ] (''Home Army''), fought against German occupation. It was one of the three largest resistance movements of the entire war, and encompassed a range of clandestine activities, which functioned as an ] complete with ] and ].<ref name="Stanislaw Salmonowicz 1994" /> The resistance was loyal to the exiled government and generally resented the idea of a communist Poland; for this reason, in the summer of 1944 it initiated ], of which the ] that began on 1 August 1944 is the best-known operation.<ref name="Lerski 1996b" /><ref name="polandinexile" />
	During this period, Poland successfully managed to fuse the territories of the three former partitioning powers into a cohesive nation state. Railways were restructured to direct traffic towards ] instead of the former imperial capitals, a new network of national roads was gradually built up and a ] was opened on the ] Coast, so as to allow Polish exports and imports to bypass the politically charged ].
			] with deportation routes and massacre sites. Major ] are marked with yellow stars. Nazi ] are marked with white skulls in black squares. The border in 1941 between ] and the ] is marked in red]]
	The inter-war period heralded in a new era of Polish politics. Whilst Polish political activists had faced heavy censorship in the decades up until the ], the country now found itself trying to establish a new political tradition. For this reason, many exiled Polish activists, such as ] (who would later become prime minister) returned home to help; a significant number of them then went on to take key positions in the newly formed political and governmental structures. Tragedy struck in 1922 when ], inaugural holder of the presidency, was assassinated at the ] in Warsaw by painter and right-wing nationalist ].<ref name="bitter"/>
			Nazi German forces under orders from ] set up six German ]s in occupied Poland, including ], ] and ]. The Germans ] from across occupied Europe to be murdered in those camps.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Browning |first1=Christopher R. |title=The origins of the Final Solution: the evolution of Nazi Jewish policy, September 1939 – March 1942 |last2=Matthäus |first2=Jürgen |date=2004 |publisher=University of Nebraska Press |isbn=978-0-8032-1327-2 |series=Comprehensive history of the Holocaust |location=Lincoln}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Snyder |first=Timothy |title=Black earth: the Holocaust as history and warning |date=2015 |publisher=Tim Duggan Books |isbn=978-1-101-90345-2 |edition=First |location=New York}}</ref> Altogether, 3 million Polish Jews<ref>{{harvp|Materski|Szarota|2009}} ''Quote:'' Liczba Żydów i Polaków żydowskiego pochodzenia, obywateli II Rzeczypospolitej, zamordowanych przez Niemców sięga 2,7- 2,9 mln osób. ''Translation:'' The number of Jewish victims is estimated at 2,9 million. This was about 90% of the 3.3 million Jews living in prewar Poland. ''Source:'' IPN.</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.yadvashem.org/righteous/stories/poland-historical-background.html | title=Poland: Historical Background during the Holocaust | access-date=18 August 2019 | archive-date=12 November 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191112052517/https://www.yadvashem.org/righteous/stories/poland-historical-background.html | url-status=live }}</ref> – approximately 90% of Poland's pre-war Jewry – and between 1.8 and 2.8 million ethnic Poles<ref>{{Cite web |title=Polish Victims |url=https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/polish-victims |publisher=United States Holocaust Memorial Museum |access-date=4 January 2020 |archive-date=24 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190824050551/https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/polish-victims |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Piotrowski |first=Tadeusz |title=Poland World War II casualties (in thousands) |url=http://projectinposterum.org/docs/poland_WWII_casualties.htm |access-date=4 January 2020 |archive-date=18 April 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070418175341/http://projectinposterum.org/docs/poland_WWII_casualties.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{harvp|Materski|Szarota|2009}} ''Quote:'' Łączne straty śmiertelne ludności polskiej pod okupacją niemiecką oblicza się obecnie na ok. 2 770 000. ''Translation:'' Current estimate is roughly 2,770,000 victims of German occupation. This was 11.3% of the 24.4 million ethnic Poles in prewar Poland.</ref> were killed during the German ], including between 50,000 and 100,000 members of the Polish ] – academics, doctors, lawyers, nobility and priesthood. During the Warsaw Uprising alone, over 150,000 Polish civilians were killed, most were murdered by the Germans during the ] and ] massacres.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Documenting Numbers of Victims of the Holocaust and Nazi Persecution |url=https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/documenting-numbers-of-victims-of-the-holocaust-and-nazi-persecution |publisher=United States Holocaust Memorial Museum |access-date=4 January 2020 |archive-date=3 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191103120011/https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/documenting-numbers-of-victims-of-the-holocaust-and-nazi-persecution |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Wardzyńska |first=Maria |url=http://pamiec.pl/download/49/34737/BYLROK1939.pdf |title=Był rok 1939. Operacja niemieckiej policji bezpieczeństwa w Polsce. Intelligenzaktion |publisher=] |year=2009 |isbn=978-83-7629-063-8 |language=pl |trans-title=The Year was 1939: Operation of German Security Police in Poland. Intelligenzaktion |quote=Oblicza się, że akcja "Inteligencja" pochłonęła ponad 100 tys. ofiar. ''Translation:'' It is estimated that ''Intelligenzaktion'' took the lives of 100,000 Poles. |access-date=4 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129035451/http://pamiec.pl/download/49/34737/BYLROK1939.pdf |archive-date=29 November 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Around 150,000 Polish civilians were killed by Soviets between 1939 and 1941 during the Soviet Union's occupation of eastern Poland (]), and another estimated 100,000 Poles were murdered by the ] (UPA) between 1943 and 1944 in what became known as the ].<ref>Grzegorz Motyka, Od rzezi wołyńskiej do akcji "Wisła". Konflikt polsko-ukraiński 1943–1947. Kraków 2011, p. 447. See also: Book review by Tomasz Stańczyk: "Grzegorz Motyka oblicza, że w latach 1943–1947 z polskich rąk zginęło 11–15 tys. Ukraińców. Polskie straty to 76–106 tys. zamordowanych, w znakomitej większości podczas rzezi wołyńskiej i galicyjskiej."</ref><ref>{{Cite web |year=2013 |title=What were the Volhynian Massacres? |url=http://www.volhyniamassacre.eu/ |website=1943 Wołyń Massacres Truth and Remembrance |publisher=Institute of National Remembrance |access-date=17 July 2016 |archive-date=13 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130813063016/http://www.volhyniamassacre.eu/ |url-status=live }}</ref> ] in the war, Poland lost the highest percentage of its citizens: around 6 million perished – more than one-sixth of Poland's pre-war population – ] Polish Jews.<ref>{{harvp|Materski|Szarota|2009}}</ref><ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125075356/http://remember.org/forgotten |date=25 January 2018 }} Remember.org.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Polish experts lower nation's WWII death toll |url=https://www.expatica.com/de/polish-experts-lower-nations-wwii-death-toll/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190818035613/https://www.expatica.com/de/polish-experts-lower-nations-wwii-death-toll/ |archive-date=18 August 2019}}</ref> About 90% of deaths were non-military in nature.<ref>Bureau odszkodowan wojennych (BOW), Statement on war losses and damages of Poland in 1939–1945. Warsaw 1947</ref>
	The 1926 ] of ] turned rule of the Second Polish Republic over to the ] movement. By the 1930s Poland had become increasingly authoritarian; a number of 'undesirable' political parties, such as the Polish Communists, had been banned and following Piłsudski's death, the regime, unable to appoint a new leader, began to show its inherent internal weaknesses and unwillingness to cooperate in any way with other political parties.
			In 1945, Poland's borders ]. Over two million Polish inhabitants of ] ] along the ] by ].<ref>] (2006). "Post-War Migrations in Poland". In: Mirosława Czerny. ''Poland in the geographical centre of Europe.'' Hauppauge, New York: Nova Science Publishers. pp. 71–87. {{ISBN|978-1-59454-603-7}}. </ref> The western border became the ]. As a result, Poland's territory was reduced by 20%, or {{convert|77500|km2|sqmi}}. The shift forced the migration of ], most of whom were Poles, Germans, Ukrainians, and Jews.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Eberhardt |first=Piotr |url=http://www.igipz.pan.pl/en/zpz/Political_migrations.pdf |title=Political Migrations in Poland 1939–1948 |publisher=Didactica |year=2006 |isbn=978-1-5361-1035-7 |location=Warsaw |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626151411/http://www.igipz.pan.pl/en/zpz/Political_migrations.pdf |archive-date=26 June 2015 |accessdate=3 May 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Eberhardt |first=Piotr |url=http://rcin.org.pl/Content/15652/WA51_13607_r2011-nr12_Monografie.pdf |title=Political Migrations On Polish Territories (1939–1950) |publisher=Polish Academy of Sciences |year=2011 |isbn=978-83-61590-46-0 |location=Warsaw |access-date=3 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140520220409/http://rcin.org.pl/Content/15652/WA51_13607_r2011-nr12_Monografie.pdf |archive-date=20 May 2014}}</ref><ref name="BBC 2011" />
	As result of the ] in 1938, major European powers (Germany, France, Britain and Italy) awarded Poland the small 350 sq mi ] of Czechoslovakia. The area was a point of contention between the Polish and Czechoslovak governments in the past and the two countries ].
	===World War II===		=== Post-war communism ===
	{{main article|History of Poland (1939–45)|Invasion of Poland|Polish contribution to World War II|War crimes in occupied Poland during World War II}}		{{Main|History of Poland (1945–1989)|Polish People's Republic|History of Solidarity|Polish Round Table Agreement}}
			], 4 June 1989''—political poster featuring ] to encourage votes for the ] party in the ]]]
	] tanks during military maneuvers shortly before the ], 1939]]
			At the insistence of ], the ] sanctioned the formation of a new provisional pro-Communist coalition government in Moscow, which ignored the ] based in London. This action angered many Poles who considered it a ] by the Allies. In 1944, Stalin had made guarantees to ] and ] that he would maintain Poland's sovereignty and allow democratic elections to take place. However, upon achieving victory in 1945, the elections organised by the occupying Soviet authorities were falsified and were used to provide a veneer of legitimacy for Soviet hegemony over Polish affairs. The Soviet Union instituted a new ] government in Poland, analogous to much of the rest of the ]. ], the Soviet influence over Poland was met with ] from the outset which continued into the 1950s.<ref>{{Cite web |title=ARTICLE by Karol Nawrocki, Ph.D.: The soldiers of Polish freedom |url=https://ipn.gov.pl/en/news/9332,ARTICLE-by-Karol-Nawrocki-PhD-The-soldiers-of-Polish-freedom.html |access-date=6 March 2022 |archive-date=12 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512143630/https://ipn.gov.pl/en/news/9332,ARTICLE-by-Karol-Nawrocki-PhD-The-soldiers-of-Polish-freedom.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
			Despite widespread objections, the new Polish government accepted the Soviet annexation of the pre-war eastern regions of Poland<ref name="Lane 1948" /> (in particular the cities of ] and ]) and agreed to the permanent garrisoning of ] units on Poland's territory. Military alignment within the ] throughout the ] came about as a direct result of this change in Poland's political culture. In the European scene, it came to characterise the full-fledged integration of Poland into the brotherhood of communist nations.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Warsaw Pact: Definition, History, and Significance |url=https://www.thoughtco.com/warsaw-pact-4178983 |access-date=6 March 2022 |archive-date=31 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220531072214/https://www.thoughtco.com/warsaw-pact-4178983 |url-status=live }}</ref>
	The formal beginning of ] was marked by the ] ] on 1 September 1939, followed by the ] on 17 September in violation of the ]. On 28 September 1939 ]. As agreed earlier in the ], Poland was split into two occupied zones, ], while the other, including all of eastern ] fell under ]. In 1939–41, the Soviets had deported hundreds of thousands of Poles out to the most distant parts of the Soviet Union. The Soviet ] secretly executed thousands of Polish prisoners of war (inter alia ]) ahead of the ].<ref name="bbc"/> German planners had in November 1939 called for "the complete destruction" of all ] and their fate, as well as many other ], was outlined in genocidal '']''.<ref>{{cite book|author=Michael Geyer|title=Beyond Totalitarianism: Stalinism and Nazism Compared|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IcB3oASHnkAC&pg=PA152|year=2009|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-89796-9|pages=152–153}}</ref>
			The new communist government took control with the adoption of the ] on 19 February 1947. The ] (''Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa'') ]. In 1956, after the death of ], the régime of ] became temporarily more liberal, freeing many people from prison and expanding some personal freedoms. ] failed. A similar situation repeated itself in the 1970s under ], but most of the time persecution of ] groups persisted. Despite this, Poland was at the time considered to be one of the least oppressive states of the Eastern Bloc.<ref name="PWN" />
	] during the ], October 1940]]
			Labour turmoil in 1980 led to the formation of the independent trade union "]" ("''Solidarność''"), which over time became a political force. Despite persecution and imposition of ] by General ], it eroded the dominance of the ] and by 1989 had triumphed in Poland's first ] since the end of the Second World War. ], a Solidarity candidate, eventually ]. The Solidarity movement heralded the ].<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 2020 |title=Solidarity Movement– or the Beginning of the End of Communism |url=https://argumentum.al/lajmi/2020/09/solidarity-movement-or-the-beginning-of-the-end-of-communism/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220328012855/https://argumentum.al/lajmi/2020/09/solidarity-movement-or-the-beginning-of-the-end-of-communism/ |archive-date=28 March 2022 |access-date=6 March 2022 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
	During the war, Poland made the fourth-largest troop contribution to ] war effort, after the ], the British, and the Americans.{{Ref label|b|b|none}} Polish troops fought under the command of both the ] in the ] and under Soviet leadership in the ]. The Polish expeditionary corps, which was controlled by the exiled pre-war government based in London, played an important role in the ] and ]s.<ref name="tobruk"/><ref name="including"/> They are particularly well remembered for their conduct at the ], a conflict which culminated in the raising of a Polish flag over the ruins of the mountain-top abbey by the ]. The Polish forces in the west were commanded by Lieutenant General ], who had received his command from ] of the ] ]. In the east, the Soviet-backed ] distinguished itself in the battles for ] and ].<ref name="google4"/>
			=== Third Polish Republic ===
	Polish servicemen were also active in the theatres of naval and air warfare; during the ] Polish squadrons such as the ]<ref name="Olson"/> achieved considerable success, and by the end of the war the ] could claim 769 confirmed kills. Meanwhile, the ] was active in the protection of convoys in the ] and Atlantic Ocean.<ref name="PN"/>
			{{Main|History of Poland (1989–present)}}
			] following the ] in a plane crash on 10 April 2010]]
			A ] programme, initiated by ] in the early 1990s, enabled the country to transform its ] ] into a ].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hunter |first1=Richard J. Jr. |last2=Ryan |first2=Leo V. |date=2006 |title=A RETROSPECTIVE ANALYSIS AND FUTURE PERSPECTIVE: "Why Was Poland's Transition So Difficult?" |journal=] |publisher=] |volume=51 |pages=147–171 |jstor=25779611 |number=2}}</ref> As with other ], Poland suffered temporary declines in social, economic, and living standards,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kowalik |first=Tadeusz |title=From Solidarity to Sell-Out: The Restoration of Capitalism in Poland |publisher=Monthly Review Press |year=2011 |location=New York, NY}}</ref> but it became the first post-communist country to reach its pre-1989 ] as early as 1995, although the unemployment rate increased.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Spieser |first=Catherine |date=April 2007 |title=Labour Market Policies in Post-communist Poland: Explaining the Peaceful Institutionalisation of Unemployment |journal=Politique européenne |volume=21 |pages=97–132 |doi=10.3917/poeu.021.0097 |number=1}}</ref> Poland became a member of the ] in 1991,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Poláčková |first=Hana |date=1994 |title=Regional Cooperation in Central Europe: Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia: from Visegrad to CEFTA |journal=Perspectives |publisher=] |pages=117–129 |jstor=23615759 |number=3}}</ref> and joined ] in 1999.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sieradzka |first=Monika |date=3 November 2019 |title=After 20 years in NATO, Poland still eager to please |url=https://www.dw.com/en/after-20-years-in-nato-poland-still-eager-to-please/a-47862839 |access-date=26 March 2022 |website=] |publisher=] |quote=Poland's NATO accession in 1999 was meant to provide protection from Russia. |archive-date=31 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220531214850/https://www.dw.com/en/after-20-years-in-nato-poland-still-eager-to-please/a-47862839 |url-status=live }}</ref> Poles then voted to join the ] in ] in June 2003,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Szczerbiak |first=Aleks |date=September 2004 |title=History Trumps Government Unpopularity: The June 2003 Polish EU Accession Referendum |journal=West European Politics |volume=27 |pages=671–690 |doi=10.1080/0140238042000249876 |s2cid=153998856 |number=4}}</ref> with ] on 1 May 2004, following the ].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kundera |first=Jaroslaw |date=September 2014 |title=Poland in the European Union. The economic effects of ten years of membership |journal=Rivista di Studi Politici Internazionali |volume=81 |pages=377–396 |jstor=43580712 |number=3}}</ref>
			Poland has joined the ] in 2007, as a result of which, ] with other member states of the European Union were dismantled, allowing for ] within most of the European Union.<ref name="BBC News 2007" /> On 10 April 2010, the ] ], along with 89 other high-ranking Polish officials ] near ], Russia.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Alex Duval |date=7 February 2016 |title=Will Poland ever uncover the truth about the plane crash that killed its president? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/07/smolensk-plane-crash-lech-kaczynski-poland-russia |access-date=26 March 2022 |website=] |location=] |archive-date=30 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220530164613/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/07/smolensk-plane-crash-lech-kaczynski-poland-russia |url-status=live }}</ref>
	] killed during the ]. The battle lasted 63 days and resulted in the deaths of 200,000 civilians, 1944]]
			In 2011, the ruling ] won ].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Turkowski |first=Andrzej |title=Ruling Civic Platform Wins Parliamentary Elections in Poland |url=https://carnegieendowment.org/2011/10/10/ruling-civic-platform-wins-parliamentary-elections-in-poland-pub-45703 |website=Carnegie Endowment for International Peace |access-date=11 April 2021 |archive-date=30 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220530233038/https://carnegieendowment.org/2011/10/10/ruling-civic-platform-wins-parliamentary-elections-in-poland-pub-45703 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2014, the ], ], was chosen to be ], and resigned as prime minister.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lynch |first=Suzanne |title=Donald Tusk named next president of European Council |newspaper=The Irish Times |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/donald-tusk-named-next-president-of-european-council-1.1913164 |access-date=11 April 2021 |archive-date=31 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220531053534/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/donald-tusk-named-next-president-of-european-council-1.1913164 |url-status=live }}</ref> The ] and ] were won by the national-conservative ] Party (PiS) led by ],<ref>{{Cite news |date=25 October 2015 |title=Poland elections: Conservatives secure decisive win |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34631826 |access-date=20 June 2018 |archive-date=25 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151025224207/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34631826 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=14 October 2019 |title=Poland's populist Law and Justice party win second term in power |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/oct/14/poland-populist-law-and-justice-party-increases-majority |access-date=8 October 2020 |archive-date=31 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220531141516/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/oct/14/poland-populist-law-and-justice-party-increases-majority |url-status=live }}</ref> resulting in increased ] and ] with the European Union.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rule of Law: European Commission acts to defend judicial independence in Poland |url=https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_17_5367 |access-date=15 November 2020 |website=European Commission |language=en |archive-date=28 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210328122853/https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_17_5367 |url-status=live }}</ref> In December 2017, ] was sworn in as the Prime Minister, succeeding ], in office since 2015. President ], supported by Law and Justice party, was re-elected in the 2020 presidential ].<ref>{{Cite news |date=13 July 2020 |title=Poland's Duda narrowly beats Trzaskowski in presidential vote |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-53385021 |access-date=10 March 2021 |archive-date=13 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200713013502/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-53385021 |url-status=live }}</ref> {{As of|November 2023}}, the ] had led to 17 million ] crossing the border to Poland.<ref name="UNHRC Ukraine">{{Cite web |title=Situation Ukraine Refugee Situation |url=https://data.unhcr.org/en/situations/ukraine |website=data.unhcr.org |access-date=14 December 2023 |archive-date=27 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220627032436/https://data.unhcr.org/en/situations/ukraine |url-status=live }}</ref> {{As of|November 2023}}, 0.9 million of those had stayed in Poland.<ref name="UNHRC Ukraine" /> In October 2023, the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party won the largest share of the vote in the ], but lost its majority in parliament. In December 2023, Donald Tusk became the new Prime Minister leading a coalition made up of ], ], and ]. Law and Justice became the leading opposition party.<ref>{{Cite news |date=11 December 2023 |title=Donald Tusk elected as Polish prime minister |language=en-GB |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-67681940 |access-date=12 December 2023 |archive-date=13 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231213060521/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-67681940 |url-status=live }}</ref>
	In addition to the organised units of the 1st Army and the Forces in the Nazi-occupied Europe, the domestic underground resistance movement, the ] (''Home Army''), fought against the German occupation. The ] in Poland was one of the three largest resistance movements of the entire war,{{Ref label|c|c|none}} and encompassed an unusually broad range of clandestine activities, which essentially functioned as an ] complete with ] and ].<ref name="Salm42"/> The resistance was, however, largely loyal to the exiled government and generally resented the idea of a communist Poland; for this reason, in the summer of 1944 they initiated ], of which the ] that begun on 1 August 1944 was the best known operation.<ref name="Soviets_and_AK"/><ref name="Lerski1996-2"/> The objective of the uprising was to drive the German occupiers from the city and help with the larger fight against Germany and the ]. However, secondary motives for the uprising sought to see Warsaw liberated before the Soviets could reach the capital, so as to underscore Polish ] by empowering the Polish Underground State before the Soviet-backed ] could assume control. However, a lack of available allied military aid and Stalin's reluctance to allow the 1st Army to help their fellow countrymen take the city, led to the uprising's failure and subsequent ].
			== Geography ==
	] with deportation routes and massacre sites. Major ] marked with ]. Germany's Nazi ] marked with white skulls in black squares. The border in 1941 between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union marked in red]]
			{{Main|Geography of Poland}}
			] map of Poland]]
			Poland covers an administrative area of {{convert|312722|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on}}, and is the ]. Approximately {{convert|311895|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on}} of the country's territory consists of land, {{convert|2041|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on}} is internal waters and {{convert|8783|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on}} is territorial sea.<ref name="Rocznik 2019">{{Cite journal |last=Polish Ministry of Education and Science |date=2019 |title=Statistical Yearbook of the Republic of Poland |url=https://stat.gov.pl/download/gfx/portalinformacyjny/pl/defaultaktualnosci/5515/2/19/1/rocznik_statystyczny_rzeczypospolitej_polskiej_2019.pdf |journal=Rocznik Statystyczny Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej |publisher=Statistics Poland (Główny Urząd Statystyczny GUS) |publication-place=Warsaw |pages=80–81, 84–85, 111 |issn=1506-0632 |oclc=907771825 |access-date=2 April 2022 |archive-date=3 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220303153527/https://stat.gov.pl/download/gfx/portalinformacyjny/pl/defaultaktualnosci/5515/2/19/1/rocznik_statystyczny_rzeczypospolitej_polskiej_2019.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Topographically, the landscape of Poland is characterised by diverse ]s, ] and ]s.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cechy krajobrazów Polski – Notatki geografia |url=https://geografia.gozych.edu.pl/cechy-krajobrazow-polski/ |access-date=4 December 2020 |archive-date=29 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029163433/https://geografia.gozych.edu.pl/cechy-krajobrazow-polski/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The central and northern region bordering the ] lie within the flat ], but its south is hilly and mountainous.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Grochowski |first=Mirosław |year=1997 |title=Poland Under Transition and Its New Geography |journal=] |publisher=] |volume=39 |pages=1–26 |doi=10.1080/00085006.1997.11092140 |jstor=40869887 |number=1/2}}</ref> The average ] is estimated at 173 metres.<ref name="Rocznik 2019" />
	During the war, German forces under direct order from ] set up six major ]s, all of which operated in the heart of Poland. They included the notorious ], ] and ] killing centers. This allowed the Germans to ] under the guise of resettlement from the Third Reich and across occupied Europe, and systematically murder them in the death camps set up in the ].
			The country has a coastline spanning {{convert|comma=5|770|km|mi|abbr=on}}; extending from the shores of the Baltic Sea, along the ] in the west to the ] in the east.<ref name="Rocznik 2019" /> The beach coastline is abundant in ] or ] and is indented by ] and lagoons, notably the ] and the ], which is shared with Russia.<ref>{{Cite book |last=BACC Editorial Team |title=Second Assessment of Climate Change for the Baltic Sea Basin |date=2015 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-319-16005-4 |location=Cham |page=385}}</ref> The largest Polish island on the Baltic Sea is ], located within ].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Tymon Zielinski |title=Interdisciplinary approaches for sustainable development goals |last2=Iwona Sagan |last3=Waldemar Surosz |date=2017 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-319-71788-3 |location=Cham |page=79}}</ref> Poland also shares the ] and the ] island with Germany.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Shell |first=Marc |title=Islandology: Geography, Rhetoric, Politics |date=2014 |publisher=University Press |isbn=978-0-8047-8926-4 |location=Stanford |page=89}}</ref>
	The Nazi crimes against the Polish nation claimed the lives of 2.9 million Polish Jews,<ref name="Materski/Szarota-2">Wojciech Materski, Tomasz Szarota (2009), {{Wayback |df=yes|date=20120323161233 |url=http://niniwa2.cba.pl/polska_1939_1945.htm |title=Polska 1939–1945. Straty Osobowe i Ofiary Represji pod Dwiema Okupacjami}}. ''Quote:'' Liczba Żydów i Polaków żydowskiego pochodzenia, obywateli II Rzeczypospolitej, zamordowanych przez Niemców sięga 2,7- 2,9 mln osób. ''Translation:'' The number of Jewish victims is estimated at 2,9 million. This was about 90% of the 3.3 million Jews living in prewar Poland. ''Source:'' IPN.</ref> and 2.8 million ethnic Poles,<ref name="Materski/Szarota">Wojciech Materski, Tomasz Szarota (2009), {{Wayback |df=yes|date=20120323161233 |url=http://niniwa2.cba.pl/polska_1939_1945.htm |title=Polska 1939–1945. Straty Osobowe i Ofiary Represji pod Dwiema Okupacjami (Human Losses and Victims of Repressions under Two Occupations)}}. Retrieved 27 October 2014. ''Quote:'' Łączne straty śmiertelne ludności polskiej pod okupacją niemiecką oblicza się obecnie na ok. 2 770 000. ''Translation:'' Current estimate is roughly 2,770,000 victims of German occupation. This was 11.3% of the 24.4 million ethnic Poles in prewar Poland.</ref> including Polish academics, doctors, lawyers, nobility, priests and numerous others. Since 3,5 million Jews lived in pre-war Poland, Jewish victims make up the largest percentage of all victims of the Nazis' extermination program. It is estimated that, of pre-war Poland's Jewry, approximately 90% were killed. Throughout the ], many members of the Armia Krajowa, supported by the ], and millions of ordinary Poles – at great risk to themselves and their families – ]. Grouped by nationality, Poles represent the largest number of people who rescued Jews during the Holocaust. To date, 6,620 Poles have been awarded the title of '']'' by the State of ]–more than any other nation.<ref name="YV Stats"/> Some estimates put the number of Poles involved in rescue efforts at up to 3 million, and credit Poles with sheltering up to 450,000 Jews.
			The mountainous belt in the extreme south of Poland is divided into two major ]; the ] in the west and the ] in the east. The highest part of the Carpathian massif are the ], extending along Poland's southern border.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Najwyższe szczyty w Tatrach Polskich i Słowackich |url=https://www.polskie-gory.pl/najwyzsze-szczyty-tatr.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211212223121/https://www.polskie-gory.pl/najwyzsze-szczyty-tatr.php |archive-date=12 December 2021 |access-date=4 December 2020 |website=www.polskie-gory.pl |url-status=dead }}</ref> Poland's highest point is ] at {{convert|2501|m|ft|0}} in elevation, located in the Tatras.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Siwicki |first=Michał |date=2020 |title=Nowe ustalenia dotyczące wysokości szczytów w Tatrach |url=https://geoforum.pl/news/29549/nowe-ustalenia-dotyczace-wysokosci-szczytow-w-tatrach%20Nowe%20ustalenia%20dotycz%C4%85ce%20wysoko%C5%9Bci%20szczyt%C3%B3w%20w%20Tatrach |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211009034150/https://geoforum.pl/news/29549/nowe-ustalenia-dotyczace-wysokosci-szczytow-w-tatrach%20Nowe%20ustalenia%20dotycz%C4%85ce%20wysoko%C5%9Bci%20szczyt%C3%B3w%20w%20Tatrach |archive-date=9 October 2021 |access-date=9 October 2021 |website=geoforum.pl |language=pl |url-status=dead }}</ref> The highest summit of the Sudetes massif is ] at {{convert|1603.3|m|ft|0}}, shared with the Czech Republic.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Czetwertynski-Sytnik |first1=Lesław |last2=Kozioł |first2=Edward |last3=R. Mazurski |first3=Krzysztof |year=2000 |title=Settlement and sustainability in the Polish Sudetes |journal=] |publisher=] |volume=50 |pages=273–284 |doi=10.1023/A:1007165901891 |jstor=41147476 |s2cid=150809158 |number=2/3|bibcode=2000GeoJo..50..273C }}</ref> The lowest point in Poland is situated at ] in the ], which is {{convert|1.8|m|ft|1}} below sea level.<ref name="Rocznik 2019" />
	Also, some 150,000 Polish civilians were killed by Soviet Communists between 1939 and 1941 during the Soviet Union's occupation of eastern Poland (]), and another estimated 100,000 Poles were killed by the ] (UPA) in the regions of ] and ] between 1943 and 1944 in what became known as the ]. The massacres were part of a vicious ] campaign waged by Ukrainian nationalists against the local Polish population in the German-occupied territories of eastern Poland.<ref>Grzegorz Motyka, Od rzezi wołyńskiej do akcji "Wisła". Konflikt polsko-ukraiński 1943– 1947. Kraków 2011, p.447. See also: Book review by Tomasz Stańczyk: "Grzegorz Motyka oblicza, że w latach 1943–1947 z polskich rąk zginęło 11–15 tys. Ukraińców. Polskie straty to 76–106 tys. zamordowanych, w znakomitej większości podczas rzezi wołyńskiej i galicyjskiej."</ref><ref>Institute of National Remembrance (2013) ''1943 Wołyń Massacres Truth and Remembrance'' http://www.volhyniamassacre.eu</ref>
			] alpine lake in the ]. Poland has one of the highest densities of lakes in the world]]
	At the war's conclusion in 1945, Poland's borders ], resulting in considerable territorial losses. Most of the Polish inhabitants of ] ] along the ] in accordance with Stalin's agreements.<ref name="Lisocka-Jaegermann">] (2006). "Post-War Migrations in Poland". In: Mirosława Czerny. ''Poland in the geographical centre of Europe.'' Hauppauge, New York: Nova Science Publishers. pp. 71–87. ISBN 1-59454-603-7. </ref> The western border was moved to the ]. As a result, Poland's territory was reduced by 20%, or {{convert|77500|km2|sqmi}}. The shift forced the migration of ], most of whom were Poles, Germans, Ukrainians, and Jews.<ref name="bbc5"/> ] in the war, Poland ]: over 6 million perished – nearly one-fifth of Poland's population – ] Polish Jews.<ref name="posterum0"/><ref name="szma"/><ref name="5MillionForgotten0"> Remember.org.</ref><ref name=expatica>AFP/Expatica, '''', Expatica.com, 30 August 2009</ref> Over 90% of deaths were non-military in nature. Population numbers did not recover until the 1970s.
			Poland's ] are the ], the ], the ], and the ].<ref name="Rocznik 2019" /> The country also possesses one of the highest densities of lakes in the world, numbering around ten thousand and mostly concentrated in the north-eastern region of ], within the ].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Christine Zuchora-Walske |title=Poland |publisher=ABDO Publishing |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-61480-877-0 |page=28 |chapter=The Lakes Region |quote=''Insert:'' Poland is home to 9,300 lakes. Finland is the only European nation with a higher density of lakes than Poland. |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9dx2AgAAQBAJ&q=%2522a%2Bhigher%2Bdensity%2Bof%2Blakes%2Bthan%2BPoland%2522 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=24 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230724235914/https://books.google.com/books?id=9dx2AgAAQBAJ&q=%2522a%2Bhigher%2Bdensity%2Bof%2Blakes%2Bthan%2BPoland%2522 |url-status=live }}</ref> The largest lakes, covering more than {{convert|100|km2|sqmi|0}}, are ] and ], and the deepest is ] at {{convert|108.5|m|ft|0}} in depth.<ref name="Rocznik 2019" />
	===Post-war communism===
	{{main article|History of Poland (1945–1989)|Polish People's Republic|History of Solidarity|Polish Round Table Agreement}}
	], 4 June 1989'' – political poster featuring ] to encourage votes for the ] party in the ]]]
			=== Climate ===
	At the insistence of ], the ] sanctioned the formation of a new provisional pro-Communist coalition government in Moscow, which ignored the ] based in London; a move which angered many Poles who considered it a ] by the Allies. In 1944, Stalin had made guarantees to ] and ] that he would maintain Poland's sovereignty and allow democratic elections to take place. However, upon achieving victory in 1945, the elections organized by the occupying Soviet authorities were falsified and were used to provide a veneer of 'legitimacy' for Soviet hegemony over Polish affairs. The Soviet Union instituted a new ] government in Poland, analogous to much of the rest of the ]. ] the Soviet occupation of Poland met with ] from the outset which continued into the fifties.
			{{main|Geography of Poland#Climate}}
			] map of Poland]]
			The climate of Poland is ], and varies from ] in the north-west to ] in the south-east.<ref name="Korzeniewska 2020">{{Cite book |last1=Korzeniewska |first1=Ewa |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KGydDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22%2522poland%2522%2Boceanic%2Bcontinental%2Btemperate%2Bclimate%22&pg=PA4 |title=Polish River Basins and Lakes |last2=Harnisz |first2=Monika |date=2020 |publisher=Springer International Publishing |isbn=978-3-030-12123-5 |volume=I |location=Cham |pages=4–5 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002180457/https://books.google.com/books?id=KGydDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA4&dq=%22%22poland%22+oceanic+continental+temperate+climate%22 |url-status=live }}</ref> The mountainous southern fringes are situated within an ].<ref name="Korzeniewska 2020" /> Poland is characterised by warm summers, with a mean temperature of around {{convert|20|°C|°F|1}} in July, and moderately cold winters averaging {{convert|-1|°C|°F|1}} in December.<ref name="Azad 2021">{{Cite book |last1=Azad |first1=Abdul Kalam |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9OgGEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22annual%2Bseasonal%2Bmean%2Btemperature%2Bpoland%22&pg=PA6 |title=Bioenergy Resources and Technologies |last2=Khan |first2=Mohammad Masud Kamal |date=2021 |publisher=Elsevier |isbn=978-0-12-822526-4 |location=London |page=6 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002180501/https://books.google.com/books?id=9OgGEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA6&dq=%22annual+seasonal+mean+temperature+poland%22 |url-status=live }}</ref> The warmest and sunniest part of Poland is ] in the southwest and the coldest region is the northeast corner, around ] in ], where the climate is affected by ]s from ] and ].<ref name="Anna Chodubska 2020">{{Cite report |url=https://www.imgw.pl/sites/default/files/2021-04/imgw-pib-klimat-polski-2020-opracowanie-final-eng-rozkladowki-min.pdf |title=Climate of Poland |last1=Zbigniew Ustrunul |last2=Agnieszka Wypych |date=2020 |publisher=Institute of Meteorology and Water Management – National Research Institute (IMGW) |page=7 |last3=Ewa Jakusik |last4=Dawid Biernacik |last5=Danuta Czekierda |last6=Anna Chodubska |access-date=3 April 2022 |archive-date=28 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220628044637/https://www.imgw.pl/sites/default/files/2021-04/imgw-pib-klimat-polski-2020-opracowanie-final-eng-rozkladowki-min.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> ] is more frequent during the summer months, with highest rainfall recorded from June to September.<ref name="Azad 2021" />
			There is a considerable fluctuation in day-to-day weather and the arrival of a particular season can differ each year.<ref name="Korzeniewska 2020" /> ] and other factors have further contributed to interannual ] and increased temperatures; the average annual air temperature between 2011 and 2020 was {{convert|9.33|°C|°F|1}}, around 1.11&nbsp;°C higher than in the 2001–2010 period.<ref name="Anna Chodubska 2020" /> Winters are also becoming increasingly drier, with less ] and snowfall.<ref name="Korzeniewska 2020" />
	Despite widespread objections, the new Polish government accepted the Soviet annexation of the pre-war eastern regions of Poland<ref name="indianapolis"/> (in particular the cities of ] and ]) and agreed to the permanent garrisoning of ] units on Poland's territory. Military alignment within the ] throughout the ] came about as a direct result of this change in Poland's political culture and in the European scene came to characterise the full-fledged integration of Poland into the brotherhood of communist nations.
			=== Biodiversity ===
	The ] (''Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa'') ]. In 1956 after the death of ], the régime of ] became temporarily more liberal, freeing many people from prison and expanding some personal freedoms. ] failed. A similar situation repeated itself in the 1970s under ], but most of the time persecution of ] groups persisted. Despite this, Poland was at the time considered to be one of the least oppressive states of the ].<ref name="PWN_historia"/>
			{{main|Geography of Poland#Biodiversity}}
			], one of ], is commonly found at the ancient and ]-protected ]]]
			], Poland belongs to the Central European province of the ] within the ]. The country has four ] – Central, Northern, Western European ], and the ]. Forests occupy 31% of Poland's land area, the largest of which is the ].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Forest area (% of land area) – Poland |url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/AG.LND.FRST.ZS?locations=PL |access-date=1 April 2021 |website=] |archive-date=30 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220530193553/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/AG.LND.FRST.ZS?locations=PL |url-status=live }}</ref> The most common ] found across the country are ], ], and ]; the most common conifers are ], ], and ].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Milewski |first=Wawrzyniec |url=https://www.lasy.gov.pl/pl/informacje/publikacje/in-english/forests-in-poland/lasy-w-polsce-2017-en.pdf |title=Forests in Poland 2017 |date=2017 |publisher=State Forests Information Centre |isbn=978-83-65659-23-1 |location=Warsaw (Warszawa) |page=8 |access-date=3 April 2022 |archive-date=31 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220531075659/https://www.lasy.gov.pl/pl/informacje/publikacje/in-english/forests-in-poland/lasy-w-polsce-2017-en.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> An estimated 69% of all forests are ].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Frouz |first1=Jan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9UpUEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22most%2Bcommon%2Btrees%2B%2Boak%2Bbeech%2Bpine%2B%2B%2522poland%2522%22&pg=PA245 |title=Applied Ecology: How agriculture, forestry and fisheries shape our planet |last2=Frouzova |first2=Jaroslava |date=2022 |publisher=Springer International Publishing |isbn=978-3-030-83225-4 |location=Cham |page=245 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002180500/https://books.google.com/books?id=9UpUEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA245&dq=%22most+common+trees++oak+beech+pine++%22poland%22%22 |url-status=live }}</ref>
	Labour turmoil in 1980 led to the formation of the independent trade union "]" ("''Solidarność''"), which over time became a political force. Despite persecution and imposition of ], it eroded the dominance of the ] and by 1989 had triumphed in Poland's first ] since the end of the Second World War. ], a Solidarity candidate, eventually ]. The Solidarity movement heralded the ].
			The ] and ] in Poland is that of ], with the ], ] and ] designated as national animals, and the ] being the unofficial floral emblem.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Aniskiewicz |first=Alena |date=2016 |title=That's Polish: Exploring the History of Poland's National Emblems |url=https://culture.pl/en/article/thats-polish-exploring-the-history-of-polands-national-emblems |access-date=3 April 2022 |website=culture.pl |publisher=Adam Mickiewicz Institute |quote="A white eagle , the profile of a shaggy bison in a field of grass. These are emblems of Poland". "Nation's (somewhat disputed) national flower – the corn poppy". |archive-date=3 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220403012530/https://culture.pl/en/article/thats-polish-exploring-the-history-of-polands-national-emblems |url-status=live }}</ref> Among the most protected species is the ], Europe's heaviest land animal, as well as the ], the ], the ] and the ].<ref name="Rocznik 2019" /> The region was also home to the extinct ], the last individual dying in Poland in 1627.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Rokosz, M. |year=1995 |title=History of the Aurochs (''Bos taurus primigenius'') in Poland |url=http://agtr.ilri.cgiar.org/agtrweb/Documents/Library/docs/agri16_95.pdf |journal=Animal Genetics Resources Information |volume=16 |pages=5–12 |doi=10.1017/S1014233900004582 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130114152435/http://agtr.ilri.cgiar.org/agtrweb/Documents/Library/docs/agri16_95.pdf |archive-date=14 January 2013 |accessdate=3 April 2022 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Game animals such as ], ], and ] are found in most woodlands.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Reidar Andersen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-ycg5PtQPugC&dq=%22boar%2Bdeer%2Bpoland%22&pg=PA225 |title=European Ungulates and Their Management in the 21st Century |last2=Marco Apollonio |last3=Rory Putman |last4=Piotr Wawrzyniak |date=2010 |publisher=University Press |isbn=978-0-521-76061-4 |location=Cambridge |pages=223–231 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002180448/https://books.google.com/books?id=-ycg5PtQPugC&pg=PA225&dq=%22boar+deer+poland%22 |url-status=live }}</ref> Poland is also a significant breeding ground for ] and hosts around one quarter of the global population of white storks.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Kevin Hillstrom |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dMexywMD_okC&q=%252240%252C000%2Bbreeding%2Bpairs%2522 |title=Europe: A Continental Overview of Environmental Issues, Volume 4 |last2=Laurie Collier Hillstrom |publisher=ABC-CLIO World geography |year=2003 |isbn=978-1-57607-686-6 |page=34 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=25 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230725000019/https://books.google.com/books?id=dMexywMD_okC&q=%252240%252C000%2Bbreeding%2Bpairs%2522 |url-status=live }}</ref>
	===Present-day===
	{{main article|History of Poland (1989–present)|2004 enlargement of the European Union}}
	]—the country became a member of the European community of nations on 1 May 2004]]
	A ] programme, initiated by ] in the early 1990s enabled the country to transform its socialist-style planned economy into a ]. As with other post-communist countries, Poland suffered slumps in social and economic standards,<ref>{{Cite book | last = Kowalik | first = Tadeusz | year = 2011 | title = From Solidarity to Sell-Out: The Restoration of Capitalism in Poland | location = New York, NY | publisher = Monthly Review Press }}</ref> but it became the first post-communist country to reach its pre-1989 GDP levels, which it achieved by 1995 largely thanks to its booming economy.<ref name="Real GDP growth in CEECs"/><ref name="WHY POLAND?"/>
			Around {{convert|315100|ha|sqmi}}, equivalent to 1% of Poland's territory, is protected within 23 ], two of which – ] and ] – are ].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mayer |first=Marius |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jt-GDwAAQBAJ&dq=%2223%2Bnational%2Bparks%2Bpoland%22&pg=PA115 |title=Cross-Border Tourism in Protected Areas: Potentials, Pitfalls and Perspectives |date=2019 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-030-05960-6 |location=Cham |page=115 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002180454/https://books.google.com/books?id=jt-GDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA115&dq=%2223+national+parks+poland%22 |url-status=live }}</ref> There are 123 areas designated as ], along with numerous ]s and other ] under the ] network.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Kowalczyk |first1=Barbara |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eo6WDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22%2522123%2522%2Blandscape%2Bparks%2Bpoland%22&pg=PT202 |title=Environmental law in Poland |last2=Mikowski |first2=Rafał |last3=Mikowski |first3=Łukasz |date=2019 |publisher=Kluwer Law International |isbn=978-94-035-0950-1 |location=Alphen aan den Rijn |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002180453/https://books.google.com/books?id=eo6WDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT202&dq=%22%22123%22+landscape+parks+poland%22 |url-status=live }}</ref>
	Most visibly, there were numerous improvements in human rights, such as ], ] (no censorship), civil liberties (1st class) and political rights (1st class), as ranked by ] non-governmental organization. In 1991, Poland became a member of the ] and joined the ] (NATO) alliance in 1999 along with the ], ] and ]. Poles then voted to join the ] in ] in June 2003, with Poland becoming a full member on 1 May 2004. Poland joined the ] in 2007, as a result of which, ] with other member states of the European Union have been dismantled, allowing for ] within most of the EU.<ref name="Europe's border-free zone expands"/> In contrast to this, a section of Poland's eastern border now comprises the external EU border with ], Russia and Ukraine. That border has become increasingly well protected, and has led in part to the coining of the phrase ], in reference to the seeming 'impossibility' of gaining entry to the EU for citizens of the ].
			== Government and politics ==
	] following the ] including ] in a plane crash over Smolensk in Russia, 10 April 2010]]
			{{Main|Politics of Poland}}
			{{multiple image
			| align = right
			| caption_align = center
			| image1 = Prezydent Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej Andrzej Duda.jpg
			| width1 = 125
			| alt1 = Andrzej Sebastian Duda
			| caption1 = ]<br />] <br /><small>since 6 August 2015</small>
			| image2 = EPP Summit, 29 June, Brussels (53287183894) (cropped) no mic.png
			| width2 = 135
			| alt2 = Donald Franciszek Tusk
			| caption2 = ]<br />]<br /> <small>since 13 December 2023</small>
			}}
			Poland is a ] ]{{refn|name=SEMIPRES}} and a ], with a ] as the ].<ref name="Serwis Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej">{{Cite web |last=Serwis Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej |date=n.d. |title=Civil Service; Basic information about Poland |url=https://www.gov.pl/web/civilservice/basic-information-about-poland |access-date=8 March 2022 |website=www.gov.pl |publisher=Government of the Republic of Poland |language=en |archive-date=30 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220530233041/https://www.gov.pl/web/civilservice/basic-information-about-poland |url-status=live }}</ref> The executive power is exercised further by the ] and the ] who acts as the ].<ref name="Serwis Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej" /> The council's individual members are selected by the prime minister, approved by parliament and sworn in by the president.<ref name="Serwis Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej" /> The head of state is elected by ] for a five-year term.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Stanisz |first=Piotr |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e4MSEAAAQBAJ&q=duda&pg=PT14 |title=Religion and Law in Poland |date=2020 |publisher=Kluwer Law International |isbn=978-94-035-2973-8 |location=Alphen aan den Rijn |page=13 |language=en |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=24 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230724235947/https://books.google.com/books?id=e4MSEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT14&q=duda |url-status=live }}</ref> The current president is ] and the prime minister is ].
	In an effort to strengthen military cooperation with its neighbors, Poland set up the ] with ], ] and ], with a total of 3,000 troops ready for deployment. Also, in the east Poland created the ] battle groups with ] and ]. These battle groups will operate outside of NATO and within the European defense initiative framework.<ref>Reuters, Warsaw, 19 September 2014.</ref>
			Poland's ] assembly is a ] parliament consisting of a 460-member lower house (]) and a 100-member upper house (]).<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zJROEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22sejm%2B460%2B%2Bsenate%2B100%22&pg=PA127 |title=Foundations of Law: The Polish Perspective |date=2021 |publisher=Wolters Kluwer Polska |isbn=978-83-8223-173-1 |location=Warszawa (Warsaw) |page=127 |language=en |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002180451/https://books.google.com/books?id=zJROEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA127&dq=%22sejm+460++senate+100%22 |url-status=live }}</ref> The Sejm is elected under ] according to the ] for vote-seat conversion.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gwiazda |first=Anna |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VBk-CgAAQBAJ&dq=%22sejm%2B%2Bd%2527Hondt%22&pg=PA67 |title=Democracy in Poland: Representation, participation, competition and accountability since 1989 |date=2015 |publisher=Taylor and Francis |isbn=978-1-315-68011-8 |location=Florence |page=67 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002180453/https://books.google.com/books?id=VBk-CgAAQBAJ&pg=PA67&dq=%22sejm++d%27Hondt%22 |url-status=live }}</ref> The Senate is elected under the ] electoral system, with one senator being returned from each of the one hundred constituencies.<ref name="Granat 2021">{{Cite book |last1=Granat |first1=Mirosław |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AJzGDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22poland%2Bsenate%2Bfirst-past-the-post%2B100%22&pg=PA52 |title=The Constitution of Poland: A Contextual Analysis |last2=Granat |first2=Katarzyna |date=2021 |publisher=Hart Publishing |isbn=978-1-5099-1394-7 |location=Oxford |pages=51, 52, 221 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002180456/https://books.google.com/books?id=AJzGDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA52&dq=%22poland+senate+first-past-the-post+100%22 |url-status=live }}</ref> The Senate has the right to amend or reject a statute passed by the Sejm, but the Sejm may override the Senate's decision with a majority vote.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Piotr Machnikowski |title=Contract law in Poland |last2=Justyna Balcarczyk |last3=Monika Drela |date=2017 |publisher=Kluwer Law International |isbn=978-90-411-8933-2 |location=Alphen aan den Rijn |language=en |chapter=Political System (III) |oclc=1046634087 |chapter-url={{GBurl|id=OI2WDwAAQBAJ|dq=poland+voting+age+eighteen|pg=PT19}}}}</ref>
	On 10 April 2010, the President of the Republic of Poland, ], along with 89 other high-ranking Polish officials ] near ], ]. The president's party were on their way to attend an annual service of commemoration for the victims of the ] when the tragedy took place.
			] is the ] of the ].]]
	In 2011, the ] responsible for the functioning of the ] was awarded to Poland. The same year ] took place to both ] and the Sejm. They were won by the ruling Civic Platform. Poland joined ] in 2012, as well as organised the ] (along with Ukraine). In 2013, Poland also became a member of the ]. In 2014, the ], ], was chosen to be ].
			With the exception of ethnic minority parties, only candidates of ] receiving at least 5% of the total national vote can enter the Sejm.<ref name="Granat 2021" /> Both the lower and upper houses of parliament in Poland are elected for a four-year term and each member of the Polish parliament is guaranteed ].<ref name="Jasinski 2019">{{Cite book |last1=Jasiński |first1=Wojciech |title=Criminal law in Poland |last2=Kremens |first2=Karolina |date=2019 |publisher=Kluwer Law International |isbn=978-94-035-1324-9 |location=Alphen aan den Rijn |language=en |chapter=Political System and Administrative Structure (IV) |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DSysDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22sejm%2Bpoland%2Bfour%2Byear%22&pg=PT21 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002180452/https://books.google.com/books?id=DSysDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT21&dq=%22sejm+poland+four+year%22 |url-status=live }}</ref> Under current legislation, a person must be 21 years of age or over to assume the position of deputy, 30 or over to become senator and 35 to run in a presidential election.<ref name="Jasinski 2019" />
	==Geography==
	{{main article|Geography of Poland}}
	] map of Poland]]
			Members of the Sejm and Senate jointly form the ].<ref name="Bien-Kacala 2021">{{Cite book |last1=Bień-Kacała |first1=Agnieszka |title=Constitutional law in Poland |last2=Młynarska-Sobaczewska |first2=Anna |date=2021 |publisher=Kluwer Law International |isbn=978-94-035-3300-1 |location=Alphen aan den Rijn |language=en |chapter=The Speaker, Presidium, and Convent of Seniors, Parliamentary Committees (II), s. 281 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lNstEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22national%2Bassembly%2Bpoland%2B%2Bpresident%2Boath%22&pg=PT126 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002180508/https://books.google.com/books?id=lNstEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT126&dq=%22national+assembly+poland++president+oath%22 |url-status=live }}</ref> The National Assembly, headed by the ], is formed on three occasions – when a new president takes the ]; when an indictment against the president is brought to the ]; and in case a president's permanent incapacity to exercise his duties due to the state of his health is declared.<ref name="Bien-Kacala 2021" />
	Poland's territory extends across several geographical regions, between latitudes ] and ], and longitudes ] and ]. In the north-west is the Baltic seacoast, which extends from the ] to the ]. This coast is marked by several ], coastal lakes (former bays that have been cut off from the sea), and dunes. The largely straight coastline is indented by the ], the ], and the ]. The centre and parts of the north lie within the ].
			=== Administrative divisions ===
	Rising above these lowlands is a geographical region comprising the four hilly districts of ]s and ]s formed during and after the ]. These lake districts are the ]n Lake District, the Greater Polish Lake District, the ]n Lake District, and the ]. The Masurian Lake District is the largest of the four and covers much of north-eastern Poland. The lake districts form part of the Baltic Ridge, a series of moraine belts along the southern shore of the ].
			{{Main|Administrative divisions of Poland}}
			Poland is divided into 16 provinces or states known as ].<ref name="Teryt 2022">{{Cite web |date=2022 |title=Liczba jednostek podziału terytorialnego kraju |url=https://eteryt.stat.gov.pl/eteryt/raporty/WebRaportZestawienie.aspx |access-date=16 March 2022 |website=TERYT |publisher=Statistics Poland (Główny Urząd Statystyczny GUS) |language=pl |archive-date=21 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220621043312/https://eteryt.stat.gov.pl/eteryt/raporty/WebRaportZestawienie.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref> As of 2022, the voivodeships are subdivided into 380 counties ('']s''), which are further fragmented into 2,477 municipalities ('']s'').<ref name="Teryt 2022" /> Major cities normally have the status of both ''gmina'' and ''powiat''.<ref name="Teryt 2022" /> The provinces are largely founded on the borders of ], or named for individual cities.<ref name="Marti-Henneberg 2021">{{Cite book |last=Martí-Henneberg |first=Jordi |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=itM-EAAAQBAJ&dq=%22voivodeships%2Bcities%2Bbased%2Bon%2Bhistoric%2Bregions%2Bof%2BPoland%22&pg=PA271 |title=European Regions, 1870–2020: A Geographic and Historical Insight into the Process of European Integration. |date=2021 |publisher=Springer International Publishing |isbn=978-3-030-61537-6 |location=Cham |pages=259–271 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002180455/https://books.google.com/books?id=itM-EAAAQBAJ&pg=PA271&dq=%22voivodeships+cities+based+on+historic+regions+of+Poland%22 |url-status=live }}</ref> Administrative authority at the voivodeship level is shared between a government-appointed governor (]), an elected regional assembly (]) and a ], an executive elected by the assembly.<ref name="Marti-Henneberg 2021" />
	South of the ] lie the regions of ], ] and ], which are marked by broad ice-age river valleys. Farther south lies the Polish mountain region, including the ], the ], the ], and the ], including the ]. The highest part of the Carpathians is the ], along Poland's southern border.
	===Geology===
	] in the ] region]]
	The geological structure of Poland has been shaped by the ] of ] and ] over the past 60&nbsp;million years and, more recently, by the ] ] of northern Europe. Both processes shaped the ] and the ]. The moraine landscape of northern Poland contains soils made up mostly of sand or ], while the ice age ]s of the south often contain ]. The ], the ], and the ] consist of ], while the ], the ], and the ] are made up mainly of ] and ]s. The ] is one of the oldest ]s on earth.
	] in southern Poland average 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) in elevation]]
	Poland has 70 mountains over {{convert|2,000|m|ft|abbr=off}} in elevation, all in the ]. The Polish Tatras, which consist of the High Tatras and the Western Tatras, is the highest mountain group of Poland and of the entire Carpathian range. In the High Tatras lies Poland's highest point, the north-western ] of ], {{convert|2499|m|ft|0}} in elevation. At its foot lies the mountain lakes of ] (Black Lake below Mount Rysy), and ] (the Marine Eye).<ref name="CIA/World">The CIA World Factbook, Retrieved 3 November 2014.</ref>
	The second highest mountain group in Poland is the ], whose highest peak is ], at {{convert|1725|m|ft|0}}. The next highest mountain groups is the ] in the ], whose highest point is ], at {{convert|1603|m|ft|0}}; ] whose highest point is ], at {{convert|1425|m|ft|0}}.
	Tourists also frequent the ] in the far southeast of Poland, whose highest point in Poland is ], with an elevation of {{convert|1346|m|ft|0}}, ] in ], whose highest point is ], with elevations {{convert|1310|m|ft|0}}, the ] in ], whose highest point is Wysokie Skałki (Wysoka), with elevations {{convert|1050|m|ft|0}} and the ] in ], with two highest peaks called ], 612&nbsp;m (2008&nbsp;ft), and ], 593&nbsp;m (1946&nbsp;ft).
	] located in northern Poland on the ] coast. Driven by wind, the dunes slowly move at an annual rate of 3 to 10 metres (9.8 to 32.8 ft) per year]]
	The lowest point in Poland – at {{convert|2|m|ft|1}} below sea level – is at Raczki Elbląskie, near ] in the Vistula Delta.
	The only ] located in Poland stretches over the ] (the Coal Fields of ]) region. It is called the ], located in the ] in southern Poland. It has a total area of {{convert|32|km2|sqmi|0}}. It is one of only five natural ]. But also, it is the warmest desert that appears at this ].
	The Baltic Sea activity in ] created ] which in the course of time separated the bay from the sea creating two lakes. As waves and wind carry sand inland the dunes slowly move, at a rate of {{convert|3|to|10|m|ft|1}} meters per year. Some dunes reach the height of up to {{convert|30|m|ft|0}}. The highest peak of the park is Rowokol ({{convert|115|m|ft|0|disp=or}} ]).
	===Waters===
	{{main article|Rivers of Poland}}
	] near the ] in ]. The river is the longest in Poland, flowing the entire length of the country for 1,047 kilometres (651 mi)]]
	The longest rivers are the ] ({{lang-pl|Wisła}}), {{convert|1047|km|mi}} long; the ] ({{lang-pl|Odra}}) which forms part of Poland's western border, {{convert|854|km|mi}} long; its tributary, the ], {{convert|808|km|mi}} long; and the ], a tributary of the Vistula, {{convert|772|km|mi}} long. The Vistula and the Oder flow into the Baltic Sea, as do numerous smaller rivers in Pomerania.
	The ] and the ] flow by way of the ] to the Baltic, and the ] flows into the Baltic through the ]. While the great majority of Poland's rivers drain into the Baltic Sea, Poland's Beskids are the source of some of the upper tributaries of the ], which flows via the ] and the ] to the ]. The eastern Beskids are also the source of some streams that drain through the ] to the Black Sea.
	Poland's rivers have been used since early times for navigation. The ]s, for example, traveled up the Vistula and the Oder in their ]s. In the Middle Ages and in early modern times, when the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was the breadbasket of Europe;<ref name="Snyder-111">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QJhMhTKw-vgC&q=%22Commonwealth+became+the+breadbasket%22#v=snippet&q=%22Commonwealth%20became%20the%20breadbasket%22&f=false |title=The Reconstruction of Nations: Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Belarus, 1569–1999 |publisher=Yale University Press |author=Timothy Snyder|author-link=Timothy Snyder |year=2003 |page=111 |isbn=0-300-12841-X |quote=Commonwealth became the breadbasket of Western Europe, wrote Timothy Snyder, thanks to the presence of fertile southeastern regions of Podolia and east Galicia.}}</ref> the shipment of grain and other agricultural products down the Vistula toward ] and onward to other parts of Europe took on great importance.<ref name="Snyder-111"/>
	] is a coastal freshwater ] located in the ] region]]
	In the valley of ] river in ] there is a unique natural ] of water containing calcium salts, that is an object of protection in ] in ]. The origin of the name of the reserve ''Niebieskie Źródła'', that means ''Blue Springs'', comes from the fact that red waves are absorbed by water and only blue and green are reflected from the bottom of the spring, giving that atypical colour.<ref>http://www.touristlink.com/poland/blue-springs-of-tomaszow-mazowiecki/overview.html</ref>
	With almost ten thousand closed bodies of water covering more than {{convert|1|ha|acre|2}} each, Poland has one of the highest numbers of lakes in the world. In Europe, only ] has a greater density of lakes.<ref name="Walske-28">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9dx2AgAAQBAJ&q=%22a+higher+density+of+lakes+than+Poland%22#v=snippet&q=%22a%20higher%20density%20of%20lakes%20than%20Poland%22&f=false |title=Poland |publisher=ABDO Publishing |author=Christine Zuchora-Walske |year=2013 |page=28 |isbn=1-61480-877-5 |chapter=The Lakes Region |quote=''Insert:'' Poland is home to 9,300 lakes. Finland is the only European nation with a higher density of lakes than Poland.}}</ref> The largest lakes, covering more than {{convert|100|km2|sqmi|0}}, are ] and ] in ], and ] and ] in ].
	In addition to the lake districts in the north (in Masuria, Pomerania, ], Lubuskie, and ]), there is also a large number of mountain lakes in the Tatras, of which the Morskie Oko is the largest in area. The lake with the greatest depth—of more than {{convert|100|m|ft|0}}—is ] in the Wigry Lake District, east of Masuria in ].
	] located in the ] region of Poland contains more than 2,000 lakes]]
	Among the first lakes whose shores were settled are those in the Greater Polish Lake District. The ] settlement of ], occupied by more than one thousand residents, was founded before the 7th century BC by people of the ].
	Lakes have always played an important role in Polish history and continue to be of great importance to today's modern Polish society. The ancestors of today's Poles, the ], built their first fortresses on islands in these lakes. The legendary Prince ] ruled from ] tower erected on the ].<ref name="Chronicles-93">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m8_rUrXWSsUC&q=Gop%C5%82o-Kruszwica+Popiel#v=snippet&q=Gop%C5%82o-Kruszwica%20Popiel&f=false |title=Jewish Poland &ndash; legends of Origin: Ethnopoetics and Legendary Chronicles |publisher=Wayne State University Press |author=Ḥayah Bar-Yitsḥaḳ |year=2001 |page=93 |isbn=0-8143-2789-3}}</ref> The first historically documented ruler of Poland, Duke ], had his palace on an island in the Warta River in ]. Nowadays the Polish lakes provide a location for the pursuit of water sports such as ] and ].
	] coast is approximately 528 kilometres (328 mi) long and extends from ] island in the west to ] in the east]]
	The Polish Baltic coast is approximately {{convert|528|km|mi|0}} long and extends from ] on the islands of ] and ] in the west to ] on the ] in the east. For the most part, Poland has a smooth coastline, which has been shaped by the continual movement of sand by currents and winds. This continual ] and ] has formed cliffs, dunes, and spits, many of which have migrated landwards to close off former lagoons, such as Łebsko Lake in Słowiński National Park.
	Prior to the end of the ] and subsequent ], Poland had only a very small coastline; this was situated at the end of the ']', the only internationally recognised Polish territory which afforded the country access to the sea. However, after World War II, the redrawing of Poland's borders and resulting 'shift' of the country's borders left it with an expanded coastline, thus allowing for far greater access to the sea than was ever previously possible. The significance of this event, and importance of it to Poland's future as a major industrialised nation, was alluded to by the 1945 ].
	The largest spits are ] and the ]. The largest Polish Baltic island is called ]. The largest sea ]s are ], ], ], ], ] and ] and the main coastal resorts - ], ], ], ], ], ] and the Hel Peninsula.
	===Land use===
	] fields in ]]]
	Poland is the fourth most forested country in Europe. Forests cover about 30.5% of Poland's land area based on international standards.<ref name="ref name=rapBIP" /> Its overall percentage is still increasing. ] are managed by the national program of reforestation (KPZL), aiming at an increase of forest-cover to 33% in 2050. The richness of Polish forest (per SoEF 2011 statistics) is more than twice as high as European average (with Germany and France at the top), containing 2.304 billion cubic metres of trees.<ref name="ref name=rapBIP">{{Citation | url=http://bip.lasy.gov.pl/pl/bip/px_~raport_o_stanie_lasow_2011.pdf?page_opener=http%3A%2F%2Fbip.lasy.gov.pl%2Fpl%2Fbip%2Fraporty_i_prognozy | title=Raport o stanie lasów w Polsce (Report on the Status of Forests in Poland) | publisher=Dyrekcja Generalna Lasów Państwowych (Main Directorate of State Forest) | date=June 2012 | accessdate=14 September 2013 | author=Centrum Informacyjne Lasów Państwowych | page=8 | quote=Określona według standardu międzynarodowego lesistość Polski na koniec roku 2011 wynosiła 30,5%. | format=PDF file, direct download 4.12 MB | language=Polish}}</ref> The largest forest complex in Poland is ].
	More than 1% of Poland's territory, {{convert|3145|km2|sqmi}}, is protected within 23 ]. Three more national parks are projected for ], the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland, and the eastern ]. In addition, ]s along lakes and rivers in central Poland are legally protected, as are coastal areas in the north. There are over 120 areas designated as ], along with numerous ]s and other ] (e.g. ]).
	Since Poland's accession to the European Union in 2004, Polish agriculture has performed extremely well and the country has over two million private farms.<ref name="agEcon">{{cite news | url=http://www.economist.com/blogs/easternapproaches/2014/03/polands-agriculture | title=A golden age for Polish farming? | work=The Economist | date=24 March 2014 | accessdate=23 November 2014}}</ref><ref> ''Agrotourism'', Poland's Official Travel Website.</ref> It is the leading producer in Europe of potatoes and ] (world's second largest in 1989) the world's largest producer of ],<ref name="Gabrielyan">Gnel Gabrielyan, '''' School of Economic Sciences at Washington State University. PDF file, direct download 220 KB. Retrieved 4 May 2014.</ref> and one of the more important producers of barley, oats, ], flax, and fruits. Poland is the European Union's fourth largest supplier of pork after Germany, Spain and France.<ref name="ec.europa.eu">{{cite web |url=http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/statistics/agricultural/2011/pdf/full-report_en.pdf |title=Agriculture in the European Union. Statistical and Economic Information 2011 |publisher=European Union. Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development |work=World production and gross domestic production of main pork-producing or exporting countries |accessdate=4 May 2014 |page=307 |quote=EU: official slaughter only. Source: FAO. |format=PDF file, direct download 6.24 MB }}</ref>
	===Biodiversity===
	], an ancient woodland in eastern Poland, is now home to 800 wild ]]]
	], Poland belongs to the Central European province of the ] within the ]. According to the ], the territory of ] of the continental forest spanning Central and Northern European ] ecoregions as well as the Carpathian ] conifer forest.
	Many animals that have since died out in other parts of Europe still survive in Poland, such as the ] in the ] of the ] and in ]. Other such species include the ] in ], in the Tatras, and in the Beskids, the ] and the ] in various forests, the ] in northern Poland, and the ] in Masuria, Pomerania, and Podlaskie.
	In the forests, one also encounters game animals, such as ], ] and ]s. In eastern Poland there are a number of ancient woodlands, like ], that have never been cleared or have been disturbed much by people. There are also large forested areas in the mountains, Masuria, Pomerania, ] and ].
	]
	Poland is the most important breeding ground for a variety of European ].<ref name="poland.gov.pl-Fauna">{{cite journal |url=http://en.poland.gov.pl/Fauna,309.html |title=Kingdom of birds |author=Ministry of Foreign Affairs |journal=Experience Poland » Geography » Environment » Fauna |year=2011 |quote=A real kingdom of birds is the Biebrza Basin, its wildlife making it one of the most unique areas in Poland. It is Europe's most valuable peatland/marshland and an important wildfowl breeding area on the continent, providing refuge for 263 bird species, including 185 nesting species.}}</ref> Out of all of the migratory birds who come to Europe for the summer, one quarter of the global population of ]s (40,000 breeding pairs) live in Poland,<ref name="Hillstrom-34">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dMexywMD_okC&q=%2240%2C000+breeding+pairs%22#v=snippet&q=%2240%2C000%20breeding%20pairs%22&f=false |title=Europe: A Continental Overview of Environmental Issues, Volume 4 |publisher=ABC-CLIO World geography |author1=Kevin Hillstrom |author2=Laurie Collier Hillstrom |year=2003 |page=34 |isbn=1-57607-686-5}}</ref> particularly in the lake districts and the wetlands along the ], the ], and the ], which are part of nature reserves or national parks.
	===Climate===
	The climate is mostly ] throughout the country. The climate is ] in the north and west and becomes gradually warmer and ] towards the south and east. Summers are generally warm, with average temperatures between {{convert|18|and|30|°C|°F|1}} depending on a region. Winters are rather cold, with average temperatures around {{convert|3|°C|°F|1}} in the northwest and {{convert|-6|°C|°F}} in the northeast. ] falls throughout the year, although, especially in the east; winter is drier than summer.<ref name="Photius">The CIA World Factbook, Photius Coutsoukis 2004. The Library of Congress Country Studies.</ref>
	The warmest region in Poland is ] located in south-western Poland where temperatures in the summer average between {{convert|24|and|32|°C|°F}} but can go as high as {{convert|34|to|39|°C|°F|1}} on some days in the warmest month of July and August. The warmest cities in Poland are ], which is situated in ] and ], which is located in Lower Silesia. The average temperatures in Wrocław are {{convert|20|°C|°F}} in the summer and {{convert|0|°C|°F|1}} in the winter, but ] has the longest summer in all of Poland, which lasts for 115 days, from mid-May to mid-September. The coldest region of Poland is in the northeast in the ] near the border of ] and ]. Usually the coldest city is ]. The climate is affected by cold fronts which come from ] and ]. The average temperature in the winter in Podlaskie ranges from {{convert|-6|to|-4|°C|°F}}. The biggest impact of the ] is observed in ] and ] seashore area from ] to ].<ref>Borówka R., et al. Przyroda Pomorza Zachodniego. Szczecin: Oficyna In Puls; 2002.</ref>
	{| class="wikitable sortable" style="margin:auto;"
	|+Average daily maximum and minimum temperatures for the largest cities in Poland<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/city.php3?c=PL&name=Poland|title=Poland climate information|publisher=Weatherbase|accessdate=4 February 2016}}</ref>
	|-
	!Location
	!July (°C)
	!July (°F)
	!January (°C)
	!January (°F)
	|-
	|] || 22/12 || 73/55 || 0/−4 || 33/24
	|-
	|] || 21/12 || 71/55 || 0/−5 || 33/22
	|-
	|] || 22/12 || 73/55 || 1/−3 || 35/26
	|-
	|] || 22/12 || 72/55 || 1/–3 || 34/26
	|-
	|] || 20/11 || 69/53 || -1/−4 || 33/24
	|-
	|] || 20/11 || 68/53 || 1/–2 || 35/28
	|}
	==Politics==
	{{Main article|Politics of Poland}}
	{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:left; float:left; margin-right:9px; margin-left:2px;"
	|-
	| style="text-align:left;"| ] || style="text-align:left;"| ]
	|-
	| style="text-align:center;"|]<br /><small>]</small>
	| style="text-align:center;"|]<br /><small>]</small>
	|}
	Poland is a ], with a ] as a ], whose current ] dates from 1997. Poland ranks in the top 20 percent of the most peaceful countries in the world, according to the ]. The government structure centers on the ], led by a ]. The president appoints the cabinet according to the proposals of the prime minister, typically from the majority coalition in the ]. The president is elected by popular vote every five years. The current ] is ] and the ] is ].
	Polish voters elect a ] parliament consisting of a 460-member lower house (Sejm) and a 100-member Senate (]). The Sejm is elected under ] according to the ], a method similar to that used in many parliamentary political systems. The Senat, on the other hand, is elected under the ] method, with one senator being returned from each of the 100 constituencies.
	] is the ] of the Polish ]]]
	With the exception of ethnic minority parties, only candidates of ] receiving at least 5% of the total national vote can enter the Sejm. When sitting in joint session, members of the Sejm and Senat form the ] (the ''Zgromadzenie Narodowe''). The National Assembly is formed on three occasions: when a new president takes the ]; when an indictment against the President of the Republic is brought to the State Tribunal (''Trybunał Stanu''); and when a president's permanent incapacity to exercise his duties due to the state of his health is declared. To date only the first instance has occurred.
	The ] plays an important role in decision-making. Its major institutions include the ] (''Sąd Najwyższy''); the ] (''Naczelny Sąd Administracyjny''); the ] (''Trybunał Konstytucyjny''); and the ] (''Trybunał Stanu''). On the approval of the Senat, the Sejm also appoints the ] or the Commissioner for Civil Rights Protection (''Rzecznik Praw Obywatelskich'') for a five-year term. The ombudsman has the duty of guarding the observance and implementation of the rights and liberties of Polish ] and ], of the law and of principles of community life and social justice.
	===Law===
	{{main article|Law of Poland}}
	] building in ]]]
	The ] is the supreme law in contemporary Poland, and the Polish legal system is based on the principle of civil rights, governed by the code of Civil Law. Historically, the most famous Polish legal act is the ]. Historian ] describes it as the first of its kind in Europe.<ref name="Davies 699"/> The Constitution was instituted as a ] ({{lang-pl|Ustawa rządowa}}) and then adopted on 3 May 1791 by the ] of the ]. Primarily, it was designed to redress long-standing political defects of the ] Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and its ]. Previously only the ] signed by each of Poland's elected kings could perform the function of a set of basic laws.
	] adopted in 1791 was the first modern constitution in Europe<ref name="Davies 699"/>]]
	The new Constitution introduced political equality between ] and the ] ('']''), and placed the ]s under the protection of the government. The Constitution abolished pernicious parliamentary institutions such as the '']'', which at one time had placed the ] at the mercy of any deputy who might choose, or be ] by an interest or foreign power, to have rescinded all the legislation that had been passed by that sejm. The 3 May Constitution sought to supplant the existing anarchy fostered by some of the country's ] ]s, with a more ] and democratic ]. The adoption of ] was treated as a threat by Poland's neighbours.<ref name="Gierowski 251">{{cite book |author=Józef Andrzej Gierowski |authorlink=Józef Andrzej Gierowski |title=Historia Polski, 1505–1764 |language=Polish |trans_title=History of Poland, 1505–1764 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IBNjywAACAAJ |accessdate=26 October 2014| year=1986| publisher=Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe |isbn=978-83-01-03732-1 |page=251}}</ref> In response ], ] and Russia formed an anti-Polish alliance and over the next decade collaborated with one another to ] their weaker neighbour and destroyed the Polish state. In the words of two of its co-authors, ] and ], the constitution represented "the last will and testament of the expiring Fatherland." Despite this, its text influenced many later ]s across the globe.<ref name="nd">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jrVW9W9eiYMC&pg=PA699 |author=Norman Davies |title=Europe: A History |year=1996 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=699 |isbn=0-19-820171-0}}</ref> In Poland, freedom of expression is guaranteed by the Article 25 (section I. The Republic) and Article 54 (section II. The Freedoms, Rights and Obligations of Persons and Citizens) of the ].
	] was a proponent of early ]]]
	] started in the 1800s in the age of the foreign Partitions. Poland's precursor of feminism, ], founded a group of ] in 1842. Prior to the ] in 1795, tax-paying females were allowed to take part in political life. Since 1918, following the return to independence, all women could vote. Poland was the 15th (12th sovereign) country to introduce universal women's suffrage. Currently, in Poland ] is allowed only in special circumstances, such as when the woman's life or health is endangered by the continuation of pregnancy, when the pregnancy is a result of a criminal act, or when the fetus is seriously malformed.<ref name="cpk.org"> {{pl icon}}</ref><ref name="eurotopics"> {{de icon}}</ref> Homosexuality in Poland was confirmed as legal in 1932. Poland recognises gender change.<ref name="ilga-europe.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.ilga-europe.org/home/news/latest/idaho_2013/trans_map_index_2013|title=Trans Rights Europe Map & Index 2013 from Transgender Europe|publisher=}}</ref>
	] organized in support of ]]]
	A 2010 article in '']'' reported that in a 2008 study three-quarters of Poles were against gay marriage and the adoption of children by gay couples.<ref name="rp.pl450884">{{cite web|url=http://www.rp.pl/artykul/450884.html |title="Nie" dla małżeństw gejowskich |language=pl |publisher=RP.pl |date=23 March 2010 |accessdate=20 January 2011 |quote=Sondaż GfK Polonia }}</ref> The same study revealed that 66% of respondents were opposed to ] as the demonstration of a way of life, and 69% believed that gay people should not show their sexual orientation in public.<ref name="interia/Polska">{{cite web |url=http://fakty.interia.pl/polska/news/polacy-nie-chca-parad-homoseksualistow,1123562 |title=Polacy nie chcą parad homoseksualistów - Polska - Fakty w INTERIA.PL |publisher=Fakty.interia.pl |date=6 June 2008 |accessdate=20 January 2011}}</ref> Poland belongs to the group of 'Tier 1'<ref>Tier 1: Countries whose governments fully comply with the TVPA's minimum standards.</ref> (countries whose governments fully comply with the TVPA's minimum standards.) in ]. Trafficking women is 'illegal and rare' (top results worldwide).<ref name="WomanStats2011">WomanStats Project. Best results worldwide for two locations (both in Europe) including Poland. Maped by HBLL@BYU.</ref>
	Poland's current constitution was adopted by the ] on 2 April 1997, approved by a national ] on 25 May 1997, and came into effect on 17 October 1997. It guarantees a multi-party state, the freedoms of religion, speech and assembly, and specifically casts off many Communist ideals to create a '] ]'. It requires public officials to pursue ecologically sound public policy and acknowledges the inviolability of the home, the right to form trade unions, and to strike, whilst at the same time prohibiting the practices of forced medical experimentation, ] and ].
	===Foreign relations===
	{{main article|Foreign relations of Poland}}
	In recent years, Poland has extended its responsibilities and position in European and international affairs, supporting and establishing friendly relations with other European nations and a large number of 'developing' countries.
	Poland is a member of the ], ], the ], the ], the ] (OECD), ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ] and ].
	In 1994, Poland became an associate member of the European Union (EU) and its defensive arm, the ] (WEU), having submitted preliminary documentation for full membership in 1996, it formally joined the European Union in May 2004, along with the other members of the ]. In 1996, Poland achieved full ] membership, and at the 1997 Madrid Summit was invited to join the ] (NATO) in the first wave of ] finally becoming a full member of NATO in March 1999.
	] located in ]]]
	As changes since the fall of Communism in 1989 have redrawn the map of Europe, Poland has tried to forge strong and mutually beneficial relationships with its seven new neighbours, this has notably included signing 'friendship treaties' to replace links severed by the collapse of the ]. Poland has forged a special relationships with ],<ref name="grushenko"/> with whom it co-hosted the UEFA ] football tournament, in an effort to firmly anchor the country within the Western world and provide it with an alternative to aligning itself with the ]. Despite many positive developments in the region, Poland has found itself in a position where it must seek to defend the rights of ethnic Poles living in the ]; this is particularly true of ], where in 2005 the ] regime launched a campaign against the Polish ethnic minority.<ref name="Bordering on madness: Belarus mistreats its Polish minority"/>
	Poland is the sixth most populous member state of the European Union and has a grand total of 51 representatives in the ]. Ever since joining the union in 2004, successive Polish governments have pursued policies to increase the country's role in European and regional affairs.
	===Administrative divisions===
	{{main article|Administrative divisions of Poland}}
	Poland's current ] (provinces) are largely based on the country's historic regions, whereas those of the past two decades (to 1998) had been centred on and named for individual cities. The new units range in area from less than {{convert|10000|km2|sqmi}} for Opole Voivodeship to more than {{convert|35000|km2|sqmi}} for Masovian Voivodeship. Administrative authority at voivodeship level is shared between a government-appointed ] (governor), an elected regional assembly ('']'') and an executive elected by that assembly.
	The voivodeships are subdivided into '']s'' (often referred to in English as counties), and these are further divided into '']s'' (also known as communes or municipalities). Major cities normally have the status of both ''gmina'' and ''powiat''. Poland has 16 voivodeships, 379 powiats (including 65 cities with ''powiat'' status), and 2,478 ''gminas''.
	{|		{|
	|-		|-
	|		|
			{{Image label begin|image=Map of Poland colorful.png|width=410|float=left|padding=15px}} <!--
	]
			===== Polish Regions =====
	|
			-->{{Image label small|x=0.37|y=0.140|scale=410|text ={{flagicon|Pomeranian Voivodeship}}<br />''']'''}}
	{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:85%;"
			{{Image label small|x=0.11|y=0.20|scale=410| text= {{flagicon|West Pomeranian Voivodeship}}<br />''']'''}}
			{{Image label small|x=0.61|y=0.17|scale=410|text={{flagicon|Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship}}<br />''']'''}}
			{{Image label small|x=0.84|y=0.28|scale=410| text={{flagicon|Podlaskie Voivodeship}}<br />''']'''}}
			{{Image label small|x=0.670|y=0.43|scale=410|text={{flagicon|Masovian Voivodeship}}<br />''']'''}}
			{{Image label small|x=0.41|y=0.30|scale=410|text={{flagicon|Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship}}<br />''']'''}}
			{{Image label small|x=0.26|y=0.42|scale=410|text ={{flagicon|Greater Poland Voivodeship}}<br />''']'''}}
			{{Image label small|x=0.11|y=0.46|scale=410|text ={{flagicon|Lubusz Voivodeship}}<br />''']'''}}
			{{Image label small|x=0.17|y=0.60|scale=410|text ={{flagicon|Lower Silesian Voivodeship}}<br />''']'''}}
			{{Image label small|x=0.55|y=0.53|scale=410|text={{flagicon|Łódź Voivodeship}}<br />''']'''}}
			{{Image label small|x=0.37|y=0.70|scale=410|text={{flagicon|Opole Voivodeship}}<br />''']'''}}
			{{Image label small|x=0.86|y=0.60|scale=410|text={{flagicon|Lublin Voivodeship}}<br />''']'''}}
			{{Image label small|x=0.60|y=0.80| scale=410|text={{flagicon|Lesser Poland Voivodeship}}<br />''']'''}}
			{{Image label small|x=0.75|y=0.78| scale=410|text={{flagicon|Podkarpackie Voivodeship}}<br />''']'''}}
			{{Image label small|x=0.64|y=0.67| scale=410|text={{flagicon|Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship}}<br />''']'''}}
			{{Image label small|x=0.46|y=0.74| scale=410|text={{flagicon|Silesian Voivodeship}}<br />''']'''}}
			{{Image label end}}
			{| class="sortable wikitable" style="text-align:left; font-size:85%;"
			|- style="font-size:100%; text-align:right;"
			!colspan="2"| ] !!rowspan="2"| ]|| Area || Population
	|-		|-
			! '']'' !! '']'' !! km<sup>2</sup><ref name="Voivodeships">{{Cite web |last=Government of Poland |date=2021 |title=Powierzchnia i ludność w przekroju terytorialnym w 2021 roku |url=https://stat.gov.pl/download/gfx/portalinformacyjny/pl/defaultaktualnosci/5468/7/18/1/powierzchnia_i_ludnosc_w_przekroju_terytorialnym_w_2021_roku_tablice.xlsx |access-date=23 March 2022 |publisher=Statistics Poland (Główny Urząd Statystyczny) |language=pl |archive-date=25 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220325091206/https://stat.gov.pl/download/gfx/portalinformacyjny/pl/defaultaktualnosci/5468/7/18/1/powierzchnia_i_ludnosc_w_przekroju_terytorialnym_w_2021_roku_tablice.xlsx |url-status=live }}</ref> !! 2021<ref name="Voivodeships" />
	!colspan="2"| ] !!rowspan="2"| ]
	|-		|-
			| ]|| ''Wielkopolskie''|| ]|| 29,826||3,496,450
	! | '']'' !! | '']''
			|-
			| ]|| ''Kujawsko-Pomorskie''|| ] & ]|| 17,971||2,061,942
	|-		|-
	| ]|| ''Wielkopolskie''|| ]		| ]|| ''Małopolskie''|| ]|| 15,183||3,410,441
	|-		|-
	| ]|| ''Kujawsko-Pomorskie''|| ]&nbsp;/ ]		| ]|| ''Łódzkie''|| ] || 18,219||2,437,970
	|-		|-
	| ]|| ''Małopolskie''|| ]		| ]|| ''Dolnośląskie''|| ]|| 19,947||2,891,321
	|-		|-
	| ]|| ''Łódzkie''|| ]		| ]|| ''Lubelskie''|| ]|| 25,123||2,095,258
	|-		|-
	| ]|| ''Dolnośląskie''|| ]		| ]|| ''Lubuskie''|| ] &<br />]|| 13,988||1,007,145
	|-		|-
	| ]|| ''Lubelskie''|| ]		| ]|| ''Mazowieckie''|| ]|| 35,559||5,425,028
	|-		|-
	| ]|| ''Lubuskie''|| ]&nbsp;/ ]		| ]|| ''Opolskie''|| ]|| 9,412||976,774
	|-		|-
	| ]|| ''Mazowieckie''|| ]		| ]|| ''Podlaskie''|| ]|| 20,187||1,173,286
	|-		|-
	| ]|| ''Opolskie''|| ]		| ]|| ''Pomorskie''|| ]|| 18,323||2,346,671
	|-		|-
	| ]|| ''Podlaskie''|| ]		| ]|| ''Śląskie''|| ]|| 12,333||4,492,330
	|-		|-
	| ]|| ''Pomorskie''|| ]		| ]|| ''Podkarpackie''|| ]|| 17,846||2,121,229
	|-		|-
	| ]|| ''Śląskie''|| ]		| ]|| ''Świętokrzyskie''|| ]|| 11,710||1,224,626
	|-		|-
	| ]|| ''Podkarpackie''|| ]		| ]|| ''Warmińsko-Mazurskie''|| ]|| 24,173||1,416,495
	|-		|-
	| ]<br/>(Holy Cross)|| ''Świętokrzyskie''|| ]		| ]|| ''Zachodniopomorskie''|| ]|| 22,905||1,688,047
	|-
	| ]|| ''Warmińsko-Mazurskie''|| ]
	|-
	| ]|| ''Zachodniopomorskie''|| ]
	|}		|}
	|-
	|
	|}		|}
	===Military===		=== Law ===
			{{Main|Law of Poland}}
	{{main article|Polish Armed Forces|Territorial Defence Force (Poland)}}
			] adopted in 1791 was the first modern constitution in Europe.]]
	] ]—a single-engine ] ]]]
			The ] is the enacted supreme law, and Polish judicature is based on the principle of civil rights, governed by the code of ].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Kamarad |first1=Ewa |title=Private International Law in Poland |last2=Wysocka-Bar |first2=Anna |date=2020 |publisher=Kluwer Law International |isbn=978-94-035-2961-5 |location=Alphen aan den Rijn |language=en |chapter=General Introduction, s. 3 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f4MSEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22Supreme%2BAdministrative%2BCourt%2Bsupreme%2Bcourt%2Bconstitutional%2Btribunal%2Bpoland%22&pg=PT16 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002180451/https://books.google.com/books?id=f4MSEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT16&dq=%22Supreme+Administrative+Court+supreme+court+constitutional+tribunal+poland%22 |url-status=live }}</ref> The current democratic constitution was adopted by the ] on 2 April 1997; it guarantees a ] with freedoms of religion, speech and gatherings, prohibits the practices of forced ], torture or ], and acknowledges the inviolability of the home, the right to form trade unions, and the right to ].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sejm of the Republic of Poland |title=Dziennik Ustaw nr 78: The Constitution of the Republic of Poland |url=http://www.sejm.gov.pl/prawo/konst/angielski/kon1.htm |access-date=9 March 2022 |website=sejm.gov.pl |publisher=National Assembly (Zgromadzenie Narodowe) |language=en |archive-date=6 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220906025331/https://www.sejm.gov.pl/prawo/konst/angielski/kon1.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>
	The Polish armed forces are composed of four branches: ] (''Wojska Lądowe''), ] (''Marynarka Wojenna''), ] (''Siły Powietrzne'') and ] (''Wojska Specjalne''). The military is subordinate to the ]. However, its sole commander-in-chief is the President of the Republic. Also, the ] is a planned military reserve component of the Polish armed forces that, as of 2016, is in the process of being formed. Plans call for the force, once fully active, to consist of 53,000 reservists who will be trained and equipped to counter potential ] threats.<ref>http://www.rferl.org/a/poland-forming-new-defense-force-russia-threats/28116760.html</ref>
			The ] in Poland is composed of the ] as the country's highest judicial organ, the ] for the judicial control of public administration, Common Courts (], ], ]) and the ].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Kamarad |first1=Ewa |title=Private International Law in Poland |last2=Wysocka-Bar |first2=Anna |date=2020 |publisher=Kluwer Law International |isbn=978-94-035-2961-5 |location=Alphen aan den Rijn |language=en |chapter=General Introduction, s. 2 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f4MSEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22Supreme%2BAdministrative%2BCourt%2Bsupreme%2Bcourt%2Bconstitutional%2Btribunal%2Bpoland%22&pg=PT16 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002180451/https://books.google.com/books?id=f4MSEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT16&dq=%22Supreme+Administrative+Court+supreme+court+constitutional+tribunal+poland%22 |url-status=live }}</ref> The ] and State Tribunals are separate judicial bodies, which rule the constitutional liability of people holding the highest offices of state and supervise the compliance of ], thus protecting the Constitution.<ref name="Jaremba 2013">{{Cite book |last=Jaremba |first=Urszula |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CcXMAQAAQBAJ&dq=%22judges%2Bappointed%2Bby%2Bpresident%2Bof%2Bpoland%22&pg=PA129 |title=National Judges As EU Law Judges: The Polish Civil Law System |date=2013 |publisher=Martinus Nijhoff Publishers |isbn=978-1-306-07095-9 |location=Boston |pages=126–129 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002180506/https://books.google.com/books?id=CcXMAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA129&dq=%22judges+appointed+by+president+of+poland%22 |url-status=live }}</ref> Judges are nominated by the ] and are appointed for life by the ].<ref name="Jaremba 2013" /> With the approval of the Senate, the Sejm appoints an ] for a five-year term to guard the observance of social justice.<ref name="Granat 2021" />
	The Polish army consists of 65,000 active personnel, whilst the navy and air force respectively employ 14,300 and 26,126 servicemen and women. The Polish Navy primarily operates in the Baltic Sea and conducts operations such as maritime patrol, search and rescue for the section of the Baltic under Polish sovereignty, as well as hydrographic measurements and research. Also, the Polish Navy played a more international role as part of the ], providing logistical support for the ]. The current position of the Polish Air Force is much the same; it has routinely taken part in ] assignments, but otherwise, with the exception of a number of units serving in ], has seen no active combat since the end of the Second World War. In 2003, the ] Block 52 was chosen as the new general multi-role fighter for the air force, the first deliveries taking place in November 2006.
			Poland has a low ] rate at 0.7 murders per 100,000 people, as of 2018.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Nations |first=United |date=2020 |title=Human Development Indicators – Poland |url=http://hdr.undp.org/en/countries/profiles/POL |publisher=United Nations Development Programme |access-date=16 December 2020 |website=Human Development Reports |archive-date=28 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190128095417/http://www.hdr.undp.org/en/countries/profiles/POL |url-status=live }}</ref> Rape, assault and violent crime remain at a very low level.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018 |title=Victims of intentional homicide 1990–2018 – Poland |url=https://dataunodc.un.org/content/data/homicide/homicide-rate |access-date=16 December 2020 |website=Data UNODC |publisher=United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime |archive-date=28 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220328012947/https://dataunodc.un.org/content/data/homicide/homicide-rate |url-status=live }}</ref> The country has imposed strict regulations on ], which is permitted only in cases of rape, incest or when the woman's life is in danger; ] and ] are not covered by the law, prompting some women to seek abortion abroad.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Zsuzsa Csergo |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ibgzEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22poland%2Babortion%2Brape%2Bincest%2Bdanger%22&pg=PA168 |title=Central and East European Politics: Changes and Challenges |last2=Daina Stukuls Eglitis |last3=Paula M Pickering |date=2021 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-5381-4279-0 |location=Lanham, Maryland |page=168 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002180457/https://books.google.com/books?id=ibgzEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA168&dq=%22poland+abortion+rape+incest+danger%22 |url-status=live }}</ref>
	] ] during a ] exercise at the Military Training Area near ]]]
			Historically, the most significant Polish legal act is the ]. Instituted to redress long-standing political defects of the ] ] and its ], it was the first modern constitution in Europe and influenced many later ]s across the globe.<ref name="Davies 1996" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Norman Davies |url=https://archive.org/details/europehistory00davi_0 |title=Europe: A History |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-19-820171-7 |page= |url-access=registration}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Gierowski |first=Józef Andrzej |url={{GBurl|id=IBNjywAACAAJ}} |title=Historia Polski, 1505–1764 |publisher=Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe |year=1986 |isbn=978-83-01-03732-1 |page=251 |language=pl |trans-title=History of Poland, 1505–1764 |author-link=Józef Andrzej Gierowski |access-date=26 October 2014}}</ref> In 1918, the ] became one of the first countries to introduce universal ].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Berglund |first=Sten |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DOAEFRDAEi4C&dq=%22%2522poland%2522%2Bone%2Bof%2Bthe%2Bfirst%2Bcountries%2Bto%2Bwomen%2527s%2Bsuffrage%2B1918%22&pg=PA46 |title=The Making of the European Union: Foundations, Institutions and Future Trends |date=2006 |publisher=Edward Elgar Publishing Press |isbn=978-1-84542-025-3 |location=Cheltenham |page=46 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002180451/https://books.google.com/books?id=DOAEFRDAEi4C&pg=PA46&dq=%22%22poland%22+one+of+the+first+countries+to+women%27s+suffrage+1918%22 |url-status=live }}</ref>
	The most important mission of the armed forces is the defence of Polish territorial integrity and Polish interests abroad.<ref name="mil"/> Poland's national security goal is to further integrate with ] and European defence, economic, and political institutions through the modernisation and reorganisation of its military.<ref name="mil"/> The armed forces are being re-organised according to NATO standards, and since 2010, the transition to an entirely contract-based military has been completed. During the previous period, men were obliged to undertake compulsory military service. In the final stage of validity of this type of military service (since 2007 until the amendment of the law on conscription in 2008) the duration of compulsory service amounted nine months.<ref name="Poland ends army conscription"/>
	] ship-based helicopter flying by the ] ] during an exercise in the ]]]
	Polish military doctrine reflects the same defensive nature as that of its NATO partners. From 1953 to 2009 Poland was a large contributor to various United Nations peacekeeping missions.<ref name="mil"/><ref name="Polska zakończyła udział w misjach po auspicjami ONZ – Wiadomości z kraju i ze świata – Gazeta Prawna – Partner pracodawcy, narzędzie specjalisty"/> The Polish Armed Forces took part in the ], deploying 2,500 soldiers in the south of that country and commanding the 17-nation ].
	The military was temporarily, but severely, affected by the loss of many of its top commanders in the wake the ] near Smolensk, Russia, which killed all 96 passengers and crew, including, among others, the Chief of the Polish Army's General Staff ] and Polish Air Force commanding general ]. They were en route from Warsaw to attend an event to mark the 70th anniversary of the Katyn massacre, whose site is commemorated approximately {{convert|19|km|0|abbr=on}} west of ].<ref name="Accident Database"/><ref name="Senior Polish figures killed in plane crash"/>
	Currently, Poland's military is going through a significant modernization phase, which will be completed in 2022. The government plans to spend up to 130 billion złoty (US $34 billion)—however, the final total may reach as high as 235 billion złoty (US $62 billion)—to replace dated equipment and purchase new weapons systems.<ref>Poland's Defense Minister: Military Modernization Program Underfunded http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/international/europe/2016/04/15/poland-military-modernization-defense-ministry/83069820/</ref> Under the program, the military plans to purchase new tracked ], self-propelled ], ] and ] helicopters, a mid-range ] system, ], ], and costal ]. Also, the army plans to modernize its existing inventory of ], and update its stock of ].<ref>POLAND’S 2013-2022 MILITARY MODERNIZATION PLAN https://southfront.org/polands-military-modernization-plans/</ref><ref> {{pl icon}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.defensenews.com/article/20120222/DEFREG01/302220013/Polish-Navy-Acquire-New-Submarine?odyssey=tab%7ctopnews%7ctext%7cFRONTPAGE|title=Polish Navy to Acquire New Submarine|work=Defense News|accessdate=14 December 2014}}</ref>
	===Law enforcement and emergency services===
	{{main article|Law enforcement in Poland|Emergency medical services in Poland}}
	] officers in the ]]]
	Poland has a highly developed system of law enforcement with a long history of effective policing by the ]. The structure of law enforcement agencies within Poland is a multi-tier one, with the State Police providing criminal-investigative services, ] serving to maintain public order and a number of other specialised agencies, such as the ], acting to fulfil their assigned missions. In addition to these state services, private security companies are also common, although they possess no powers assigned to state agencies, such as, for example, the power to make an arrest or detain a suspect.
	Emergency services in Poland consist of the ], ] units of the ] and ]. Emergency medical services in Poland are, unlike other services, provided for by local and regional government.
	Since joining the ] all of Poland's emergency services have been undergoing major restructuring and have, in the process, acquired large amounts of new equipment and staff.<ref name="– 15 tys. zimowych mundurów trafi do jednostek"/> All emergency services personnel are now uniformed and can be easily recognised thanks to a number of innovative design features, such as reflective paint and printing, present throughout their service dress and vehicle liveries. In addition to this, in an effort to comply with EU standards and safety regulations, the police and other agencies have been steadily replacing and modernising their fleets of vehicles; this has left them with thousands of new automobiles, as well as many new aircraft, boats and helicopters.<ref name="Nowe radiowozy dla policji"/>
	==Economy==
	{{main article|Economy of Poland}}
	] is the financial and economic hub of Poland]]
	Poland's high-income economy<ref name="worldbank8"/> is considered to be one of the largest of the post-Communist countries and is one of the fastest growing within the EU.<ref>Jan Cienski, Warsaw, ''Financial Times'', 1 July 2012. Internet Archive.</ref> Having a strong domestic market, low private debt, flexible currency, and not being dependent on a single export sector, Poland is the only European economy to have avoided the ].<ref name="The Global Competitiveness Report 2010–2011"/> Since the ], Poland has pursued a policy ] the economy. It is an example of the transition from a ] to a primarily ]. The country's most successful exports include machinery, furniture, food products, clothing, shoes and cosmetics.<ref name="Polska-zywnosc">PAP, 9 May 2013 Ministerstwo Skarbu Państwa (Internet Archive).</ref><ref name="partnerzy2014">GUS, 9 July 2014 (Internet Archive)</ref> Poland's largest trading partner is Germany.<ref name="Euro-Dane">Ministerstwo Gospodarki, 8 December 2013 Euro-Dane :: Ekonomia Unii Europejskiej (Internet Archive). Most important Manifo (]).</ref>
	] and the EU ]]]
	The ] of small and medium state-owned companies and a liberal law on establishing new firms have allowed the development of the private sector. Also, several ] organizations have become active in the country.<!--such as Urząd Ochrony Konkurencji i Konsumentów, Federacja Konsumentów, or Stowarzyszenie Konsumentów Polskich. --> Restructuring and privatisation of "sensitive sectors" such as coal, steel, rail transport and energy has been continuing since 1990. The biggest privatisations have been the sale of the national ] firm ] to ] in 2000, and an issue of 30% of the shares in Poland's largest bank, ], on the Polish stockmarket in 2004.
	The Polish banking sector is the largest in East Central/Eastern European region,<ref name="TWI-2011"/> with 32.3 branches per 100,000 adults.<ref name="worldbank.org">Worldbank.org, Appendix B. Key Aspects of Financial Inclusion (PDF file, direct download). Retrieved 6 November 2014. There are 32.3 providers per 100,000 adults in Poland by IMF’s Financial Access Survey (FAS). Comparatively, in the United States there are 35.4 but in Cyprus a whopping 103.9.</ref><ref name="datatopics/poland">World Bank, The World Bank Group. Retrieved 6 November 2014.</ref> The banks are the largest and most developed sector of the country's ]s. They are regulated by the ]. During the transformation to a market-oriented economy, the government privatized several banks, recapitalized the rest, and introduced legal reforms that made the sector more competitive. This has attracted a significant number of strategic foreign investors (ICFI). Poland's banking sector has approximately 5 national banks, a network of nearly 600 cooperative banks and 18 branches of foreign-owned banks. In addition, foreign investors have controlling stakes in nearly 40 commercial banks, which make up 68% of the banking capital.<ref name="TWI-2011">Thomas White International (September 2011), Emerging Market Spotlight. Banking Sector in Poland (Internet Archive). Retrieved 6 November 2014.</ref>
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			=== Foreign relations ===
	Poland has a large number of private farms in its agricultural sector, with the potential to become a leading producer of food in the European Union. The biggest money-makers abroad include smoked and fresh fish, fine chocolate, and dairy products, meats and specialty breads,<ref>Patrycja Maciejewicz, Leszek Baj, 2012-04-07, Wyborcza.biz (Internet Archive).</ref> with the exchange rate conducive to export growth.<ref>PAP, 10 October 2014 Portal Spozywczy.pl (Internet Archive).</ref> Food exports amounted to 62 billion ] in 2011, increasing by 17% from 2010.<ref>Wiesław Łopaciuk, Rzeczpospolita, 27 January 2012 (Internet Archive). "Z analizy "Rzeczpospolitej" wynika, że łączna wartość eksportu produktów rolno-spożywczych Polski mogła w 2011 r. sięgnąć 62 mld zł. W porównaniu z 2010 r. była o niemal 17 proc. wyższa."</ref> Structural reforms in health care, education, the pension system, and state administration have resulted in larger-than-expected fiscal pressures. Warsaw leads Central Europe in foreign investment.{{citation needed|date=March 2015}} GDP growth had been strong and steady from 1993 to 2000 with only a short slowdown from 2001 to 2002, also the country avoided recession in 2008.
			{{Main|Foreign relations of Poland|List of diplomatic missions of Poland}}
			], located in ]]]
			Poland is a ] and is transitioning into a ] in Europe.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Glazebrook |first=G. deT. |date=June 1947 |title=The Middle Powers in the United Nations System |journal=] |publisher=] |volume=1 |pages=307–315 |doi=10.1017/S0020818300006081 |jstor=2703870 |s2cid=154796013 |number=2}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Bindi |first=Federiga |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FnR0DwAAQBAJ&dq=%22poland%2Bis%2Bbecoming%2Ba%2B%2522regional%2Bpower%2522%22&pg=PA6 |title=Europe and America: the end of the transatlantic relationship? |date=2019 |publisher=Brookings Institution Press |isbn=978-0-8157-3281-5 |location=Washington, D.C. |page=6 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002180452/https://books.google.com/books?id=FnR0DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA6&dq=%22poland+is+becoming+a+%22regional+power%22%22 |url-status=live }}</ref> It has a total of 53 representatives in the ] as of 2024. ] serves as the headquarters for ], the European Union's agency for external border security as well as ], one of the principal institutions of the ].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=De Londras |first1=Fiona |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AYMGCAAAQBAJ&dq=%22frontex%2Bwarsaw%2Bbased%22&pg=PA58 |title=The impact, legitimacy and effectiveness of EU counter-terrorism |last2=Doody |first2=Josephine |date=2015 |publisher=Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group |isbn=978-1-138-09795-7 |location=London |page=58 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002180454/https://books.google.com/books?id=AYMGCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA58&dq=%22frontex+warsaw+based%22 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Weissbrodt |first1=David S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RaU1U-4gBCkC&dq=%22ODIHR%2Bheadquartered%2Bwarsaw%22&pg=PA324 |title=International Human Rights Law: An Introduction |last2=Vega |first2=Connie |date=2010 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |isbn=978-0-8122-2120-6 |location=Philadelphia |page=324 |orig-date=2007 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002180449/https://books.google.com/books?id=RaU1U-4gBCkC&pg=PA324&dq=%22ODIHR+headquartered+warsaw%22 |url-status=live }}</ref> Apart from the European Union, Poland has been a member of ], the United Nations, and the ].
			In recent years, Poland significantly strengthened its ] with the United States, thus becoming one of its closest ] and strategic partners in Europe.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Deni |first=John R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B6QQEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22decades%2Bclosest%2Ballies%2Bus%2Bpoland%22&pg=PA148 |title=Coalition of the unwilling and unable: European realignment and the future of American geopolitics |date=2021 |publisher=University of Michigan Press |isbn=978-0-472-12879-2 |location=Michigan |page=148 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002180459/https://books.google.com/books?id=B6QQEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA148&dq=%22decades+closest+allies+us+poland%22 |url-status=live }}</ref> Historically, Poland maintained strong ] ties to Hungary; this special relationship was recognised by the parliaments of both countries in 2007 with the joint declaration of 23 March as "The Day of Polish-Hungarian Friendship".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Suszycki |first=Andrzej Marcin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DDQxEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22poland%2Bhungary%2Bfriendship%2Bmarch%2B23%22&pg=PA193 |title=Nationalism in Contemporary Europe: Concept, Boundaries and Forms |date=2021 |publisher=LIT |isbn=978-3-643-91102-5 |location=Zürich |page=193 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002180455/https://books.google.com/books?id=DDQxEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA193&dq=%22poland+hungary+friendship+march+23%22 |url-status=live }}</ref>
	The economy had growth of 3.7% annually in 2003, a rise from 1.4% annually in 2002. In 2004, GDP growth equaled 5.4%, in 2005 3.3% and in 2006 6.2%.<ref name="Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency. News"/> According to ] data, Polish PPS GDP per capita stood at 67% of the EU average in 2012.<ref name="biznes.pl">{{cite news |url=http://biznes.pl/wiadomosci/kraj/eurostat-pkb-na-mieszkanca-w-polsce-wzroslo-do-67-,5593155,news-detal.html |title=Eurostat: PKB na mieszkańca w Polsce wzrosło do 67% średniej w UE w 2012 r.|trans-title=Eurostat: GDP per capita has increased to 67% of the EU average in 2012 |language=Polish |agency=biznes.pl |publisher=eurostat | date=12 December 2013 | accessdate=25 December 2013}}</ref>
			=== Military ===
	Average salaries in the enterprise sector in December 2010 were 3,848 PLN (1,012 euro or 1,374 US dollars)<ref name="Communication on the average monthly salary in enterprise sector excluding payments from profit awards in December 2010"/> and growing sharply.<ref name="OECD Economic Outlook No. 82 – Poland"/> Salaries vary between the regions: the ] wage in the capital city Warsaw was 4,603 PLN (1,177 euro or 1,680 US dollars) while in ] it was 3,083 PLN (788 euro or 1125 US dollars). There is a wide distribution of salaries among the various districts of Poland. They range from 2,020 PLN (517 euro or 737 US dollars) in ], which is located in ] to 5,616 (1,436 euro or 2,050 US dollars) in ], which lies in ].<ref name="Statistic Office of Poland(GUS)"/>
			{{Main|Polish Armed Forces}}
			] ], a single-engine ] ]]]
			The Polish Armed Forces are composed of five branches – the ], the ], the ], the ] and the ].<ref name="Mihalcova 2019">{{Cite book |last1=Mihalčová |first1=Bohuslava |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=goqADwAAQBAJ&dq=%22poland%2Barmed%2Bforces%2Bterritorial%2Bdefense%2Bnavy%2Bland%2Bforces%252C%2Bair%2Bforce%22&pg=PA174 |title=Production Management and Business Development: Proceedings of the 6th Annual International Scientific Conference on Marketing Management, Trade, Financial and Social Aspects of Business. |last2=Szaryszová |first2=Petra |last3=Štofová |first3=Lenka |last4=Pružinský |first4=Michal |last5=Gontkovičová |first5=Barbora |date=2019 |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=978-0-429-46866-7 |location=Boca Raton |pages=174–175 |orig-date=2018 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002180448/https://books.google.com/books?id=goqADwAAQBAJ&pg=PA174&dq=%22poland+armed+forces+territorial+defense+navy+land+forces%2C+air+force%22 |url-status=live }}</ref> The military is subordinate to the ].<ref name="Mihalcova 2019" /> However, its commander-in-chief in peacetime is the president, who nominates officers, the Minister for National Defence and the chief of staff.<ref name="Mihalcova 2019" /> Polish military tradition is generally commemorated by the ], celebrated annually on 15 August.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Zalewski |first=Jerzy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ML4hAQAAIAAJ&q=%25C5%259Bwi%25C4%2599to%2520wojska%2520polskiego%252015%2520sierpnia%2520sejm |title=Wojsko Polskie w przemianach ustrojowych 1989–2001 |date=2002 |publisher=Elipsa |isbn=978-83-7151-494-4 |location=Warszawa (Warsaw) |page=131 |language=pl |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=24 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230724235927/https://books.google.com/books?id=ML4hAQAAIAAJ&q=%25C5%259Bwi%25C4%2599to%2520wojska%2520polskiego%252015%2520sierpnia%2520sejm |url-status=live }}</ref> As of 2022, the Polish Armed Forces have a combined strength of 114,050 active soldiers, with a further 75,400 active in the ] and ].<ref name="IISS 2022">{{Cite book |last=International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ENljEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22The%2BMilitary%2BBalance%2B2021%2Bpoland%22&pg=PA134 |title=The Military Balance 2022 |publisher=Routledge |year=2022 |isbn=978-1-000-61972-0 |location=Milton |pages=134–137 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002180458/https://books.google.com/books?id=ENljEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA134&dq=%22The+Military+Balance+2021+poland%22 |url-status=live }}</ref>
	Since the opening of the labor market in the ], Poland experienced a ] of over 2.3 million abroad, mainly due to higher wages offered abroad, and due to the raise in levels of ] following the global ] of 2008.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://zielonagora.stat.gov.pl/cps/rde/xbcr/zg/ASSETS_III_d_Szaltys_prezentacja.pdf|title=Współczesne migracje zagraniczne Polaków-w świetle badań bieżących i wyników NSP 2011|trans-title=Contemporary international migration of Poles - according to surveys, research, and the population census of 2011|language=Polish|work=3rd International Scientific Conference "Quality and living conditions and demographic processes in Central Europe in modern times"|date=October 2012|author=Dorota Szałtys|format=PDF|accessdate=23 January 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://praca.gazetaprawna.pl/artykuly/829684,polska-mnie-rozczarowala-w-emigracji-nie-chodzi-juz-tylko-o-pieniadze.html|title="Polska mnie rozczarowała". W emigracji nie chodzi już tylko o pieniądze|trans-title="Poland has disappointed me." Migration is not just about the money|language=Polish|author=Karolina Nowakowska|publisher=gazetaprawna.pl|date=24 October 2014|accessdate=23 January 2015}}</ref><ref name=worldbank>{{cite web|url=http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2014/02/10/young-underemployed-and-poor-in-poland |title=Young, Under-employed, and Poor in Poland |publisher=Worldbank.org |date=10 February 2014 |accessdate=3 June 2014}}</ref> The out migration has increased the average wages for the workers who remained in Poland, in particular for those with intermediate level skills.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.cream-migration.org/publ_uploads/CDP_29_12.pdf |title=The Effect of Emigration from Poland on Polish Wages |publisher=Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration Department of Economics, University College London |author1=Christian Dustmann |author2=Tommaso Frattini |author3=Anna Rosso |issue= 29/12 |date=2012 |accessdate=18 January 2015}}</ref>
			Poland ranks ] in terms of military expenditures; the country allocates 3.8% of its total GDP on military spending, equivalent to approximately US$31.6 billion in 2023.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://sipri.org/sites/default/files/Data%20for%20all%20countries%20from%201988%E2%80%932020%20in%20constant%20%282019%29%20USD%20%28pdf%29.pdf| title=Data for all countries from 1988–2020 in constant (2019) USD (pdf)| publisher=SIPRI| access-date=28 April 2021| archive-date=28 April 2021| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210428180002/https://sipri.org/sites/default/files/Data%20for%20all%20countries%20from%201988%E2%80%932020%20in%20constant%20(2019)%20USD%20(pdf).pdf| url-status=live}}</ref> From 2022, Poland initiated a programme of mass modernisation of its armed forces, in close cooperation with American, South Korean and local Polish ].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lepiarz |first=Jacek |date=27 August 2022 |title=Europa Środkowa i Wschodnia nie kupuje niemieckiej broni |url=https://www.msn.com/pl-pl/wiadomosci/other/europa-%C5%9Brodkowa-i-wschodnia-nie-kupuje-niemieckiej-broni/ar-AA11azUo |access-date=28 August 2022 |website=MSN |archive-date=28 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220828153341/https://www.msn.com/pl-pl/wiadomosci/other/europa-%C5%9Brodkowa-i-wschodnia-nie-kupuje-niemieckiej-broni/ar-AA11azUo |url-status=live }}</ref> Also, the Polish military is set to increase its size to 250,000 enlisted and officers, and 50,000 defence force personnel.<ref>{{Cite web |last=L. |first=Wojciech |date=29 March 2022 |title=Quick and Bold: Poland's Plan To Modernize its Army |url=https://www.overtdefense.com/2022/03/29/quick-and-bold-polands-plan-to-modernize-its-army/ |access-date=28 August 2022 |website=Overt Defense |archive-date=28 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220828190826/https://www.overtdefense.com/2022/03/29/quick-and-bold-polands-plan-to-modernize-its-army/ |url-status=live }}</ref> According to ], the country exported €487 million worth of arms and armaments to foreign countries in 2020.<ref>{{Cite report |url=https://www.sipri.org/sites/default/files/2020-07/poland_2018.pdf |title=Eksport uzbrojenia i sprzętu wojskowego Polski |last=Government of Poland |date=2019 |publisher=Ministerstwo Spraw Zagranicznych MSZ (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) |location=Warszawa (Warsaw) |page=4 |access-date=24 March 2022 |archive-date=28 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220328012842/https://www.sipri.org/sites/default/files/2020-07/poland_2018.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
	] is a family-owned bus, coach and tram manufacturer near ]]]
			Compulsory ] for men, who previously had to serve for nine months, was discontinued in 2008.<ref name="Day 2008" /> Polish military doctrine reflects the same defensive nature as that of its NATO partners and the country actively hosts NATO's ].<ref name="IISS 2022" /> Since 1953, the country has been a large contributor to various United Nations peacekeeping missions,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Zięba |first=Ryszard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Mc-8DwAAQBAJ&dq=%22poland%2Bcontributor%2Bpeacekeeping%2Bmissions%2Bmiddle%2Beast%22&pg=PA226 |title=Poland's Foreign and Security Policy: Problems of Compatibility with the Changing International Order |date=2020 |publisher=Springer International Publishing |isbn=978-3-030-30697-7 |location=Cham |pages=226–229 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002180449/https://books.google.com/books?id=Mc-8DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA226&dq=%22poland+contributor+peacekeeping+missions+middle+east%22 |url-status=live }}</ref> and currently maintains military presence in the Middle East, Africa, the ] and southeastern Europe.<ref name="IISS 2022" />
	Products and goods manufactured in Poland include: electronics, buses and trams (], ]), helicopters and planes (], ]), trains (]), ships (], ], ]), military equipment (], ]), medicines (], ]), food (], ], ]), clothes (]), glass, pottery (]), chemical products and others.
			=== Security, law enforcement and emergency services ===
	===Corporations===
			] patrol car belonging to the Polish ] (''Policja'')]]
	] is one of East-Central Europe's largest exchanges by market capitalization]]
			{{Main|Law enforcement in Poland|Emergency medical services in Poland|State Fire Service}}Thanks to its location, Poland is a country essentially free from the threat of natural disasters such as ], ], ] and ]. However, ]s have occurred in low-lying areas from time to time during periods of extreme rainfall (e.g. during the ]).
			Law enforcement in Poland is performed by several agencies which are subordinate to the ] – the ] (''Policja''), assigned to investigate crimes or transgression; the ], which maintains public order; and several specialised agencies, such as the ].<ref name="Narodowego 2013">{{Cite web |last=Narodowego |first=Biuro Bezpieczeństwa |title=Potencjał ochronny |url=https://www.bbn.gov.pl/pl/bezpieczenstwo-narodowe/system-bezpieczenstwa-n/bezpieczenstwo-publiczn/5977,Potencjal-ochronny.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220124011153/https://www.bbn.gov.pl/pl/bezpieczenstwo-narodowe/system-bezpieczenstwa-n/bezpieczenstwo-publiczn/5977,Potencjal-ochronny.html |archive-date=24 January 2022 |access-date=2 December 2020 |website=Biuro Bezpieczeństwa Narodowego |url-status=dead }}</ref> Private security firms are also common, although they possess no legal authority to arrest or detain a suspect.<ref name="Narodowego 2013" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Rybak |first=Marcin |date=6 December 2018 |title=Klient kontra ochrona sklepu. Czy mogą nas zatrzymać, przeszukać, legitymować? |url=https://gazetawroclawska.pl/klient-kontra-ochrona-sklepu-czy-moga-nas-zatrzymac-przeszukac-legitymowac/ar/13722260 |website=Gazeta Wrocławska |access-date=2 December 2020 |archive-date=31 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220531114737/https://gazetawroclawska.pl/klient-kontra-ochrona-sklepu-czy-moga-nas-zatrzymac-przeszukac-legitymowac/ar/13722260 |url-status=live }}</ref> Municipal guards are primarily headed by provincial, regional or city councils; individual guards are not permitted to carry ] unless instructed by the superior commanding officer.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rozdział 3 – Uprawnienia i obowiązki strażników – Straże gminne. – Dz.U.2019.1795 t.j. |url=https://sip.lex.pl/akty-prawne/dzu-dziennik-ustaw/straze-gminne-16798909/roz-3#:~:text=30%20ustawy%20z%20dnia%2021,r.%20o%20broni%20i%20amunicji.&text=Stra%C5%BCnik%2C%20o%20kt%C3%B3rym%20mowa%20w,11%20pkt%205%20i%209. |access-date=2 December 2020 |archive-date=12 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512144010/https://sip.lex.pl/akty-prawne/dzu-dziennik-ustaw/straze-gminne-16798909/roz-3#:~:text=30%20ustawy%20z%20dnia%2021,r.%20o%20broni%20i%20amunicji.&text=Stra%C5%BCnik%2C%20o%20kt%C3%B3rym%20mowa%20w,11%20pkt%205%20i%209. |url-status=live }}</ref> Security service personnel conduct regular patrols in both large urban areas or smaller suburban localities.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Policja o zwierzchnictwie nad Strażą Miejską w powiecie dzierżoniowskim |url=https://doba.pl/ddz/artykul/policja-o-zwierzchnictwie-nad-straza-miejska-w-powiecie-dzierzoniowskim-/44242/15/noa123 |website=doba.pl |access-date=2 December 2020 |archive-date=12 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512144011/https://doba.pl/ddz/artykul/policja-o-zwierzchnictwie-nad-straza-miejska-w-powiecie-dzierzoniowskim-/44242/15/noa123 |url-status=live }}</ref>
	Poland is recognised as a regional economic leader within East-Central Europe, with nearly 40 percent of the 500 biggest companies in the region (by revenues) as well as a ].<ref name="Polish economy seen as stable and competitive"/> Poland was the only member of the EU to avoid the ]. The country's largest firms comprise the ] index, which is traded on the ].
			The ] (ABW, or ISA in English) is the chief ] safeguarding Poland's internal security, along with ] (AW) which identifies threats and collects secret information abroad.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Agencja Wywiadu |url=https://aw.gov.pl/rekrutacja/ |website=aw.gov.pl |access-date=2 December 2020 |archive-date=12 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512144013/https://aw.gov.pl/rekrutacja/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The ] (CBŚP) and the ] (CBA) are responsible for countering organised crime and corruption in state and private institutions.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Antykorupcyjne |first=Centralne Biuro |title=Aktualności |url=https://cba.gov.pl/pl/aktualnosci |website=Centralne Biuro Antykorupcyjne |access-date=2 December 2020 |archive-date=21 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220621111256/https://www.cba.gov.pl/pl/aktualnosci/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Internet |first=J. S. K. |title=Status prawny |url=http://bip.cbsp.policja.gov.pl/CBS/status-prawny-1/8969,Status-prawny.html |website=Centralne Biuro Śledcze Policji |access-date=2 December 2020 |archive-date=14 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220614084606/http://bip.cbsp.policja.gov.pl/CBS/status-prawny-1/8969,Status-prawny.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
	Well known Polish brands include, among others ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and ].<ref name="dziennikbudowy"/>
			Emergency services in Poland consist of the ], ] units of the ] and ]. Emergency medical services in Poland are operated by local and regional governments,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Projekt ustawy o krajowym systemie ratowniczym |url=http://orka.sejm.gov.pl/proc4.nsf/projekty/2947_p.htm |website=orka.sejm.gov.pl |access-date=2 December 2020 |archive-date=12 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512144014/http://orka.sejm.gov.pl/proc4.nsf/projekty/2947_p.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> but are a part of the centralised national agency – the ] (''Państwowe Ratownictwo Medyczne'').<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ustawa z dnia 25 lipca 2001 r. o Państwowym Ratownictwie Medycznym. |url=http://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/DocDetails.xsp?id=WDU20011131207 |access-date=10 August 2021 |website=isap.sejm.gov.pl |archive-date=17 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220617204857/https://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/DocDetails.xsp?id=WDU20011131207 |url-status=live }}</ref>
	Poland is recognised as having an economy with development potential, overtaking the ] in mid-2010 to become Europe's sixth largest economy.<ref name="fDi: Poland Primed for Golden Decade"/> ] in Poland has remained steady ever since the country's political transformation following the ] in 1989. However, problems still exist—it is believed that progress of privatization was uneven across sectors due to emergence of interest groups supporting government's push for the reforms based on ''feasibility'' rather than ''efficiency'', at the cost of Poland's remaining sectors in need of development and modernisation, such as the extractive industries.<ref name="Kozarzewski">Piotr Kozarzewski (May 2006), Center for Social and Economic Research, Studia i Analizy (PDF file, direct download), Warsaw, pp. 29-30. Conclusions.</ref>
			== Economy ==
	The list includes the largest companies by turnover in 2011 (not including banks or insurance companies):
			{{Main|Economy of Poland}}
	{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width:90%; margin:auto; font-size:90%; text-align:right;"
			{| class="wikitable floatright"
	|- style="background:#efefef;"
			|+'''Economic indicators'''
	! style="text-align:center;"| Rank<br/>2011<br/><ref name="polityka"/>|| style="text-align:center;"| Corporation|| style="text-align:center;"| Sector|| style="text-align:center;"| Headquarters|| style="text-align:center;"| Revenue<br/>(Thou.<br/>&nbsp;PLN)|| style="text-align:center;"| Profit<br/>(Thou.<br/>&nbsp;PLN)|| style="text-align:center;"| Employees
			! scope="row" | ]
			|$1.890 trillion <small>(2024)</small><ref name="IMFWEO.PL" />
	|-		|-
			! scope="row" | Nominal GDP
	| 1.&nbsp;|| style="text-align:left;"| ]|| style="text-align:left;"| oil and gas|| style="text-align:left;"| ]|| 79 037 121|| 2 396 447|| 4,445
			|$862.9 billion <small>(2024)</small><ref name="IMFWEO.PL" />
	|-		|-
			! scope="row" | Real GDP growth
	| 2.&nbsp;|| style="text-align:left;"| ]|| style="text-align:left;"| oil and gas|| style="text-align:left;"| ]|| 29 258 539|| 584 878|| 5,168
			|5.3% <small>(2022)</small><ref>{{Cite web |title=GDP growth (annual %) – Poland &#124; Data |url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.KD.ZG?locations=PL |website=data.worldbank.org |access-date=5 December 2020 |archive-date=10 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170710204644/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.KD.ZG?locations=PL |url-status=live }}</ref>
	|-		|-
			! scope="row" | ] inflation
	| 3.&nbsp;|| style="text-align:left;"| ]|| style="text-align:left;"| energy|| style="text-align:left;"| ]|| 28 111 354|| 6 165 394|| 44,317
			|2.5% <small>(May 2024)</small><ref>{{Cite web |title=Inflation Report, Monetary Policy Council |publisher=Narodowy Bank Polski (National Bank of Poland) |url=https://nbp.pl/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Raport-o-inflacji-lipiec-2024-ANG.pdf |access-date=11 November 2024 }}</ref>
	|-		|-
			! scope="row" | ]
	| 4.&nbsp;|| style="text-align:left;"| ]|| style="text-align:left;"| retail|| style="text-align:left;"| ]|| 25 285 407|| ''N/A'' || 36,419
			|57% <small>(2022)</small><ref>{{Cite web |title=Employment to population ratio, 15+, total (%) (modeled ILO estimate) – Poland &#124; Data |url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.EMP.TOTL.SP.ZS?locations=PL |website=data.worldbank.org |access-date=5 December 2020 |archive-date=13 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210513023302/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.EMP.TOTL.SP.ZS?locations=PL |url-status=live }}</ref>
	|-		|-
			! scope="row" | Unemployment
	| 5.&nbsp;|| style="text-align:left;"| ]|| style="text-align:left;"| oil and gas|| style="text-align:left;"| ]|| 23 003 534|| 1 711 787|| 33,071
			|2.8% <small>(2023)</small><ref name="Ministry of Family and Social Policy">{{Cite web |title=Lowest unemployment in the EU. Poland on the podium – Ministry of Family and Social Policy – Gov.pl website |url=https://www.gov.pl/web/family/lowest-unemployment-in-the-eu-poland-on-the-podium |access-date=21 December 2023 |website=Ministry of Family and Social Policy |language=en-GB |archive-date=21 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231221070334/https://www.gov.pl/web/family/lowest-unemployment-in-the-eu-poland-on-the-podium |url-status=live }}</ref>
	|-		|-
			! scope="row" | ]
	| 6.&nbsp;|| style="text-align:left;"| ]|| style="text-align:left;"| energy|| style="text-align:left;"| ]|| 20 755 222|| 1 565 936|| 26,710
			|$340 billion <small>(2022)</small><ref>{{Cite web |title=Poland National Debt 2020 |url=https://countryeconomy.com/national-debt/poland |website=countryeconomy.com |access-date=5 December 2020 |archive-date=2 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130202163222/https://countryeconomy.com/national-debt/poland |url-status=live }}</ref>
	|-
	| 7.&nbsp;|| style="text-align:left;"| ]|| style="text-align:left;"| mining|| style="text-align:left;"| ]|| 20 097 392|| 13 653 597|| 18,578
	|-
	| 8.&nbsp;|| style="text-align:left;"| ]|| style="text-align:left;"| retail|| style="text-align:left;"| ]|| 17 200 000|| ''N/A''|| 22,556
	|-
	| 9.&nbsp;|| style="text-align:left;"| ]|| style="text-align:left;"| automotive|| style="text-align:left;"| ]|| 16 513 651|| 83 919|| 5,303
	|-
	| 10.&nbsp;|| style="text-align:left;"| ]|| style="text-align:left;"| telecommunications|| style="text-align:left;"| ]|| 14 922 000|| 1 785 000|| 23,805
	|}		|}
			{{As of|2023}}, Poland's economy and gross domestic product (GDP) is the sixth largest in the European Union by ] and the fifth largest by ]. It is also one of the fastest growing within the Union and reached a ] status in 2018.<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 2018 |title=Poland promoted to developed market status by FTSE Russell |url=https://emerging-europe.com/news/poland-promoted-to-developed-market-status-by-ftse-russell/#:~:text=Global%20index%20provider%20FTSE%20Russell,%2C%20France%2C%20Japan%20and%20Australia. |access-date=1 January 2021 |website=Emerging Europe |archive-date=9 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210109210429/https://emerging-europe.com/news/poland-promoted-to-developed-market-status-by-ftse-russell/#:~:text=Global%20index%20provider%20FTSE%20Russell,%2C%20France%2C%20Japan%20and%20Australia. |url-status=live }}</ref> The unemployment rate published by ] in 2023 amounted to 2.8%, which was the second-lowest in the EU.<ref name="Ministry of Family and Social Policy" /> {{As of|2023}}, around 62% of the employed population works in the ], 29% in manufacturing, and 8% in the agricultural sector.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pracujący w rolnictwie, przemyśle i usługach {{!}} RynekPracy.org |url=https://rynekpracy.org/statystyki/pracujacy-w-rolnictwie-przemysle-i-uslugach/ |access-date=21 December 2023 |language=pl-PL |archive-date=25 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200425100036/https://rynekpracy.org/statystyki/pracujacy-w-rolnictwie-przemysle-i-uslugach/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Although Poland is a member of the ], the country has not adopted the ] as legal tender and maintains its own currency – the ] (zł, PLN).
	===Tourism===
	{{Main article|Tourism in Poland|List of World Heritage Sites of Poland|List of Historic Monuments (Poland)|Seven Wonders of Poland}}
	] in ]]]
	Poland experienced an increase in the number of tourists after joining the European Union in 2004.<ref name="Travel And Tourism in Poland"/> Tourism contributes significantly to Poland's overall economy and makes up a relatively large proportion of the country's service market.<ref name="unwto.org/en/press-release">{{cite web | url=http://www2.unwto.org/en/press-release/2012-11-05/international-tourism-strong-despite-uncertain-economy | title=International tourism strong despite uncertain economy | publisher=World Tourism Organization UNWTO | date=5 November 2012 | accessdate=6 February 2013 | author=Press Release}}</ref>
			Poland is the regional economic leader in Central Europe, with nearly 40 per cent of the 500 biggest companies in the region (by revenues) as well as a ].<ref name="Polish economy seen as stable and competitive" /> The country's largest firms compose the ] and ] ], which is traded on the ]. According to reports made by the ], the value of Polish foreign direct investments reached almost 300 billion ] at the end of 2014. The ] estimated that in 2014 there were 1,437 Polish corporations with interests in 3,194 foreign entities.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dorota Ciesielska-Maciągowska |date=5 April 2016 |title=Hundreds of foreign companies taken over by Polish firms over the last decade |url=http://www.financialobserver.eu/poland/hundreds-of-foreign-companies-taken-over-by-polish-firms-over-the-last-decade/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160413020602/http://www.financialobserver.eu/poland/hundreds-of-foreign-companies-taken-over-by-polish-firms-over-the-last-decade/ |archive-date=13 April 2016 |access-date=17 June 2017 |website=Central European Financial Observer |language=en |url-status=dead }}</ref>
	] is a ]]]
			Poland has the largest banking sector in Central Europe,<ref>Thomas White International (September 2011), Emerging Market Spotlight. Banking Sector in Poland (Internet Archive). Retrieved 6 November 2014.</ref> with 32.3 branches per 100,000 adults.<ref>Worldbank.org, {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190807165701/http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTGLOBALFINREPORT/Resources/8816096-1361888425203/9062080-1364927957721/GFDR-2014_Statistical_Appendix_B.pdf |date=7 August 2019 }} Appendix B. Key Aspects of Financial Inclusion (PDF file, direct download). Retrieved 6 November 2014.</ref> It was the only European economy to have avoided the ].<ref name="Schwab 2011" /> The country is the ] of goods and services in the world.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Country Comparisons – Exports |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/field/exports/country-comparison/ |website=cia.gov |access-date=11 November 2024 }}</ref> Exports of goods and services are valued at approximately 58% of GDP, as of 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Exports of goods and services (% of GDP) {{!}} Data |url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NE.EXP.GNFS.ZS |access-date=6 September 2021 |website=data.worldbank.org |archive-date=25 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100425022501/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NE.EXP.GNFS.ZS |url-status=live }}</ref> Since 2019, workers under the age of 26 are exempt from paying the ].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ivana Kottasová |date=30 July 2019 |title=Brain drain claimed 1.7 million youths. So this country is scrapping its income tax |work=CNN |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/30/europe/poland-income-tax-youths-intl/index.html |access-date=30 July 2019 |archive-date=30 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190730082114/https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/30/europe/poland-income-tax-youths-intl/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2023, the country produced 1300 tonnes of silver<ref>{{Citation |title=List of countries by silver production |date=2024-11-08 |work=Misplaced Pages |url=https://en.m.wikipedia.org/List_of_countries_by_silver_production#cite_note-1 |access-date=2024-12-27 |language=en}}</ref> and was the 5th largest silver producer globally.<ref>{{Cite web |title=USGS Silver Production Statistics |url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2024/mcs2024.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241220035538/https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2024/mcs2024.pdf |archive-date=December 20, 2024 |access-date=December 23, 2024}}</ref> As of 2024, Poland holds the world's 12th largest ], estimated at around 377 tonnes.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.gold.org/goldhub/data/gold-reserves-by-country |title=Gold Reserves by Country |website=gold.org |publisher=World Gold Council |access-date=11 November 2024}}</ref>
	] was the former capital and a relic of ] of Renaissance. The city served as the ] of ]. In ], the ] are the largest in Poland, and are one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country. The ] of Poland's capital, ], was reconstructed after ]. Other cities attracting tourists include ], ], ], ] and ]. The historic site of the Nazi-German ] concentration camp is located near ].
			=== Tourism ===
	Poland is the 16th most visited country in the world by foreign tourists, as ranked by World Tourism Organization (]).<ref name="UNWTO_Barom12">{{cite web | url=http://dtxtq4w60xqpw.cloudfront.net/sites/all/files/pdf/unwto_highlights13_en_lr.pdf | title=International Tourist Arrivals by County of Destination (Poland) | publisher=World Tourism Organization | work=UNWTO World Tourism Barometer | year=2013 | accessdate=31 December 2012 | pages=8 of 26 | format=PDF file, direct download 516 KB}}</ref>
			{{Main|Tourism in Poland}}
			] is the largest castle in the world measured by land area and a ].]]
			In 2020, the total value of the ] in Poland was 104.3 billion ], then equivalent to 4.5% of the Polish GDP.<ref name="oecdtourism">{{cite book |author=OECD |date=2022 |title=Tourism Trends and Policies |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VISeEAAAQBAJ&dq=gdp+tourism+poland&pg=PA251 |publisher=OECD Publishing |page=251 |isbn=
			9789264481190}}</ref> Tourism contributes considerably to the overall economy and makes up a relatively large proportion of the country's service market.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Press Release |date=5 November 2012 |title=International tourism strong despite uncertain economy |url=http://www2.unwto.org/en/press-release/2012-11-05/international-tourism-strong-despite-uncertain-economy |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130218231404/http://www2.unwto.org/en/press-release/2012-11-05/international-tourism-strong-despite-uncertain-economy |archive-date=18 February 2013 |access-date=6 February 2013 |publisher=World Tourism Organization UNWTO}}</ref> Nearly 200,000 people were employed in the ] (hospitality) sector in 2020.<ref name="oecdtourism"/> In 2021, Poland ranked ] in the world by international arrivals.<ref name="unwto">{{cite journal |author= |date=May 2023 |title=World Tourism Barometer |url=https://webunwto.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/2023-05/UNWTO_Barom23_02_May_EXCERPT_final.pdf?VersionId=gGmuSXlwfM1yoemsRrBI9ZJf.Vmc9gYD |journal=World Tourism Organization |volume=21 |issue=2 |access-date=8 July 2024 |archive-date=2 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230802171252/https://webunwto.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/2023-05/UNWTO_Barom23_02_May_EXCERPT_final.pdf?VersionId=gGmuSXlwfM1yoemsRrBI9ZJf.Vmc9gYD |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref>
			Tourist attractions in Poland vary, from the mountains in the south to the beaches in the north, with a trail of rich architectural and cultural heritage. Among the most recognisable landmarks are Old Towns in ], ], ] (]), ], ], ], ] and ] as well as museums, zoological gardens, theme parks and the ], with its labyrinthine tunnels, ] and chapels carved by miners out of ] beneath the ground. There are ] in the country, largely within the ], and also on the ]; the largest castle in the world by land area is situated in ].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pickup |first=Gilly |title=The 50 Greatest Castles and Palaces of the World |date=7 March 2019 |publisher=Icon Books |isbn=978-1-78578-458-3}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Neil Wilson |title=Poland |last2=Tom Parkinson |last3=Richard Watkins |publisher=Lonely Planet |year=2005 |isbn=978-1-74059-522-3 |chapter=The Eagles' Nests}}</ref> The German ] in ], and the ] in ] constitute ].<ref name="Watts">{{cite book |last1=Watts |first1=Robin |last2=Parks |first2=Zishan |date=2018 |title=Development of Tourism and Travel Industry |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=guTEDwAAQBAJ&dq=skull+chapel+dark+tourism+poland&pg=PA3 |publisher=EDTECH |page=3 |isbn=9781839474378}}</ref> Regarding nature based travel, notable sites include the ] and ] in the east; on the south ], the ] and the ], where ] and the ] trail are located. The ] and ] lie in the extreme south-east.<ref name="UNTWO 2008" />
	Poland's main tourist offerings include outdoor activities such as skiing, sailing and mountain hiking, as well as agrotourism, sightseeing ]. Tourist destinations include the ] coast in the north; the ] and ] in the east; on the south ], the ] and the ], where ], the highest peak of Poland, and the famous ] mountain trail are located. The ] and ] lie in the extreme south-east.<ref name="turism"/> There are ] in the country, many along the popular ].<ref name="EaglesNests">Neil Wilson, Tom Parkinson, Richard Watkins, '''' "The Eagles' Nests". ]</ref>
	] is the world's largest ] ] complex and a ]]]
	===Energy===		=== Transport ===
	{{main article|Energy in Poland|Coal mining in Poland}}		{{Main|Transport in Poland}}
			] ] at the ]]]
	] is a lignite-fired power station that produces 27-28 TWh of electricity per year, or 20% of the total power generation in Poland]]
			Transport in Poland is provided by means of ], ], ] and ]. The country is part of EU's ] and is an important transport hub due to its strategic geographical position in Central Europe.<ref>{{Cite web |title=PAIH &#124; Transport |url=https://www.paih.gov.pl/poland_in_figures/transport |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512144011/https://www.paih.gov.pl/poland_in_figures/transport |archive-date=12 May 2022 |access-date=3 July 2020 |website=www.paih.gov.pl }}</ref> Some of the longest European routes, including the ] and ], run through Poland. The country has a good network of ] consisting of ] and ]. As of August 2023, Poland has the world's ], maintaining over {{cvt|5000|km}} of highways in use.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Generalna Dyrekcja Dróg Krajowych i Autostrad |url=https://www.gov.pl/web/gddkia |website=www.gddkia.gov.pl |access-date=6 August 2023 |archive-date=5 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230805223843/https://www.gov.pl/web/gddkia |url-status=live }}</ref>
	The electricity generation sector in Poland is largely ]–based. Many power plants nationwide use Poland's position as a major European exporter of coal to their advantage by continuing to use coal as the primary raw material in production of their energy. In 2013, Poland scored 48 out of 129 states in the Energy Sustainability Index.<ref name="Energy Sustainability Index"/> The three largest Polish coal mining firms (], ] and ]) extract around 100 million tonnes of coal annually. All three of these companies are key constituents of the ]'s lead economic indexes.
			In 2022, the nation had {{convert|19393|km}} of railway track, the third longest in the European Union after Germany and France.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Linie kolejowe w Polsce |url=https://utk.gov.pl/pl/aktualnosci/20336,Linie-kolejowe-w-Polsce.html?search=6784142599555 |access-date=26 November 2023 |website=utk.gov.pl |archive-date=27 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230827100942/https://utk.gov.pl/pl/aktualnosci/20336,Linie-kolejowe-w-Polsce.html?search=6784142599555 |url-status=live }}</ref> The ] (PKP) is the dominant railway operator, with certain major voivodeships or urban areas possessing their own ] and ].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Marinov |first1=Marin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t2ZXEAAAQBAJ&dq=polish+state+railways+largest+railway+regional&pg=PA280 |title=Sustainable Rail Transport 4: Innovate Rail Research and Education |last2=Piip |first2=Janene |date=2021 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-030-82095-4 |location=Cham |page=280 |access-date=6 August 2023 |archive-date=1 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230901114704/https://books.google.com/books?id=t2ZXEAAAQBAJ&dq=polish+state+railways+largest+railway+regional&pg=PA280 |url-status=live }}</ref> Poland has a number of international airports, the largest of which is ].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Paweł Churski |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZIuFEAAAQBAJ&dq=largest+airport+chopin&pg=PA321 |title=Three decades of Polish socio-economic transformations: geographical perspectives |last2=Tomasz Kaczmarek |date=2022 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-031-06108-0 |location=Cham |page=321 |access-date=6 August 2023 |archive-date=1 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230901114649/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZIuFEAAAQBAJ&dq=largest+airport+chopin&pg=PA321 |url-status=live }}</ref> It is the primary global hub for ], the country's ].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Anne Graham |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XzkLEAAAQBAJ&dq=lot+polish+airlines+flag+carrier&pg=PT118 |title=Air Transport and Regional Development Case Studies |last2=Nicole Adler |last3=Hans-Martin Niemeier |date=2020 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-003-09207-0 |location=Abingdon |access-date=6 August 2023 |archive-date=1 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230901114702/https://books.google.com/books?id=XzkLEAAAQBAJ&dq=lot+polish+airlines+flag+carrier&pg=PT118 |url-status=live }}</ref>
	Renewable forms of energy account for a small{{quantify|date=January 2014}} proportion of Poland's full energy generation capacity.<ref name="EU Commission – Energy factsheet P74"/> However, the national government has set targets for the development of renewable energy sources in Poland which should see the portion of power produced by renewable resources climb to 7.5% by 2010 and 15% by 2020. This is to be achieved mainly through the construction of ]s and a number of ] stations.
			Seaports exist all along Poland's Baltic coast, with most freight operations using ], ], ], ], ], ] and ] as their base. The ] is the only port in the ] adapted to receive oceanic vessels. ] and ] are the largest Polish ferry operators, with the latter providing ] and ] services to ].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Gennady Fedorov |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VEa5DwAAQBAJ&dq=%22polferries%22+unity+line+poland&pg=PA203 |title=Baltic Region—The Region of Cooperation |last2=Alexander Druzhinin |last3=Elena Golubeva |last4=Dmitry Subetto |last5=Tadeusz Palmowski |date=2019 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-030-14519-4 |location=Cham |page=203 |access-date=6 August 2023 |archive-date=1 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230901114645/https://books.google.com/books?id=VEa5DwAAQBAJ&dq=%22polferries%22+unity+line+poland&pg=PA203 |url-status=live }}</ref>
	Poland is thought to have around 164,800,000,000 m<sup>3</sup> of proven natural gas reserves and around 96,380,000 barrels of proven oil reserves. These reserves are exploited by energy supply companies such as ] ("the only Polish company listed in the ]"). However, the small amounts of fossil fuels naturally occurring in Poland is insufficient to satisfy the full energy consumption needs of the population. Therefore, the country is a net importer of oil and natural gas.
	===Transport===		=== Energy ===
	{{main article|Transport in Poland}}		{{main|Energy in Poland}}
			The electricity generation sector in Poland is largely ]–based. Coal production in Poland is a major source of employment and the largest source of the nation's ].<ref name="International Energy Agency 2022">{{Cite web |last=International Energy Agency |author-link=International Energy Agency |date=20 May 2022 |title=Poland – Countries & Regions |url=https://www.iea.org/countries/poland |access-date=24 May 2022 |publisher=IEA |location=Paris |archive-date=24 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220524015401/https://www.iea.org/countries/poland |url-status=live }}</ref> Many power plants nationwide use Poland's position as a major European exporter of coal to their advantage by continuing to use coal as the primary raw material in the production of their energy. The three largest Polish coal mining firms (], ] and ]) extract around 100 million tonnes of coal annually.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Poland. Summary of Coal Industry. |url=https://www.globalmethane.org/documents/toolsres_coal_overview_ch27.pdf |access-date=5 March 2022 |archive-date=21 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220121082617/https://www.globalmethane.org/documents/Toolsres_coal_overview_ch27.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> After coal, Polish energy supply relies significantly on oil—the nation is the third-largest buyer of Russian oil exports to the EU.<ref>{{Cite web |last=International Energy Agency |author-link=International Energy Agency |date=13 April 2022 |title=Frequently Asked Questions on Energy Security |url=https://www.iea.org/articles/frequently-asked-questions-on-energy-security |access-date=27 April 2022 |publisher=IEA |location=Paris |archive-date=16 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116162240/https://www.iea.org/articles/frequently-asked-questions-on-energy-security |url-status=live }}</ref>
	], ] motorways and ] junction near ]]]
			The new ] (EPP2040) would reduce the share of coal and ] in electricity generation by 25% from 2017 to 2030. The plan involves deploying new nuclear plants, increasing energy efficiency, and decarbonising the Polish transport system in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prioritise long-term energy security.<ref name="International Energy Agency 2022" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Ministry of Climate and Environment |date=2 February 2021 |title=Energy Policy of Poland until 2040 (EPP2040) |url=https://www.gov.pl/web/climate/energy-policy-of-poland-until-2040-epp2040 |access-date=24 May 2022 |website=Ministry of Climate and Environment of Poland |language=en-GB |archive-date=24 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220524122522/https://www.gov.pl/web/climate/energy-policy-of-poland-until-2040-epp2040 |url-status=live }}</ref>
	Transport in Poland is provided by means of ], ], ] and ] Positioned in Central Europe with its eastern and part of its northeastern border constituting the longest land border of the ] with the rest of ] and ].
			=== Science and technology ===
	Since joining the EU in May 2004, Poland has invested large amounts of public funds into modernization projects of its transport networks. The country now has a developing expressway network composed of motorways such as the ], ], ], ], ] and express roads such as the ], ], ], ], ]. In addition to these newly built roads, many local and regional roads are being fixed as part of a national programme to rebuild all roads in Poland.<ref name="National Road Rebuilding Program (Polish)"/>
			{{Main|Timeline of Polish science and technology|List of Polish Nobel laureates}}
			{{multiple image
			| align = right
			| image1 = Marie Curie c1920.jpg
			| width1 = 130
			| alt1 = Marie Curie
			| caption1 = Physicist and chemist ] was the first person to win two ]s.<ref name="Mould 1993" />
			| image2 = Nikolaus Kopernikus MOT.jpg
			| width2 = 142
			| alt2 = Nicolaus Copernicus
			| caption2 = Astronomer ] formulated the ] model of the solar system.
			}}
			Over the course of history, the Polish people have made considerable contributions in the fields of science, technology and mathematics.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Nodzyńska |first1=Małgorzata |url=http://uatacz.up.krakow.pl/~wwwchemia/pliki/ISBN_978_83_7271_768_9_From_alchemy_to_the_present_day |title=From alchemy to the present day – the choice of biographies of Polish scientists |last2=Cieśla |first2=Paweł |publisher=Pedagogical University of Kraków |year=2012 |isbn=978-83-7271-768-9 |location=Cracow |access-date=3 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303201958/http://uatacz.up.krakow.pl/~wwwchemia/pliki/ISBN_978_83_7271_768_9_From_alchemy_to_the_present_day |archive-date=3 March 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Perhaps the most renowned Pole to support this theory was ] (''Mikołaj Kopernik''), who triggered the ] by placing the ].<ref>{{Cite web |date=20 March 2018 |title=Nicolaus Copernicus Biography: Facts & Discoveries |url=https://www.space.com/15684-nicolaus-copernicus.html |access-date=6 April 2018 |website=] |archive-date=30 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220530193602/https://www.space.com/15684-nicolaus-copernicus.html |url-status=live }}</ref> He also derived a ], which made him a pioneer of economics. Copernicus' achievements and discoveries are considered the basis of Polish culture and cultural identity.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wolak |first=Arthur J. |title=Forced Out: The Fate of Polish Jewry in Communist Poland |date=12 March 2004 |publisher=Arthur Wolak |isbn=978-1-58736-291-0}}</ref> Poland was ranked 40th in the ] in 2024.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.wipo.int/web-publications/global-innovation-index-2024/assets/67729/2000%20Global%20Innovation%20Index%202024_WEB2.pdf|title=Global Innovation Index 2024. Unlocking the Promise of Social Entrepreneurship|access-date=2024-10-01|author=]|year=2024|isbn=978-92-805-3681-2|doi= 10.34667/tind.50062|website=www.wipo.int|location=Geneva|page=18}}</ref>
	] ] at the ] railway station]]
			Poland's tertiary education institutions; traditional ], as well as technical, medical, and economic institutions, employ around tens of thousands of researchers and staff members. There are hundreds of research and development institutes.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Barcikowska |first=Renata |date=1 September 2016 |title=Research Institutes In Poland — Evaluation of Their Place and Role in Innovative Politics in Poland |url=https://content.sciendo.com/view/journals/minib/21/3/article-p141.xml |journal=Marketing of Scientific and Research Organizations |volume=21 |issue=3 |pages=141–154 |doi=10.14611/minib.21.09.2016.12 |doi-broken-date=1 November 2024 |s2cid=199470591 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200501152808/https://content.sciendo.com/view/journals/minib/21/3/article-p141.xml |archive-date=1 May 2020 |via=content.sciendo.com}}</ref> However, in the 19th and 20th centuries many Polish scientists worked abroad; one of the most important of these exiles was ], a physicist and chemist who lived much of her life in France. In 1925, she established Poland's ].<ref name="Mould 1993" />
	In 2015, the nation had {{convert|11800|miles}} of railway track. Trains can operate up to {{convert|99|mph}} on 7.5% of the track. Most trains operate between {{convert|50|and|75|mph}}. Part of the system operates at {{convert|25|mph}}.<ref>{{Cite news | first=Ben | last=Vient | title=Polish rail lines get much-needed upgrades | url=| newspaper=Florida Today | location=Melbourne, Florida| pages= 5E | date=July 12, 2015 | id= | accessdate=July 12, 2015}}</ref>
	Polish authorities maintain a program of improving operating speeds across the entire Polish rail network. Polish State Railways (PKP) are using new rolling stock such as Siemens Taurus ES64U4, which is in principle capable of speeds up to {{convert|200|km/h|0|abbr=on}}. In December 2014, Poland began to implement ] connecting major Polish cities. The Polish government has revealed that it intends to connect all major cities to a future high-speed rail network by 2020.<ref name="dec23"/> The new PKP Pendolino ETR 610 test train set the record for the fastest train in the history of Poland, reaching {{convert|293|km/h|abbr = on}} on 24 November 2013. Previously, the speed record had been {{convert|160|km/h|abbr = on}} since 1985. Most intercity rail routes in Poland are operated by ], whilst regional trains are run by a number of operators, the largest of which is ].
			In the first half of the 20th century, Poland was a flourishing centre of mathematics. Outstanding Polish mathematicians formed the ] (with ], ], ], ]) and ] (with ], ], ] and ]). Numerous mathematicians, scientists, chemists or economists emigrated due to historic vicissitudes, among them ], ], ], ] and Nobel Prize laureates ], ] and ].
	On 14 December 2014, Polish State Railways started passenger service using the PKP Pendolino ED250, operating at 200&nbsp;km/h speed on 80&nbsp;km of line between Olszamowice and Zawiercie (part of the ] from Warsaw to Kraków). Currently, it is the line with highest railway speed in Poland.
			== Demographics ==
	] is one of the world's oldest air carriers still in operation, originally established on 1 January 1929]]
			{{Main|Demographics of Poland|List of cities and towns in Poland|Metropolitan areas in Poland|Polish people|Polish diaspora}}
			Poland has a population of approximately 38.2 million as of 2021, and is the ] in Europe, as well as the fifth-most populous member state of the ].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Statistics Poland |url=https://stat.gov.pl/en/national-census/national-population-and-housing-census-2021/national-population-and-housing-census-2021/preliminary-results-of-the-national-population-and-housing-census-2021,1,1.html |title=Preliminary results of the National Population and Housing Census 2021 |date=2021 |publisher=Główny Urząd Statystyczny GUS |page=1 |language=en |access-date=6 March 2022 |archive-date=6 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220306123848/https://stat.gov.pl/en/national-census/national-population-and-housing-census-2021/national-population-and-housing-census-2021/preliminary-results-of-the-national-population-and-housing-census-2021,1,1.html |url-status=live }}</ref> It has a population density of {{convert|122|/km2|/mi2|disp=preunit|inhabitants&nbsp;|inhabitants|}}.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Statistics Poland |url=https://stat.gov.pl/en/topics/population/population/area-and-population-in-the-territorial-profile-in-2021,4,15.html |title=Area and population in the territorial profile |date=2021 |publisher=Główny Urząd Statystyczny GUS |page=20 |language=en, pl |access-date=6 March 2022 |archive-date=6 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220306132200/https://stat.gov.pl/en/topics/population/population/area-and-population-in-the-territorial-profile-in-2021,4,15.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The ] was estimated at 1.33 children born to a woman in 2021, which is ].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fertility rate, total (births per woman) – Poland |url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.TFRT.IN?locations=PL |access-date=12 March 2022 |website=] |archive-date=3 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220603193244/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.TFRT.IN?locations=PL |url-status=live }}</ref> Furthermore, Poland's population is ], and the country has a ] of 42.2.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Median age |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/field/median-age/country-comparison/ |access-date=21 December 2023 |website=www.cia.gov |archive-date=21 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231221070333/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/field/median-age/country-comparison/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
			]
			Around 60% of the country's population lives in urban areas or major cities and 40% in rural zones.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Urban population (% of the population) – Poland |url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.URB.TOTL.IN.ZS?locations=PL |access-date=13 March 2022 |website=] |archive-date=31 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220531090338/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.URB.TOTL.IN.ZS?locations=PL |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2020, 50.2% of Poles resided in ]s and 44.3% in apartments.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020 |title=Distribution of population by degree of urbanisation, dwelling type and income group – EU-SILC survey |url=https://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/submitViewTableAction.do |access-date=6 April 2022 |website=European Statistical Office "Eurostat" |publisher=European Commission |archive-date=21 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230121154457/https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/main/eurostat/web/main/help/faq/data-services |url-status=live }}</ref> The most populous administrative province or state is the ] and the most populous city is the capital, ], at 1.8 million inhabitants with a further 2–3 million people living in its ].<ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090327120341/http://www.mrr.gov.pl/polityka_regionalna/SRPW_2020/Dokumenty%20i%20ekspertyzy/Documents/17d0ccd2c3f14ed3893369e56d59849cMarkowski.pdf |date=27 March 2009 }} – ]</ref><ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120716184129/http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/wup2003/2003WUPHighlights.pdf |date=16 July 2012 }} – United Nations – Department of Economic and Social Affairs / Population Division, The 2003 Revision (data of 2000)</ref><ref>], {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110406130058/http://www.urbanaudit.org/DataAccessed.aspx |date=6 April 2011 }}, accessed on 12 March 2009. Data for 2004.</ref> The ] of ] is the largest urban ] with a population between 2.7 million<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cox |first=Wendell |date=2013 |title=Major Metropolitan Areas in Europe |url=http://www.newgeography.com/content/003879-major-metropolitan-areas-europe |website=New Geography |publisher=Joel Kotkin and Praxis Strategy Group |access-date=14 May 2021 |archive-date=31 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220531075700/http://www.newgeography.com/content/003879-major-metropolitan-areas-europe |url-status=live }}</ref> and 5.3 million residents.<ref>], {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924002318/http://www.espon.eu/export/sites/default/Documents/Projects/ESPON2006Projects/StudiesScientificSupportProjects/UrbanFunctions/fr-1.4.3_April2007-final.pdf |date=24 September 2015 }}, Final Report, Chapter 3, (ESPON, 2007)</ref> Population density is higher in the south of Poland and mostly concentrated between the cities of ] and ].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Jażdżewska |first=Iwona |date=September 2017 |title=Changes in population density of the urban population in southern Poland in the period 1950–2011 against the background of political and economic transformation |journal=Miscellanea Geographica |publisher=Sciendo |volume=21 |pages=107–113 |doi=10.1515/mgrsd-2017-0017 |issn=2084-6118 |s2cid=134111630 |doi-access=free |number=3}}</ref>
			In the ], 37,310,341 people reported ] identity, 846,719 ], 232,547 ] and 147,814 ]. Other ] were reported by 163,363 people (0.41%) and 521,470 people (1.35%) did not specify any nationality.<ref name="Central Statistical Office 2015">{{Cite book |url=https://stat.gov.pl/files/gfx/portalinformacyjny/pl/defaultaktualnosci/5670/22/1/1/struktura_narodowo-etniczna.pdf |title=Struktura narodowo-etniczna, językowa i wyznaniowa ludności Polski. Narodowy Spis Powszechny Ludności i Mieszkań 2011 |publisher=Central Statistical Office |year=2015 |isbn=978-83-7027-597-6 |page=36 |language=pl |trans-title=National-ethnic, linguistic and religious structure of Poland. National Census of Population and Housing 2011 |access-date=26 April 2018 |archive-date=8 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190808010836/https://stat.gov.pl/files/gfx/portalinformacyjny/pl/defaultaktualnosci/5670/22/1/1/struktura_narodowo-etniczna.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Official population statistics do not include migrant workers who do not possess a permanent residency permit or ].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Statistics Poland |url=https://stat.gov.pl/cps/rde/xbcr/gus/p_inter_migration_stat_system_in_poland.pdf |title=The Concept of the International Migration. Statistics System in Poland. |date=n.d. |publisher=Główny Urząd Statystyczny GUS |page=5 |language=en |access-date=6 March 2022 |archive-date=28 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220128120002/https://stat.gov.pl/cps/rde/xbcr/gus/p_inter_migration_stat_system_in_poland.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> More than 1.7 million ] citizens worked legally in Poland in 2017.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Filling Poland's labour gap |work=Poland Today |url=https://poland-today.pl/filling-polands-labour-gap/ |access-date=24 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512144010/https://poland-today.pl/filling-polands-labour-gap/ |archive-date=12 May 2022}}</ref> The number of migrants is rising steadily; the country approved 504,172 work permits for foreigners in 2021 alone.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Departament Rynku Pracy MRPiPS |date=2021 |title=Zezwolenia na pracę cudzoziemców |url=https://psz.praca.gov.pl/-/8180075-zezwolenia-na-prace-cudzoziemcow |website=psz.praca.gov.pl |language=pl |access-date=6 March 2022 |archive-date=31 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220531072214/https://psz.praca.gov.pl/-/8180075-zezwolenia-na-prace-cudzoziemcow |url-status=live }}</ref> According to the ], 12,731 ] live in Poland.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/policies/justice-and-fundamental-rights/combatting-discrimination/roma-eu/roma-equality-inclusion-and-participation-eu-country/poland_en|title=Poland - European Commission}}</ref>
	The air and maritime transport markets in Poland are largely well developed. Poland has a number of international airports, the largest of which is ], the primary global hub for ]. LOT is the 28th ] and the world's 12th ], established in 1929 from a merger of ] (1922) and ] (1925). Other major airports with international connections include ], ], ] and ].
			{{Largest cities
	Seaports exist all along Poland's Baltic coast, with most freight operations using ], ], ] and ] as well as ], ] and ] as their base. Passenger ferries link Poland with ] all year round; these services are provided from Gdańsk and ] by ], ] from Gdynia and ] from the ].
			| country = Poland
			| stat_ref = Baza Demografia (GUS) 2024<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024 |title=Wyniki badan biezacych |url=https://demografia.stat.gov.pl/bazademografia/Tables.aspx}}</ref>
			| div_name = Voivodeship
			|city_1 = Warsaw
	===Science and technology===
			|div_1 = Masovian Voivodeship{{!}}Masovian
	{{main article|Polish science and technology}}
			|pop_1 = 1,862,402
	] in ] is home to the ]]]
			|img_1 = Aleja Niepdleglosci Warsaw 2022 aerial (cropped).jpg
	According to Frost & Sullivan's Country Industry Forecast the country is becoming a new location for ] investments.<ref name="autogenerated2"/> Multinational companies such as: ABB, ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ] and ] all have set up research and development centres in Poland.<ref name="autogenerated1"/> Over 40 research and development centers and 4,500 researchers make Poland the biggest research and development hub in Central and Eastern Europe.<ref name="autogenerated2"/><ref name="chicagotribune1">{{cite news|url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-poland-immigrantstre7bs11w-20111229,0,2982543.story |title=Topic Galleries |work=chicagotribune.com |date= |accessdate=6 February 2012 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120201063300/http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-poland-immigrantstre7bs11w-20111229,0,2982543.story |archivedate=1 February 2012 }}</ref> Companies chose Poland because of the availability of highly qualified labour force, presence of universities, support of authorities, and the largest market in East-Central Europe.<ref name="autogenerated2"/>
			|city_2 = Kraków
	], the first person to win two ]s, established Poland's ] in 1925<ref name="A century of X-rays and radioactivity in medicine: with emphasis on photographic records of the early years"/>]]
			|div_2 = Lesser Poland Voivodeship{{!}}Lesser Poland
			|pop_2 = 807,644
			|img_2 = Zamek Królewski na Wawelu (1).jpg
			|city_3 = Wrocław
	Today, Poland's tertiary education institutions; traditional ], as well as technical, medical, and economic institutions, employ around 61,000 researchers and members of staff. There are around 300 research and development institutes, with about 10,000 researchers. In total, there are around 91,000 scientists in Poland today. However, in the 19th and 20th centuries many Polish scientists worked abroad; one of the most important of these exiles was ], a physicist and chemist who lived much of her life in France. In the first half of the 20th century, Poland was a flourishing centre of mathematics. Outstanding Polish mathematicians formed the ] (with ], ], ], ]) and ] (with ], ], ]). The events of ] pushed many of them into exile. Such was the case of ], whose family left Poland when he was still a child. An alumnus of the Warsaw School of Mathematics was ], one of the shapers of 20th century ].
			|div_3 = Lower Silesian Voivodeship{{!}}Lower Silesian
			|pop_3 = 673,531
			|img_3 = Old Town Hall in Wrocław, September 2022 13.jpg
			|city_4 = Łódź
	According to a KPMG report<ref name="Why Poland?"/> 80% of Poland's current investors are content with their choice and willing to reinvest.
			|div_4 = Łódź Voivodeship{{!}}Łódź
			|pop_4 = 648,711
			|img_4 = Brama Manufaktury.jpg
			|city_5 = Poznań
	===Communications===
			|div_5 = Greater Poland Voivodeship{{!}}Greater Poland
	{{main article|Telecommunications in Poland}}
			|pop_5 = 536,818
	] headquarters of the telecommunications provider ]]]
			|city_6 = Gdańsk
	The share of the telecom sector in the GDP is 4.4% (end of 2000 figure), compared to 2.5% in 1996. The coverage increased from 78 users per 1,000 inhabitants in 1989 to 282 in 2000. The value of the telecommunication market is zl 38.2bn (2006), and it grew by 12.4% in 2007 PMR.<ref name="Key data on IT and telecoms market in Poland, 2004–2006"/> The coverage mobile cellular is over 1000 users per 1000 people (2007). Telephones—mobile cellular: 38.7 million (Onet.pl&GUS Report, 2007), telephones—main lines in use: 12.5 million (Telecom Team Report, 2005). In 2012, the process of converting to ] started, to be compatible with the rest of Europe.
			|div_6 = Pomeranian Voivodeship{{!}}Pomeranian
			|pop_6 = 487,834
			|city_7 = Szczecin
			|div_7 = West Pomeranian Voivodeship{{!}}West Pomeranian
			|pop_7 = 387,700
			|city_8 = Lublin
	] in ]. Poland's postal service can trace its roots to the year 1558]]
			|div_8 = Lublin Voivodeship{{!}}Lublin
			|pop_8 = 328,868
			|city_9 = Bydgoszcz
	The public postal service in Poland is operated by '']'' (the Polish Post). It was created on 18 October 1558, when King ] established a permanent postal route from ] to ]. The service was dissolved during the foreign partitions. After regaining independence in 1918, Poland saw the rapid development of the postal system as new services were introduced including ], payment of pensions, delivery of magazines, and ].
			|div_9 = Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship{{!}}Kuyavian-Pomeranian
			|pop_9 = 324,984
			|city_10 = Białystok
	During ] communication was provided mainly through the military authorities. Many important events in the history of Poland involved the postal service, like the heroic ] in 1939, and the participation of the Polish Scouts' Postal Service in the ]. Today, the service is a modern state-owned company that provides a number of standard and express delivery as well as home-delivery services.
			|div_10 = Podlaskie Voivodeship{{!}}Podlaskie
			|pop_10 = 290,907
			|city_11 = Katowice
	==Demographics==
			|div_11 = Silesian Voivodeship{{!}}Silesian
	{{main article|Demographics of Poland|Demographic history of Poland}}
			|pop_11 = 278,090
	]
			|city_12 = Gdynia
	Poland, with 38,544,513 inhabitants, has the eighth-largest population in Europe and the sixth-largest in the ]. It has a population density of 122 inhabitants per square kilometer (328 per square mile).
			|div_12 = Pomeranian Voivodeship{{!}}Pomeranian
			|pop_12 = 240,554
			|city_13 = Częstochowa
	Poland historically contained ] on its soil. The country had a particularly large Jewish population prior to ], when the ] regime led to the ]. There were an estimated 3 million Jews living in Poland before the war—less than 300,000 survived. The outcome of the war, particularly the ] to the area between the ] and the ], coupled with post-war ], significantly reduced the country's ethnic diversity. Over 7 million ] from the Polish side of the Oder-Neisse boundary, after the country's borders were re-drawn by the big three Allied powers (United States, Britain and the Soviet Union) after the war.<ref name="Langenbacher"/>
			|div_13 = Silesian Voivodeship{{!}}Silesian
			|pop_13 = 204,703
			|city_14 = Rzeszów
	According to the ], 36,983,700 people, or 96.74% of the population, consider themselves ], while 471,500 (1.23%) declared another nationality, and 774,900 (2.03%) did not declare any nationality. The largest minority nationalities and ethnic groups in Poland are ] (173,153 according to the census), ] (152,897 according to the census, 92% of whom live in ] and ]), ] (c. 49,000), ] (c. 30,000), ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and ].<ref name="Tolerance and Cultural Diversity Discourses in Poland"/> Among foreign citizens, the ] are the largest ethnic group, followed by ] and ].
			|div_14 = Subcarpathian Voivodeship{{!}}Subcarpathian
			|pop_14 = 197,706
			|city_15 = Radom
	The ], part of the ] branch of the ], functions as the ] of Poland. Until recent decades Russian was commonly learned as a second language, but has been replaced by English as the most common second language studied and spoken.<ref name="Poles return to Russian language"/> In 2015, more than 50% of Poles declared to speak English - Russian came second and German came third, other commonly spoken languages include French, Italian and Spanish.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wiadomosci.onet.pl/swiat/tns-polska-ponad-polowa-polakow-zna-jezyk-angielski/xm49ll |title=TNS Polska: ponad połowa Polaków zna język angielski |trans-title=TNS Poland: more than half of Poles know English |language=pl |publisher=onet.pl |date=17 June 2015 |accessdate=10 February 2016}}</ref>
			|div_15 = Masovian Voivodeship{{!}}Masovian
			|pop_15 = 194,916
			|city_16 = Toruń
	In recent years, Poland's population has decreased due to an increase in emigration and a decline in the birth rate. Since Poland's accession to the European Union, a significant number of Poles ], primarily to the ], ] and ] in search of better work opportunities abroad.<ref name=onet>{{cite web|url=http://wiadomosci.onet.pl/swiat/sueddeutsche-zeitung-polska-przezywa-najwieksza-fale-emigracji-od-100-lat/yrtt0|title="Sueddeutsche Zeitung": Polska przeżywa największą falę emigracji od 100 lat|date=26 September 2014|work=Onet Wiadomości}}</ref> With better economic conditions and Polish salaries at 70% of the EU average in 2016, this trend started to decrease in the 2010s and workforce became needed in the country. As a result, the Polish Minister of Development ] suggested that Poles abroad should return to Poland.<ref>{{cite web|title='Come back to Poland' says deputy prime minister|url=http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35837447|publisher=]|accessdate=28 September 2016}}</ref>
			|div_16 = Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship{{!}}Kuyavian-Pomeranian
			|pop_16 = 194,273
			|city_17 = Sosnowiec
	Polish minorities are still present in the neighboring countries of Ukraine, Belarus, and Lithuania, as well as in other countries (see ] for population numbers). Altogether, the number of ethnic Poles living abroad is estimated to be around 20&nbsp;million.<ref name="Polish Diaspora (Polonia) Worldwide"/> The largest number of ] can be found in the ] and ].<ref name="Centers of Polish Immigration in the World – USA and Germany"/> The ] (TFR) in Poland was estimated in 2013 at 1.33 children born to a woman.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2127rank.html|title=The World Factbook|publisher=}}</ref>
			|div_17 = Silesian Voivodeship{{!}}Silesian
			|pop_17 = 185,930
			|city_18 = Kielce
	===Urbanization===
			|div_18 = Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship{{!}}Świętokrzyskie
	{{Largest cities of Poland}}{{Clear}}
			|pop_18 = 181,211
			|city_19 = Gliwice
	===Languages===
			|div_19 = Silesian Voivodeship{{!}}Silesian
	{{main article|Polish language|Languages of Poland}}
			|pop_19 = 169,259
	] (Polish-Kashubian) road sign with the village name]]
			|city_20 = Olsztyn
	'''Polish''' (''język polski'', ''polszczyzna'') is a ] spoken primarily in Poland and the ] of ]. It belongs to the ] subgroup of ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.britannica.com/topic/Lekhitic-languages|title=Lekhitic languages|work=Encyclopedia Britannica|date=2010|accessdate=10 February 2016}}</ref> Polish is the ] of Poland, but it is also used throughout the world by ] in other countries. It is one of the official ]. Its written standard is the ], which has 9 additions to the letters of the basic ] (''ą'', ''ć'', ''ę'', ''ł'', ''ń'', ''ó'', ''ś'', ''ź'', ''ż''). The deaf communities use ] belonging to the ].
			|div_20 = Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship{{!}} Warmian-Masurian
			|pop_20 = 166,697
	According to the ''Act of 6 January 2005 on national and ethnic minorities and on the regional languages'',<ref> Ministry of Interior of Poland</ref> 16 other languages have officially recognized status of minority languages: 1 regional language, 10 languages of 9 national minorities (minority groups that have their own independent state elsewhere) and 5 languages of 4 ethnic minorities spoken by the members of minorities not having a separate state elsewhere). Jewish and Romani minorities each have 2 minority languages recognized.
	Languages having the status of national minority's language are ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ] and ]. Languages having the status of ethnic minority's language are ], ], ] (called ''Lemko'' in Poland) and ]. Also, official recognition is granted to two ]: ] and ].<ref>According to ] the following Romani languages are spoken in Poland: ], ], ], ]. See: </ref>
	Official recognition of a language provides certain rights (under conditions prescribed by the law): of education in that language, of having the language established as the secondary administrative language or help language in bilingual ] and of financial support from the state for the promotion of that language.
	===Religion===
	{{Main article|Religion in Poland}}
	{{Pie chart
	|thumb = right
	|caption = Religion in Poland according to 2011 survey of 91,2% of citizens
	|label1 = ]
	|value1 = 87.5
	|color1 = SkyBlue
	|label2 = Opting out of answer
	|value2 = 7.1
	|color2 = DarkOrchid
	|label3 = Non believer
	|value3 = 2.4
	|color3 = MediumSeaGreen
	|label4 = Not stated
	|value4 = 1.6
	|color4 = MidnightBlue
	|label5 = ]
	|value5 = 0.7
	|color5 = YellowGreen
	|label6 = Other religions
	|value6 = 1
	|color6 = DarkCyan
	}}		}}
	] is a major pilgrimage site for Poland's many Catholics]]
			=== Languages ===
	From its beginnings, Poland has contributed substantially to the development of religious freedom. Since the country adopted Christianity in 966, it was also welcoming to other religions through a series of laws: ] (1264), ] (1573). The Polish king ], however, was pressed by the Catholic Church to issue the ] (1424), outlawing early Protestant ]. Polish theological thought includes movements such as Calvinist ] and a number of other Protestant groups, as well as atheists, such as ex-Jesuit philosopher ], one of the first atheist thinkers in Europe. Also, in the 16th century, ]s from the Netherlands and Germany settled in Poland—after being persecuted in Western Europe—and became known as the ].
			{{Main|Polish language|Languages of Poland|Bilingual communes in Poland}}
			] Polish-] road sign with the village name]]
			] is the ] and predominant spoken language in Poland, and is one of the official ].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mori |first=Laura |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=upF5DwAAQBAJ&dq=%22polish%2Bofficial%2Blanguage%2Bpoland%2Band%2BEuropean%2BUnion%22&pg=PA295 |title=Observing eurolects corpus analysis of linguistic variation in EU law |date=2018 |publisher=John Benjamins Publishing Company |isbn=978-90-272-0170-6 |location=Philadelphia |page=295 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002180503/https://books.google.com/books?id=upF5DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA295&dq=%22polish+official+language+poland+and+European+Union%22 |url-status=live }}</ref> It is also a ] in parts of neighbouring ], where it is taught in Polish-minority schools.<ref>{{cite act |url=http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/Commun/QueVoulezVous.asp?NT=157&CM=2&DF=18/04/02&CL=ENG |title=Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities |index=157 |type=Treaty |legislature=Council of Europe |date=1 February 1995 |access-date=15 September 2021 }} {{Cite web |url=http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/Commun/QueVoulezVous.asp?NT=157&CM=2&DF=18%2F04%2F02&CL=ENG |title=Full list - Treaty Office - www.coe.int |access-date=28 March 2024 |archive-date=16 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131016045738/http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/Commun/QueVoulezVous.asp?NT=157&CM=2&DF=18%2F04%2F02&CL=ENG |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Lazdiņa |first1=Sanita |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LQ92DwAAQBAJ&q=polish%2Btaught%2Bin%2Bschools%2Bin%2Blithuania&pg=PA164 |title=Multilingualism in the Baltic States: Societal Discourses and Contact Phenomena |last2=Marten |first2=Heiko F. |date=2018 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-1-137-56914-1 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=24 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230724235928/https://books.google.com/books?id=LQ92DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA164&q=polish%2Btaught%2Bin%2Bschools%2Bin%2Blithuania |url-status=live }}</ref> Contemporary Poland is a linguistically ] nation, with 97% of respondents declaring Polish as their mother tongue.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Natalia Kucirkova |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sUAlDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22polish%2Bmother%2Btongue%2B97%2Bpercent%22&pg=PA139 |title=The Routledge international handbook of early literacy education |last2=Catherine E Snow |last3=Vibeke Grøver |last4=Catherine McBride |date=2017 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-138-78788-9 |location=New York |page=139 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002180455/https://books.google.com/books?id=sUAlDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA139&dq=%22polish+mother+tongue+97+percent%22 |url-status=live }}</ref> There are currently 15 minority languages in Poland,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Act of 6 January 2005 on national and ethnic minorities and on the regional languages |url=http://ksng.gugik.gov.pl/english/files/act_on_national_minorities.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210306175740/http://ksng.gugik.gov.pl/english/files/act_on_national_minorities.pdf |archive-date=6 March 2021 |access-date=6 April 2020 |website=GUGiK.gov.pl |publisher=Główny Urząd Geodezji i Kartografii (Head Office of Geodesy and Cartography) |url-status=dead }}</ref> including one recognised regional language, ], which is spoken by approximately 100,000 people on a daily basis in the northern regions of ] and ].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Michna |first1=Ewa |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kIvgDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22kashubian%2Bregional%2Blanguage%2Bkashubia%2Bpomerania%22&pg=PA16 |title=Identity Strategies of Stateless Ethnic Minority Groups in Contemporary Poland |last2=Warmińska |first2=Katarzyna |date=2020 |publisher=Springer International Publishing |isbn=978-3-030-41575-4 |location=Cham |page=16 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002180500/https://books.google.com/books?id=kIvgDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA16&dq=%22kashubian+regional+language+kashubia+pomerania%22 |url-status=live }}</ref> Poland also recognises ], where bilingual signs and placenames are commonplace.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Obwieszczenie Marszałka Sejmu Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej z dnia 5 kwietnia 2017 r. w sprawie ogłoszenia jednolitego tekstu ustawy o mniejszościach narodowych i etnicznych oraz o języku regionalnym |url=http://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/DocDetails.xsp?id=WDU20170000823 |website=isap.sejm.gov.pl |access-date=11 December 2020 |archive-date=2 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220702055920/https://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/DocDetails.xsp?id=WDU20170000823 |url-status=live }}</ref> According to the ], around 32% of Polish citizens declared knowledge of the English language in 2015.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=2016 |title=O wyjazdach zagranicznych i znajomości języków obcych. |url=https://cbos.pl/SPISKOM.POL/2016/K_005_16.PDF |journal=CBOS Komunikat z Badań |language=pl |issue=5 |page=13 |issn=2353-5822 |access-date=15 March 2022 |archive-date=16 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220216121343/https://cbos.pl/SPISKOM.POL/2016/K_005_16.PDF |url-status=live }}</ref>
	Until ] Poland was a religiously diverse society, in which substantial ], ], ], ] and Roman Catholic groups coexisted.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~sarmatia/104/241hannan.html |title=Polish Catholicism: SR, January 2004 |work=Ruf.rice.edu |date=16 February 2003 |accessdate=31 March 2013}}</ref> In the Second Polish Republic, Roman Catholic was the dominant religion, declared by about 65% of the Polish citizens, followed by other Christian denominations, and about 3% of Judaism believers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://historia.na6.pl/stosunki_wyznaniowe_ii_i_iii_rp |title=Stosunki wyznaniowe II i III RP |publisher=Historia.na6.pl |date= |accessdate=31 March 2013}}</ref> As a result of the ] and the post–World War II ] and ] populations, Poland has become overwhelmingly Roman Catholic. In 2007, 88.4% of the population belonged to the Catholic Church.<ref name="Maly Rocznik Statystyczny Polski 2009"/> Though rates of religious observance are lower, at 52%<ref name="ekumenizm"/> or 51% of the Polish Catholics,<ref name="archive9"/> Poland remains one of the most devoutly religious countries in Europe.<ref name="cbos"/>
			=== Religion ===
	From 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005 Karol Józef Wojtyła (later Pope ]), a Polish native, reigned as ] of the Roman Catholic Church. He has been the only ] and ] Pope to date, and was the first non-Italian Pope since ] ] in 1522.<ref name="About"/> Additionally he is credited with having played a significant role in hastening the downfall of communism in Poland and throughout ]; he is famously quoted as having, at the height of communism in 1979, told Poles "not be afraid", later praying: "Let your Spirit descend and change the image of the land... this land".<ref name="Domínguez"/><ref name="Communism"/>
			{{Main|Religion in Poland}}
			], born Karol Wojtyła, held the papacy between 1978 and 2005 and was the first ] to become a ] Pope.]]
			According to the 2021 census, 71.3% of all Polish citizens adhere to the ], with 6.9% identifying as having no religion and 20.6% refusing to answer.<ref name="Census 2021" />
	], an Orthodox Church in the ]]]
			Poland is one of the ], where Roman Catholicism remains a part of national identity and Polish-born ] is widely revered.<ref name="Rocca 2022">{{Cite news |last1=Rocca |first1=Francis X. |last2=Ojewska |first2=Natalia |date=19 February 2022 |title=In Traditionally Catholic Poland, the Young Are Leaving the Church |language=en-US |work=] |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/in-old-school-catholic-poland-youth-are-leaving-the-church-11645263383 |access-date=23 October 2023 |issn=0099-9660 |archive-date=14 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231014092223/https://www.wsj.com/articles/in-old-school-catholic-poland-youth-are-leaving-the-church-11645263383 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Graf Strachwitz |first=Rupert |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ykj2DwAAQBAJ&dq=%22poland%2Bone%2Bof%2Bmost%2Breligious%2BCatholic%2Bnational%2Bidentity%22&pg=PT184 |title=Religious communities and civil society in Europe |date=2020 |publisher=De Gruyter Oldenburg |isbn=978-3-11-067299-2 |volume=II |location=Berlin |page=177 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002180456/https://books.google.com/books?id=ykj2DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT184&dq=%22poland+one+of+most+religious+Catholic+national+identity%22 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2015, 61.6% of respondents outlined that religion is of high or very high importance.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015 |title=Infographic – Religiousness of Polish inhabitants |url=https://stat.gov.pl/en/infographics-and-widgets/infographics/infographic-religiousness-of-polish-inhabitiants,4,1.html |access-date=13 March 2022 |publisher=Statistics Poland (Główny Urząd Statystyczny) |archive-date=9 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170309160430/https://stat.gov.pl/en/infographics-and-widgets/infographics/infographic-religiousness-of-polish-inhabitiants,4,1.html |url-status=live }}</ref> However, church attendance has greatly decreased in recent years; only 28% of Catholics attended ] weekly in 2021, down from around half in 2000.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Coppen |first=Luke |date=18 January 2023 |title=How steep is Poland's drop in Mass attendance? |url=https://www.pillarcatholic.com/p/how-steep-is-polands-drop-in-mass-attendance |access-date=23 October 2023 |website=] |language=en |archive-date=18 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231018193907/https://www.pillarcatholic.com/p/how-steep-is-polands-drop-in-mass-attendance |url-status=live }}</ref> According to '']'', "Of more than 100 countries studied by the '']'' in 2018, Poland was ] the fastest, as measured by the disparity between the religiosity of young people and their elders."<ref name="Rocca 2022" />
	Religious minorities include ] (about 506,800),<ref name="CSO_2008"/> various Protestants (about 150,000),<ref name="CSO_2008"/> ] (126,827),<ref name="CSO_2008"/> ], ], ], ], and ] (including the ] of ]). Members of Protestant churches include about 77,500 ] in the largest ],<ref name="CSO_2008"/> 23,000 ] in the ], and smaller numbers in various ] churches. There are also a several thousand neopagans, some of whom are members of officially registered churches such as the ].
			Freedom of religion in Poland is guaranteed by the Constitution, and Poland's ] with the ] enables the teaching of religion in public schools.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Ramet |first1=Sabrina P. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hopjDQAAQBAJ&dq=%22religion%2Bin%2Bschool%2Bpoland%2Bconstitution%22&pg=PA147 |title=Religion, Politics, and Values in Poland: Continuity and Change Since 1989 |last2=Borowik |first2=Irena |date=26 October 2016 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |isbn=978-1-137-43751-8 |location=New York |page=147 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002180448/https://books.google.com/books?id=hopjDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA147&dq=%22religion+in+school+poland+constitution%22 |url-status=live }}</ref> Historically, the Polish state maintained a high degree of ] and provided asylum for refugees fleeing religious persecution in other parts of Europe.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Laursen |first1=John Christian |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AnYSxFMq48gC&dq=%22poland%2Bsafe%2Bhaven%2Breligious%2Bpersecution%2Brefugees%22&pg=PA103 |title=Beyond the Persecuting Society: Religious Toleration Before the Enlightenment |last2=Nederman |first2=Cary J. |date=2011 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |isbn=978-0-8122-1567-0 |location=Philadelphia |page=103 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002180450/https://books.google.com/books?id=AnYSxFMq48gC&pg=PA103&dq=%22poland+safe+haven+religious+persecution+refugees%22 |url-status=live }}</ref> Poland hosted Europe's largest ], and the country was a centre of ] culture and traditional learning until the ].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Marcus |first=Joseph |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oEfDKjjX5AEC&dq=%22Poland%2Bcentre%2Bof%2Bjewish%2Bculture%22&pg=PR7 |title=Social and Political History of the Jews in Poland 1919–1939 |date=2011 |publisher=De Gruyter Mouton |isbn=978-3-11-083868-8 |location=Boston |page=7 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002180503/https://books.google.com/books?id=oEfDKjjX5AEC&pg=PR7&dq=%22Poland+centre+of+jewish+culture%22 |url-status=live }}</ref>
	] is one of the largest in Poland]]
			Contemporary religious minorities include ], ], including ] of the ], ] in the ], ] in the ], and other smaller ] denominations, including ], ], ], ], ] (]), and ], some of whom are members of the ].<ref name="Central Statistical Office 2008" />
	Freedom of religion is now guaranteed by the 1989 statute of the Polish Constitution,<ref name="Wyznania religijne"/> enabling the emergence of additional denominations.<ref name="www10"/> The ] between the ] and Poland guarantees the teaching of religion in state<ref>{{cite web | url=http://isap.sejm.gov.pl/Download?id=WDU19980510318&type=2 | title=Konkordat | publisher=Sejm | date=28 July 1993 | accessdate=28 June 2014}}</ref> schools. According to a 2007 survey, 72% of respondents were not opposed to ] in public schools; alternative courses in ethics are available only in one percent of the entire public educational system.<ref name="gazeta11"/>
			=== Health ===
	Famous sites of Roman Catholic pilgrimage in Poland include the ] in the southern Polish city of ], ], ]. Many tourists visit also the ] in ] just outside ]. Orthodox pilgrims visit Mountain Grabarka near ].<ref></ref>
			{{Main|Health in Poland}}
			Medical service providers and ] in Poland are subordinate to the ]; it provides administrative oversight and scrutiny of general medical practice, and is obliged to maintain a high standard of ] and patient care. Poland has a ] based on an all-inclusive ]; state subsidised healthcare is available to all citizens covered by the general health insurance programme of the ] (NFZ). Private medical complexes exist nationwide; over 50% of the population uses both public and private sectors.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Niecierpliwi |url=https://www.termedia.pl/mz/Niecierpliwi,34562.html |website=www.termedia.pl |access-date=3 December 2020 |archive-date=31 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220531133259/https://www.termedia.pl/mz/Niecierpliwi,34562.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=16 September 2018 |title=Prywatnie leczy się już ponad połowa Polaków |url=https://www.money.pl/gospodarka/wiadomosci/artykul/prywatnie-leczy-sie-juz-ponad-polowa-polakow,218,0,2416090.html#:~:text=Z%20danych%20Polskiej%20Izby%20Ubezpiecze%C5%84%20wynika%2C%20%C5%BCe%20ponad%20po%C5%82owa%20Polak%C3%B3w,Tylko%2038%20proc. |access-date=3 December 2020 |archive-date=1 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220601045546/https://www.money.pl/gospodarka/wiadomosci/artykul/prywatnie-leczy-sie-juz-ponad-polowa-polakow,218,0,2416090.html#:~:text=Z%20danych%20Polskiej%20Izby%20Ubezpiecze%C5%84%20wynika%2C%20%C5%BCe%20ponad%20po%C5%82owa%20Polak%C3%B3w,Tylko%2038%20proc. |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="justlanded" />
			According to the ] from 2020, the average life expectancy at birth is 79 years (around 75 years for an infant male and 83 years for an infant female);<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Nations |first=United |date=2020 |title=Poland – Human Development Indicators |url=http://hdr.undp.org/en/countries/profiles/POL |publisher=United Nations Development Programme |access-date=16 December 2020 |website=Human Development Reports |archive-date=28 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190128095417/http://www.hdr.undp.org/en/countries/profiles/POL |url-status=live }}</ref> the country has a low ] (4 per 1,000 births).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mortality rate, infant (per 1,000 live births) &#124; Data |url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.IMRT.IN |website=data.worldbank.org |access-date=3 December 2020 |archive-date=25 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100425025221/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.IMRT.IN |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2019, the principal cause of death was ]; diseases of the ] accounted for 45% of all deaths.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Poland: Country Health Profile 2019 &#124; READ online |url=https://read.oecd-ilibrary.org/social-issues-migration-health/poland-country-health-profile-2019_297e4b92-en |website=OECD iLibrary |access-date=3 December 2020 |archive-date=23 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211223070948/https://read.oecd-ilibrary.org/social-issues-migration-health/poland-country-health-profile-2019_297e4b92-en |url-status=live }}</ref> In the same year, Poland was also the 15th-largest importer of ] and pharmaceutical products.<ref>{{Cite web |date=4 April 2020 |title=Imports of Drugs and Medicines by Country |url=http://www.worldstopexports.com/international-markets-for-imported-drugs-by-country/ |website=World's Top Exports |access-date=3 December 2020 |archive-date=11 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211211225831/https://www.worldstopexports.com/international-markets-for-imported-drugs-by-country/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
	===Health===
	{{Main article|Health in Poland}}
	] in ]]]
			=== Education ===
	Poland's healthcare system is based on an all-inclusive insurance system. State subsidised healthcare is available to all Polish citizens who are covered by this general health insurance program. However, it is not compulsory to be treated in a state-run hospital as a number of private medical complexes do exist nationwide.<ref name="justlanded"/>
			{{Main|Education in Poland|Universities in Poland}}
			] in ], one of the world's oldest institutions of higher learning]]
			The ] founded in 1364 by ] in ] was the first institution of higher learning established in Poland, and is one of the ] still in continuous operation.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History – Jagiellonian University – Jagiellonian University |url=https://en.uj.edu.pl/en_GB/about-university/history |website=en.uj.edu.pl |access-date=3 December 2020 |archive-date=13 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211213000720/https://en.uj.edu.pl/en_GB/about-university/history |url-status=live }}</ref> Poland's ] (''Komisja Edukacji Narodowej''), established in 1773, was the world's first state ministry of education.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Jan IJ. van der Meer |url={{GBurl|id=-98Z_F7SWroC|p=233}} |title=Literary Activities and Attitudes in the Stanislavian Age in Poland (1764–1795): A Social System? |publisher=Rodopi |year=2002 |isbn=978-90-420-0933-2 |page=233 |access-date=26 April 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Norman Davies |url=https://archive.org/details/godsplaygroundhi00norm_0 |title=God's Playground: 1795 to the present |publisher=Columbia University Press |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-231-12819-3 |page= |oclc=660185612 |author-link=Norman Davies |url-access=registration}}</ref> In 2018, the ], coordinated by the ], placed Poland's educational output as one of the highest in the OECD, ranking 5th by student attainment and 6th by student performance in 2022.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/topics/education/ |title=Better life index. Education |date=2024 |website=oecdbetterlifeindex.org |publisher=OECD |access-date=5 October 2024}}</ref> The study showed that students in Poland perform better academically than in most OECD countries.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022 |title=PISA publications |url=https://www.oecd.org/pisa/publications/PISA2018_CN_POL.pdf |access-date=30 June 2022 |publisher=OECD}}</ref>
	All medical service providers and hospitals in Poland are subordinate to the ], which provides oversight and scrutiny of general medical practice as well as being responsible for the day-to-day administration of the healthcare system. In addition to these roles, the ministry is also tasked with the maintenance of standards of hygiene and patient-care.
			The framework for primary, secondary and higher tertiary education are established by the ]. One year of kindergarten is ] for six-year-olds.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Zmiany w wychowaniu przedszkolnym - Informacje - Wychowanie przedszkolne w Polsce - wiek, obowiązek, miejsce, opłaty - dlaprzedszkolaka.info |url=https://www.dlaprzedszkolaka.info/s/4146/77362-Informacje/4080018-Zmiany-w-wychowaniu-przedszkolnym.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125190653/https://www.dlaprzedszkolaka.info/s/4146/77362-Informacje/4080018-Zmiany-w-wychowaniu-przedszkolnym.htm |archive-date=25 November 2020 |access-date=3 December 2020 |website=www.dlaprzedszkolaka.info |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Sejm 2016">{{Cite web |title=Ustawa z dnia 14 grudnia 2016 r. |url=http://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/download.xsp/WDU20170000059/T/D20170059L.pdf |access-date=30 June 2022 |website=isap.sejm.gov.pl |language=pl |archive-date=10 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211110085743/http://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/download.xsp/WDU20170000059/T/D20170059L.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Primary education traditionally begins at the age of seven, although children aged six can attend at the request of their parents or guardians.<ref name="Sejm 2016" /> Elementary school spans eight grades and secondary schooling is dependent on student preference – a four-year high school ('']''), a five-year technical school ('']'') or various ] (''szkoła branżowa'') can be pursued by individual pupils.<ref name="Sejm 2016" /> A liceum or technikum is concluded with a maturity exit exam ('']''), which must be passed in order to apply for a university or other institutions of higher learning.<ref>{{Cite web |title=MATURA 2020 &#124; wymagania na STUDIA &#124; jak wygląda &#124; terminy |url=https://www.otouczelnie.pl/artykul/4578/Matura-2020-i-wszystko-co-trzeba-o-niej-wiedziec |website=otouczelnie.pl}}</ref>
	Hospitals in Poland are organised according to the regional administrative structure, resultantly most towns have their own hospital ''(Szpital Miejski)''.{{Citation needed|date=January 2015}} Larger and more specialised medical complexes tend only to be found in larger cities, with some even more specialised units located only in the capital, ]. However, all ]s have their own general hospital (most have more than one), all of which are obliged to have a trauma centre; these types of hospital, which are able to deal with almost all medical problems are called 'regional hospitals' ''(Szpital Wojewódzki)''. The last category of hospital in Poland is that of specialised medical centres, an example of which would be the ], Poland's leading, and most highly specialised centre for the research and treatment of cancer.
			In Poland, there are over 500 university-level institutions,<ref>Central Statistical Office: Number of students at Poland's institutions of higher education, as of 30 November 2008. Retrieved 13 June 2012. Archived at on 28 October 2008. {{in lang|pl}}</ref> with numerous faculties.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Study in Poland |url=https://studies.info/en/country/poland |access-date=27 March 2019 |website=studies.info |archive-date=27 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327090036/https://studies.info/en/country/poland |url-status=dead }}</ref> The ] and ], the ], ] and the ] are among the most prominent.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ranking Uczelni Akademickich – Ranking Szkół Wyższych PERSPEKTYWY 2019 |url=http://ranking.perspektywy.pl/2019/ranking-uczelni-akademickich |website=ranking.perspektywy.pl}}</ref> There are three conventional ]s in Poland – '']'' or '']'' (first cycle), '']'' (second cycle) and '']'' (third cycle qualification).<ref name="OECD 2009" />
	In 2012, the Polish health-care industry experienced a transformation. Hospitals were given priority for refurbishment where necessary.<ref name="Polish hospitals"/> As a result of this process, many hospitals were updated with the latest medical equipment.
			=== Ethnicity ===
	In 2013, the average ] at birth was 76.45 years
			Ethnic structure of Poland by voivodeship according to the censuses of 2002, 2011 and 2021:<ref>{{Cite web |title=Główny Urząd Statystyczny / Spisy Powszechne / Narodowe Spisy Powszechne / Narodowy Spis Powszechny 2002 - wyniki / Wyniki Narodowego Spisu Powszechnego Ludności i Mieszkań 2002 w zakresie deklarowanej narodowości oraz języka używanego w domu |url=https://stat.gov.pl/spisy-powszechne/narodowe-spisy-powszechne/narodowy-spis-powszechny-2002/wyniki-narodowego-spisu-powszechnego-2002-narodowosci-oraz-jezyka/ |access-date=2024-08-28 |website=stat.gov.pl}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=NSP 2011 - Wybrane tablice dotyczące przynależności narodowo-etnicznej, języka i wyznania |url=https://dane.gov.pl/pl/dataset/431,nsp-2011-wybrane-tablice-dotyczace-przynaleznosci-narodowo-etnicznej-jezyka-i-wyznania |access-date=2024-08-28 |website=dane.gov.pl}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=GUS |title=Tablice z ostatecznymi danymi w zakresie przynależności narodowo-etnicznej, języka używanego w domu oraz przynależności do wyznania religijnego |url=https://stat.gov.pl/spisy-powszechne/nsp-2021/nsp-2021-wyniki-ostateczne/tablice-z-ostatecznymi-danymi-w-zakresie-przynaleznosci-narodowo-etnicznej-jezyka-uzywanego-w-domu-oraz-przynaleznosci-do-wyznania-religijnego,10,1.html |access-date=2024-08-28 |website=stat.gov.pl |language=pl}}</ref>
	(72.53 years infant male/80.62 years infant female).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2102.html|title=The World Factbook|publisher=}}</ref>
			{| class="wikitable sortable"
			|+
	===Education===
			!Census year
	{{main article|Education in Poland|Universities in Poland|List of schools in Poland}}
			! colspan="3" |2002 census
	] is an common feature of Polish university ceremonies]]
			! colspan="3" |2011 census
	]
			! colspan="3" |2021 census
	The ] (''Komisja Edukacji Narodowej'') established in 1773, was the world's first state ministry of education.<ref name="Meer2002-223">{{cite book|author=Jan IJ. van der Meer|title=Literary Activities and Attitudes in the Stanislavian Age in Poland (1764–1795): A Social System?|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-98Z_F7SWroC&pg=PA233|accessdate=26 April 2012|year=2002|publisher=Rodopi|isbn=978-90-420-0933-2|page=233}}</ref><ref name="Davies2005">{{cite book|author=Norman Davies|authorlink=Norman Davies|title=God's Playground: 1795 to the present|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EBpghdZeIwAC&pg=PA167|year=2005|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-0-231-12819-3|page=167}}</ref> The education of Polish society was a goal of the nation's rulers as early as the 12th century. The library catalogue of the ] of Kraków dating back to 1110 shows that in the early 12th-century Polish academia had access to European and Classical literature. The ] was founded in 1364 by ] in Kraków—the school is ].
	The modern-day ], coordinated by the ], ranks Poland's educational system in its ] as the 10th best in the world,<ref> by OECD.org</ref> scoring higher than the OECD average.<ref>OECD average: 13th in mathematics, 8th in science, 9th in reading (since Hong Kong and Shanghai are both in China, these two places count as one).</ref>
	Education in Poland starts at the age of five or six (with the particular age chosen by the parents) for the '0' class (Kindergarten) and six or seven years in the 1st class of primary school (] ''szkoła podstawowa''). It is compulsory that children participate in one year of formal education before entering the 1st class at no later than 7 years of age. ] of children in ] is officially prohibited since 1783 (before the partitions) and criminalised since 2010 (in schools as well as at home).
	At the end of the 6th class when students are 13, students take a compulsory exam that will determine their acceptance and transition into a specific lower secondary school (''gimnazjum, pronounced gheem-nah-sium'') (Middle School/Junior High). They will attend this school for three years during classes 7, 8, and 9. Students then take another compulsory exam to determine the upper secondary level school they will attend. There are several alternatives, the most common being the three years in a ''liceum'' or four years in a ]. Both end with a maturity examination (]—similar to French ]), and may be followed by several forms of higher education, leading to ] or inżynier (the Polish ] first cycle qualification), ] (second cycle qualification) and eventually ] (third cycle qualification).<ref name="The impact of the 1999 education reform in Poland"/>
	In Poland, there are 500 university-level institutions for the pursuit of higher education.<ref name="GUS-2">]: Number of students at Poland's institutions of higher education, as of 30 November 2008. Retrieved 13 June 2012. Archived at on 28 October 2008. {{pl icon}}</ref> There are 18 fully accredited traditional universities, 20 technical universities, 9 independent medical universities, 5 universities for the study of economics, 9 agricultural academies, 3 pedagogical universities, a theological academy, 3 maritime service universities and 4 national military academies. Also, there are a number of higher educational institutions dedicated to the teaching of the arts—amongst these are the 7 academies of music.
	<center>
	{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
	|-		|-
			!Voivodeship
	! align=center|<small>]<ref name="Gazeta">{{cite web|url=http://miasta.gazeta.pl/krakow/1,37650,5009717.html |title=Studia w liczbach: Warszawa bije Kraków |publisher=Gazeta.pl Kraków |work=Source: ] |date=10 March 2008 |accessdate=28 October 2014 |author=Aneta Zadroga |trans_title=University studies in numbers |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090219222401/http://miasta.gazeta.pl/krakow/1,37650,5009717.html |archivedate=19 February 2009 }}</ref></small>
			!Polish ethnicity
	! align=center|<small>] ]<ref name="Gazeta"/></small>
			!Non-Polish ethnicity
	! align=center|<small>] ]<ref name="Gazeta"/></small>
			!Not reported or no ethnicity
	! align=center|<small>]<ref name="Gazeta"/></small>
			!Polish ethnicity (including mixed)
			!Only non-Polish ethnicity
			!Not reported or no ethnicity
			!Polish ethnicity (including mixed)
			!Only non-Polish ethnicity
			!Not reported or no ethnicity
	|-		|-
			|]
	|]||]||]||]
			|98.02%
	|}
			|0.42%
	</center>
			|1.56%
			|97.87%
	==Culture==
			|0.38%
	{{main article|Culture of Poland}}
			|1.75%
	] was a veteran and hero of both ] and ] wars of independence between 1765 and 1794<ref>{{cite book |last=Storozynski |first=Alex |title=The Peasant Prince: Thaddeus Kosciuszko and the Age of Revolution |publisher=St. Martin's Press, 352 pages |location=New York |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-4299-6607-8 |url=https://books.google.com/?id=wVqnlTbsdXcC |format= Google Book}}</ref>]]
			|99.25%
	The culture of Poland is closely connected with its intricate 1,000-year ]<ref name="amazon"/> Its unique character developed as a result of its geography at the confluence of European cultures. With origins in the culture of the ], over time Polish culture has been profoundly influenced by its interweaving ties with the ], ] and ] worlds as well as in continual dialog with the many other ethnic groups and minorities living in Poland.<ref name="MFA"/> The people of Poland have traditionally been seen as hospitable to artists from abroad and eager to follow cultural and artistic trends popular in other countries. In the 19th and 20th centuries the Polish focus on cultural advancement often took precedence over political and economic activity. These factors have contributed to the versatile nature of Polish art, with all its complex nuances.<ref name="MFA"/>
			|0.72%
			|0.03%
	===Famous people===
	], the 16th-century Polish astronomer who formulated the ] model of the solar system that placed the Sun rather than the Earth at its center—work first published in 1543]]
	The ] begins in earnest with the polymath ] (Nicolaus Copernicus),<ref name="copernicus"/> who studied at the ] founded in 1364 by Casimir the Great from proceeds of his ].<ref>{{cite book |first=Norman |last=Davies |title=God's Playground; A History of Poland, Vol. I: The Origins to 1795 |publisher=Columbia University Press |year=1982 |isbn=978-0-231-05351-8 |page=98}}</ref> Poland is the birthplace of many distinguished personalities among whom are: ],<ref name="Le petit Robert 2 : (dictionnaire universel des noms propres, alphabétique et analogique )"/><ref name="The Concise Oxford dictionary of music"/> ],<ref name="Maria Sklodowska. La jeunesse"/> ], ], ], ] and ] (Karol Wojtyła). Great Polish painter ] devoted his monumental art to the most significant historical events on Polish lands, along with the playwright, painter and poet ]. ] was an example of a Polish avant-garde philosopher and author of aesthetic theories. ] was a notable author of works in English.<ref name="Profiles – Joseph Conrad"/> Many world-famous ] include ]s winners ], ], ], ], ], and ]. Actresses known outside of Poland, include ] and ].
	===Society===
	Poland has a long-standing tradition of tolerance towards minorities, as well as an absence of discrimination on the grounds of religion, nationality or race.<ref name="ND2005">{{cite book |title=God's Playground A History of Poland |work=Volume 1: The Origins to 1795 |author=] |publisher=OUP Oxford |year=2005 |ISBN=0199253390|pages=126–131, 185 |url=https://books.google.ca/books?id=b912JnKpYTkC&q=tolerance#v=snippet&q=tolerance&f=false}}</ref> Prior to World War II, ethnic minorities made up a significant proportion of the Polish population. Poland has maintained a high level of ], an established ] and promotes peaceful equality.<ref name="ND2005"/>
	] was the first ] and ] to become a ] Pope. He held the papacy between 1978 and 2005]]
	Poland was the first country in the world to prohibit ] in all its forms. Poland has, throughout most of its long history, experienced only very limited immigration from abroad; this trend can be largely attributed to Poland's rejection of slavery and to a lack of overseas colonies as well as occupation of its territories during much of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Despite this, the country has for a long time been regarded as having a very tolerant society, which affords equal rights to all people no matter what their ethnic background.<ref name="ND2005"/> This can be said to stem largely from the reign of King ] and his acceptance of Poland's ], in a time when most of Europe recessed into ] moods and actions. The ] exemplifies peaceful co-existence of a nation with a particular ].<ref name="ND2005"/>
	Today, as many as 96.7% of Polish citizens declare to be ], and 97.8% declare that they speak ] at home (Census 2002). The population of Poland became one of the most ethnically homogeneous in the world as a result of the radically altered borders after ] and the subsequent migrations. This homogeneity is a result of post World War II deportations ordered by the Soviet authorities, who wished to remove the sizeable Polish minorities from Lithuania, Belarus and Ukraine and ] (see ] and ] for details). Unlike in many other countries, the ethnic ] in Poland are guaranteed directly by the ] (art. 35), and today there are, among others, sizeable ], ] and ] minorities in the country.<ref name="minelres"/>
	In 2013, the ] rejected ] for civil partnerships, which the majority of Polish society is against,<ref name="CBOS Civil union">{{cite web | url=http://cbos.pl/SPISKOM.POL/2013/K_024_13.PDF | title=Stosunek do praw gejów i lesbijek oraz związków partnerskich | publisher=Centrum Badania Opinii Społecznej | date=February 2013 | accessdate=30 June 2014 | author=Feliksiak, Michał}}</ref> but for the first time it gave an asylum to a gay person from Uganda on the basis of the sexual orientation.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/15245131/2013.pdf |title=Annual Review of the Human Rights Situation of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex People in Europe 2013 |publisher=ILGA-Europe |date=2013 |accessdate=18 January 2015}}</ref> In a 2013 opinion poll conducted by ], 60% of Poles were against homosexual civil partnerships, 72% were against ], 88% were against adoption by same-sex couples, and 68% were against gays and lesbians publicly showing their way of life.<ref name="CBOS Civil union" /> Article 18 of the ] bans same-sex marriage.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.sejm.gov.pl/prawo/konst/angielski/kon1.htm | title=The Constitution of the Republic of Poland | publisher=Sejm | date=2 April 1997 | accessdate=30 July 2014 | quote=Marriage, being a union of a man and a woman, as well as the family, motherhood and parenthood, shall be placed under the protection and care of the Republic of Poland.}}</ref>
	The results of an ] (OSCE) survey from 2004 showed that Poles worked the second most hours per week of any nationality worldwide. Poland remains one of the most safe and peaceful countries in the world.<ref name="visionofhumanity"/>
	===Music===
	{{main article|Music of Poland}}
	] was a renowned classical composer and virtuoso pianist]]
	{{Listen
	| header = ''']'''
	| filename = Frederic Chopin - mazurka no. 4 in a minor, op. 17.ogg
	| title = Mazurka no. 4 in a minor, op. 17
	| description = ] ({{lang-pl|mazurek}}), stylized ] in ] (1832), commemorating the ]
	| help = no
	}}
	Artists from Poland, including famous composers like ] or ] and traditional, regionalized ]ians, create a lively and diverse music scene, which even recognizes its own ]s, such as ] and ]. {{As of|2006}}, Poland is one of the few countries in Europe where ] and ] dominate over pop music, while all kinds of ] genres are encouraged.<ref name="Khan/Metz">{{cite web |title=Sounds of Poland – day one: a history of Polish pop in 10 songs |work=Music |publisher=The Guardian |url=http://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/jun/06/sounds-poland-history-10-songs |author=Andrew Khan}} ''Also:'' {{cite web |title=Polish music now: from punk-folk to hip-hop |work=Music |publisher=The Guardian |url=http://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/jun/07/polish-music-piotr-metz |author=Piotr Metz |date= 7 June 2012}}</ref>
	The origins of Polish music can be traced as far back as the 13th century; manuscripts have been found in ], containing ] compositions related to the Parisian ]. Other early compositions, such as the melody of '']'' and '']'' (a coronation polonaise for Polish kings by an unknown composer), may also date back to this period, however, the first known notable composer, ], was born and lived in the 15th century. During the 16th century, two main musical groups – both based in ] and belonging to the King and Archbishop of Wawel – led to the rapid development of Polish music. Composers writing during this period include ], ], and ]. ], a native-born Italian who lived in Kraków from about the age of five, became a renowned lutenist at the court of Sigismund III, and not only imported some of the musical styles from southern Europe, but blended them with native folk music.<ref name="The Music Courts of the Polish Vasas"/>
	] was one of the greatest concert pianists of the 20th century]]
	At the end of the 18th century, Polish classical music evolved into national forms like the ]. In the 19th century the most popular composers were: ] and his pupils ] and Ignacy Dobrzyński. Important opera composers of the era were ] and ] whilst the list of famous soloists and composers included ], ]. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries the most prominent composers could said to have been ] and ], with ] gaining prominence prior to World War II. ] lived in Paris but had strong connections with Poland. ], ], and ] composed in Poland, ] emigrated.
	{{Listen
	| header = '''] invented by ]'''.<ref name="chopinmusic.net-ballades">{{cite web | url=http://www.chopinmusic.net/works/ballades/ | title=Ballades (Frédéric Chopin) | work=Chopin Music | date=2004–13 | accessdate=7 January 2013 | author=Nico Paul}}</ref>
	| filename = Frederic Chopin - ballade no. 3 in a flat major, op. 47.ogg
	| title = Ballade no. 3 in a-flat major, op. 47
	| description = Inspired by poems of ]
	| help = no
	| pos = left
	}}
	Traditional Polish folk music has had a major effect on the works of many well-known Polish composers, and no more so than on Fryderyk Chopin, a widely recognised national hero of the arts. All of Chopin's ] involve the piano and are technically demanding, emphasising nuance and expressive depth. As a great composer, Chopin invented the ] known as the ] and made major innovations to the ], ], ], ], ], ], ] and ], he was also the composer of a number of polonaises which borrowed heavily from traditional Polish folk music. It is largely thanks to him that the such pieces gained great popularity throughout Europe during the 19th century. Nowadays the most distinctive folk music can be heard in the towns and villages of the mountainous south, particularly in the region surrounding the winter resort town of ].
	Today Poland has a very active music scene, with the jazz and metal genres being particularly popular among the contemporary populace. Polish jazz musicians such as ], created a unique style, which was most famous in the 1960s and 1970s and continues to be popular to this day. Since the fall of Communism, Poland has become a major venue for large-scale music festivals, chief among which are the ], ] and ].
	===Visual arts===
	{{main article|List of Polish artists}}
	] (''Hołd pruski'') by ], 1882]]
	Polish art has always reflected European trends while maintaining its unique character. The ] school of Historicist painting developed by ] produced monumental portrayals of customs and significant events in Polish history. ] was an ardent supporter of ] in Polish art, its main representative being ]. The Młoda Polska (]) movement witnessed the birth of modern Polish art, and engaged in a great deal of formal experimentation led by ] (]), ], ], and a group of Polish ]. Artists of the twentieth-century Avant-Garde represented various schools and trends. The art of ] was influenced by ]; while ] and ] worked within the Constructivist idiom.
	Distinguished contemporary artists include ], Leon Tarasewicz, ], ], ], and ] and Zbigniew Wąsiel in the younger generation. The most celebrated Polish sculptors include ], ], ] and ]. Since the inter-war years, Polish art and documentary photography has enjoyed worldwide recognition. In the sixties the Polish Poster School was formed, with ] and ] at its head.<ref name="MFA"/> Top fine Art schools in Poland are ], ], ], ], ] and ].
	===Architecture===
	<!-- This section is linked from redirect "Architecture of Poland" -->
	{{further information|Category:Polish architecture}}
	] on the ] in ] is an example of ] architecture]]
	Polish cities and towns reflect a whole spectrum of European architectural styles. ] is represented by ], and ], is characteristic for the ] style found in Poland. Richly decorated ] and ] ]s are the common elements of the Polish Renaissance architecture,<ref name="szydlowiec"/><ref name="RENAISSANCE CULTURAL BACKGROUND"/> as evident in the ] in Poznań. For some time the late renaissance style known as ], most notably in the ] in ], coexisted with the early baroque style, typified in the Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Kraków.
	], the ] City Hall in ]]]
	History has not been kind to Poland's architectural monuments. Nonetheless, a number of ancient structures has survived: castles, churches, and stately homes, often unique in the regional or European context. Some of them have been painstakingly restored, like ], or completely reconstructed after being destroyed in the ], including the ] and ] of Warsaw and the Old Town of ].
	The architecture of Gdańsk is mostly of the Hanseatic variety, a Gothic style common among the former trading cities along the Baltic sea and in the northern part of Central Europe. The architectural style of ] is mainly representative of German architecture, since it was for centuries located within the German states. The centre of ] on the ] is a good example of a well-preserved medieval town. Poland's ancient capital, ], ranks among the best-preserved ] and Renaissance urban complexes in Europe. Meanwhile, the legacy of the ] Marchlands of Poland's eastern regions, where Wilno and Lwów (now ''Vilnius'' and ''Lviv'') were recognised as two major centres for the arts, played a special role in the development of Polish architecture, with Catholic church architecture deserving special note.<ref name="MFA"/>
	The second half of the 17th century is marked by ] architecture. Side towers, such as those of ] in Białystok, are typical for the Polish baroque. The classical ] is represented by the University in Wrocław. The profuse decorations of the ] in Warsaw are characteristic of the ] style. The centre of Polish classicism was Warsaw under the rule of the last Polish king ].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Stanley|first=John|year=2004|title=Reviewed Work: Literary Activities and Attitudes in the Stanislavian Age in Poland (1764–1795): A Social System? by Jan I.J. van der Meer|journal=Canadian Slavonic Papers|publisher=Taylor & Francis, Ltd.|volume=46|issue=1/2|pages=226–229|jstor=40870954|subscription=true}}</ref>
	The ] is the most notable example of Polish ]. ] represents the ] style in architecture, while the Izrael Poznański Palace in Łódź is an example of ].
	===Literature===
	{{Main article|Polish literature|History of philosophy in Poland}}
	] was an untiring promoter of Poland's culture and heritage during his many years in exile]]
	] dates back to the 12th century,<ref name="LIT01"/> and includes many renowned writers. Two Polish ]s have won the ]: ], and ]; along with two poets: ], and ].<ref name="Facts on the Nobel Prize in Literature"/><ref name="Szymborska's 'View': Small Truths Sharply Etched"/> A prose poet of the highest order, ] (1857–1924), son of the Polish dramatist ], won worldwide fame with his English-language novels and stories that are informed with elements of the ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.josephconradsociety.org/|title=The Joseph Conrad Society (UK) Official Website|work=josephconradsociety.org|accessdate=10 February 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://josephconrad.org/|title=The Joseph Conrad Society of America|work=josephconrad.org|accessdate=10 February 2016}}</ref> Among the best known ] are the "]" — the three ] active in the age of partitions: ], ], and ].<ref name="Blavascunas2008">{{cite book|author=Eunice L. Blavascunas|title=The Peasant and Communist Past in the Making of an Ecological Region: Podlasie, Poland|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZsEzM8Gbl68C&pg=PA98|year=2008|publisher=ProQuest|isbn=978-0-549-65633-3|page=98}}</ref>
	During the Middle Ages, most Polish writers and scholars (e.g., ]) wrote only in Latin, the common language of European letters. This tradition was broken by ], who became one of the first ] authors to write most of his works in Polish, along with ]. Also notable are the 19th and 20th-century Polish authors such as ], ], ], and ], among others.
	===Media===
	{{Main article|Television in Poland|Media of Poland|Theatre of Poland|Cinema of Poland}}
	{{Further information|Category:Video gaming in Poland}}
	] in ]]]
	Poland has instituted ] since the fall of communism, a system under which the media was heavily politically controlled and censored. However, public TV and radio are still regulated by the government, this is exercised through an agency called '']'' (''The National Radio and Television Committee''), which is similar to television regulatory commissions in other developed nations.
	Poland has a number of major media outlets, chief among which are the national television channels. ] is Poland's ] corporation; about a third of its income comes from a ], while the rest is made through revenue from ] and ]. State television operates two mainstream channels, TVP 1 and TVP 2, as well as regional programs for each of the country's 16 ]s. In addition to these general channels, TVP runs a number of genre-specific programmes such as ], ], ], ] and ], the latter is a state-run channel dedicated to the transmission of Polish language television for the ] abroad.
	], an ] video game tournament in ]]]
	Poland has several 24-hour news channels: ], ] and ]. The two largest private television networks are ] and ].
	In Poland, daily newspapers like '']'' ("Electoral Gazette"), '']'' ("The Republic") and '']'' ("Polish Daily Newspaper") provide traditional opinion and news, while tabloids such as '']'' provide more sensationalist journalism. ''Rzeczpospolita'', founded in 1920 is one of the oldest newspapers still in operation. In 2006, it won a prestigious award for being, along with the '']'' (a British daily), the best designed newspaper in the world.<ref name="Guardian wins design award"/> The most popular weeklies are ], ], ], ], ], ], and ].
	Poland also has emerged as a major hub for video game developers in Europe, with the country now being home to hundreds of studios. One of the most popular video game series developed in Poland includes ].<ref>CNBC (13 Oct 2015) ''Poland’s video game sector powers up'' http://www.cnbc.com/2015/10/13/polands-video-game-sector-powers-up.html</ref> ] hosts ], one of the biggest ] events in the world.<ref>Fortune Magazine (March 3, 2016) ''Poland Is Home to the Biggest eSports Event in the World'' http://fortune.com/2016/03/03/poland-is-home-to-the-biggest-esports-event-in-the-world/</ref>
	===Cuisine===
	{{Main article|Polish cuisine}}
	], ]s, '']'', ] and specialty breads]]
	Polish cuisine has evolved over the centuries to become very eclectic due to Poland's history. Polish cuisine shares many similarities with other ], especially ] and ]<ref name="Zibart"/> as well as ],<ref name="ashkenazic"/> ], ], ],<ref name="Nigel_Roberts"/> ] and ] culinary traditions.<ref name="Jerzy_Pasikowski"/> It is rich in meat, especially pork, chicken and beef (depending on the region) and winter vegetables (cabbage in the dish '']''), and spices.<ref name="polishmeals"/> It is also characteristic in its use of various kinds of ]s the most notable of which are ] as well as ]s such as '']'' (from the Polish word ]).<ref name="websters"/> Polish cuisine is hearty and uses a lot of cream and eggs. Festive meals such as the meatless ] dinner ('']'') or ] breakfast could take days to prepare in their entirety.<ref> Centrum Polonijne w Jorba Linda, California.</ref>
	{{multiple image
	| align = right
	| direction = vertical
	| width = 200
	| header =
	| image1 = Gołka.jpg
	| alt1 = Oscypek
	| caption1 = ] is a ] made of salted sheep milk exclusively in the Polish ]
	| image2 = Bagel-Plain-Alt.jpg
	| alt2 = Bagel
	| caption2 = ], made from ]ed ] dough, originated in Poland
	}}
	The main course usually includes a serving of meat, such as ], chicken, or '']'' (breaded pork cutlet), vegetables, side dishes and salads, including ''surówka'' {{IPA-pl|suˈrufka|}} – shredded root vegetables with lemon and sugar (carrot, celeriac, ] beetroot) or sauerkraut ({{lang-pl|kapusta kiszona}}, {{IPA-pl|kaˈpusta kʲiˈʂɔna|pron}}). The side dishes are usually ], ] or ''kasza'' (cereals). Meals conclude with a dessert such as '']'', '']'' (a ] pastry), or ''drożdżówka'' {{IPA-pl|drɔʐˈd͡ʐufka|}} ], and tea.
	The Polish national dishes are '']'' {{IPA-pl|ˈbiɡɔs|}}; '']'' {{IPA-pl|pʲɛˈrɔɡʲi|}}; '']''; '']'' {{IPA-pl|ˈkɔtlɛt sxaˈbɔvɨ|}} ]; '']'' {{IPA-pl|ɡɔˈwɔ̃pkʲi|}} ]s; '']'' {{IPA-pl|ˈzrazɨ|}} ]; '']'' roast {{IPA-pl|ˈpʲɛt͡ʂɛɲ|}}; sour ] (''zupa ogórkowa'', {{IPA-pl|ˈzupa ɔɡurˈkɔva|pron}}); mushroom soup, (''zupa grzybowa'', {{IPA-pl|ˈzupa ɡʐɨˈbɔva|}} quite different from the North American ]); ''zupa pomidorowa'' ] {{IPA-pl|ˈzupa pɔmidɔˈrɔva|pron}};<ref name="Marc_Heine"/> '']'' {{IPA-pl|ˈrɔɕuw|}} variety of meat broth; '']'' {{IPA-pl|ˈʐurɛk|}} sour rye soup; '']'' {{IPA-pl|ˈflakʲi|}} ]; '']'' {{IPA-pl|barʂt͡ʂ|}} and '']'' {{IPA-pl|ˈxwɔdɲik|}} among others.<ref name="Robert_Strybel"/>
	Traditional alcoholic beverages include honey ], widespread since the 13th century, ], ] and ] (old ] names include ''okowita'' and ''gorzałka''). The world's first written mention of vodka originates from Poland.<ref name="KRPS">{{cite web |url=http://krps.pl/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=17&Itemid=27 |title=History of vodka production, at the official page of Polish Spirit Industry Association (KRPS), 2007 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930131416/http://krps.pl/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=17&Itemid=27 |archivedate=30 September 2007}}</ref> The most popular alcoholic drinks at present are beer and wine which took over from vodka more popular in the years 1980–98.<ref name="beverages"/> ] remains common in Polish society since the 19th century, whilst coffee is drunk widely since the 18th century. Other frequently consumed beverages include various ]s and ]s, ]s popularized by the ] chains since the late 20th century, as well as ], ] and ].
	===Sports===
	{{main article|Sport in Poland}}
	] in Warsaw, home of ], and one of the host stadiums of ]]]
	] and ] is one of country's most popular sports, with a rich history of international competitions.<ref name="FIFA World Cup Statistics-Poland"/><ref name="FIFA Statistics – Poland"/> ], basketball, volleyball, ], ], ], ], ], ], ], tennis, fencing, swimming and ] are other popular sports.
	The golden era of ] occurred throughout the 1970s and went on until the early 1980s when the ] achieved their best results in any FIFA World Cup competitions finishing 3rd place in ] and ] tournaments. The team won a gold medal ] at the ] and two silver medals, ] and ]. Poland, along with ], hosted the ].<ref name="warsaw-life"/>
	] ''(Żużel)'' race in the ]]]
	The ] is ranked ] in the world. Volleyball team won gold medalist in ] and two gold medals in ] ], ] and hosted.<ref></ref>
	] is a highly successful strongman competitor and has won more ] titles than any other competitor in the world, winning the event in 2008 for the fifth time. The first Polish ] driver, ], has brought awareness of Formula One racing to Poland. He won the ] and now does ] following a crash in 2011 that left him unable to drive F1 cars.
	Poland has made a distinctive mark ] thanks to ], a highly successful Polish rider. The top ] division has one of ] for any sport in Poland. The ], one of the major teams in international speedway,<ref name="Speedway World Cup: Poland win 2010 Speedway World Cup"/> has won the ] championships three times consecutively, in 2009, 2010, and 2011. No team has ever managed such feat.<ref name="polishforums"> Polaron. The Ultimate Guide to Poland, 17 July 2011.</ref><ref>{{YouTube | id=Z-Ohd8MNj9E | title=Final: Heat 25, DPŚ Gorzów 2011, 16 July 2011 (2:15 min). Polacy mistrzami!}}</ref>
	Poles made significant achievements in ], in particular, in the ] and the winter ascending of the ]s. The most famous Polish climbers are ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and women ], and ]. Polish mountains are one of the tourist attractions of the country. ], ], ] and mountain biking and attract numerous tourists every year from all over the world.<ref name="turism"/> Water sports are the most popular summer recreation activities, with ample locations for fishing, canoeing, kayaking, sailing and windsurfing especially in the northern regions of the country.<ref> at Poland For Visitors Online. Retrieved 2 November 2014.</ref>
	{{Clear left}}
	==International rankings==
	The following are links to international rankings of Poland from selected research institutes and foundations including economic output and various composite indices.
	: {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
	|-		|-
			|]
	! style="width:65%;"| Index
			|99.29%
	! style="width:15%;"| Rank
			|0.13%
	! style="width:20%;"| Countries reviewed
			|0.58%
			|98.96%
			|0.13%
			|0.91%
			|99.60%
			|0.38%
			|0.02%
	|-		|-
			|]
	|align="left"| ] 2014
			|98.50%
	| 36th|| 187
			|0.09%
			|1.41%
			|98.82%
			|0.08%
			|1.10%
			|99.70%
			|0.27%
			|0.03%
	|-		|-
			|]
	|align="left"| ] 2014 <ref>Corruption Perceptions Index, Transparency International, 2014.</ref>
			|98.74%
	| 35th|| 175
			|0.13%
			|1.13%
			|98.73%
			|0.12%
			|1.15%
			|99.63%
			|0.34%
			|0.03%
	|-		|-
			|]
	|align="left"| ] ] 2012 <ref>OECD, Data extracted from OECD. Stat on 24 March 2014.</ref>
			|98.72%
	| 5th|| 34
			|0.26%
			|1.02%
			|98.22%
			|0.24%
			|1.54%
			|99.50%
			|0.47%
			|0.03%
	|-		|-
			|]
	|align="left"| ] 2015
			|98.74%
	| 42nd|| 167
			|0.13%
			|1.12%
			|98.66%
			|0.14%
			|1.20%
			|99.64%
			|0.33%
			|0.03%
	|-		|-
			|]
	|align="left"| ] 2013
			|97.72%
	| 26th|| 176
			|0.33%
			|1.95%
			|98.26%
			|0.31%
			|1.43%
			|99.43%
			|0.54%
			|0.03%
	|-		|-
			|]
	|align="left"| ] 2014<ref name="SzefsBielawska"/>
			|98.06%
	| 19th|| 162
			|0.15%
			|1.78%
			|98.86%
			|0.16%
			|0.98%
			|99.61%
			|0.37%
			|0.02%
	|-		|-
			|]
	|align="left"| ] Yearly Privacy ranking of countries, 2007
			|96.55%
	| 19th|| 45
			|0.26%
			|3.19%
			|98.61%
			|0.37%
			|1.02%
			|99.29%
			|0.68%
			|0.03%
	|-		|-
			|]
	|align="left"| ] ] 2014
			|81.62%
	| 19th|| 180
			|12.52%
			|5.86%
			|88.14%
			|9.72%
			|2.14%
			|95.58%
			|4.33%
			|0.09%
	|-		|-
			|]
	|align="left"| ] Children's Fund
			|93.94%
	| 14th|| 21
			|4.57%
			|1.49%
			|95.18%
			|2.89%
			|1.93%
			|98.17%
			|1.79%
			|0.04%
	|-		|-
			|]
	|align="left"| ] 2013 <ref>GITR, Global Information Technology Report: 2012 ranks out of 142. (PDF, 363 KB).</ref>
			|97.42%
	| 49th|| 142
			|0.58%
			|2.00%
			|97.68%
			|0.95%
			|1.37%
			|98.97%
			|1.01%
			|0.02%
	|-		|-
			|]
	|align="left"| ] ] 2012
			|91.99%
	| 22nd|| 50
			|3.93%
			|4.08%
			|90.65%
			|7.78%
			|1.57%
			|95.49%
			|4.48%
			|0.03%
	|-		|-
			|]
	|align="left"| ] 2014
			|98.83%
	| 31st|| 142
			|0.26%
			|0.91%
			|98.16%
			|0.21%
			|1.63%
			|99.60%
			|0.36%
			|0.04%
	|-		|-
			|]
	|align="left"| ] 2014 <ref>EF EPI, Very High Proficiency (top ranking worldwide): 01.Denmark / 02.Netherlands / 03.Sweden / 04.Finland / 05.Norway / 06.Poland / 07.Austria.</ref>
			|97.13%
	| 6th|| 60
			|1.28%
			|1.60%
			|97.59%
			|0.90%
			|1.51%
			|99.21%
			|0.76%
			|0.03%
	|-		|-
			|]
	|align="left"| ] 2012 (Maths)
			|98.27%
	| 13th|| 65
			|0.46%
			|1.27%
			|98.18%
			|0.36%
			|1.46%
			|99.39%
			|0.58%
			|0.03%
	|-		|-
			!Poland
	|align="left"| ] 2013 (Science)
			!96.74%
	| 8th|| 65
			!1.23%
	|-
			!2.03%
	|align="left"| ] 2013 (Reading)
			!97.10%
	| 9th|| 65
			!1.55%
			!1.35%
			!98.84%
			!1.13%
			!0.03%
	|}		|}
	==See also==		== Culture ==
	{{Portal|Poland}}		{{Main|Culture of Poland}}
			] is Poland's enduring ].]]
	* ]
			The culture of Poland is closely connected with its intricate 1,000-year ], and forms an important constituent in the ].<ref>Adam Zamoyski, The Polish Way: A Thousand Year History of the Poles and Their Culture. Published 1993, Hippocrene Books, Poland, {{ISBN|978-0-7818-0200-0}}</ref> The Poles take great pride in their national identity which is often associated with the colours white and red, and exuded by the expression ''biało-czerwoni'' ("whitereds").<ref>{{Cite web |title=Biało-Czerwoni – definicja, synonimy, przykłady użycia |url=https://sjp.pwn.pl/slowniki/Bia%C5%82o-Czerwoni.html |website=sjp.pwn.pl}}</ref> National symbols, chiefly the crowned ], are often visible on clothing, insignia and emblems.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Jakubowska |first=Longina |year=1990 |title=Political Drama in Poland: The Use of National Symbols |journal=] |publisher=] |volume=6 |pages=10–13 |doi=10.2307/3032734 |jstor=3032734 |number=4}}</ref> The architectural monuments of great importance are protected by the ].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Zabytki nieruchome |url=https://www.nid.pl/pl/Dla_specjalistow/Badania_i_dokumentacja/zabytki-nieruchome/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200707164736/https://www.nid.pl/pl/Dla_specjalistow/Badania_i_dokumentacja/zabytki-nieruchome/ |archive-date=7 July 2020 |access-date=7 July 2020 |website=www.nid.pl}}</ref> Over 100 of the country's most significant tangible wonders were enlisted onto the ],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Album "100 pomników historii" |url=https://www.nid.pl/pl/Dla_wlascicieli_i_zarzadcow/Aktualnosci/news.php?ID=4114 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200708061315/https://www.nid.pl/pl/Dla_wlascicieli_i_zarzadcow/Aktualnosci/news.php?ID=4114 |archive-date=8 July 2020 |access-date=7 July 2020 |website=www.nid.pl}}</ref> with further 17 being recognised by ] as World Heritage Sites.<ref>{{Cite web |last=UNESCO World Heritage |title=Poland |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/statesparties/pl |access-date=29 July 2021 |website=UNESCO World Heritage Centre}}</ref>
			=== Holidays and traditions ===
	==Notes==
			{{see also|Christmas in Poland}}
	{{refbegin}}
			] on 1 November is one of the most important public holidays in Poland.]]
	: a. {{Note label|a|a|none}} In other ]:
	: *{{lang-csb|Repùblika Pòlskô}}
	: *{{lang-szl|Polsko Republik}}
			There are 13 government-approved annual public holidays – New Year on 1 January, ] on 6 January, ] and ], ] on 1 May, ] on 3 May, ], ], ] on 15 August, ] on 1 November, ] on 11 November and Christmastide on 25 and 26 December.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Obwieszczenie Marszałka Sejmu Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej z dnia 19 grudnia 2014 r. w sprawie ogłoszenia jednolitego tekstu ustawy o dniach wolnych od pracy |url=http://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/DocDetails.xsp?id=WDU20150000090 |website=isap.sejm.gov.pl}}</ref>
	: b. {{Note label|b|b|none}} Numerous sources state that Polish Army was the Allies' fourth biggest fighting contingent. ] and ] write that "by the war's end the Polish Army was the fourth largest contingent of the Allied coalition after the armed forces of the Soviet Union, the United States and the United Kingdom".<ref name="ZalogaHook1982"/> ] writes "All in all, the Polish units, although divided and controlled by different political orientation, constituted the fourth largest Allied force, after the America, British and Soviet Armies."<ref name="Lerski1996"/> ] has noted that "if Polish forces fighting in the east and west were added to the resistance fighters, Poland had the fourth largest Allied army in the war (after the USSR, the U.S. and Britain)".<ref name="Walters1988"/>
			Particular traditions and superstitious customs observed in Poland are not found elsewhere in Europe. Though Christmas Eve ('']'') is not a public holiday, it remains the most memorable day of the entire year. ] are decorated on 24 December, hay is placed under the tablecloth to resemble Jesus' ], ]s (''opłatek'') are shared between gathered guests and a ] is served that same evening when the ] appears.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Opłatek i pierwsza gwiazdka czyli wigilijne tradycje |url=http://wegorzewo.wm.pl/407437,Oplatek-i-pierwsza-gwiazdka-czyli-wigilijne-tradycje.html |website=wegorzewo.wm.pl}}</ref> An empty plate and seat are symbolically left at the table for an unexpected guest.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Why Do Poles Leave One Chair Empty on Christmas Eve? |url=https://culture.pl/en/article/why-do-poles-leave-one-chair-empty-on-christmas-eve |website=Culture.pl}}</ref> On occasion, ] journey around smaller towns with a folk ] creature until the ] period.<ref>{{Cite web |title=turoń – słownik języka polskiego i poradnia językowa – Dobry słownik |url=https://dobryslownik.pl/slowo/turo%C5%84/57454/ |website=DobrySłownik.pl}}</ref>
	: The claim of the fourth biggest Ally needs to be reconsidered, however. Throughout the war, Poland's position varied from the 2nd biggest Ally (after the ], when Polish army outnumbered the French) to perhaps the 5th at the end of it (after the US, Soviet Union, China and Britain). Please see the analysis in ].
			A widely-popular ] and sweet pastry feast occurs on ], usually 52 days prior to Easter.<ref name="Borodo 2020">{{Cite book |last=Borodo |first=Michał |url={{GBurl|id=eUrSDwAAQBAJ|q=t%C5%82usty+czwartek|p=112}} |title=English Translations of Korczak's Children's Fiction: A Linguistic Perspective |date=22 February 2020 |publisher=Springer Nature |isbn=978-3-030-38117-2 |via=Google Books}}</ref> ] for ] are painted and placed in decorated ] that are previously blessed by clergymen in churches on ]. Easter Monday is celebrated with pagan '']'' festivities, where the youth is engaged in water fights.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Śmigus-Dyngus: Poland's National Water Fight Day |url=https://culture.pl/en/article/smigus-dyngus-polands-national-water-fight-day |website=Culture.pl}}</ref><ref name="Borodo 2020" /> Cemeteries and graves of the deceased are annually visited by family members on All Saints' Day; tombstones are cleaned as a sign of respect and candles are lit to honour the dead on an unprecedented scale.<ref>{{Cite web |date=21 October 2018 |title=Summer in Warsaw &#124; Things You Can Do Only in Summer |url=https://www.xperiencepoland.com/all-saints-day-poland/}}</ref>
	: c. {{Note label|c|c|none}} Sources vary with regards to what was the largest resistance movement during World War II. The confusion often stems from the fact that as war progressed, some resistance movements grew larger – and other diminished. Polish territories were mostly freed from Nazi German control in the years 1944–45, eliminating the need for their respective (anti-Nazi) partisan forces in Poland (although the ] continued to fight against the Soviets). Several sources note that Polish ] was the largest resistance movement in Nazi-occupied Europe. ] wrote: "Armia Krajowa (Home Army), the AK, which could fairly claim to be the largest of European resistance";<ref name="google12"/> ] wrote "Home Army (Armia Krajowa or AK) in late 1943 numbered around 400000, making it the largest resistance organization in Europe";<ref name="google13"/> ] wrote "Armia Krajowa was considered the largest underground resistance unit in wartime Europe".<ref name="google14"/> Certainly, Polish resistance was the largest resistance till German ] and ] in 1941. After that point, the numbers of ] and ] begun growing rapidly. The numbers of ] quickly caught up and were very similar to that of the Polish resistance.<ref name="historiographical"/><ref name="Vukšić2003"/> The numbers of Tito's ] were roughly similar to those of the Polish and Soviet partisans in the first years of the war (1941–42), but grew rapidly in the latter years, outnumbering the Polish and Soviet partisans by 2:1 or more (estimates give Yugoslavian forces about 800,000 in 1945, to Polish and Soviet forces of 400,000 in 1944).<ref name="Vukšić2003">{{cite book|author=Velimir Vukšić|title=Tito's partisans 1941–45|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SLix5hc4WRgC&pg=PA11|accessdate=1 March 2011|date=23 July 2003|publisher=Osprey Publishing|isbn=978-1-84176-675-1|pages=11–}}</ref><ref name="ac"/>
	{{refend}}
	{{reflist|group=note}}
	==References==		=== Music ===
			{{Main|Music of Poland}}
	{{reflist|30em|refs=
			{{multiple image
			| align = right
			| image1 = Frederic Chopin photo.jpeg
			| width1 = 146
			| alt1 = Frédéric Chopin
			| caption1 = ] was a renowned classical composer and virtuoso pianist.
			| image2 = Optreden Arthur Rubinstein in Concertgebouw, Bestanddeelnr 913-5228.jpg
			| width2 = 138
			| alt2 = Artur Rubinstein
			| caption2 = ] was one of the greatest concert pianists of the 20th century.
			}}
			Artists from Poland, including famous musicians such as ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ] and traditional, regionalised ] create a lively and diverse music scene, which even recognises its own music genres, such as ] and ].<ref>{{Cite book |url={{GBurl|id=T2YLEAAAQBAJ}} |title=Individuals and Their Social Context |date=31 December 2018 |publisher=Institute of Political Studies Polish Academy of Sciences |isbn=978-83-65972-34-7 |location=Poland |page=160}}</ref>
	<ref name="google">Davies (2007). ''''. p.17.</ref>
			The origins of Polish music can be traced to the 13th century; manuscripts have been found in ] containing ] compositions related to the Parisian ]. Other early compositions, such as the melody of '']'' and '']'' (a coronation ] for Polish kings by an unknown composer), may also date back to this period, however, the first known notable composer, ], lived in the 15th century. ], a native-born Italian who lived in Kraków, became a renowned lutenist at the court of Sigismund III; he not only imported some of the musical styles from southern Europe but blended them with native folk music.<ref name="The Music Courts of the Polish Vasas" />
	<ref name="gierowski">Józef Andrzej Gierowski – ''Historia Polski 1505–1764'' (History of Poland 1505–1764), p. 105-173</ref>
			In the 17th and 18th centuries, Polish baroque composers wrote ] and secular compositions such as concertos and ]s for voices or instruments. At the end of the 18th century, Polish classical music evolved into national forms like the ]. ] is accredited with composing the first Polish national opera, titled '']'', which premiered in 1794.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wolff |first=Larry |url={{GBurl|id=tgjQYHn7BTkC}} |title=The Idea of Galicia; History and Fantasy in Habsburg Political Culture |date=9 January 2012 |publisher=Stanford University Press |isbn=978-0-8047-7429-1 |page=57}}</ref>
	<ref name="britannica1">"". Britannica Online Encyclopedia.</ref>
			{{Listen
	<ref name="gierowski2">Józef Andrzej Gierowski – ''Historia Polski 1505–1764'' (History of Poland 1505–1764), p. 174-301</ref>
			| header = ''']'''
			| filename = Frederic Chopin - mazurka no. 4 in a minor, op. 17.ogg
			| title = Mazurka no. 4 in a minor, op. 17
			| description = ] ({{langx|pl|mazurek}}), stylised ] in ] (1832), commemorating the ]
			| help = no
			| pos = left
			}}
			Poland today has an active music scene, with the jazz and metal genres being particularly popular among the contemporary populace. Polish jazz musicians such as ] created a unique style, which was most famous in the 1960s and 1970s and continues to be popular to this day. Poland has also become a major venue for large-scale music festivals, chief among which are the ],<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.polskieradio.pl/395/7791/Artykul/3014515,Pol%E2%80%99and%E2%80%99Rock-Polands-biggest-music-fest-kicks-off |title=Pol'and'Rock: Poland's biggest music fest kicks off |website=polskieradio.pl |date=4 August 2022 |access-date=14 March 2024}}</ref> ], ] and ].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Guillain |first=Charlotte |url={{GBurl|id=PlF8Xr90I1cC}} |title=Poland |date=2012 |publisher=Raintree |isbn=978-1-4062-2826-7 |page=29}}</ref>
	<ref name="gierowski3">Józef Andrzej Gierowski – ''Historia Polski 1764–1864'' (History of Poland 1764–1864), p. 74-101</ref>
			=== Art ===
	<ref name="bitter">Bitter glory: Poland and its fate, 1918 to 1939; p.179</ref>
			{{Main|Art in Poland|Young Poland}}
			{{multiple image
			| align = right
			| image1 = Matejko Self-portrait.jpg
			| width1 = 135
			| alt1 = Jan Matejko
			| caption1 = ], leading Polish ] whose works depict Poland's heritage and key historical events
			| image2 = Lady with an Ermine - Leonardo da Vinci (adjusted levels).jpg
			| width2 = 150
			| alt2 = Lady with an Ermine
			| caption2 = '']'' (1490) by ] is displayed in the ] in Kraków.
			}}
			Art in Poland has invariably reflected ] trends, with Polish painting pivoted on ], ], ] and ], but also on ] and ]. An important art movement was ], developed in the late 19th century for promoting ], ] and ]. Since the 20th century Polish documentary art and photography has enjoyed worldwide fame, especially the ].<ref name="MFA" /> One of the most distinguished paintings in Poland is '']'' (1490) by ].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lady with an Ermine – by Leonardo Da Vinci |url=https://www.leonardodavinci.net/lady-with-an-ermine.jsp |website=LeonardoDaVinci.net}}</ref>
	<ref name="hit-u">"" (PDF). Eizo Matsuki, ''Mediterranean Studies Group at Hitotsubashi University.''</ref>
			Internationally renowned Polish artists include ] (historicism), ] (symbolism), ] (art nouveau), ] (Roman ]), ] (]), and ] (dystopian ]).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cross |first=Mary |url={{GBurl|id=QYHwLta1SooC|p=47}} |title=Madonna: A Biography |date=31 August 2017 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-313-33811-3 |page=47 |access-date=31 August 2017 |via=Google Books}}</ref> Several Polish artists and sculptors were also acclaimed representatives of ], ], ] and contemporary art movements, including ], ], ], ], ] and ].
	<ref name="bbc">"". BBC News. 26 November 2010</ref>
			Notable art academies in Poland include the ], ], ], ] and the ]. Contemporary works are exhibited at ], ], and ] art galleries.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sarzyński |first=Piotr |date=12 February 2013 |title=Ranking polskich galerii ze współczesną sztuką |url=https://www.polityka.pl/tygodnikpolityka/kultura/1535435,1,ranking-polskich-galerii-ze-wspolczesna-sztuka.read |access-date=4 May 2021 |website=www.polityka.pl |language=pl}}</ref>
	<ref name="including">including the capture of the monastery hill at the ]</ref>
			=== Architecture ===
	<ref name="google4">Richard J. Kozicki, Piotr Wróbel (eds), ''Historical Dictionary of Poland, 966–1945'', Greenwood Press, 1996, ISBN 978-0-313-26007-0, </ref>
			{{main|Architecture of Poland}}
			{{multiple image
			| align = right
			| image1 = St Mary's Krakow.jpg
			| width1 = 152
			| alt1 = Saint Mary's Church in Kraków
			| caption1 = ] on the ] in ] is an example of ] architecture
			| image2 = Ayuntamiento, Poznan, Polonia, 2014-09-18, DD 67-72 HDR.jpg
			| width2 = 133
			| alt2 = Poznań City Hall
			| caption2 = The 16th-century ] of ] illustrates the ] style
			}}
			The ] reflects ] styles, with strong historical influences derived from ], ], and the ].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Facca |first1=Danilo |url={{GBurl|id=-VhTDAAAQBAJ|dq=polish+architecture++italy+germany|p=16}} |title=Polish culture in the Renaissance: studies in the arts, humanism and political thought |last2=Lepri |first2=Valentina |date=2013 |publisher=University Press |isbn=978-88-6655-489-9 |location=Firenze |pages=14–16}}</ref> Settlements founded on ] evolved around ] (''plac'', ''rynek''), encircled by a grid or ] network of streets forming an ] (''stare miasto'').<ref>{{Cite book |last=Magocsi |first=Paul Robert |url={{GBurl|id=p-d_DwAAQBAJ|dq=poland+central+squares+magdeburg|p=37}} |title=Historical Atlas of Central Europe – 3rd Edition |date=2018 |publisher=University Press |isbn=978-1-4875-2331-2 |location=Toronto |page=37}}</ref> Poland's traditional landscape is characterised by ornate churches, ] and ].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Karczmarzyk |first=Włodzimierz |url={{GBurl|id=fWlZAAAAIAAJ|q=cities+of+poland+kamienica+churches+town+halls}} |title=Views of Polish towns |date=1990 |publisher=Interpress |isbn=83-223-2392-1 |location=Warsaw (Warszawa) |page=30}}</ref> ] (''sukiennice'') were once an abundant feature of Polish urban architecture.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Szolginia |first=Witold |title=Architektura |date=1992 |publisher=Sigma NOT |isbn=978-83-85001-89-8 |location=Warsaw |page=152}}</ref> The mountainous south is known for its ], which originated in Poland.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Brockington |first=Grace |url={{GBurl|id=jDmhStoaGsEC|dq=zakopane+chalet+style+originated+in+southern|p=116}} |title=Internationalism and the Arts in Britain and Europe at the Fin de Siècle |date=2009 |publisher=Peter Lang |isbn=978-3-03911-128-2 |location=Bern |page=116}}</ref>
	<ref name="bbc5">"". BBC – History.</ref>
			The earliest architectonic trend was ] ({{circa}} 11th century), but its traces in the form of ] are scarce.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Marcinek |first=Roman |url={{GBurl|id=1LkjAQAAIAAJ|q=first+style+poland+romanesque}} |title=Poland |date=2002 |publisher=Kluszczyński |isbn=978-83-88080-42-5 |location=Kraków |pages=16, 158, 170}}</ref> The arrival of ] ({{circa}} 13th century) defined Poland's most distinguishable medieval style, exuded by the castles of ], ], ] and ] as well as the cathedrals of ], ], ], ] and ].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Kujawińska-Courtney |first1=Krystyna |url={{GBurl|id=txwrBwAAQBAJ|dq=brick+gothic+style+poland|p=115}} |title=European Culture in Diversity |last2=Williams |first2=Evan |date=2011 |publisher=Cambridge Scholars |isbn=978-1-4438-3295-3 |location=Newcastle |pages=115–116}}</ref> The ] (16th century) gave rise to Italianate courtyards, defensive ]s and ].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Roszkowski |first=Wojciech |url={{GBurl|id=zqwSEAAAQBAJ|dq=renaissance+architecture+poland|p=45}} |title=Cultural Heritage of East Central Europe: A Historical Outline |date=2015 |publisher=Instytut Studiów Politycznych PAN |isbn=978-83-64091-55-1 |location=Warsaw (Warszawa) |pages=44–46}}</ref> Decorative ] with ]s and ] ]s are elements of ], found in ], ] and ].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Miłobędzki |first=Adam |url={{GBurl|id=QAMtAQAAIAAJ|q=pa%C5%82ac%20biskup%C3%B3w%20kielce%20manieryzm}} |title=The architecture of Poland: a chapter of the European heritage |date=1994 |publisher=International Cultural Centre-Międzynarodowe Centrum Kultury w Krakowie |isbn=978-83-85739-14-2 |location=Poland |pages=52–56 |language=pl}}</ref><ref name="Mikos" /> Foreign artisans often came at the expense of kings or nobles, whose palaces were built thereafter in the ], ] and ] styles (17th–19th century).<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Stanley |first=John |year=2004 |title=Reviewed Work: Literary Activities and Attitudes in the Stanislavian Age in Poland (1764–1795): A Social System? by Jan I.J. van der Meer |journal=Canadian Slavonic Papers |volume=46 |issue=1/2 |pages=226–229 |jstor=40870954}}</ref>
	<ref name="nationmaster">NationMaster.com 2003–2007, </ref>
			Primary building materials ] and ] were used extensively in Polish folk architecture,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rączka |first=Jan Władysław |url={{GBurl|id=zb8VAQAAIAAJ|q=architektura%20polski%20drewno%20ceg%C5%82a}} |title=Walka o polski styl narodowy w architekturze |date=2001 |publisher=Politechnika Krakowska |isbn=978-83-7242-153-1 |location=Poland |language=pl}}</ref> and the concept of a ] was commonplace.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dmochowski |first=Zbigniew |url={{GBurl|id=0oBQAAAAMAAJ|q=fortified+church+tradition+poland}} |title=The Architecture of Poland: An Historical Survey |date=1956 |publisher=Polish Research Centre |location=London |page=241 |oclc=636790894}}</ref> Secular structures such as ], ], ], ] and country ]s are still present in some regions or in open air museums ('']'').<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Kosmaczewska |first1=Joanna |url={{GBurl|id=U0EpEAAAQBAJ&dq=polish+manors+taverns+open+museum|pg=SA4-PA30-IA3}} |title=Tourism and Socio-Economic Transformation of Rural Areas: Evidence from Poland |last2=Poczta |first2=Walenty |date=2021 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-000-37738-5 |location=Milton |pages=4–30}}</ref> However, traditional construction methods faded in the early-mid 20th century due to urbanisation and the construction of ] ]s and ].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Centroni |first=Alessandra |url={{GBurl|id=vXJTCwAAQBAJ}} |title=Restauro e ricostruzione |date=3 January 2016 |publisher=Gangemi Editore |isbn=978-88-492-9191-9 |location=Italy |page=121}}</ref>
	<ref name="indianapolis">] '']: An American Ambassador Reports to the American People''. Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1948.</ref>
			=== Literature ===
	<ref name="amazon">Adam Zamoyski, . Published 1993, Hippocrene Books, Poland, ISBN 978-0-7818-0200-0</ref>
			{{Main|Polish literature|History of philosophy in Poland}}
			{{multiple image
			| align = right
			| image1 = Wańkowicz Adam Mickiewicz.jpg
			| width1 = 154
			| alt1 = Adam Mickiewicz
			| caption1 = ], whose ] '']'' (1834) is considered a masterpiece of ]
			| image2 = Joseph Conrad, Fotografie von George Charles Beresford, 1904.jpg
			| width2 = 138
			| alt2 = Joseph Conrad-Korzeniowski
			| caption2 = ], author of popular books such as '']'' (1899) and '']'' (1904)
			}}
			The ] have traditionally concentrated around the themes of patriotism, ], social ] and moral narratives.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dyczewski |first=Leon |url={{GBurl|id=aCRm0K8Y-2sC|q=polish+literature+patriotic+morals|p=184}} |title=Values in the Polish Cultural Tradition |date=29 July 2002 |publisher=CRVP |isbn=978-1-56518-142-7 |via=Google Books}}</ref> The earliest examples of Polish literature, written in ], date to the 12th century.<ref name="Koca 2006" /> The first ] phrase ''Day ut ia pobrusa, a ti poziwai'' (officially translated as "Let me, I shall grind, and you take a rest") was documented in the ] and reflected the use of a ].<ref>{{Cite web |last=www.ideo.pl |first=Ideo Sp. z o.o. – |title=The manuscript with the first ever sentence in Polish has {{sic|be|nolink=y}} digitalized – News – Science & Scholarship in Poland |url=http://scienceinpoland.pap.pl/en/news/news,370714,the-manuscript-with-the-first-ever-sentence-in-polish-has-be-digitalized.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170821212328/http://scienceinpoland.pap.pl/en/news/news,370714,the-manuscript-with-the-first-ever-sentence-in-polish-has-be-digitalized.html |archive-date=21 August 2017 |access-date=24 May 2017 |website=scienceinpoland.pap.pl |url-status=dead }}</ref> It has been since included in ].<ref>{{Cite web |title=The first sentence in Polish in the UNESCO register |url=https://poland.pl/tourism/unesco-sites/first-sentence-polish-unesco-register/ |access-date=24 May 2017 |website=#Poland}}</ref> The oldest extant manuscripts of fine ] in ] are the ] and the ],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Polish Libraries – Wiesław Wydra: The Oldest Extant Prose Text in the Polish language. The Phenomenon of the Holy Cross Sermons. |url=http://polishlibraries.pl/article.php?a=14 |access-date=24 May 2017 |website=polishlibraries.pl}}</ref> and ] (1474) is Poland's oldest surviving ].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Carter |first=F.W. |title=Trade and Urban Development in Poland: An Economic Geography of Cracow, from Its Origins to 1795 |date=2006 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-02438-9 |page=364}}</ref>
	<ref name="tobruk">At the ]</ref>
			The poets ] and ] became the first ] authors to write in Polish.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dwujęzyczność w twórczości Jana Kochanowskiego |url=http://fp.amu.edu.pl/dwujezycznosc-w-tworczosci-jana-kochanowskiego/ |website=fp.amu.edu.pl}}</ref> Prime literarians of the period included ], ], ], ] and theologian ]. In the ] era, ] and local culture greatly influenced the literary techniques of ] (]) and ] (] memoirs).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Evonne Levy |url=http://www.ucpress.edu/book.php?isbn=9780520233577 |title=Propaganda and the Jesuit Baroque |date=April 2004 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-23357-7 |access-date=24 May 2017}}</ref> During the ], playwright ] composed the first Polish-language ].<ref>{{Cite book |url={{GBurl|id=Ue3cAgAAQBAJ|p=166}} |title=The Encyclopedia of the Novel |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |others=Associate editors:Olakunle George, Susan Hegeman, EfraÃn Kristal |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-118-77907-1 |editor-last=Peter Melville Logan |access-date=24 May 2017 |via=Google Books}}</ref> Poland's leading 19th-century ] were the ] – ], ] and ], whose epic poem '']'' (1834) is a national classic.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Eunice L. Blavascunas |url={{GBurl|id=ZsEzM8Gbl68C|p=98}} |title=The Peasant and Communist Past in the Making of an Ecological Region: Podlasie, Poland |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-549-65633-3 |page=98}}{{Dead link|date=February 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> In the 20th century, the English ] and early ] writings of ] made him one of the most eminent novelists of all time.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Joseph Conrad Society (UK) Official Website |url=http://www.josephconradsociety.org/ |access-date=10 February 2016 |website=josephconradsociety.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Joseph Conrad Society of America |url=http://josephconrad.org/ |access-date=10 February 2016 |website=josephconrad.org}}</ref>
	<ref name="archive9">{{Wayback |df=yes|date=20080214110918 |url=http://cara.georgetown.edu/bulletin/international.htm |title=Weekly Mass Attendance of Catholics in Nations with Large Catholic Populations, 1980–2008 }} – ] (WVS)</ref>
			Contemporary Polish literature is versatile, with its fantasy genre having been particularly praised.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Booker |first=M. Keith |title=Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction Cinema |date=2020 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers |isbn=978-1-5381-3010-0 |page=261}}</ref> The philosophical ] novel '']'' by ] and '']'' series by ] are celebrated works of world fiction.<ref>{{Cite web |date=19 July 2023 |title=O Wiedźminie i Wiedźmince |url=https://rynek-ksiazki.pl/aktualnosci/o-wiedzminie-i-wiedzmince/ |website=Rynek książki}}</ref> Poland has six ] authors – ] ('']''; 1905), ] ('']''; 1924), ] (1978), ] (1980), ] (1996), and ] (2018).<ref name="Facts on the Nobel Prize in Literature" /><ref name="Gopnik 2007" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=10 October 2019 |title=Tokarczuk and Handke win Nobel Literature Prizes |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-49976107}}</ref>
	<ref name="grushenko">{{cite web|first=Kateryna|last=Grushenko|url=http://www.kyivpost.com/news/guide/world-in-uktaine/detail/89674/|title=Polish representative: ‘Poland is ready to help Ukraine as long as you are interested’|publisher=Kyiv Post|date=12 November 2010|accessdate=28 July 2011}}</ref>
			=== Cuisine ===
	<ref name="Langenbacher">'''', Eric Langenbacher, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. HEC No. 2004/1. p.29</ref>
			{{Main|Polish cuisine}}
			] (''bigos''), ] (''gołąbki''), ] (''żurek''), ], ], and ]]]
			The cuisine of Poland is eclectic and shares similarities with other regional cuisines. Among the staple or regional dishes are ] (filled dumplings), ] (sausage), ] (hunter's stew), ] (breaded cutlet), ] (cabbage rolls), ] (borscht), ] (soured rye soup), ] (smoked cheese), and ].<ref name="Marc Heine" /><ref name="Strybel 2003" /> ]s, a type of ], also originated in Poland.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Amanda Fiegl |date=17 December 2008 |title=A Brief History of the Bagel |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/a-brief-history-of-the-bagel-49555497/ |access-date=6 May 2023 |website=smithsonianmag.com}}</ref>
	<ref name="cbos">{{pl icon}} Centrum Badania Opinii Społecznej ('']'' CBOS). Komunikat z badań; Warszawa, Marzec 2005. Preface. Retrieved 14 December 2007.</ref>
			Traditional dishes are hearty and abundant in pork, potatoes, eggs, cream, mushrooms, regional herbs, and sauce.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Byrd Hollar |first1=Melanie |url={{GBurl|id=_cUOEAAAQBAJ|dq=dunn+byrd+cuisine+poland|p=432}} |title=Cooking through history: a worldwide encyclopedia of food with menus and recipes |last2=Dunn |first2=John P. |date=2020 |publisher=Greenwood |isbn=978-1-61069-456-8 |location=Santa Barbara |pages=431–432}}</ref> Polish food is characteristic for its various kinds of ] (soft dumplings), ]s, cereals and a variety of breads and ]es. Salads, including ] (cucumber salad), ], ], carrot and ], are common. Meals conclude with a dessert such as ] (cheesecake), ] (poppy seed roll), or ] (]) cream pie.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Steves |first1=Rick |url={{GBurl|id=T09IDgAAQBAJ}} |title=Rick Steves Snapshot Kraków, Warsaw & Gdańsk |last2=Hewitt |first2=Cameron |date=15 August 2017 |publisher=Avalon Publishing |isbn=978-1-63121-624-4}}</ref>
	<ref name="dziennikbudowy"> Ranking based on accumulated results of researches that had been conducted from 1996 to 2002. Tables. Serwis informacyjny ''Dziennik Budowy''. Retrieved 6 November 2014.</ref>
			Traditional alcoholic beverages include honey ], widespread since the 13th century, ], wine and ].<ref>{{Cite web |title=gorzała – Słownik języka polskiego PWN |url=https://sjp.pwn.pl/sjp/gorzala;2462442.html |website=sjp.pwn.pl}}</ref> The world's first written mention of vodka originates from Poland.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History of vodka production, at the official page of Polish Spirit Industry Association (KRPS), 2007 |url=http://krps.pl/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=17&Itemid=27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930131416/http://krps.pl/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=17&Itemid=27 |archive-date=30 September 2007 |access-date=18 November 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The most popular alcoholic drinks at present are beer and wine which took over from vodka more popular in the years 1980–1998.<ref name="beverages" /> ], sometimes referred to as "Polish Champagne", is an example of a historical beer style from Poland.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jim Hughes |date=4 February 2013 |title=Forgotten Beer Styles: Grodziskie |url=http://badassdigest.com/2013/02/04/forgotten-beer-styles-grodziskie |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150217050209/http://badassdigest.com/2013/02/04/forgotten-beer-styles-grodziskie |archive-date=17 February 2015 |access-date=10 May 2023 |website=badassdigest.com}}</ref> Tea remains common in Polish society since the 19th century, whilst coffee is drunk widely since the 18th century.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Strybel |first1=Robert |url={{GBurl|id=UtA6-pyGJmMC|q=tea+19th+century+most+popular+in+poland|p=692}} |title=Polish Heritage Cookery |last2=Strybel |first2=Maria |date=31 March 2019 |publisher=Hippocrene Books |isbn=978-0-7818-1124-8 |access-date=31 March 2019 |via=Google Books}}</ref>
	<ref name="polityka">{{cite web|url=http://www.lista500.polityka.pl/rankings/show|title= Lista 500 największych polskich firm|work=www.lista500.polityka.pl|publisher=|pages=|page=|date=|accessdate=27 August 2011|language=pl}}</ref>
			=== Fashion and design ===
	<ref name="ekumenizm">{{cite web|url=http://www.ekumenizm.pl/content/article/20080925183042429.htm|title=''94% Polaków wierzy w Boga''|publisher=Ekumenizm.pl|date=25 September 2008|accessdate=12 April 2010}}</ref>
			{{Further|Category:Polish fashion}}
			]'' dresses, 1780–1785]]
			Several Polish designers and stylists left a legacy of beauty inventions and cosmetics; including ] and ], who created a line of cosmetics company in California known as ] and formulated the term "make-up" which is now widely used as an alternative for describing cosmetics.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Maks Faktorowicz: Polak, który stworzył kosmetyczne imperium |trans-title=Maks Faktorowicz: A Pole who created a cosmetic empire |url=http://kobieta.interia.pl/uroda/news-maks-faktorowicz-polak-ktory-stworzyl-kosmetyczne-imperium,nId,930672 |access-date=24 May 2017 |website=Interia Kobieta |date=7 February 2013 |language=pl}}</ref> Faktorowicz is also credited with inventing modern ].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Maksymilian Faktorowicz – człowiek, który dał nam sztuczne rzęsy |trans-title=Maksymilian Faktorowicz – a man who gave us false eyelashes |url=http://www.polskieradio.pl/10/501/Artykul/1245535,Maksymilian-Faktorowicz-czlowiek-ktory-dal-nam-sztuczne-rzesy |access-date=24 May 2017 |website=Polskie Radio |language=pl}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Stella Rose Saint Clair |date=12 February 2014 |title=Makeup Masters: The History of Max Factor |url=https://www.beautylish.com/a/vxspr/the-history-of-max-factor |access-date=24 May 2017 |website=Beautylish}}</ref> As of 2020, Poland possesses the sixth-largest cosmetic market in Europe. ] is the country's largest beauty products manufacturer,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Norbert Ziętal |date=13 July 2013 |title=Przemyski Inglot ma już 400 sklepów na świecie |trans-title=Przemysl Inglot already has 400 stores in the world |url=http://www.strefabiznesu.nowiny24.pl/artykul/przemyski-inglot-ma-juz-400-sklepow-na-swiecie |website=Strefa Biznesu |language=pl}}</ref> and the retail store ] is the country's most successful clothing store chain.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Butler |first=Sarah |date=2 September 2016 |title=Reserved! Polish fashion chain moves into BHS flagship store |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/sep/02/reserved-polish-fashion-chain-moves-into-bhs-flagship-store |access-date=12 March 2022 |website=]}}</ref>
	<ref name="gazeta11">{{pl icon}} Olga Szpunar, {{cite web|url=http://miasta.gazeta.pl/krakow/1,35798,4360977.html|publisher=Gazeta Wyborcza Kraków|title=Dorośli chcą religii w szkole|accessdate=15 September 2007}}</ref>
			Historically, fashion has been an important aspect of Poland's national consciousness or ], and the country developed its own style known as ] at the turn of the 17th century.<ref name="Biedronska-Slota 2005">{{Cite book |last=Biedrońska-Słota |first=Beata |url={{GBurl|id=_cPfAAAAMAAJ|q=sarmatism+16th+century}} |title=Crossroads of Costume and Textiles in Poland |date=2005 |publisher=National Museum (Muzeum Narodowe) |isbn=978-83-89424-46-4 |location=Kraków |page=20 |oclc=607873644}}</ref> The national dress and etiquette of Poland also reached the court at ], where French dresses inspired by Polish garments included '']'' and the ]. The scope of influence also entailed furniture; rococo ]s with ] became fashionable in French châteaus.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Wrightsman Collection. Vols. 1 and 2, Furniture, Gilt Bronze and Mounted Porcelain, Carpets |url={{GBurl|id=twGT8P_68lEC|q=lit+a+polonaise+marie+leszczynska|p=586}} |publisher=Metropolitan Museum of Art |via=Google Books}}</ref> Sarmatism eventually faded in the wake of the 18th century.<ref name="Biedronska-Slota 2005" />
	<ref name="justlanded">{{cite web|url=http://www.justlanded.com/english/Poland/Poland-Guide/Health/The-Polish-health-care-system|title=Poland Guide: The Polish health care system, An introduction: Poland’s health care is based on a general|work=Justlanded.com|date=|accessdate=28 July 2011}}</ref>
			=== Cinema ===
	<ref name="minelres">{{cite web|url=http://www.minelres.lv/reports/poland/poland_NGO.htm|title=Dr. Sławomir Łodziński, Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, "The Protection of National Minorities in Poland"|publisher=Minelres.lv|date=|accessdate=28 July 2011}}</ref>
			{{Main|Cinema of Poland}}
			] (1926–2016), renowned Polish film director]]
			The ] traces its origins to 1894, when inventor ] patented the ] and subsequently the ], the first successful hand-held operated film camera.<ref name="Ford 2009">{{Cite book |last1=Ford |first1=Charles |url={{GBurl|id=tiYkCQAAQBAJ|q=1894|p=13}} |title=Polish Film: A Twentieth Century History |last2=Hammond |first2=Robert M. |date=2009 |publisher=Eurospan |isbn=978-1-4766-0803-7 |location=London |pages=12–14, 118}}</ref><ref name="Haltof 2015">{{Cite book |last=Haltof |first=Marek |url={{GBurl|id=wReMBgAAQBAJ|q=1894|pg=PR11}} |title=Historical Dictionary of Polish Cinema |date=2015 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers |isbn=978-1-322-88919-1 |location=Lanham |pages=195, 25, 5, 91}}</ref> In 1897, ] constructed the ], a prototype of television transmitting images and sounds.<ref name="Ford 2009" /> They are both recognised as pioneers of ].<ref name="Ford 2009" /> Poland has also produced influential directors, film producers and actors, many of whom were active in ], chiefly ], ], ], ], the ], ], ], ] and ].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Tzvetkova |first=Juliana |url={{GBurl|id=Zk83DwAAQBAJ}} |title=Pop Culture in Central Europe |date=12 October 2017 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-4408-4466-9 |page=188}}</ref>
	<ref name="szydlowiec">{{cite web|url= http://www.szydlowiec.pl/grafika/index/szydl1.pdf|title= Szydłowiec|work= www.szydlowiec.pl|publisher=|page=9|date=|accessdate=23 April 2009|archiveurl = //web.archive.org/web/20060623020259/http://www.szydlowiec.pl/grafika/index/szydl1.pdf|archivedate = 23 June 2006}}</ref>
			The ] commonly explored in Polish cinema include ], ], war, culture and black realism (]).<ref name="Ford 2009" /><ref name="Haltof 2015" /> In the 21st-century, two Polish productions won the ] – '']'' (2002) by Roman Polański and '']'' (2013) by ].<ref name="Haltof 2015" /> Polish cinematography also created many well-received comedies. The most known of them were made by ] and ].
	<ref name="warsaw-life">{{cite web|url = http://www.warsaw-life.com/poland/euro-2012|title = Poland hosts Euro 2012!|accessdate = 12 December 2010|publisher = warsaw-life.com}}</ref>
			=== Media ===
	<ref name="google12">], ''God's Playground: A History of Poland'', Columbia University Press, 2005, ISBN 0-231-12819-3, </ref>
			{{Main|Mass media in Poland}}
			] in Warsaw]]
			According to the ] (2015), 78 percent of Poles watch the ] daily.<ref name="Stepinska 2020">{{Cite book |last1=Agnieszka Stępińska |url={{GBurl|id=zHopEAAAQBAJ|dq=%25+of+population+watch+television+daily+poland|p=110}} |title=Populist Political Communication in Poland |last2=Artur Lipiński |last3=Dorota Piontek |last4=Agnieszka Hess |date=2020 |publisher=Logos Verlag |isbn=978-3-8325-8614-0 |location=Berlin |pages=110, 114}}</ref> In 2020, 79 percent of the population read the news more than once a day, placing it second behind Sweden.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cabrera |first=Isabel |date=2020 |title=World Reading Habits in 2020 |url=https://geediting.com/world-reading-habits-2020/ |access-date=29 September 2021 |website=geediting.com |publisher=Global English Editing}}</ref> Poland has a number of major domestic media outlets, chiefly the ] corporation ], ] channels ] and ] as well as 24-hour news channels ], ] and ].<ref>{{Cite book |last=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |url={{GBurl|id=w4_2DQAAQBAJ}} |title=The International Encyclopedia of Media Effects, 4 Volume Set |date=6 March 2017 |publisher=Wiley |isbn=978-1-118-78404-4 |page=1160}}</ref> Public television extends its operations to genre-specific programmes such as ], ], ], ], TVP Seriale and ], the latter a state-run channel dedicated to the transmission of Polish-language telecasts for the ]. In 2020, the most popular types of newspapers were ] and socio-political news dailies.<ref name="Stepinska 2020" />
			Poland is a major European hub for video game developers and among the most successful companies are ], ], ], ] and ].<ref name="Marszałkowski 2021">{{Cite book |last1=Marszałkowski |first1=Jakub |url=https://www.parp.gov.pl/storage/publications/pdf/GIofP_2021_FINAL.pdf |title=The Game Industry of Poland |last2=Biedermann |first2=Sławomir |last3=Rutkowski |first3=Eryk |date=2021 |publisher=Polish Agency for Enterprise Development |isbn=978-83-7633-451-6 |location=Warsaw (Warszawa)}}</ref> Some of the popular video games developed in Poland include '']'' trilogy and '']''.<ref name="Marszałkowski 2021" /> The Polish city of ] also hosts ], one of the biggest ] events in the world.<ref name="Marszałkowski 2021" />
	<ref name="google13">Gregor Dallas, ''1945: The War That Never Ended'', Yale University Press, 2005, ISBN 0-300-10980-6, </ref>
			=== Sports ===
	<ref name="google14">Mark Wyman, ''DPs: Europe's Displaced Persons, 1945–1951'', Cornell University Press, 1998, ISBN 0-8014-8542-8, </ref>
			{{Main|Sport in Poland|Poland at the Olympics}}
			] in Warsaw, home of the ]]]
			], volleyball and association football are among the country's most popular sports, with a rich history of international competitions.<ref name="FIFA World Cup" /><ref name="FIFA Statistics" /> ], basketball, ], boxing, ], ], ], ], tennis, fencing, swimming, and ] are other popular sports.
			The golden era of ] occurred throughout the 1970s and went on until the early 1980s when the ] achieved their best results in any FIFA World Cup competitions finishing third place in ] and ] tournaments. The team won a gold medal ] at the ] and two silver medals, ] and ]. In 2012, Poland co-hosted the ].<ref name="warsaw-life" />
			As of September 2024, the ] is ranked ] in the world.<ref>{{Cite web |title=FIVB Men's Volleyball World Ranking |url=https://en.volleyballworld.com/volleyball/world-ranking/men |access-date=9 September 2024}}</ref> The team won a gold medal at the ] and the gold medal at the ] ], ] and ].<ref>{{Cite web |title=FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship Poland 2014 |url=http://poland2014.fivb.org/en |access-date=1 January 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Finals |url=http://italy-bulgaria2018.fivb.com/en/results-and-ranking/round4 |access-date=13 October 2018}}</ref>
	<ref name="historiographical">See for example: Leonid D. Grenkevich in The Soviet Partisan Movement, 1941–44: A Critical Historiographical Analysis, p.229 or Walter Laqueur in The Guerilla Reader: A Historical Anthology, New York, Charles Scribiner, 1990, p.233.</ref>
			] is a highly successful strongman competitor and has won more ] titles than any other competitor in the world, winning the event in 2008 for the fifth time.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Fedor |first1=Dariusz |url={{GBurl|id=c94sAQAAIAAJ|q=kubica%202008%20grand%20prix%20do%20polski}} |title=Polska, to tu się zaczęło |last2=Ramlau |first2=Łukasz |date=2009 |publisher=Agora |isbn=978-83-7552-707-0 |location=Poland |page=153 |language=pl}}</ref>
			Poland has made a distinctive mark ]. The top ] division has one of ] for any sport in Poland. The ] is one of the major teams in international speedway. Individually, Poland has three ] World Champions, with the most successful being five-time World Champion ] who won back-to-back championships in 2019 and 2020 as well as 2022, 2023 and 2024. In 2021, Poland finished runners-up in the Speedway of Nations world championship final, held in ], England in 2021.<ref name="Speedway" />
	<ref name="CSO_2008">{{cite web|title=Concise Statistical Yearbook of Poland, 2008|publisher=]|date=28 July 2008|url=http://www.stat.gov.pl/cps/rde/xbcr/gus/PUBL_maly_rocznik_statystyczny_2008.pdf|format=PDF|accessdate=12 August 2008}}</ref>
			In the 21st century, the country has seen a growth of popularity of tennis and produced a number of successful tennis players including World No. 1 ], winner of five ] singles titles; former World No. 2 ], winner of 20 WTA career singles titles including ]; Top 10 ATP player ]; former World No. 1 doubles player ], winner of two Grand Slam doubles titles and ], winner of two Grand Slam mixed doubles titles. Poland also won the ] with Agnieszka Radwańska and ] representing the country.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Blanka Konopka |date=10 June 2022 |title=Tennis fever hits Poland as clubs across the country report surge in interest |url=https://www.thefirstnews.com/article/tennis-fever-hits-poland-as-clubs-across-the-country-report-surge-in-interest-30967 |access-date=24 April 2023 |website=thefirstnews.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=10 January 2015 |title=Poland wins Hopman Cup as Agnieszka Radwanska and Jerzy Janowicz combine to beat Serena Williams and John Isner in Perth |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-01-10/radwanska-shocks-williams-in-hopman-cup/6010634 |access-date=24 April 2023 |website=abc.net.au}}</ref>
	<ref name="Europe: a history">{{cite book|author=Norman Davies|title=Europe: a history|year=1996|page=428|chapter=|chapterurl =|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=|isbn=0-19-820171-0|url=|accessdate=|quote=By 1490 the Jagiellons controlled Poland-Lithuania, Bohemia, and Hungary, but not the Empire.}}</ref>
			Poles made significant achievements in mountaineering, in particular, in the ] and the winter ascending of the ]s (e.g. ], ], ]). Polish mountains are one of the tourist attractions of the country. Hiking, climbing, skiing and mountain biking and attract numerous tourists every year from all over the world.<ref name="UNTWO 2008" /> Water sports are the most popular summer recreation activities, with ample locations for fishing, canoeing, kayaking, sailing and windsurfing especially in the northern regions of the country.<ref> at Poland For Visitors Online. Retrieved 2 November 2014.</ref>
	<ref name="wydawnictwo">Józef Andrzej Gierowski – ''Historia Polski 1764–1864'' (History of Poland 1764–1864), Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe (Polish Scientific Publishers PWN), Warszawa 1986, ISBN 978-83-01-03732-1, p. 1-74</ref>
			{{Clear left}}
			== See also ==
	<ref name="Europe's border-free zone expands">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/7153490.stm|title=Europe's border-free zone expands|publisher=BBC News|date=21 December 2007|accessdate=28 July 2011}}</ref>
			{{Portal|Poland|Europe}}
			* ]
			== Notes ==
	<ref name="Davies 699">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jrVW9W9eiYMC&pg=PA699|first=Norman|last=Davies|title=Europe: A History|year=1996|publisher=Oxford University Press|page=699|isbn=0-19-820171-0}}</ref>
			{{notefoot}}
			{{notelist}}
			== References ==
	<ref name="Bordering on madness: Belarus mistreats its Polish minority">{{cite news|url=http://economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=4085710|title=Bordering on madness: Belarus mistreats its Polish minority|publisher=The Economist|date=16 June 2005|accessdate=28 July 2011}}</ref>
			{{reflist|refs=
			<ref name="Gierowski">Józef Andrzej Gierowski – ''Historia Polski 1764–1864'' (History of Poland 1764–1864), pp. 74–101</ref>
	<ref name="Accident Database">{{cite web|title= Accident Database|url=http://www.airdisaster.com/cgi-bin/view_details.cgi?date=04102010&reg=101&airline=Polish+Air+Force|work= AirDisaster.com|accessdate= 12 December 2010}}</ref>
			<ref name="Bitter glory">Bitter glory: Poland and its fate, 1918 to 1939; p. 179</ref>
	<ref name="worldbank8">{{cite web|url=http://data.worldbank.org/about/country-classifications/country-and-lending-groups#High_income|title=Country and Lending Groups &#124; Data|work=Data.worldbank.org|date=|accessdate=9 November 2010}}</ref>
			<ref name="BBC 2010">"". BBC News. 26 November 2010</ref>
	<ref name="Communication on the average monthly salary in enterprise sector excluding payments from profit awards in December 2010">{{cite web|url=http://finanse.wp.pl/kat,58434,title,GUS-podal-dane-o-wynagrodzeniach,wid,13051878,wiadomosc.html?ticaid=1ba11|title= Communication on the average monthly salary in enterprise sector excluding payments from profit awards in December 2010|language=pl|publisher=Stat.gov.pl|date=|accessdate=4 November 2010}}</ref>
			<ref name="including">including the capture of the monastery hill at the ]</ref>
	<ref name="turism">{{cite web|url=http://www.tourismroi.com/Content_Attachments/27670/File_633513750035785076.pdf |title=UNTWO World Tourism Barometer, Vol.5 No.2 |work=www.tourismroi.com |publisher= |pages= |page= |date= |accessdate=12 October 2009 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090325031626/http://www.tourismroi.com/Content_Attachments/27670/File_633513750035785076.pdf |archivedate=25 March 2009 }}</ref>
			<ref name="BBC 2011">"". BBC – History.</ref>
	<ref name="EU Commission – Energy factsheet P74">{{cite web|url=http://ec.europa.eu/energy/publications/statistics/doc/2010_energy_transport_figures.pdf |title=EU Commission – Energy factsheet P74 |format=PDF |date= |accessdate=28 July 2011 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110709030617/http://ec.europa.eu/energy/publications/statistics/doc/2010_energy_transport_figures.pdf |archivedate=9 July 2011 }}</ref>
			<ref name="Lane 1948">] '']: An American Ambassador Reports to the American People''. Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1948.</ref>
	<ref name="A century of X-rays and radioactivity in medicine: with emphasis on photographic records of the early years">{{cite book| author = Richard Francis Mould| title =A century of X-rays and radioactivity in medicine: with emphasis on photographic records of the early years| year =1993| page =19| pages =| chapter =| chapterurl =| publisher =| location =| isbn =978-0-7503-0224-1| url =https://books.google.com/?id=IXPz7bVR7g0C&printsec=frontcover&dq=A+century+of+x-rays+and+radioactivity+in+medicine:&q=| accessdate = }}</ref>
			<ref name="tobruk">At the ]</ref>
	<ref name="Centers of Polish Immigration in the World – USA and Germany">{{cite web|url=http://culture.polishsite.us/articles/art90fr.htm|title=Centers of Polish Immigration in the World – USA and Germany|publisher=Culture.polishsite.us|date=15 March 2003|accessdate=12 April 2010}}</ref>
			<ref name="justlanded">{{Cite web |title=Poland Guide: The Polish health care system, An introduction: Poland's health care is based on a general |url=http://www.justlanded.com/english/Poland/Poland-Guide/Health/The-Polish-health-care-system |access-date=28 July 2011 |website=Justlanded.com}}</ref>
	<ref name="About">{{cite web|url=http://europeanhistory.about.com/od/religionandthought/a/biojohnpaulii.htm|title=Pope John Paul II 1920–2005|last=Wilde|first=Robert|work=About.com|accessdate=1 January 2009}}</ref>
			<ref name="warsaw-life">{{Cite web |title=Poland hosts Euro 2012! |url=http://www.warsaw-life.com/poland/euro-2012 |access-date=12 December 2010 |publisher=warsaw-life.com}}</ref>
	<ref name="Domínguez">]: 2005</ref>
			<!-- Not in use
	<ref name="www10">{{pl icon}} Michał Tymiński, {{cite web|url=http://www.kz.pl/index.php?p=13&id=3&i=8|title=Kościół Zielonoświątkowy|accessdate=14 September 2007|archiveurl = //web.archive.org/web/20050102151031/http://www.kz.pl/index.php?p=13&id=3&i=8|archivedate = 2 January 2005}}</ref>
			<ref name="google12">], ''God's Playground: A History of Poland'', Columbia University Press, 2005, {{ISBN|978-0-231-12819-3}}, </ref>
			Not in use-->
			<!-- Not in use
	<ref name="Communism">{{cite web|url=http://www.religion-cults.com/pope/communism.htm |title=Pope John Paul II and Communism |accessdate=1 January 2009 |publisher=Public domain text. May be distributed freely. No rights reserved. |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081211080651/http://www.religion-cults.com/pope/communism.htm |archivedate=11 December 2008 }}</ref>
			<ref name="google13">Gregor Dallas, ''1945: The War That Never Ended'', Yale University Press, 2005, {{ISBN|978-0-300-10980-1}}, </ref>
			Not in use-->
			<!-- Not in use
	<ref name="Facts on the Nobel Prize in Literature">{{cite web|url=http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/shortfacts.html|title=Facts on the Nobel Prize in Literature|work=Nobelprize.org|date=5 October 2009|accessdate=28 July 2011}}</ref>
			<ref name="google14">Mark Wyman, ''DPs: Europe's Displaced Persons, 1945–1951'', Cornell University Press, 1998, {{ISBN|978-0-8014-8542-8}}, </ref>
			Not in use-->
			<!-- Not in use
	<ref name="FIFA World Cup Statistics-Poland">{{cite web|url= http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/statisticsandrecords/associations/association=pol/worldcup/index.html|publisher= FIFA| title= FIFA World Cup Statistics-Poland|accessdate = 12 December 2010}}</ref>
			<ref name="historiographical">See for example: Leonid D. Grenkevich in The Soviet Partisan Movement, 1941–44: A Critical Historiographical Analysis, p. 229 or Walter Laqueur in The Guerilla Reader: A Historical Anthology, New York, Charles Scribiner, 1990, p. 233.</ref>
			Not in use-->
			<ref name="Central Statistical Office 2008">{{Cite web |date=28 July 2008 |title=Concise Statistical Yearbook of Poland, 2008 |url=http://www.stat.gov.pl/cps/rde/xbcr/gus/PUBL_maly_rocznik_statystyczny_2008.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081028221046/http://www.stat.gov.pl/cps/rde/xbcr/gus/PUBL_maly_rocznik_statystyczny_2008.pdf |archive-date=28 October 2008 |access-date=12 August 2008 |publisher=Central Statistical Office}}</ref>
	<ref name="FIFA Statistics – Poland">{{cite web|url = http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/statisticsandrecords/associations/association=pol/othertournaments/index.html|title= FIFA Statistics – Poland|accessdate = 12 December 2010}}</ref>
			<ref name="Norman Davies 1996">{{Cite book |last=Norman Davies |url=https://archive.org/details/europehistory00davi_0 |title=Europe: a history |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-19-820171-7 |page= |quote=By 1490 the Jagiellons controlled Poland–Lithuania, Bohemia, and Hungary, but not the Empire. |url-access=registration}}</ref>
	<ref name="Human Development Index and its components">{{cite web|url=http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDR_2010_EN_Table1.pdf|title= Human Development Index and its components|work=hdr.undp.org|publisher=|pages=|page=|date=|accessdate=27 August 2011}}</ref>
	<ref name="Gierowski">] – ''Historia Polski 1505–1764'' (History of Poland 1505–1764), Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe (Polish Scientific Publishers PWN), Warszawa 1986, ISBN 978-83-01-03732-1</ref>		<ref name="Gierowski 1986">Józef Andrzej Gierowski – ''Historia Polski 1764–1864'' , Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe (Polish Scientific Publishers PWN), Warszawa 1986, {{ISBN|978-83-01-03732-1}}, pp. 1–74</ref>
			<ref name="BBC News 2007">{{Cite news |date=21 December 2007 |title=Europe's border-free zone expands |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/7153490.stm |access-date=28 July 2011}}</ref>
	<ref name="Olson">Lynne Olson & Stanley Cloud. 2003. A Question of Honor. The Kosciuszko Squadron: Forgotten Heroes of World War II. New York: Knopf.</ref>
	<ref name="PN">{{cite book|last=Peszke|first=Michael Alfred|authorlink=Michael Alfred Peszke|title=Poland's Navy, 1918–1945|publisher=]|date=February 1999|page=37|isbn=978-0-7818-0672-5}}</ref>		<ref name="Davies 1996">{{Cite book |last=Davies |first=Norman |url=https://archive.org/details/europehistory00davi_0 |title=Europe: A History |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-19-820171-7 |page= |url-access=registration |via=Internet Archive}}</ref>
			<ref name="UNTWO 2008">{{Cite web |title=UNTWO World Tourism Barometer, Vol.5 No.2 |url=http://www.tourismroi.com/Content_Attachments/27670/File_633513750035785076.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090325031626/http://www.tourismroi.com/Content_Attachments/27670/File_633513750035785076.pdf |archive-date=25 March 2009 |access-date=12 October 2009 |website=www.tourismroi.com}}</ref>
	<ref name="PWN_historia">{{pl icon}} ]. Retrieved 11 July 2005.</ref>
			<ref name="Mould 1993">{{Cite book |last=Richard Francis Mould |url={{GBurl|id=IXPz7bVR7g0C|q=A+century+of+x-rays+and+radioactivity+in+medicine:}} |title=A century of X-rays and radioactivity in medicine: with emphasis on photographic records of the early years |publisher=CRC Press |year=1993 |isbn=978-0-7503-0224-1 |page=19 |via=Google Books}}</ref>
	<ref name="Poland.pl – White Stork – About White Stork">{{cite web|url=http://storks.poland.pl/about_stork/index.htm |title=Poland.pl – White Stork – About White Stork |publisher=Storks.poland.pl |date= |accessdate=6 May 2009 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090208220427/http://storks.poland.pl/about_stork/index.htm |archivedate=8 February 2009 }}</ref>
			<ref name="Facts on the Nobel Prize in Literature">{{Cite web |date=5 October 2009 |title=Facts on the Nobel Prize in Literature |url=http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/shortfacts.html |access-date=28 July 2011 |website=Nobelprize.org}}</ref>
	<ref name="Poland ends army conscription">{{cite news|last=Day|first=Matthew|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/poland/2505447/Poland-ends-army-conscription.html|title=Poland ends army conscription|publisher=Telegraph|date=5 August 2008|accessdate=28 July 2011|location=London}}</ref>
			<ref name="FIFA World Cup">{{Cite web |title=FIFA World Cup Statistics-Poland |url=https://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/statisticsandrecords/associations/association=pol/worldcup/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071206172314/http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/statisticsandrecords/associations/association=pol/worldcup/index.html |archive-date=6 December 2007 |access-date=12 December 2010 |publisher=FIFA}}</ref>
	<ref name="Nowe radiowozy dla policji">{{cite web|url=http://moto.onet.pl/1545847,1,nowe-radiowozy-dla-policji,artykul.html?node=2|title=Nowe radiowozy dla policji|publisher=Moto.onet.pl|date=3 March 2009|accessdate=28 July 2011}}</ref>
			<ref name="FIFA Statistics">{{Cite web |title=FIFA Statistics – Poland |url=https://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/statisticsandrecords/associations/association=pol/othertournaments/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071206172309/http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/statisticsandrecords/associations/association=pol/othertournaments/index.html |archive-date=6 December 2007 |access-date=12 December 2010}}</ref>
	<ref name="REF03">Teeple, J. B. (2002). ''Timelines of World History''. Publisher: DK Adult.</ref>
			<ref name="PWN">{{Cite web |title=Polska. Historia |url=http://encyklopedia.pwn.pl/haslo.php?id=4575043 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061001084717/http://encyklopedia.pwn.pl/haslo.php?id=4575043 |archive-date=1 October 2006 |access-date=11 July 2005 |website=] |language=pl |url-status=dead }}</ref>
	<ref name="Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency. News">{{cite web|url=http://www.paiz.gov.pl/nowosci/?id_news=1297&lang_id=12|title= Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency. News|work= www.paiz.gov.pl|publisher=|pages=|page=|date=|accessdate=26 September 2008}}</ref>
			<ref name="Day 2008">{{Cite news |last=Day |first=Matthew |date=5 August 2008 |title=Poland ends army conscription |work=Telegraph |location=London |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/poland/2505447/Poland-ends-army-conscription.html |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=28 July 2011 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/poland/2505447/Poland-ends-army-conscription.html |archive-date=10 January 2022}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
	<ref name="OECD Economic Outlook No. 82 – Poland">{{cite web|url=http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/6/32/20213254.pdf|archiveurl=//web.archive.org/web/20070328163217/http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/6/32/20213254.pdf|archivedate=28 March 2007|title=OECD Economic Outlook No. 82 – Poland|format=PDF|date=|accessdate=12 April 2010}}</ref>
			<ref name="Polish economy seen as stable and competitive">{{Cite news |date=9 September 2010 |title=Polish economy seen as stable and competitive |work=Warsaw Business Journal |url=http://www.wbj.pl/article-51029-polish-economy-seen-as-stable-and-competitive.html |access-date=28 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100913203601/http://www.wbj.pl/article-51029-polish-economy-seen-as-stable-and-competitive.html |archive-date=13 September 2010}}</ref>
	<ref name="Key data on IT and telecoms market in Poland, 2004–2006">{{cite web|url=http://www.itandtelecompoland.com/index.php?item=2|archiveurl=//web.archive.org/web/20061108212651/http://www.sat.org.au/reviews/articles_pl_middle_ages.htm|archivedate=8 November 2006|title=Key data on IT and telecoms market in Poland, 2004–2006|work= www.itandtelecompoland.com|publisher=|pages=|page=|date=|accessdate=24 September 2008}}</ref>
			<!--<ref name="National Road Rebuilding Program (Polish)">{{Cite web |date=16 February 2006 |title=National Road Rebuilding Program (Polish) |url=http://bip.mswia.gov.pl/portal/bip/175/17721/Narodowy_Program_Przebudowy_Drog.html |access-date=28 July 2011 |publisher=Bip.mswia.gov.pl}}</ref> -->
	<ref name="Polish economy seen as stable and competitive">{{cite web|url=http://www.wbj.pl/article-51029-polish-economy-seen-as-stable-and-competitive.html|title=Polish economy seen as stable and competitive|publisher=Warsaw Business Journal|date=9 September 2010|accessdate=28 July 2011}}</ref>
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			<ref name="Lerski 1996a">{{Cite book |last=Jerzy Jan Lerski |url={{GBurl|id=QTUTqE2difgC|p=18}} |title=Historical Dictionary of Poland, 966–1945 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-313-26007-0 |page=18 |access-date=6 March 2011 |via=Google Books}}</ref>
	<ref name="National Road Rebuilding Program (Polish)">{{cite web|url=http://bip.mswia.gov.pl/portal/bip/175/17721/Narodowy_Program_Przebudowy_Drog.html|title=National Road Rebuilding Program (Polish)|publisher=Bip.mswia.gov.pl|date=16 February 2006|accessdate=28 July 2011}}</ref>
			<ref name="Lerski 1996b">{{Cite book |last=Jerzy Jan Lerski |url={{GBurl|id=S6aUBuWPqywC|p=34}} |title=Historical Dictionary of Poland, 966–1945 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-313-26007-0 |page=34 |via=Google Books}}</ref>
	<ref name="Guardian wins design award">{{cite news| url=http://media.guardian.co.uk/site/story/0,,1714643,00.html| location=London| work=The Guardian| first=Steve| last=Busfield| title=Guardian wins design award| date=21 February 2006}}</ref>
			<ref name="MFA">], 2002–2007, {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090402015128/http://www.poland.gov.pl/Culture,484.html |date=2 April 2009 }} Access date 13 December 2007.</ref>
	<ref name="Poles return to Russian language">{{cite news|author=Jan Repa|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6233821.stm|title= Poles return to Russian language|work=news.bbc.co.uk|publisher=|pages=|page=|date= 5 January 2007|accessdate=27 August 2011|quote=In former satellite countries like Hungary or Poland, knowledge of Russian dwindled rapidly – to be replaced by English and German.}}</ref>
			<ref name="Mikos">Many designs imitated the arcaded courtyard and arched loggias of the Wawel palace. {{Cite web |last=Michael J. Mikoś |title=Renaissance Cultural Background |url=http://www.staropolska.pl/ang/renaissance/Mikos_renaissance/Cultural_r.html |access-date=23 April 2009 |website=www.staropolska.pl |page=9}}</ref>
	<ref name="Le petit Robert 2 : (dictionnaire universel des noms propres, alphabétique et analogique )">{{cite book| author = Rey Alain| title = Le petit Robert 2 : (dictionnaire universel des noms propres, alphabétique et analogique )| year = 1993| pages =| chapter =| chapterurl =| publisher = Le Robert, Paris, FRANCE| location = INIST-CNRS, Cote INIST : L 22712| isbn = 978-2-85036-210-1| url =| accessdate = |language=fr}}</ref>
			<ref name="Stanislaw Salmonowicz 1994">Stanisław Salmonowicz, ''Polskie Państwo Podziemne'', Wydawnictwa Szkolne i Pedagogiczne, Warszawa, 1994, {{ISBN|978-83-02-05500-3}}, p. 37</ref>
	<ref name="Polish Diaspora (Polonia) Worldwide">{{cite web|url=http://culture.polishsite.us/articles/art79fr.htm|title=Polish Diaspora (Polonia) Worldwide|publisher=Culture.polishsite.us|date=|accessdate=12 April 2010}}</ref>
			<ref name="polandinexile">, polandinexile.com</ref>
	<ref name="LIT01">{{cite web|author=Koca, B.|year=2006|url =http://www.sat.org.au/reviews/articles_pl_middle_ages.htm|archiveurl =//web.archive.org/web/20061108212651/http://www.sat.org.au/reviews/articles_pl_middle_ages.htm|archivedate =8 November 2006|title=Polish Literature – The Middle Ages (Religious writings)|accessdate=10 December 2006|language=pl}}</ref>
			<ref name="Wyrozumski 1986">Jerzy Wyrozumski – ''Historia Polski do roku 1505'' (History of Poland until 1505), Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe (]), Warszawa 1986, {{ISBN|978-83-01-03732-1}}</ref>
	<ref name="Polish hospitals">{{cite web|url=http://polandpoland.com/polish_hospitals.html|title=Polish hospitals|work=Polandpoland.com|date=|accessdate=28 July 2011}}</ref>
	<ref name="Lerski1996">{{cite book|author=Jerzy Jan Lerski|title=Historical dictionary of Poland, 966–1945|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QTUTqE2difgC&pg=PA18|accessdate=6 March 2011|year=1996|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-313-26007-0|page=18}}</ref>		<ref name="Schwab 2011">{{Cite web |last=Schwab |first=Klaus |title=The Global Competitiveness Report 2010–2011 |url=http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GlobalCompetitivenessReport_2010-11.pdf |access-date=25 April 2011 |publisher=World Economic Forum |pages=27 (41/516)}}</ref>
			<!-- Not in use
	<ref name="Lerski1996-2">{{cite book|author=Jerzy Jan Lerski|title=Historical Dictionary of Poland, 966-1945|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S6aUBuWPqywC&pg=PA34|year=1996|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-313-26007-0|page=34}}</ref>
			<ref name="Energy Sustainability Index">{{Cite web |year=2013 |title=World Energy Trilemma: 2013 Energy Sustainability Index |url=http://www.worldenergy.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/2013-Energy-Sustainability-Index-VOL-2.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140328070514/http://www.worldenergy.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/2013-Energy-Sustainability-Index-VOL-2.pdf |archive-date=28 March 2014 |access-date=18 January 2014 |publisher=World Energy Council}}</ref>
			Not in use-->
			<ref name="OECD 2009">{{Cite web |last=OECD |year=2009 |title=The impact of the 1999 education reform in Poland |url=http://www.pisa.oecd.org/dataoecd/50/26/45721631.doc |access-date=17 September 2010}}</ref>
	<ref name="MFA">], 2002–2007, Access date 13 December 2007.</ref>
			<ref name="Speedway">{{Cite web |title=Speedway World Cup: Poland win 2010 Speedway World Cup |url=http://www.worldspeedway.com/artman/publish/article_13423.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110510013538/http://www.worldspeedway.com/artman/publish/article_13423.shtml |archive-date=10 May 2011 |access-date=18 December 2010 |publisher=worldspeedway.com}}</ref>
	<ref name="Maria Sklodowska. La jeunesse">{{cite web|url= http://mariecurie.science.gouv.fr/portrait/portrait1_1.php|title= Maria Sklodowska. La jeunesse|work= mariecurie.science.gouv.fr|publisher=|pages=|page=|date=|accessdate= 10 October 2008|language=fr}}</ref>
			<ref name="Gopnik 2007">{{Cite web |last=Adam Gopnik |author-link=Adam Gopnik |date=5 June 2007 |title=Szymborska's 'View': Small Truths Sharply Etched |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10721773 |access-date=12 December 2010 |website=npr.org}}</ref>
	<ref name="Profiles – Joseph Conrad">{{cite web|author=Zdzislaw Najder |url=http://www.culture.pl/en/culture/artykuly/os_conrad_joseph |title=Profiles – Joseph Conrad |work=www.culture.pl |publisher= |pages= |page= |year=1998 |accessdate=30 September 2008 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080914232037/http://www.culture.pl/en/culture/artykuly/os_conrad_joseph |archivedate=14 September 2008 }}</ref>
			<ref name="The Music Courts of the Polish Vasas">{{Cite web |title=The Music Courts of the Polish Vasas |url=http://www.semper.pl/muzyczne_dwory_summary.pdf |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/5h7rxPZrB?url=http://www.semper.pl/muzyczne_dwory_summary.pdf |archive-date=29 May 2009 |access-date=13 May 2009 |website=www.semper.pl |page=244 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
	<ref name="RENAISSANCE CULTURAL BACKGROUND">Many designs imitated the arcaded courtyard and arched loggias of the Wawel palace. {{cite web|author=Michael J. Mikoś|url= http://www.staropolska.pl/ang/renaissance/Mikos_renaissance/Cultural_r.html|title=RENAISSANCE CULTURAL BACKGROUND|work= www.staropolska.pl|publisher=|page=9|date=|accessdate=23 April 2009}}</ref>
			<!-- Not in use
	<ref name="Salm42">Stanisław Salmonowicz, ''Polskie Państwo Podziemne'', Wydawnictwa Szkolne i Pedagogiczne, Warszawa, 1994, ISBN 978-83-02-05500-3, p.37</ref>
			<ref name="Zibart">Eve Zibart, "Polish cuisine displays its German-Austrian history in its sausages, particularly the garlicky kielbasa (or kolbasz), and its smoked meats." (p. 108.)</ref>
			Not in use-->
			<!-- Not in use
	<ref name="Soviets_and_AK">, polandinexile.com</ref>
			<ref name="ashkenazic">{{Cite web |title=Polish and Russian-Jewish Cuisine |url=https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/polish-russian-jewish-cuisine/}}</ref>
			Not in use-->
			<!-- Not in use
	<ref name="Wyrozumski">] – ''Historia Polski do roku 1505'' (History of Poland until 1505), Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe (]), Warszawa 1986, ISBN 978-83-01-03732-1</ref>
			<ref name="Jerzy_Pasikowski">{{Cite web |last=Jerzy Pasikowski |year=2011 |title=Wpływy kuchni innych narodów na kształt kuchni polskiej (Influences of cuisines of other nations in Polish cuisine) |url=http://newsgastro.pl/jerzy-pasikowski-radzi/88908-wpywy-kuchni-innych-narodow-na-ksztat-kuchni-polskiej.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120327182357/http://newsgastro.pl/jerzy-pasikowski-radzi/88908-wpywy-kuchni-innych-narodow-na-ksztat-kuchni-polskiej.html |archive-date=27 March 2012 |access-date=9 March 2014 |publisher=Portal Gastronomiczny NewsGastro}}</ref>
			Not in use-->
			<!-- Not in use
	<ref name="Real GDP growth in CEECs">{{cite web|url=http://transitioneconomies.blogspot.com/2006/05/real-gdp-growth-in-ceecs.html|title=Real GDP growth in CEECs|work=Transitioneconomies.blogspot.com|date=28 May 2006|accessdate=6 May 2009}}</ref>
			<ref name="polishmeals"> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170328225247/http://www.polishmeals.com/ |date=28 March 2017}}. Retrieved 6 June 2011.</ref>
			Not in use-->
			<!-- Not in use
	<ref name="YV Stats">Yad Vashem, The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority, </ref>
			<ref name="websters">{{Cite web |title=Kasha, extended definition |url=http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definitions/kasha?cx=partner-pub-0939450753529744%3Av0qd01-tdlq&cof=FORID%3A9&ie=UTF-8&q=kasha&sa=Search#906 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130531001845/http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definitions/kasha?cx=partner-pub-0939450753529744%3Av0qd01-tdlq&cof=FORID%3A9&ie=UTF-8&q=kasha&sa=Search |archive-date=31 May 2013 |access-date=6 June 2011 |website=Webster's Online Dictionary}}</ref>
			Not in use-->
			<ref name="Marc Heine">"Always home-made, tomato soup is one of the first things a Polish cook learns to prepare." Marc E. Heine. Poland. 1987</ref>
	<ref name="WHY POLAND?">{{cite web|url=http://polisci.lsa.umich.edu/documents/jjackson/chapt1.pdf|title=WHY POLAND?|format=PDF|accessdate=8 July 2009}}</ref>
			<ref name="Strybel 2003">"Tu się w lasy schroniły wygnane ze zbytkowych stołów, narodowe potrawy, ], ], ], ] i ]" Jan N. de Bobrowicz. Maxymilian arcyksiąże Austryacki obrany Król polski. 1848. s. 74; "], ], sztuka mięsa, pieczenie huzarskie, ], ], ] z kapustą, przede wszystkim zaś rozmaite kasze" Zbigniew Kuchowicz Obyczaje staropolskie XVII-XVIII wieku. 1975; "pieczeń cielęca pieczona (panierowana), pieczeń cielęca zapiekana w sosie beszamelowym, pieczeń huzarska (=pieczeń wołowa przekładana farszem), pieczeń rzymska (klops), pieczeń rzymska (klops z cielęciny) w sosie śmietanowym, pieczeń rzymska z królika " Stanisław Berger. Kuchnia polska. 1974.; Polish Holiday Cookery by Robert Strybel. {{Cite book |last=Strybel |first=Robert |url={{GBurl|id=eXuO_-KMm2sC|q=piecze%C5%84+roast|p=89}} |title=Polish Holiday Cookery |publisher=Hippocrene Books |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-7818-0994-8 |via=Google Books}}</ref>
	<ref name="Senior Polish figures killed in plane crash">{{cite news|title=Senior Polish figures killed in plane crash|publisher=BBC|date= 11 April 2010|url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8613395.stm}}</ref>
			<ref name="beverages">{{Cite web |title=EJPAU 2004. Kowalczuk I. CONDITIONS OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES CONSUMPTION AMONG POLISH CONSUMERS |url=http://www.ejpau.media.pl/volume7/issue2/economics/art-06.html |website=www.ejpau.media.pl}}</ref>
	<ref name="The Global Competitiveness Report 2010–2011">{{cite web|last=Schwab|first=Klaus|title=The Global Competitiveness Report 2010–2011|url=http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GlobalCompetitivenessReport_2010-11.pdf|publisher=World Economic Forum|accessdate=25 April 2011|pages=27 (41/516)}}</ref>
			<ref name="Zaloga 1982">{{Cite book |last1=Steven J. Zaloga |url={{GBurl|id=AAdYFeW2fnoC|p=3}} |title=The Polish Army 1939–45 |last2=Richard Hook |publisher=Osprey Publishing |year=1982 |isbn=978-0-85045-417-8 |pages=3– |access-date=6 March 2011 |via=Google Books}}{{Dead link|date=February 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
	<ref name="Statistic Office of Poland(GUS)">{{cite web|url=http://www.stat.gov.pl/bdr_n/app/wybrane_cechy.wymiary|title = Statistic Office of Poland(GUS)|language=pl|publisher=Stat.gov.pl|date=|accessdate=19 November 2010}}</ref>
			<ref name="Walters 1988">{{Cite book |last=E. Garrison Walters |url={{GBurl|id=64VpSBd7xUcC|p=276}} |title=The other Europe: Eastern Europe to 1945 |publisher=Syracuse University Press |year=1988 |isbn=978-0-8156-2440-0 |pages=276– |access-date=6 March 2011 |via=Google Books}}</ref>
	<ref name="Travel And Tourism in Poland">{{cite web|url = http://www.euromonitor.com/Travel_And_Tourism_in_Poland|title = Travel And Tourism in Poland|work = www.euromonitor.com|publisher =|pages =|page =|date =|accessdate = 12 October 2009}}</ref>
			<!-- Not in use
	<ref name="fDi: Poland Primed for Golden Decade">{{cite web|url=http://www.ginannebrownell.com/2010/10/fdi-poland-primed-for-golden-decade/|title=fDi: Poland Primed for Golden Decade|work=GinanneBrownell.com|date=8 October 2010|accessdate=28 July 2011}}</ref>
			<ref name="ac">Anna M. Cienciala, {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120801010755/http://web.ku.edu/~eceurope/hist557/lect16.htm |date=1 August 2012 }}, History 557 Lecture Notes</ref>
			Not in use-->
			}}
	<ref name="Energy Sustainability Index">{{cite web|url=http://www.worldenergy.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/2013-Energy-Sustainability-Index-VOL-2.pdf|title=World Energy Trilemma: 2013 Energy Sustainability Index|publisher=World Energy Council|year=2013|accessdate=18 January 2014}}</ref>
			=== Works cited ===
	<ref name="autogenerated2">Newswire </ref>
			* {{Cite book |last1=Materski |first1=Wojciech |url=http://niniwa2.cba.pl/polska_1939_1945.htm |title=Poland 1939–1945. Casualties and the victims of repressions under the Nazi and the Soviet occupations |last2=Szarota |first2=Tomasz |publisher=] (IPN) |year=2009 |isbn=978-83-7629-067-6 |at=Hardcover, 353 pages |trans-title=Polska 1939–1945. Straty osobowe i ofiary represji pod dwiema okupacjami |type=excerpts online |id=With a Foreword by ] (IPN); and expert contributions by Waldemar Grabowski, ], and ]. |author-link2=Tomasz Szarota |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120331102155/http://niniwa2.cba.pl/polska_1939_1945.htm |archive-date=31 March 2012 |accessdate=12 December 2013 |url-status=dead }}
			== External links ==
	<ref name="mil">{{cite web|url = http://www.wp.mil.pl/pliki/File/zalaczniki_do_stron/SBN_RP.pdf|format=PDF|title = Strategia Bezpieczeństwa Narodowego RP|work = www.wp.mil.pl|accessdate = 26 September 2008|language=pl}}</ref>
	<ref name="Tolerance and Cultural Diversity Discourses in Poland">{{cite web|author1=Michał Buchowski |author2=Katarzyna Chlewińska |url=http://www.eui.eu/Projects/ACCEPT/Documents/Research/wp1/ACCEPTPLURALISMWp1BackgroundreportPoland.pdf|title= Tolerance and Cultural Diversity Discourses in Poland|work=www.eui.eu|publisher=|pages=|page=|date=|accessdate=27 August 2011}}</ref>
	<ref name="dec23">{{cite news| url = http://www.tvn24.pl/12690,1634983,0,1,super-pociagi-zamiast-autostrad,wiadomosc.html| title = Super pociągi zamiast autostrad (Polish)| date = 23 December 2009| work = ]| accessdate = 25 December 2009}}</ref>
	<ref name="The impact of the 1999 education reform in Poland">{{cite web|url=http://www.pisa.oecd.org/dataoecd/50/26/45721631.doc|title=The impact of the 1999 education reform in Poland|author=OECD|year=2009|accessdate=17 September 2010}}</ref>
	<ref name="autogenerated1">Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency {{Wayback |df=yes|date=20080219145055 |url=http://www.paiz.gov.pl/index/?id=7b7a53e239400a13bd6be6c91c4f6c4e |title=Poland – R&D centre }}</ref>
	<ref name="Speedway World Cup: Poland win 2010 Speedway World Cup">{{cite web|title=Speedway World Cup: Poland win 2010 Speedway World Cup|url=http://www.worldspeedway.com/artman/publish/article_13423.shtml|accessdate=18 December 2010|publisher=worldspeedway.com}}</ref>
	<ref name="Why Poland?">{{cite web|author=KPMG Sp. z o.o.|url=http://www.paiz.gov.pl/files/?id_plik=7513|title= Why Poland?|work=www.paiz.gov.pl|publisher=|pages=|page=3|date=|accessdate=27 August 2011|quote=Over 80% of foreign investors see the results of their investments to date as positive or very positive and none of the studied companies reported a negative opinion.}}</ref>
	<ref name="Szymborska's 'View': Small Truths Sharply Etched">{{cite web|url= http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10721773|work= npr.org|date= 5 June 2007|accessdate= 12 December 2010|title=Szymborska's 'View': Small Truths Sharply Etched|author= Adam Gopnik|authorlink=Adam Gopnik}}</ref>
	<ref name="The Concise Oxford dictionary of music">{{cite book| title = The Concise Oxford dictionary of music| year = 2004| editor = Michael Kennedy| pages =| chapter =| chapterurl =| publisher = Oxford University Press| location =| isbn = 978-0-19-860884-4| url =| accessdate = }} p. 141</ref>
	<ref name="The Music Courts of the Polish Vasas">{{cite web|url=http://www.semper.pl/muzyczne_dwory_summary.pdf |title=The Music Courts of the Polish Vasas |work=www.semper.pl |publisher= |pages= |page=244 |date= |accessdate=13 May 2009 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/5h7rxPZrB |archivedate= 29 May 2009 }}</ref>
	<ref name="Wyznania religijne">{{pl icon}} Dr Zbigniew Pasek, ], {{cite web|url=http://www.religioznawstwo.uj.edu.pl/syllabusy/pasek-wrwp.rtf|title=Wyznania religijne|accessdate=15 September 2007|archiveurl = //web.archive.org/web/20061128165649/http://www.religioznawstwo.uj.edu.pl/syllabusy/pasek-wrwp.rtf|archivedate = 28 November 2006}} Further reading: Ustawa o gwarancjach wolności sumienia i wyznania z dnia 17 V 1989 z najnowszymi nowelizacjami z 1997 roku.</ref>
	<ref name="copernicus">{{cite web|url= http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/136591/Nicolaus-Copernicus|title= Nicolaus Copernicus|work= www.britannica.com|publisher=|pages=|page=|date=|accessdate=10 October 2008}}</ref>
	<ref name="Zibart">Eve Zibart, "Polish cuisine displays its German-Austrian history in its sausages, particularly the garlicky kielbasa (or kolbasz), and its smoked meats." (p. 108.)</ref><ref name="ashkenazic">{{cite web|url=http://www.myjewishlearning.com/culture/2/Food/Ashkenazic_Cuisine/Poland_and_Russia.shtml|title=Polish & Russian-Jewish Cuisine - My Jewish Learning|publisher=}}</ref>
	<ref name="Nigel_Roberts">Nigel Roberts (12 April 2011), (2nd), ISBN 1-84162-340-7. "Like Ukrainians, Russians and Poles, Belarusians are still fond of borscht with a very large dollop of sour cream (smyetana) and it is particularly warming and nourishing in the depths of winter."</ref><ref name="Jerzy_Pasikowski">{{cite web | url=http://newsgastro.pl/jerzy-pasikowski-radzi/88908-wpywy-kuchni-innych-narodow-na-ksztat-kuchni-polskiej.html | title=Wpływy kuchni innych narodów na kształt kuchni polskiej (Influences of cuisines of other nations in Polish cuisine) | publisher=Portal Gastronomiczny ''NewsGastro'' | year=2011 | accessdate=9 March 2014 | author=Jerzy Pasikowski}}</ref><ref name="polishmeals">. Retrieved 6 June 2011.</ref>
	<ref name="websters"> by ] Online Dictionary. Retrieved 6 June 2011.</ref>
	<ref name="Marc_Heine">"Always home-made, tomato soup is one of the first things a Polish cook learns to prepare." Marc E. Heine. Poland. 1987</ref>
	<ref name="Robert_Strybel">"Tu się w lasy schroniły wygnane ze zbytkowych stołów, narodowe potrawy, ], ], ], ] i ]" Jan N. de Bobrowicz. Maxymilian arcyksiąże Austryacki obrany Król polski. 1848. s. 74; "], ], sztuka mięsa, pieczenie huzarskie, ], ], ] z kapustą, przede wszystkim zaś rozmaite kasze" Zbigniew Kuchowicz Obyczaje staropolskie XVII-XVIII wieku. 1975; "pieczeń cielęca pieczona (panierowana), pieczeń cielęca zapiekana w sosie beszamelowym, pieczeń huzarska (=pieczeń wołowa przekładana farszem), pieczeń rzymska (klops), pieczeń rzymska (klops z cielęciny) w sosie śmietanowym, pieczeń rzymska z królika " Stanisław Berger. Kuchnia polska. 1974.; Polish Holiday Cookery by Robert Strybel. {{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eXuO_-KMm2sC&pg=PA89&dq=piecze%C5%84+roast&hl=pl&ei=wwZMTom_NI6r-gbdmuGOCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=book-preview-link&resnum=7&ved=0CE8QuwUwBg#v=onepage&q&f=false |title=Polish Holiday Cookery |first=Robert |last=Strybel |year=2003}}</ref><ref name="beverages">{{cite web|url=http://www.ejpau.media.pl/volume7/issue2/economics/art-06.html|title=Conditions of alcoholic beverages consumption among Polish consumers|publisher=}}</ref>
	<ref name="ZalogaHook1982">{{cite book|author1=Steven J. Zaloga|author2=Richard Hook|title=The Polish Army 1939–45|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AAdYFeW2fnoC&pg=PA3|accessdate=6 March 2011|date=21 January 1982|publisher=Osprey Publishing|isbn=978-0-85045-417-8|pages=3–}}</ref><ref name="Walters1988">{{cite book|author=E. Garrison Walters|title=The other Europe: Eastern Europe to 1945|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=64VpSBd7xUcC&pg=PA276|accessdate=6 March 2011|year=1988|publisher=Syracuse University Press|isbn=978-0-8156-2440-0|pages=276–}}</ref><ref name="ac">Anna M. Cienciala, , History 557 Lecture Notes</ref>
	<ref name="A Concise History of Poland">{{cite book|title=A Concise History of Poland|year=2001|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=University of Stirling Libraries – Popular Loan (Q 43.8 LUK)|isbn=0-521-55917-0|page=3|author1=Lukowski, Jerzy |author2=Zawaszki, Hubert |edition=First}}</ref>
	<ref name="Poland – UNESCO World Heritage Centre">{{cite web|url=http://whc.unesco.org/en/statesparties/pl|title=Poland – UNESCO World Heritage Centre|work=Whc.unesco.org|date=|accessdate=6 February 2012}}</ref><ref name="britannica">"". Encyclopædia Britannica.</ref>
	<ref name="Głos">{{cite journal|last=Frątczak|first=Sławomir Z.|language=Polish|url=http://www.glos.com.pl/Archiwum_nowe/Rok+2005/032/strona/Cud.html|archiveurl=//web.archive.org/web/20070708173639/http://www.glos.com.pl/Archiwum_nowe/Rok+2005/032/strona/Cud.html|archivedate=8 July 2007|journal=]|issue=32/2005|year=2005|title=Cud nad Wisłą|accessdate=18 June 2006}}</ref>
	<ref name="Language Rich Europe">{{cite web|url=http://www.language-rich.eu/home/country-profiles/profiles-overview/poland.html|title=Language rich Europe: Poland|accessdate=24 January 2015|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141217231426/http://www.language-rich.eu/home/country-profiles/profiles-overview/poland.html|archivedate=17 December 2014|deadurl=yes}}</ref>
	<ref name="Polska zakończyła udział w misjach po auspicjami ONZ – Wiadomości z kraju i ze świata – Gazeta Prawna – Partner pracodawcy, narzędzie specjalisty">{{cite web|url=http://www.gazetaprawna.pl/wiadomosci/artykuly/382706,polska_zakonczyla_udzial_w_misjach_po_auspicjami_onz.html|title=Polska zakończyła udział w misjach po auspicjami ONZ – Wiadomości z kraju i ze świata – Gazeta Prawna – Partner pracodawcy, narzędzie specjalisty|publisher=Gazetaprawna.pl|date=31 December 2009|accessdate=2 November 2011}}</ref>
	<ref name="– 15 tys. zimowych mundurów trafi do jednostek">{{cite web|url=http://www.policja.pl/portal/pol/1/59960/15_tys_zimowych_mundurow_trafi_do_jednostek.html|title=– 15 tys. zimowych mundurów trafi do jednostek|publisher=Policja.pl|date=30 September 2009|accessdate=28 July 2011}}</ref>
	<ref name="visionofhumanity">Vision of Humanity (2015), Downloads. Quote: In the period between 2005 and 2015 Poland recorded the largest improvement in PPI score (Positive Peace Index) in the world. Page 30 of 84 in PDF. Tables. Retrieved 9 November 2015.</ref>
	}}
	==External links==
	{{Sister project links|Poland|voy=Poland}}		{{Sister project links|Poland|voy=Poland}}
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	* {{CIA World Factbook link|pl|Poland}}
	* {{dmoz|Regional/Europe/Poland}}		* {{cite EB1911|wstitle=Poland| volume= 21 |short= x}}
			* {{cite EB1922 |wstitle=Poland | volume = 32 |short=x}}
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Latest revision as of 03:12, 7 January 2025

Country in Central Europe "Polska" and "Rzeczpospolita Polska" redirect here. For the dance, see Polska (dance). For other uses, see Poland (disambiguation) and Rzeczpospolita (disambiguation).

Republic of PolandRzeczpospolita Polska (Polish)
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem: "Mazurek Dąbrowskiego" ("Poland Is Not Yet Lost")
Show globeShow map of EuropeLocation of Poland (dark green) – in Europe (green & dark grey) – in the European Union (green)  –  [Legend]
Capitaland largest city	Warsaw 52°13′N 21°02′E / 52.217°N 21.033°E / 52.217; 21.033
Official language	Polish
Ethnic groups (2021)	98.8% Polish 96.2% only Polish 2.5% Polish and others 1.1% only non-Polish
Religion (2021)	72.4% Christianity 71.3% Catholicism 1.1% other Christian 6.9% no religion 0.1% other 20.6% unanswered
Demonym(s)	Polish Pole
Government	Unitary semi-presidential republic
• President	Andrzej Duda
• Prime Minister	Donald Tusk
Legislature	Parliament
• Upper house	Senate
• Lower house	Sejm
Formation
• Duchy of Poland	c. 960
• Baptism of Poland	14 April 966
• Kingdom of Poland	18 April 1025
• Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth	1 July 1569
• Second Republic	11 November 1918
• Government-in-exile	17 September 1939
• People's Republic	22 July 1944
• Third Republic	31 December 1989
Area
• Total	312,696 km (120,733 sq mi) (69th)
• Water (%)	1.48 (2015)
Population
• 2022 census	38,036,118 (38th)
• Density	122/km (316.0/sq mi) (75th)
GDP (PPP)	2024 estimate
• Total	$1.890 trillion (20th)
• Per capita	$51,628 (39th)
GDP (nominal)	2024 estimate
• Total	$862.908 billion (21st)
• Per capita	$23,563 (45th)
Gini (2022)	26.3 low inequality
HDI (2022)	0.881 very high (36th)
Currency	Złoty (PLN)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Date format	dd.mm.yyyy (CE)
Drives on	Right
Calling code	+48
ISO 3166 code	PL
Internet TLD	.pl
Also .eu, shared with other European Union member states

Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukraine to the east, Slovakia and the Czech Republic to the south, and Germany to the west. The territory is characterised by a varied landscape, diverse ecosystems, and temperate transitional climate. Poland is composed of sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 million people, and the fifth largest EU country by land area, covering a combined area of 312,696 km (120,733 sq mi). The capital and largest city is Warsaw; other major cities include Kraków, Wrocław, Łódź, Poznań, Gdańsk, and Szczecin.

Prehistoric human activity on Polish soil dates to the Lower Paleolithic, with continuous settlement since the end of the Last Glacial Period. Culturally diverse throughout late antiquity, in the early medieval period the region became inhabited by the West Slavic tribal Polans, who gave Poland its name. The process of establishing statehood coincided with the conversion of a pagan ruler of the Polans to Christianity, under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Church in 966. The Kingdom of Poland emerged in 1025, and in 1569 cemented its long-standing association with Lithuania, thus forming the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. At the time, the Commonwealth was one of the great powers of Europe, with an elective monarchy and a uniquely liberal political system, which adopted Europe's first modern constitution in 1791.

With the passing of the prosperous Polish Golden Age, the country was partitioned by neighbouring states at the end of the 18th century. Poland regained its independence at the end of World War I in 1918 with the creation of the Second Polish Republic, which emerged victorious in various conflicts of the interbellum period. In September 1939, the invasion of Poland by Germany and the Soviet Union marked the beginning of World War II, which resulted in the Holocaust and millions of Polish casualties. Forced into the Eastern Bloc in the global Cold War, the Polish People's Republic was a founding signatory of the Warsaw Pact. Through the emergence and contributions of the Solidarity movement, the communist government was dissolved and Poland re-established itself as a democratic state in 1989, as the first of its neighbours.

Poland is a semi-presidential republic with its bicameral legislature comprising the Sejm and the Senate. Considered a middle power, it is a developed market and high-income economy that is the sixth largest in the EU by nominal GDP and the fifth largest by PPP-adjusted GDP. Poland enjoys a very high standard of living, safety, and economic freedom, as well as free university education and universal health care. The country has 17 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, 15 of which are cultural. Poland is a founding member state of the United Nations and a member of the World Trade Organisation, OECD, NATO, and the European Union (including the Schengen Area).

Etymology

Main article: Names of Poland

The native Polish name for Poland is Polska. The name is derived from the Polans, a West Slavic tribe who inhabited the Warta River basin of present-day Greater Poland region (6th–8th century CE). The tribe's name stems from the Proto-Slavic noun pole meaning field, which itself originates from the Proto-Indo-European word *pleh₂- indicating flatland. The etymology alludes to the topography of the region and the flat landscape of Greater Poland. During the Middle Ages, the Latin form Polonia was widely used throughout Europe.

The country's alternative archaic name is Lechia and its root syllable remains in official use in several languages, notably Hungarian, Lithuanian, and Persian. The exonym possibly derives from either Lech, a legendary ruler of the Lechites, or from the Lendians, a West Slavic tribe that dwelt on the south-easternmost edge of Lesser Poland. The origin of the tribe's name lies in the Old Polish word lęda (plain). Initially, both names Lechia and Polonia were used interchangeably when referring to Poland by chroniclers during the Middle Ages.

History

Main article: History of Poland

Prehistory and protohistory

Main articles: Stone Age Poland, Bronze and Iron Age Poland, Poland in antiquity, Early Slavs, West Slavs, Lechites, and Poland in the Early Middle Ages

The first Stone Age archaic humans and Homo erectus species settled what was to become Poland approximately 500,000 years ago, though the ensuing hostile climate prevented early humans from founding more permanent encampments. The arrival of Homo sapiens and anatomically modern humans coincided with the climatic discontinuity at the end of the Last Glacial Period (Northern Polish glaciation 10,000 BC), when Poland became habitable. Neolithic excavations indicated broad-ranging development in that era; the earliest evidence of European cheesemaking (5500 BC) was discovered in Polish Kuyavia, and the Bronocice pot is incised with the earliest known depiction of what may be a wheeled vehicle (3400 BC).

The period spanning the Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age (1300 BC–500 BC) was marked by an increase in population density, establishment of palisaded settlements (gords) and the expansion of Lusatian culture. A significant archaeological find from the protohistory of Poland is a fortified settlement at Biskupin, attributed to the Lusatian culture of the Late Bronze Age (mid-8th century BC).

Throughout antiquity (400 BC–500 AD), many distinct ancient populations inhabited the territory of present-day Poland, notably Celtic, Scythian, Germanic, Sarmatian, Baltic and Slavic tribes. Furthermore, archaeological findings confirmed the presence of Roman Legions sent to protect the amber trade. The Polish tribes emerged following the second wave of the Migration Period around the 6th century AD; they were Slavic and may have included assimilated remnants of peoples that earlier dwelled in the area. Beginning in the early 10th century, the Polans would come to dominate other Lechitic tribes in the region, initially forming a tribal federation and later a centralised monarchical state.

Kingdom of Poland

Main articles: History of Poland during the Piast dynasty, History of Poland during the Jagiellonian dynasty, Baptism of Poland, and Kingdom of Poland

Poland began to form into a recognisable unitary and territorial entity around the middle of the 10th century under the Piast dynasty. In 966 the ruler of the Polans, Mieszko I, accepted Christianity under the auspices of the Roman Church with the Baptism of Poland. In 968, a missionary bishopric was established in Poznań. An incipit titled Dagome iudex first defined Poland's geographical boundaries with its capital in Gniezno and affirmed that its monarchy was under the protection of the Apostolic See. The country's early origins were described by Gallus Anonymus in Gesta principum Polonorum, the oldest Polish chronicle. An important national event of the period was the martyrdom of Saint Adalbert, who was killed by Prussian pagans in 997 and whose remains were reputedly bought back for their weight in gold by Mieszko's successor, Bolesław I the Brave.

In 1000, at the Congress of Gniezno, Bolesław obtained the right of investiture from Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor, who assented to the creation of additional bishoprics and an archdioceses in Gniezno. Three new dioceses were subsequently established in Kraków, Kołobrzeg, and Wrocław. Also, Otto bestowed upon Bolesław royal regalia and a replica of the Holy Lance, which were later used at his coronation as the first King of Poland in c. 1025, when Bolesław received permission for his coronation from Pope John XIX. Bolesław also expanded the realm considerably by seizing parts of German Lusatia, Czech Moravia, Upper Hungary, and southwestern regions of the Kievan Rus'.

The transition from paganism in Poland was not instantaneous and resulted in the pagan reaction of the 1030s. In 1031, Mieszko II Lambert lost the title of king and fled amidst the violence. The unrest led to the transfer of the capital to Kraków in 1038 by Casimir I the Restorer. In 1076, Bolesław II re-instituted the office of king, but was banished in 1079 for murdering his opponent, Bishop Stanislaus. In 1138, the country fragmented into five principalities when Bolesław III Wrymouth divided his lands among his sons. These were Lesser Poland, Greater Poland, Silesia, Masovia and Sandomierz, with intermittent hold over Pomerania. In 1226, Konrad I of Masovia invited the Teutonic Knights to aid in combating the Baltic Prussians; a decision that later led to centuries of warfare with the Knights.

In the first half of the 13th century, Henry I the Bearded and Henry II the Pious aimed to unite the fragmented dukedoms, but the Mongol invasion and the death of Henry II in battle hindered the unification. As a result of the devastation which followed, depopulation and the demand for craft labour spurred a migration of German and Flemish settlers into Poland, which was encouraged by the Polish dukes. In 1264, the Statute of Kalisz introduced unprecedented autonomy for the Polish Jews, who came to Poland fleeing persecution elsewhere in Europe.

In 1320, Władysław I the Short became the first king of a reunified Poland since Przemysł II in 1296, and the first to be crowned at Wawel Cathedral in Kraków. Beginning in 1333, the reign of Casimir III the Great was marked by developments in castle infrastructure, army, judiciary and diplomacy. Under his authority, Poland transformed into a major European power; he instituted Polish rule over Ruthenia in 1340 and imposed quarantine that prevented the spread of Black Death. In 1364, Casimir inaugurated the University of Kraków, one of the oldest institutions of higher learning in Europe. Upon his death in 1370, the Piast dynasty came to an end. He was succeeded by his closest male relative, Louis of Anjou, who ruled Poland, Hungary, and Croatia in a personal union. Louis' younger daughter Jadwiga became Poland's first female monarch in 1384.

In 1386, Jadwiga of Poland entered a marriage of convenience with Władysław II Jagiełło, the Grand Duke of Lithuania, thus forming the Jagiellonian dynasty and the Polish–Lithuanian union which spanned the late Middle Ages and early Modern Era. The partnership between Poles and Lithuanians brought the vast multi-ethnic Lithuanian territories into Poland's sphere of influence and proved beneficial for its inhabitants, who coexisted in one of the largest European political entities of the time.

In the Baltic Sea region, the struggle of Poland and Lithuania with the Teutonic Knights continued and culminated at the Battle of Grunwald in 1410, where a combined Polish-Lithuanian army inflicted a decisive victory against them. In 1466, after the Thirteen Years' War, king Casimir IV Jagiellon gave royal consent to the Peace of Thorn, which created the future Duchy of Prussia under Polish suzerainty and forced the Prussian rulers to pay tributes. The Jagiellonian dynasty also established dynastic control over the kingdoms of Bohemia (1471 onwards) and Hungary. In the south, Poland confronted the Ottoman Empire (at the Varna Crusade) and the Crimean Tatars, and in the east helped Lithuania to combat Russia.

Poland was developing as a feudal state, with a predominantly agricultural economy and an increasingly powerful landed nobility that confined the population to private manorial farmstead known as folwarks. In 1493, John I Albert sanctioned the creation of a bicameral parliament (the Sejm) composed of a lower house, the chamber of deputies, and an upper house, the chamber of senators. The Nihil novi act adopted by the Polish General Sejm in 1505, transferred most of the legislative power from the monarch to the parliament, an event which marked the beginning of the period known as Golden Liberty, when the state was ruled by the seemingly free and equal Polish nobles.

The 16th century saw Protestant Reformation movements making deep inroads into Polish Christianity, which resulted in the establishment of policies promoting religious tolerance, unique in Europe at that time. This tolerance allowed the country to avoid the religious turmoil and wars of religion that beset Europe. In Poland, Nontrinitarian Christianity became the doctrine of the so-called Polish Brethren, who separated from their Calvinist denomination and became the co-founders of global Unitarianism.

The European Renaissance evoked under Sigismund I the Old and Sigismund II Augustus a sense of urgency in the need to promote a cultural awakening. During the Polish Golden Age, the nation's economy and culture flourished. The Italian-born Bona Sforza, daughter of the Duke of Milan and queen consort to Sigismund I, made considerable contributions to architecture, cuisine, language and court customs at Wawel Castle.

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth

Main articles: History of Poland in the Early Modern era (1569–1795), Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, and Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth

The Union of Lublin of 1569 established the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, a unified federal state with an elective monarchy that was largely governed by the nobility. The latter coincided with a period of prosperity. The Polish-dominated union thereafter became a leading power and a major cultural entity, exercising political control over parts of Central, Eastern, Southeastern and Northern Europe. The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth occupied approximately 1 million km (390,000 sq mi) at its peak and was the largest state in Europe. Simultaneously, Poland imposed Polonisation policies in newly acquired territories which were met with resistance from ethnic and religious minorities.

In 1573, Henry de Valois of France, the first elected king, approbated the Henrician Articles which obliged future monarchs to respect the rights of nobles. When he left Poland to become King of France, his successor, Stephen Báthory, led a successful campaign in the Livonian War, granting Poland more lands across the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. State affairs were then headed by Jan Zamoyski, the Crown Chancellor. Stephen's successor, Sigismund III, defeated a rival Habsburg electoral candidate, Archduke Maximilian III, in the War of the Polish Succession (1587–1588). In 1592, Sigismund succeeded his father and John Vasa, in Sweden. The Polish-Swedish union endured until 1599, when he was deposed by the Swedes.

In 1609, Sigismund invaded Russia which was engulfed in a civil war, and a year later the Polish winged hussar units under Stanisław Żółkiewski occupied Moscow for two years after defeating the Russians at Klushino. Sigismund also countered the Ottoman Empire in the southeast; at Khotyn in 1621 Jan Karol Chodkiewicz achieved a decisive victory against the Turks, which ushered the downfall of Sultan Osman II.

Sigismund's long reign in Poland coincided with the Silver Age. The liberal Władysław IV effectively defended Poland's territorial possessions but after his death the vast Commonwealth began declining from internal disorder and constant warfare. In 1648, the Polish hegemony over Ukraine sparked the Khmelnytsky Uprising, followed by the decimating Swedish Deluge during the Second Northern War, and Prussia's independence in 1657. In 1683, John III Sobieski re-established military prowess when he halted the advance of an Ottoman Army into Europe at the Battle of Vienna. The Saxon era, under Augustus II and Augustus III, saw neighboring powers grow in strength at the expense of Poland. Both Saxon kings faced opposition from Stanisław Leszczyński during the Great Northern War (1700) and the War of the Polish Succession (1733).

Partitions

Main articles: History of Poland (1795–1918) and Partitions of Poland

The royal election of 1764 resulted in the elevation of Stanisław II Augustus Poniatowski to the monarchy. His candidacy was extensively funded by his sponsor and former lover, Empress Catherine II of Russia. The new king maneuvered between his desire to implement necessary modernising reforms, and the necessity to remain at peace with surrounding states. His ideals led to the formation of the 1768 Bar Confederation, a rebellion directed against the Poniatowski and all external influence, which ineptly aimed to preserve Poland's sovereignty and privileges held by the nobility. The failed attempts at government restructuring as well as the domestic turmoil provoked its neighbours to invade.

In 1772, the First Partition of the Commonwealth by Prussia, Russia and Austria took place, an act which the Partition Sejm, under considerable duress, eventually ratified as a fait accompli. Disregarding the territorial losses, in 1773 a plan of critical reforms was established, in which the Commission of National Education, the first government education authority in Europe, was inaugurated. Corporal punishment of schoolchildren was officially prohibited in 1783. Poniatowski was the head figure of the Enlightenment, encouraged the development of industries, and embraced republican neoclassicism. For his contributions to the arts and sciences he was awarded a Fellowship of the Royal Society.

In 1791, Great Sejm parliament adopted the 3 May Constitution, the first set of supreme national laws, and introduced a constitutional monarchy. The Targowica Confederation, an organisation of nobles and deputies opposing the act, appealed to Catherine and caused the 1792 Polish–Russian War. Fearing the reemergence of Polish hegemony, Russia and Prussia arranged and in 1793 executed, the Second Partition, which left the country deprived of territory and incapable of independent existence. On 24 October 1795, the Commonwealth was partitioned for the third time and ceased to exist as a territorial entity. Stanisław Augustus, the last King of Poland, abdicated the throne on 25 November 1795.

Era of insurrections

Main articles: Austrian Partition, Prussian Partition, and Russian Partition

The Polish people rose several times against the partitioners and occupying armies. An unsuccessful attempt at defending Poland's sovereignty took place in the 1794 Kościuszko Uprising, where a popular and distinguished general Tadeusz Kościuszko, who had several years earlier served under George Washington in the American Revolutionary War, led Polish insurgents. Despite the victory at the Battle of Racławice, his ultimate defeat ended Poland's independent existence for 123 years.

In 1806, an insurrection organised by Jan Henryk Dąbrowski liberated western Poland ahead of Napoleon's advance into Prussia during the War of the Fourth Coalition. In accordance with the 1807 Treaty of Tilsit, Napoleon proclaimed the Duchy of Warsaw, a client state ruled by his ally Frederick Augustus I of Saxony. The Poles actively aided French troops in the Napoleonic Wars, particularly those under Józef Poniatowski who became Marshal of France shortly before his death at Leipzig in 1813. In the aftermath of Napoleon's exile, the Duchy of Warsaw was abolished at the Congress of Vienna in 1815 and its territory was divided into Russian Congress Kingdom of Poland, the Prussian Grand Duchy of Posen, and Austrian Galicia with the Free City of Kraków.

Tadeusz Kościuszko was a veteran and hero of both the Polish and American wars of independence

In 1830, non-commissioned officers at Warsaw's Officer Cadet School rebelled in what was the November Uprising. After its collapse, Congress Poland lost its constitutional autonomy, army and legislative assembly. During the European Spring of Nations, Poles took up arms in the Greater Poland Uprising of 1848 to resist Germanisation, but its failure saw duchy's status reduced to a mere province; and subsequent integration into the German Empire in 1871. In Russia, the fall of the January Uprising (1863–1864) prompted severe political, social and cultural reprisals, followed by deportations and pogroms of the Polish-Jewish population. Towards the end of the 19th century, Congress Poland became heavily industrialised; its primary exports being coal, zinc, iron and textiles.

Second Polish Republic

Main articles: History of Poland (1918–1939), Battle of Warsaw (1920), and Second Polish Republic

In the aftermath of World War I, the Allies agreed on the reconstitution of Poland, confirmed through the Treaty of Versailles of June 1919. A total of 2 million Polish troops fought with the armies of the three occupying powers, and over 450,000 died. Following the armistice with Germany in November 1918, Poland regained its independence as the Second Polish Republic.

The Second Polish Republic reaffirmed its sovereignty after a series of military conflicts, most notably the Polish–Soviet War, when Poland inflicted a crushing defeat on the Red Army at the Battle of Warsaw.

The inter-war period heralded a new era of Polish politics. Whilst Polish political activists had faced heavy censorship in the decades up until World War I, a new political tradition was established in the country. Many exiled Polish activists, such as Ignacy Jan Paderewski, who would later become prime minister, returned home. A significant number of them then went on to take key positions in the newly formed political and governmental structures. Tragedy struck in 1922 when Gabriel Narutowicz, inaugural holder of the presidency, was assassinated at the Zachęta Gallery in Warsaw by a painter and right-wing nationalist Eligiusz Niewiadomski.

In 1926, the May Coup, led by the hero of the Polish independence campaign Marshal Józef Piłsudski, turned rule of the Second Polish Republic over to the nonpartisan Sanacja (Healing) movement to prevent radical political organisations on both the left and the right from destabilising the country. By the late 1930s, due to increased threats posed by political extremism inside the country, the Polish government became increasingly heavy-handed, banning a number of radical organisations, including communist and ultra-nationalist political parties, which threatened the stability of the country.

World War II

Main articles: History of Poland (1939–1945), Invasion of Poland, Military history of Poland during World War II, and War crimes in occupied Poland during World War II

World War II began with the Nazi German invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939, followed by the Soviet invasion of Poland on 17 September. On 28 September 1939, Warsaw fell. As agreed in the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, Poland was split into two zones, one occupied by Nazi Germany, the other by the Soviet Union. In 1939–1941, the Soviets deported hundreds of thousands of Poles. The Soviet NKVD executed thousands of Polish prisoners of war (among other incidents in the Katyn massacre) ahead of Operation Barbarossa. German planners had in November 1939 called for "the complete destruction of all Poles" and their fate as outlined in the genocidal Generalplan Ost.

Poland made the fourth-largest troop contribution in Europe, and its troops served both the Polish Government in Exile in the west and Soviet leadership in the east. Polish troops played an important role in the Normandy, Italian, North African Campaigns and Netherlands and are particularly remembered for the Battle of Britain and Battle of Monte Cassino. Polish intelligence operatives proved extremely valuable to the Allies, providing much of the intelligence from Europe and beyond, Polish code breakers were responsible for cracking the Enigma cipher and Polish scientists participating in the Manhattan Project were co-creators of the American atomic bomb. In the east, the Soviet-backed Polish 1st Army distinguished itself in the battles for Warsaw and Berlin.

The wartime resistance movement, and the Armia Krajowa (Home Army), fought against German occupation. It was one of the three largest resistance movements of the entire war, and encompassed a range of clandestine activities, which functioned as an underground state complete with degree-awarding universities and a court system. The resistance was loyal to the exiled government and generally resented the idea of a communist Poland; for this reason, in the summer of 1944 it initiated Operation Tempest, of which the Warsaw Uprising that began on 1 August 1944 is the best-known operation.

Nazi German forces under orders from Adolf Hitler set up six German extermination camps in occupied Poland, including Treblinka, Majdanek and Auschwitz. The Germans transported millions of Jews from across occupied Europe to be murdered in those camps. Altogether, 3 million Polish Jews – approximately 90% of Poland's pre-war Jewry – and between 1.8 and 2.8 million ethnic Poles were killed during the German occupation of Poland, including between 50,000 and 100,000 members of the Polish intelligentsia – academics, doctors, lawyers, nobility and priesthood. During the Warsaw Uprising alone, over 150,000 Polish civilians were killed, most were murdered by the Germans during the Wola and Ochota massacres. Around 150,000 Polish civilians were killed by Soviets between 1939 and 1941 during the Soviet Union's occupation of eastern Poland (Kresy), and another estimated 100,000 Poles were murdered by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) between 1943 and 1944 in what became known as the Wołyń Massacres. Of all the countries in the war, Poland lost the highest percentage of its citizens: around 6 million perished – more than one-sixth of Poland's pre-war population – half of them Polish Jews. About 90% of deaths were non-military in nature.

In 1945, Poland's borders were shifted westwards. Over two million Polish inhabitants of Kresy were expelled along the Curzon Line by Stalin. The western border became the Oder-Neisse line. As a result, Poland's territory was reduced by 20%, or 77,500 square kilometres (29,900 sq mi). The shift forced the migration of millions of other people, most of whom were Poles, Germans, Ukrainians, and Jews.

Post-war communism

Main articles: History of Poland (1945–1989), Polish People's Republic, History of Solidarity, and Polish Round Table Agreement

At the insistence of Joseph Stalin, the Yalta Conference sanctioned the formation of a new provisional pro-Communist coalition government in Moscow, which ignored the Polish government-in-exile based in London. This action angered many Poles who considered it a betrayal by the Allies. In 1944, Stalin had made guarantees to Churchill and Roosevelt that he would maintain Poland's sovereignty and allow democratic elections to take place. However, upon achieving victory in 1945, the elections organised by the occupying Soviet authorities were falsified and were used to provide a veneer of legitimacy for Soviet hegemony over Polish affairs. The Soviet Union instituted a new communist government in Poland, analogous to much of the rest of the Eastern Bloc. As elsewhere in Communist Europe, the Soviet influence over Poland was met with armed resistance from the outset which continued into the 1950s.

Despite widespread objections, the new Polish government accepted the Soviet annexation of the pre-war eastern regions of Poland (in particular the cities of Wilno and Lwów) and agreed to the permanent garrisoning of Red Army units on Poland's territory. Military alignment within the Warsaw Pact throughout the Cold War came about as a direct result of this change in Poland's political culture. In the European scene, it came to characterise the full-fledged integration of Poland into the brotherhood of communist nations.

The new communist government took control with the adoption of the Small Constitution on 19 February 1947. The Polish People's Republic (Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa) was officially proclaimed in 1952. In 1956, after the death of Bolesław Bierut, the régime of Władysław Gomułka became temporarily more liberal, freeing many people from prison and expanding some personal freedoms. Collectivisation in the Polish People's Republic failed. A similar situation repeated itself in the 1970s under Edward Gierek, but most of the time persecution of anti-communist opposition groups persisted. Despite this, Poland was at the time considered to be one of the least oppressive states of the Eastern Bloc.

Labour turmoil in 1980 led to the formation of the independent trade union "Solidarity" ("Solidarność"), which over time became a political force. Despite persecution and imposition of martial law in 1981 by General Wojciech Jaruzelski, it eroded the dominance of the Polish United Workers' Party and by 1989 had triumphed in Poland's first partially free and democratic parliamentary elections since the end of the Second World War. Lech Wałęsa, a Solidarity candidate, eventually won the presidency in 1990. The Solidarity movement heralded the collapse of communist regimes and parties across Europe.

Third Polish Republic

Main article: History of Poland (1989–present)

A shock therapy programme, initiated by Leszek Balcerowicz in the early 1990s, enabled the country to transform its Soviet-style planned economy into a market economy. As with other post-communist countries, Poland suffered temporary declines in social, economic, and living standards, but it became the first post-communist country to reach its pre-1989 GDP levels as early as 1995, although the unemployment rate increased. Poland became a member of the Visegrád Group in 1991, and joined NATO in 1999. Poles then voted to join the European Union in a referendum in June 2003, with Poland becoming a full member on 1 May 2004, following the consequent enlargement of the organisation.

Poland has joined the Schengen Area in 2007, as a result of which, the country's borders with other member states of the European Union were dismantled, allowing for full freedom of movement within most of the European Union. On 10 April 2010, the President of Poland Lech Kaczyński, along with 89 other high-ranking Polish officials died in a plane crash near Smolensk, Russia.

In 2011, the ruling Civic Platform won parliamentary elections. In 2014, the Prime Minister of Poland, Donald Tusk, was chosen to be President of the European Council, and resigned as prime minister. The 2015 and 2019 elections were won by the national-conservative Law and Justice Party (PiS) led by Jarosław Kaczyński, resulting in increased Euroscepticism and increased friction with the European Union. In December 2017, Mateusz Morawiecki was sworn in as the Prime Minister, succeeding Beata Szydlo, in office since 2015. President Andrzej Duda, supported by Law and Justice party, was re-elected in the 2020 presidential election. As of November 2023, the Russian invasion of Ukraine had led to 17 million Ukrainian refugees crossing the border to Poland. As of November 2023, 0.9 million of those had stayed in Poland. In October 2023, the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party won the largest share of the vote in the election, but lost its majority in parliament. In December 2023, Donald Tusk became the new Prime Minister leading a coalition made up of Civic Coalition, Third Way, and The Left. Law and Justice became the leading opposition party.

Geography

Main article: Geography of Poland

Poland covers an administrative area of 312,722 km (120,743 sq mi), and is the ninth-largest country in Europe. Approximately 311,895 km (120,423 sq mi) of the country's territory consists of land, 2,041 km (788 sq mi) is internal waters and 8,783 km (3,391 sq mi) is territorial sea. Topographically, the landscape of Poland is characterised by diverse landforms, water bodies and ecosystems. The central and northern region bordering the Baltic Sea lie within the flat Central European Plain, but its south is hilly and mountainous. The average elevation above the sea level is estimated at 173 metres.

The country has a coastline spanning 770 km (480 mi); extending from the shores of the Baltic Sea, along the Bay of Pomerania in the west to the Gulf of Gdańsk in the east. The beach coastline is abundant in sand dune fields or coastal ridges and is indented by spits and lagoons, notably the Hel Peninsula and the Vistula Lagoon, which is shared with Russia. The largest Polish island on the Baltic Sea is Wolin, located within Wolin National Park. Poland also shares the Szczecin Lagoon and the Usedom island with Germany.

The mountainous belt in the extreme south of Poland is divided into two major mountain ranges; the Sudetes in the west and the Carpathians in the east. The highest part of the Carpathian massif are the Tatra Mountains, extending along Poland's southern border. Poland's highest point is Mount Rysy at 2,501 metres (8,205 ft) in elevation, located in the Tatras. The highest summit of the Sudetes massif is Mount Śnieżka at 1,603.3 metres (5,260 ft), shared with the Czech Republic. The lowest point in Poland is situated at Raczki Elbląskie in the Vistula Delta, which is 1.8 metres (5.9 ft) below sea level.

Poland's longest rivers are the Vistula, the Oder, the Warta, and the Bug. The country also possesses one of the highest densities of lakes in the world, numbering around ten thousand and mostly concentrated in the north-eastern region of Masuria, within the Masurian Lake District. The largest lakes, covering more than 100 square kilometres (39 sq mi), are Śniardwy and Mamry, and the deepest is Lake Hańcza at 108.5 metres (356 ft) in depth.

Climate

Main article: Geography of Poland § Climate

The climate of Poland is temperate transitional, and varies from oceanic in the north-west to continental in the south-east. The mountainous southern fringes are situated within an alpine climate. Poland is characterised by warm summers, with a mean temperature of around 20 °C (68.0 °F) in July, and moderately cold winters averaging −1 °C (30.2 °F) in December. The warmest and sunniest part of Poland is Lower Silesia in the southwest and the coldest region is the northeast corner, around Suwałki in Podlaskie province, where the climate is affected by cold fronts from Scandinavia and Siberia. Precipitation is more frequent during the summer months, with highest rainfall recorded from June to September.

There is a considerable fluctuation in day-to-day weather and the arrival of a particular season can differ each year. Climate change and other factors have further contributed to interannual thermal anomalies and increased temperatures; the average annual air temperature between 2011 and 2020 was 9.33 °C (48.8 °F), around 1.11 °C higher than in the 2001–2010 period. Winters are also becoming increasingly drier, with less sleet and snowfall.

Biodiversity

Main article: Geography of Poland § Biodiversity

Phytogeographically, Poland belongs to the Central European province of the Circumboreal Region within the Boreal Kingdom. The country has four Palearctic ecoregions – Central, Northern, Western European temperate broadleaf and mixed forest, and the Carpathian montane conifer. Forests occupy 31% of Poland's land area, the largest of which is the Lower Silesian Wilderness. The most common deciduous trees found across the country are oak, maple, and beech; the most common conifers are pine, spruce, and fir. An estimated 69% of all forests are coniferous.

The flora and fauna in Poland is that of Continental Europe, with the wisent, white stork and white-tailed eagle designated as national animals, and the red common poppy being the unofficial floral emblem. Among the most protected species is the European bison, Europe's heaviest land animal, as well as the Eurasian beaver, the lynx, the gray wolf and the Tatra chamois. The region was also home to the extinct aurochs, the last individual dying in Poland in 1627. Game animals such as red deer, roe deer, and wild boar are found in most woodlands. Poland is also a significant breeding ground for migratory birds and hosts around one quarter of the global population of white storks.

Around 315,100 hectares (1,217 sq mi), equivalent to 1% of Poland's territory, is protected within 23 Polish national parks, two of which – Białowieża and Bieszczady – are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. There are 123 areas designated as landscape parks, along with numerous nature reserves and other protected areas under the Natura 2000 network.

Government and politics

Main article: Politics of Poland President
Andrzej Duda
since 6 August 2015Prime Minister
Donald Tusk
since 13 December 2023

Poland is a unitary semi-presidential republic and a representative democracy, with a president as the head of state. The executive power is exercised further by the Council of Ministers and the prime minister who acts as the head of government. The council's individual members are selected by the prime minister, approved by parliament and sworn in by the president. The head of state is elected by popular vote for a five-year term. The current president is Andrzej Duda and the prime minister is Donald Tusk.

Poland's legislative assembly is a bicameral parliament consisting of a 460-member lower house (Sejm) and a 100-member upper house (Senate). The Sejm is elected under proportional representation according to the d'Hondt method for vote-seat conversion. The Senate is elected under the first-past-the-post electoral system, with one senator being returned from each of the one hundred constituencies. The Senate has the right to amend or reject a statute passed by the Sejm, but the Sejm may override the Senate's decision with a majority vote.

With the exception of ethnic minority parties, only candidates of political parties receiving at least 5% of the total national vote can enter the Sejm. Both the lower and upper houses of parliament in Poland are elected for a four-year term and each member of the Polish parliament is guaranteed parliamentary immunity. Under current legislation, a person must be 21 years of age or over to assume the position of deputy, 30 or over to become senator and 35 to run in a presidential election.

Members of the Sejm and Senate jointly form the National Assembly of the Republic of Poland. The National Assembly, headed by the Sejm Marshal, is formed on three occasions – when a new president takes the oath of office; when an indictment against the president is brought to the State Tribunal; and in case a president's permanent incapacity to exercise his duties due to the state of his health is declared.

Administrative divisions

Main article: Administrative divisions of Poland

Poland is divided into 16 provinces or states known as voivodeships. As of 2022, the voivodeships are subdivided into 380 counties (powiats), which are further fragmented into 2,477 municipalities (gminas). Major cities normally have the status of both gmina and powiat. The provinces are largely founded on the borders of historic regions, or named for individual cities. Administrative authority at the voivodeship level is shared between a government-appointed governor (voivode), an elected regional assembly (sejmik) and a voivodeship marshal, an executive elected by the assembly.

Pomeranian West Pomeranian Warmian-Masurian Podlaskie Masovian Kuyavian- Pomeranian Greater Poland Lubusz Lower Silesian Łódź Opole Lublin Lesser Poland Subcarpathian Holy Cross Silesian Voivodeship Capital city Area Population in English in Polish km 2021 Greater Poland Wielkopolskie Poznań 29,826 3,496,450 Kuyavian-Pomeranian Kujawsko-Pomorskie Bydgoszcz & Toruń 17,971 2,061,942 Lesser Poland Małopolskie Kraków 15,183 3,410,441 Łódź Łódzkie Łódź 18,219 2,437,970 Lower Silesian Dolnośląskie Wrocław 19,947 2,891,321 Lublin Lubelskie Lublin 25,123 2,095,258 Lubusz Lubuskie Gorzów Wielkopolski & Zielona Góra 13,988 1,007,145 Masovian Mazowieckie Warsaw 35,559 5,425,028 Opole Opolskie Opole 9,412 976,774 Podlaskie Podlaskie Białystok 20,187 1,173,286 Pomeranian Pomorskie Gdańsk 18,323 2,346,671 Silesian Śląskie Katowice 12,333 4,492,330 Subcarpathian Podkarpackie Rzeszów 17,846 2,121,229 Holy Cross Świętokrzyskie Kielce 11,710 1,224,626 Warmian-Masurian Warmińsko-Mazurskie Olsztyn 24,173 1,416,495 West Pomeranian Zachodniopomorskie Szczecin 22,905 1,688,047

Law

Main article: Law of Poland

The Constitution of Poland is the enacted supreme law, and Polish judicature is based on the principle of civil rights, governed by the code of civil law. The current democratic constitution was adopted by the National Assembly of Poland on 2 April 1997; it guarantees a multi-party state with freedoms of religion, speech and gatherings, prohibits the practices of forced medical experimentation, torture or corporal punishment, and acknowledges the inviolability of the home, the right to form trade unions, and the right to strike.

The judiciary in Poland is composed of the Supreme Court as the country's highest judicial organ, the Supreme Administrative Court for the judicial control of public administration, Common Courts (District, Regional, Appellate) and the Military Court. The Constitutional and State Tribunals are separate judicial bodies, which rule the constitutional liability of people holding the highest offices of state and supervise the compliance of statutory law, thus protecting the Constitution. Judges are nominated by the National Council of the Judiciary and are appointed for life by the president. With the approval of the Senate, the Sejm appoints an ombudsman for a five-year term to guard the observance of social justice.

Poland has a low homicide rate at 0.7 murders per 100,000 people, as of 2018. Rape, assault and violent crime remain at a very low level. The country has imposed strict regulations on abortion, which is permitted only in cases of rape, incest or when the woman's life is in danger; congenital disorder and stillbirth are not covered by the law, prompting some women to seek abortion abroad.

Historically, the most significant Polish legal act is the Constitution of 3 May 1791. Instituted to redress long-standing political defects of the federative Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and its Golden Liberty, it was the first modern constitution in Europe and influenced many later democratic movements across the globe. In 1918, the Second Polish Republic became one of the first countries to introduce universal women's suffrage.

Foreign relations

Main articles: Foreign relations of Poland and List of diplomatic missions of Poland

Poland is a middle power and is transitioning into a regional power in Europe. It has a total of 53 representatives in the European Parliament as of 2024. Warsaw serves as the headquarters for Frontex, the European Union's agency for external border security as well as ODIHR, one of the principal institutions of the OSCE. Apart from the European Union, Poland has been a member of NATO, the United Nations, and the WTO.

In recent years, Poland significantly strengthened its relations with the United States, thus becoming one of its closest allies and strategic partners in Europe. Historically, Poland maintained strong cultural and political ties to Hungary; this special relationship was recognised by the parliaments of both countries in 2007 with the joint declaration of 23 March as "The Day of Polish-Hungarian Friendship".

Military

Main article: Polish Armed Forces

The Polish Armed Forces are composed of five branches – the Land Forces, the Navy, the Air Force, the Special Forces and the Territorial Defence Force. The military is subordinate to the Ministry of National Defence of the Republic of Poland. However, its commander-in-chief in peacetime is the president, who nominates officers, the Minister for National Defence and the chief of staff. Polish military tradition is generally commemorated by the Armed Forces Day, celebrated annually on 15 August. As of 2022, the Polish Armed Forces have a combined strength of 114,050 active soldiers, with a further 75,400 active in the gendarmerie and defence force.

Poland ranks 14th in the world in terms of military expenditures; the country allocates 3.8% of its total GDP on military spending, equivalent to approximately US$31.6 billion in 2023. From 2022, Poland initiated a programme of mass modernisation of its armed forces, in close cooperation with American, South Korean and local Polish defence manufacturers. Also, the Polish military is set to increase its size to 250,000 enlisted and officers, and 50,000 defence force personnel. According to SIPRI, the country exported €487 million worth of arms and armaments to foreign countries in 2020.

Compulsory military service for men, who previously had to serve for nine months, was discontinued in 2008. Polish military doctrine reflects the same defensive nature as that of its NATO partners and the country actively hosts NATO's military exercises. Since 1953, the country has been a large contributor to various United Nations peacekeeping missions, and currently maintains military presence in the Middle East, Africa, the Baltic states and southeastern Europe.

Security, law enforcement and emergency services

Main articles: Law enforcement in Poland, Emergency medical services in Poland, and State Fire Service

Thanks to its location, Poland is a country essentially free from the threat of natural disasters such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tornadoes and tropical cyclones. However, floods have occurred in low-lying areas from time to time during periods of extreme rainfall (e.g. during the 2010 Central European floods).

Law enforcement in Poland is performed by several agencies which are subordinate to the Ministry of Interior and Administration – the State Police (Policja), assigned to investigate crimes or transgression; the Municipal City Guard, which maintains public order; and several specialised agencies, such as the Polish Border Guard. Private security firms are also common, although they possess no legal authority to arrest or detain a suspect. Municipal guards are primarily headed by provincial, regional or city councils; individual guards are not permitted to carry firearms unless instructed by the superior commanding officer. Security service personnel conduct regular patrols in both large urban areas or smaller suburban localities.

The Internal Security Agency (ABW, or ISA in English) is the chief counterintelligence instrument safeguarding Poland's internal security, along with Agencja Wywiadu (AW) which identifies threats and collects secret information abroad. The Central Investigation Bureau of Police (CBŚP) and the Central Anticorruption Bureau (CBA) are responsible for countering organised crime and corruption in state and private institutions.

Emergency services in Poland consist of the emergency medical services, search and rescue units of the Polish Armed Forces and State Fire Service. Emergency medical services in Poland are operated by local and regional governments, but are a part of the centralised national agency – the National Medical Emergency Service (Państwowe Ratownictwo Medyczne).

Economy

Main article: Economy of Poland

Economic indicators

GDP (PPP)	$1.890 trillion (2024)
Nominal GDP	$862.9 billion (2024)
Real GDP growth	5.3% (2022)
CPI inflation	2.5% (May 2024)
Employment-to-population ratio	57% (2022)
Unemployment	2.8% (2023)
Total public debt	$340 billion (2022)

As of 2023, Poland's economy and gross domestic product (GDP) is the sixth largest in the European Union by nominal standards and the fifth largest by purchasing power parity. It is also one of the fastest growing within the Union and reached a developed market status in 2018. The unemployment rate published by Eurostat in 2023 amounted to 2.8%, which was the second-lowest in the EU. As of 2023, around 62% of the employed population works in the service sector, 29% in manufacturing, and 8% in the agricultural sector. Although Poland is a member of the European single market, the country has not adopted the Euro as legal tender and maintains its own currency – the Polish złoty (zł, PLN).

Poland is the regional economic leader in Central Europe, with nearly 40 per cent of the 500 biggest companies in the region (by revenues) as well as a high globalisation rate. The country's largest firms compose the WIG20 and WIG30 indexes, which is traded on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. According to reports made by the National Bank of Poland, the value of Polish foreign direct investments reached almost 300 billion PLN at the end of 2014. The Central Statistical Office estimated that in 2014 there were 1,437 Polish corporations with interests in 3,194 foreign entities.

Poland has the largest banking sector in Central Europe, with 32.3 branches per 100,000 adults. It was the only European economy to have avoided the recession of 2008. The country is the 19th largest exporter of goods and services in the world. Exports of goods and services are valued at approximately 58% of GDP, as of 2023. Since 2019, workers under the age of 26 are exempt from paying the income tax. In 2023, the country produced 1300 tonnes of silver and was the 5th largest silver producer globally. As of 2024, Poland holds the world's 12th largest gold reserve, estimated at around 377 tonnes.

Tourism

Main article: Tourism in Poland

In 2020, the total value of the tourism industry in Poland was 104.3 billion PLN, then equivalent to 4.5% of the Polish GDP. Tourism contributes considerably to the overall economy and makes up a relatively large proportion of the country's service market. Nearly 200,000 people were employed in the accommodation and catering (hospitality) sector in 2020. In 2021, Poland ranked 12th most visited country in the world by international arrivals.

Tourist attractions in Poland vary, from the mountains in the south to the beaches in the north, with a trail of rich architectural and cultural heritage. Among the most recognisable landmarks are Old Towns in Kraków, Warsaw, Wrocław (dwarf statues), Gdańsk, Poznań, Lublin, Toruń and Zamość as well as museums, zoological gardens, theme parks and the Wieliczka Salt Mine, with its labyrinthine tunnels, underground lake and chapels carved by miners out of rock salt beneath the ground. There are over 100 castles in the country, largely within the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, and also on the Trail of the Eagles' Nests; the largest castle in the world by land area is situated in Malbork. The German Auschwitz concentration camp in Oświęcim, and the Skull Chapel in Kudowa-Zdrój constitute dark tourism. Regarding nature based travel, notable sites include the Masurian Lake District and Białowieża Forest in the east; on the south Karkonosze, the Table Mountains and the Tatra Mountains, where Rysy and the Eagle's Path trail are located. The Pieniny and Bieszczady Mountains lie in the extreme south-east.

Transport

Main article: Transport in Poland

Transport in Poland is provided by means of rail, road, marine shipping and air travel. The country is part of EU's Schengen Area and is an important transport hub due to its strategic geographical position in Central Europe. Some of the longest European routes, including the E30 and E40, run through Poland. The country has a good network of highways consisting of express roads and motorways. As of August 2023, Poland has the world's 21st-largest road network, maintaining over 5,000 km (3,100 mi) of highways in use.

In 2022, the nation had 19,393 kilometres (12,050 mi) of railway track, the third longest in the European Union after Germany and France. The Polish State Railways (PKP) is the dominant railway operator, with certain major voivodeships or urban areas possessing their own commuter and regional rail. Poland has a number of international airports, the largest of which is Warsaw Chopin Airport. It is the primary global hub for LOT Polish Airlines, the country's flag carrier.

Seaports exist all along Poland's Baltic coast, with most freight operations using Świnoujście, Police, Szczecin, Kołobrzeg, Gdynia, Gdańsk and Elbląg as their base. The Port of Gdańsk is the only port in the Baltic Sea adapted to receive oceanic vessels. Polferries and Unity Line are the largest Polish ferry operators, with the latter providing roll-on/roll-off and train ferry services to Scandinavia.

Energy

Main article: Energy in Poland

The electricity generation sector in Poland is largely fossil-fuel–based. Coal production in Poland is a major source of employment and the largest source of the nation's greenhouse gas emissions. Many power plants nationwide use Poland's position as a major European exporter of coal to their advantage by continuing to use coal as the primary raw material in the production of their energy. The three largest Polish coal mining firms (Węglokoks, Kompania Węglowa and JSW) extract around 100 million tonnes of coal annually. After coal, Polish energy supply relies significantly on oil—the nation is the third-largest buyer of Russian oil exports to the EU.

The new Energy Policy of Poland until 2040 (EPP2040) would reduce the share of coal and lignite in electricity generation by 25% from 2017 to 2030. The plan involves deploying new nuclear plants, increasing energy efficiency, and decarbonising the Polish transport system in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prioritise long-term energy security.

Science and technology

Main articles: Timeline of Polish science and technology and List of Polish Nobel laureates Physicist and chemist Marie Curie was the first person to win two Nobel Prizes.Astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus formulated the heliocentric model of the solar system.

Over the course of history, the Polish people have made considerable contributions in the fields of science, technology and mathematics. Perhaps the most renowned Pole to support this theory was Nicolaus Copernicus (Mikołaj Kopernik), who triggered the Copernican Revolution by placing the Sun rather than the Earth at the centre of the universe. He also derived a quantity theory of money, which made him a pioneer of economics. Copernicus' achievements and discoveries are considered the basis of Polish culture and cultural identity. Poland was ranked 40th in the Global Innovation Index in 2024.

Poland's tertiary education institutions; traditional universities, as well as technical, medical, and economic institutions, employ around tens of thousands of researchers and staff members. There are hundreds of research and development institutes. However, in the 19th and 20th centuries many Polish scientists worked abroad; one of the most important of these exiles was Marie Curie, a physicist and chemist who lived much of her life in France. In 1925, she established Poland's Radium Institute.

In the first half of the 20th century, Poland was a flourishing centre of mathematics. Outstanding Polish mathematicians formed the Lwów School of Mathematics (with Stefan Banach, Stanisław Mazur, Hugo Steinhaus, Stanisław Ulam) and Warsaw School of Mathematics (with Alfred Tarski, Kazimierz Kuratowski, Wacław Sierpiński and Antoni Zygmund). Numerous mathematicians, scientists, chemists or economists emigrated due to historic vicissitudes, among them Benoit Mandelbrot, Leonid Hurwicz, Alfred Tarski, Joseph Rotblat and Nobel Prize laureates Roald Hoffmann, Georges Charpak and Tadeusz Reichstein.

Demographics

Main articles: Demographics of Poland, List of cities and towns in Poland, Metropolitan areas in Poland, Polish people, and Polish diaspora

Poland has a population of approximately 38.2 million as of 2021, and is the ninth-most populous country in Europe, as well as the fifth-most populous member state of the European Union. It has a population density of 122 inhabitants per square kilometre (320 inhabitants/sq mi). The total fertility rate was estimated at 1.33 children born to a woman in 2021, which is among the world's lowest. Furthermore, Poland's population is aging significantly, and the country has a median age of 42.2.

Around 60% of the country's population lives in urban areas or major cities and 40% in rural zones. In 2020, 50.2% of Poles resided in detached dwellings and 44.3% in apartments. The most populous administrative province or state is the Masovian Voivodeship and the most populous city is the capital, Warsaw, at 1.8 million inhabitants with a further 2–3 million people living in its metropolitan area. The metropolitan area of Katowice is the largest urban conurbation with a population between 2.7 million and 5.3 million residents. Population density is higher in the south of Poland and mostly concentrated between the cities of Wrocław and Kraków.

In the 2011 Polish census, 37,310,341 people reported Polish identity, 846,719 Silesian, 232,547 Kashubian and 147,814 German. Other identities were reported by 163,363 people (0.41%) and 521,470 people (1.35%) did not specify any nationality. Official population statistics do not include migrant workers who do not possess a permanent residency permit or Karta Polaka. More than 1.7 million Ukrainian citizens worked legally in Poland in 2017. The number of migrants is rising steadily; the country approved 504,172 work permits for foreigners in 2021 alone. According to the Council of Europe, 12,731 Romani people live in Poland.

Largest cities or towns in Poland Baza Demografia (GUS) 2024
	Rank	Name	Voivodeship	Pop.	Rank	Name	Voivodeship	Pop.
Warsaw Kraków	1	Warsaw	Masovian	1,862,402	11	Katowice	Silesian	278,090	Wrocław Łódź
	2	Kraków	Lesser Poland	807,644	12	Gdynia	Pomeranian	240,554
	3	Wrocław	Lower Silesian	673,531	13	Częstochowa	Silesian	204,703
	4	Łódź	Łódź	648,711	14	Rzeszów	Subcarpathian	197,706
	5	Poznań	Greater Poland	536,818	15	Radom	Masovian	194,916
	6	Gdańsk	Pomeranian	487,834	16	Toruń	Kuyavian-Pomeranian	194,273
	7	Szczecin	West Pomeranian	387,700	17	Sosnowiec	Silesian	185,930
	8	Lublin	Lublin	328,868	18	Kielce	Świętokrzyskie	181,211
	9	Bydgoszcz	Kuyavian-Pomeranian	324,984	19	Gliwice	Silesian	169,259
	10	Białystok	Podlaskie	290,907	20	Olsztyn	Warmian-Masurian	166,697

Languages

Main articles: Polish language, Languages of Poland, and Bilingual communes in Poland

Polish is the official and predominant spoken language in Poland, and is one of the official languages of the European Union. It is also a second language in parts of neighbouring Lithuania, where it is taught in Polish-minority schools. Contemporary Poland is a linguistically homogeneous nation, with 97% of respondents declaring Polish as their mother tongue. There are currently 15 minority languages in Poland, including one recognised regional language, Kashubian, which is spoken by approximately 100,000 people on a daily basis in the northern regions of Kashubia and Pomerania. Poland also recognises secondary administrative languages or auxiliary languages in bilingual municipalities, where bilingual signs and placenames are commonplace. According to the Centre for Public Opinion Research, around 32% of Polish citizens declared knowledge of the English language in 2015.

Religion

Main article: Religion in Poland

According to the 2021 census, 71.3% of all Polish citizens adhere to the Roman Catholic Church, with 6.9% identifying as having no religion and 20.6% refusing to answer.

Poland is one of the most religious countries in Europe, where Roman Catholicism remains a part of national identity and Polish-born Pope John Paul II is widely revered. In 2015, 61.6% of respondents outlined that religion is of high or very high importance. However, church attendance has greatly decreased in recent years; only 28% of Catholics attended mass weekly in 2021, down from around half in 2000. According to The Wall Street Journal, "Of more than 100 countries studied by the Pew Research Center in 2018, Poland was secularising the fastest, as measured by the disparity between the religiosity of young people and their elders."

Freedom of religion in Poland is guaranteed by the Constitution, and Poland's concordat with the Holy See enables the teaching of religion in public schools. Historically, the Polish state maintained a high degree of religious tolerance and provided asylum for refugees fleeing religious persecution in other parts of Europe. Poland hosted Europe's largest Jewish diaspora, and the country was a centre of Ashkenazi Jewish culture and traditional learning until the Holocaust.

Contemporary religious minorities include Orthodox Christians, Protestants, including Lutherans of the Evangelical-Augsburg Church, Pentecostals in the Pentecostal Church in Poland, Adventists in the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and other smaller Evangelical denominations, including Jehovah's Witnesses, Eastern Catholics, Mariavites, Jews, Muslims (Tatars), and neopagans, some of whom are members of the Native Polish Church.

Health

Main article: Health in Poland

Medical service providers and hospitals in Poland are subordinate to the Ministry of Health; it provides administrative oversight and scrutiny of general medical practice, and is obliged to maintain a high standard of hygiene and patient care. Poland has a universal healthcare system based on an all-inclusive insurance system; state subsidised healthcare is available to all citizens covered by the general health insurance programme of the National Health Fund (NFZ). Private medical complexes exist nationwide; over 50% of the population uses both public and private sectors.

According to the Human Development Report from 2020, the average life expectancy at birth is 79 years (around 75 years for an infant male and 83 years for an infant female); the country has a low infant mortality rate (4 per 1,000 births). In 2019, the principal cause of death was ischemic heart disease; diseases of the circulatory system accounted for 45% of all deaths. In the same year, Poland was also the 15th-largest importer of medications and pharmaceutical products.

Education

Main articles: Education in Poland and Universities in Poland

The Jagiellonian University founded in 1364 by Casimir III in Kraków was the first institution of higher learning established in Poland, and is one of the oldest universities still in continuous operation. Poland's Commission of National Education (Komisja Edukacji Narodowej), established in 1773, was the world's first state ministry of education. In 2018, the Programme for International Student Assessment, coordinated by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, placed Poland's educational output as one of the highest in the OECD, ranking 5th by student attainment and 6th by student performance in 2022. The study showed that students in Poland perform better academically than in most OECD countries.

The framework for primary, secondary and higher tertiary education are established by the Ministry of Education and Science. One year of kindergarten is compulsory for six-year-olds. Primary education traditionally begins at the age of seven, although children aged six can attend at the request of their parents or guardians. Elementary school spans eight grades and secondary schooling is dependent on student preference – a four-year high school (liceum), a five-year technical school (technikum) or various vocational studies (szkoła branżowa) can be pursued by individual pupils. A liceum or technikum is concluded with a maturity exit exam (matura), which must be passed in order to apply for a university or other institutions of higher learning.

In Poland, there are over 500 university-level institutions, with numerous faculties. The University of Warsaw and Warsaw Polytechnic, the University of Wrocław, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań and the University of Technology in Gdańsk are among the most prominent. There are three conventional academic degrees in Poland – licencjat or inżynier (first cycle), magister (second cycle) and doktor (third cycle qualification).

Ethnicity

Ethnic structure of Poland by voivodeship according to the censuses of 2002, 2011 and 2021:

Census year	2002 census			2011 census			2021 census
Voivodeship	Polish ethnicity	Non-Polish ethnicity	Not reported or no ethnicity	Polish ethnicity (including mixed)	Only non-Polish ethnicity	Not reported or no ethnicity	Polish ethnicity (including mixed)	Only non-Polish ethnicity	Not reported or no ethnicity
Lower Silesian	98.02%	0.42%	1.56%	97.87%	0.38%	1.75%	99.25%	0.72%	0.03%
Greater Poland	99.29%	0.13%	0.58%	98.96%	0.13%	0.91%	99.60%	0.38%	0.02%
Holy Cross	98.50%	0.09%	1.41%	98.82%	0.08%	1.10%	99.70%	0.27%	0.03%
Kuyavian-Pomeranian	98.74%	0.13%	1.13%	98.73%	0.12%	1.15%	99.63%	0.34%	0.03%
Lesser Poland	98.72%	0.26%	1.02%	98.22%	0.24%	1.54%	99.50%	0.47%	0.03%
Lublin	98.74%	0.13%	1.12%	98.66%	0.14%	1.20%	99.64%	0.33%	0.03%
Lubusz	97.72%	0.33%	1.95%	98.26%	0.31%	1.43%	99.43%	0.54%	0.03%
Łódź	98.06%	0.15%	1.78%	98.86%	0.16%	0.98%	99.61%	0.37%	0.02%
Masovian	96.55%	0.26%	3.19%	98.61%	0.37%	1.02%	99.29%	0.68%	0.03%
Opole	81.62%	12.52%	5.86%	88.14%	9.72%	2.14%	95.58%	4.33%	0.09%
Podlaskie	93.94%	4.57%	1.49%	95.18%	2.89%	1.93%	98.17%	1.79%	0.04%
Pomeranian	97.42%	0.58%	2.00%	97.68%	0.95%	1.37%	98.97%	1.01%	0.02%
Silesian	91.99%	3.93%	4.08%	90.65%	7.78%	1.57%	95.49%	4.48%	0.03%
Subcarpathian	98.83%	0.26%	0.91%	98.16%	0.21%	1.63%	99.60%	0.36%	0.04%
Warmian-Masurian	97.13%	1.28%	1.60%	97.59%	0.90%	1.51%	99.21%	0.76%	0.03%
West Pomeranian	98.27%	0.46%	1.27%	98.18%	0.36%	1.46%	99.39%	0.58%	0.03%
Poland	96.74%	1.23%	2.03%	97.10%	1.55%	1.35%	98.84%	1.13%	0.03%

Culture

Main article: Culture of Poland

The culture of Poland is closely connected with its intricate 1,000-year history, and forms an important constituent in the Western civilisation. The Poles take great pride in their national identity which is often associated with the colours white and red, and exuded by the expression biało-czerwoni ("whitereds"). National symbols, chiefly the crowned white-tailed eagle, are often visible on clothing, insignia and emblems. The architectural monuments of great importance are protected by the National Heritage Board of Poland. Over 100 of the country's most significant tangible wonders were enlisted onto the Historic Monuments Register, with further 17 being recognised by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites.

Holidays and traditions

See also: Christmas in Poland

There are 13 government-approved annual public holidays – New Year on 1 January, Three Kings' Day on 6 January, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday, Labour Day on 1 May, Constitution Day on 3 May, Pentecost, Corpus Christi, Feast of the Assumption on 15 August, All Saints' Day on 1 November, Independence Day on 11 November and Christmastide on 25 and 26 December.

Particular traditions and superstitious customs observed in Poland are not found elsewhere in Europe. Though Christmas Eve (Wigilia) is not a public holiday, it remains the most memorable day of the entire year. Trees are decorated on 24 December, hay is placed under the tablecloth to resemble Jesus' manger, Christmas wafers (opłatek) are shared between gathered guests and a twelve-dish meatless supper is served that same evening when the first star appears. An empty plate and seat are symbolically left at the table for an unexpected guest. On occasion, carolers journey around smaller towns with a folk Turoń creature until the Lent period.

A widely-popular doughnut and sweet pastry feast occurs on Fat Thursday, usually 52 days prior to Easter. Eggs for Holy Sunday are painted and placed in decorated baskets that are previously blessed by clergymen in churches on Easter Saturday. Easter Monday is celebrated with pagan dyngus festivities, where the youth is engaged in water fights. Cemeteries and graves of the deceased are annually visited by family members on All Saints' Day; tombstones are cleaned as a sign of respect and candles are lit to honour the dead on an unprecedented scale.

Music

Main article: Music of Poland Frédéric Chopin was a renowned classical composer and virtuoso pianist.Artur Rubinstein was one of the greatest concert pianists of the 20th century.

Artists from Poland, including famous musicians such as Frédéric Chopin, Artur Rubinstein, Ignacy Jan Paderewski, Krzysztof Penderecki, Henryk Wieniawski, Karol Szymanowski, Witold Lutosławski, Stanisław Moniuszko and traditional, regionalised folk composers create a lively and diverse music scene, which even recognises its own music genres, such as sung poetry and disco polo.

The origins of Polish music can be traced to the 13th century; manuscripts have been found in Stary Sącz containing polyphonic compositions related to the Parisian Notre Dame School. Other early compositions, such as the melody of Bogurodzica and God Is Born (a coronation polonaise tune for Polish kings by an unknown composer), may also date back to this period, however, the first known notable composer, Nicholas of Radom, lived in the 15th century. Diomedes Cato, a native-born Italian who lived in Kraków, became a renowned lutenist at the court of Sigismund III; he not only imported some of the musical styles from southern Europe but blended them with native folk music.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, Polish baroque composers wrote liturgical music and secular compositions such as concertos and sonatas for voices or instruments. At the end of the 18th century, Polish classical music evolved into national forms like the polonaise. Wojciech Bogusławski is accredited with composing the first Polish national opera, titled Krakowiacy i Górale, which premiered in 1794.

Fryderyk Chopin Mazurka no. 4 in a minor, op. 17 Mazurka (Polish: mazurek), stylised folk dance in triple meter (1832), commemorating the November Uprising

Poland today has an active music scene, with the jazz and metal genres being particularly popular among the contemporary populace. Polish jazz musicians such as Krzysztof Komeda created a unique style, which was most famous in the 1960s and 1970s and continues to be popular to this day. Poland has also become a major venue for large-scale music festivals, chief among which are the Pol'and'Rock Festival, Open'er Festival, Opole Festival and Sopot Festival.

Art

Main articles: Art in Poland and Young Poland Jan Matejko, leading Polish history painter whose works depict Poland's heritage and key historical eventsLady with an Ermine (1490) by Leonardo da Vinci is displayed in the Czartoryski Museum in Kraków.

Art in Poland has invariably reflected European trends, with Polish painting pivoted on folklore, Catholic themes, historicism and realism, but also on Impressionism and romanticism. An important art movement was Young Poland, developed in the late 19th century for promoting decadence, symbolism and Art Nouveau. Since the 20th century Polish documentary art and photography has enjoyed worldwide fame, especially the Polish School of Posters. One of the most distinguished paintings in Poland is Lady with an Ermine (1490) by Leonardo da Vinci.

Internationally renowned Polish artists include Jan Matejko (historicism), Jacek Malczewski (symbolism), Stanisław Wyspiański (art nouveau), Henryk Siemiradzki (Roman academic art), Tamara de Lempicka (art deco), and Zdzisław Beksiński (dystopian surrealism). Several Polish artists and sculptors were also acclaimed representatives of avant-garde, constructivist, minimalist and contemporary art movements, including Katarzyna Kobro, Władysław Strzemiński, Magdalena Abakanowicz, Alina Szapocznikow, Igor Mitoraj and Wilhelm Sasnal.

Notable art academies in Poland include the Kraków Academy of Fine Arts, Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, Art Academy of Szczecin, University of Fine Arts in Poznań and the Geppert Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław. Contemporary works are exhibited at Zachęta, Ujazdów, and MOCAK art galleries.

Architecture

Main article: Architecture of Poland St. Mary's Basilica on the Main Market Square in Kraków is an example of Brick Gothic architectureThe 16th-century City Hall of Poznań illustrates the Renaissance style

The architecture of Poland reflects European architectural styles, with strong historical influences derived from Italy, Germany, and the Low Countries. Settlements founded on Magdeburg Law evolved around central marketplaces (plac, rynek), encircled by a grid or concentric network of streets forming an old town (stare miasto). Poland's traditional landscape is characterised by ornate churches, city tenements and town halls. Cloth hall markets (sukiennice) were once an abundant feature of Polish urban architecture. The mountainous south is known for its Zakopane chalet style, which originated in Poland.

The earliest architectonic trend was Romanesque (c. 11th century), but its traces in the form of circular rotundas are scarce. The arrival of brick Gothic (c. 13th century) defined Poland's most distinguishable medieval style, exuded by the castles of Malbork, Lidzbark, Gniew and Kwidzyn as well as the cathedrals of Gniezno, Gdańsk, Wrocław, Frombork and Kraków. The Renaissance (16th century) gave rise to Italianate courtyards, defensive palazzos and mausoleums. Decorative attics with pinnacles and arcade loggias are elements of Polish Mannerism, found in Poznań, Lublin and Zamość. Foreign artisans often came at the expense of kings or nobles, whose palaces were built thereafter in the Baroque, Neoclassical and Revivalist styles (17th–19th century).

Primary building materials timber and red brick were used extensively in Polish folk architecture, and the concept of a fortified church was commonplace. Secular structures such as dworek manor houses, farmsteads, granaries, mills and country inns are still present in some regions or in open air museums (skansen). However, traditional construction methods faded in the early-mid 20th century due to urbanisation and the construction of functionalist housing estates and residential areas.

Literature

Main articles: Polish literature and History of philosophy in Poland Adam Mickiewicz, whose national epic poem Pan Tadeusz (1834) is considered a masterpiece of Polish literatureJoseph Conrad, author of popular books such as Heart of Darkness (1899) and Nostromo (1904)

The literary works of Poland have traditionally concentrated around the themes of patriotism, spirituality, social allegories and moral narratives. The earliest examples of Polish literature, written in Latin, date to the 12th century. The first Polish phrase Day ut ia pobrusa, a ti poziwai (officially translated as "Let me, I shall grind, and you take a rest") was documented in the Book of Henryków and reflected the use of a quern-stone. It has been since included in UNESCO's Memory of World Register. The oldest extant manuscripts of fine prose in Old Polish are the Holy Cross Sermons and the Bible of Queen Sophia, and Calendarium cracoviense (1474) is Poland's oldest surviving print.

The poets Jan Kochanowski and Nicholas Rey became the first Renaissance authors to write in Polish. Prime literarians of the period included Dantiscus, Modrevius, Goslicius, Sarbievius and theologian John Laski. In the Baroque era, Jesuit philosophy and local culture greatly influenced the literary techniques of Jan Andrzej Morsztyn (Marinism) and Jan Chryzostom Pasek (sarmatian memoirs). During the Enlightenment, playwright Ignacy Krasicki composed the first Polish-language novel. Poland's leading 19th-century romantic poets were the Three Bards – Juliusz Słowacki, Zygmunt Krasiński and Adam Mickiewicz, whose epic poem Pan Tadeusz (1834) is a national classic. In the 20th century, the English impressionist and early modernist writings of Joseph Conrad made him one of the most eminent novelists of all time.

Contemporary Polish literature is versatile, with its fantasy genre having been particularly praised. The philosophical sci-fi novel Solaris by Stanisław Lem and The Witcher series by Andrzej Sapkowski are celebrated works of world fiction. Poland has six Nobel-Prize winning authors – Henryk Sienkiewicz (Quo Vadis; 1905), Władysław Reymont (The Peasants; 1924), Isaac Bashevis Singer (1978), Czesław Miłosz (1980), Wisława Szymborska (1996), and Olga Tokarczuk (2018).

Cuisine

Main article: Polish cuisine

The cuisine of Poland is eclectic and shares similarities with other regional cuisines. Among the staple or regional dishes are pierogi (filled dumplings), kielbasa (sausage), bigos (hunter's stew), kotlet schabowy (breaded cutlet), gołąbki (cabbage rolls), barszcz (borscht), żurek (soured rye soup), oscypek (smoked cheese), and tomato soup. Bagels, a type of bread roll, also originated in Poland.

Traditional dishes are hearty and abundant in pork, potatoes, eggs, cream, mushrooms, regional herbs, and sauce. Polish food is characteristic for its various kinds of kluski (soft dumplings), soups, cereals and a variety of breads and open sandwiches. Salads, including mizeria (cucumber salad), coleslaw, sauerkraut, carrot and seared beets, are common. Meals conclude with a dessert such as sernik (cheesecake), makowiec (poppy seed roll), or napoleonka (mille-feuille) cream pie.

Traditional alcoholic beverages include honey mead, widespread since the 13th century, beer, wine and vodka. The world's first written mention of vodka originates from Poland. The most popular alcoholic drinks at present are beer and wine which took over from vodka more popular in the years 1980–1998. Grodziskie, sometimes referred to as "Polish Champagne", is an example of a historical beer style from Poland. Tea remains common in Polish society since the 19th century, whilst coffee is drunk widely since the 18th century.

Fashion and design

Further information: Category:Polish fashion

Several Polish designers and stylists left a legacy of beauty inventions and cosmetics; including Helena Rubinstein and Maksymilian Faktorowicz, who created a line of cosmetics company in California known as Max Factor and formulated the term "make-up" which is now widely used as an alternative for describing cosmetics. Faktorowicz is also credited with inventing modern eyelash extensions. As of 2020, Poland possesses the sixth-largest cosmetic market in Europe. Inglot Cosmetics is the country's largest beauty products manufacturer, and the retail store Reserved is the country's most successful clothing store chain.

Historically, fashion has been an important aspect of Poland's national consciousness or cultural manifestation, and the country developed its own style known as Sarmatism at the turn of the 17th century. The national dress and etiquette of Poland also reached the court at Versailles, where French dresses inspired by Polish garments included robe à la polonaise and the witzchoura. The scope of influence also entailed furniture; rococo Polish beds with canopies became fashionable in French châteaus. Sarmatism eventually faded in the wake of the 18th century.

Cinema

Main article: Cinema of Poland

The cinema of Poland traces its origins to 1894, when inventor Kazimierz Prószyński patented the Pleograph and subsequently the Aeroscope, the first successful hand-held operated film camera. In 1897, Jan Szczepanik constructed the Telectroscope, a prototype of television transmitting images and sounds. They are both recognised as pioneers of cinematography. Poland has also produced influential directors, film producers and actors, many of whom were active in Hollywood, chiefly Roman Polański, Andrzej Wajda, Pola Negri, Samuel Goldwyn, the Warner brothers, Max Fleischer, Agnieszka Holland, Krzysztof Zanussi and Krzysztof Kieślowski.

The themes commonly explored in Polish cinema include history, drama, war, culture and black realism (film noir). In the 21st-century, two Polish productions won the Academy Awards – The Pianist (2002) by Roman Polański and Ida (2013) by Paweł Pawlikowski. Polish cinematography also created many well-received comedies. The most known of them were made by Stanisław Bareja and Juliusz Machulski.

Media

Main article: Mass media in Poland

According to the Eurobarometer Report (2015), 78 percent of Poles watch the television daily. In 2020, 79 percent of the population read the news more than once a day, placing it second behind Sweden. Poland has a number of major domestic media outlets, chiefly the public broadcasting corporation TVP, free-to-air channels TVN and Polsat as well as 24-hour news channels TVP Info, TVN 24 and Polsat News. Public television extends its operations to genre-specific programmes such as TVP Sport, TVP Historia, TVP Kultura, TVP Rozrywka, TVP Seriale and TVP Polonia, the latter a state-run channel dedicated to the transmission of Polish-language telecasts for the Polish diaspora. In 2020, the most popular types of newspapers were tabloids and socio-political news dailies.

Poland is a major European hub for video game developers and among the most successful companies are CD Projekt, Techland, The Farm 51, CI Games and People Can Fly. Some of the popular video games developed in Poland include The Witcher trilogy and Cyberpunk 2077. The Polish city of Katowice also hosts Intel Extreme Masters, one of the biggest esports events in the world.

Sports

Main articles: Sport in Poland and Poland at the Olympics

Motorcycle Speedway, volleyball and association football are among the country's most popular sports, with a rich history of international competitions. Track and field, basketball, handball, boxing, MMA, ski jumping, cross-country skiing, ice hockey, tennis, fencing, swimming, and weightlifting are other popular sports. The golden era of football in Poland occurred throughout the 1970s and went on until the early 1980s when the Polish national football team achieved their best results in any FIFA World Cup competitions finishing third place in the 1974 and the 1982 tournaments. The team won a gold medal in football at the 1972 Summer Olympics and two silver medals, in 1976 and in 1992. In 2012, Poland co-hosted the UEFA European Football Championship.

As of September 2024, the Polish men's national volleyball team is ranked as first in the world. The team won a gold medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics and the gold medal at the FIVB World Championship 1974, 2014 and 2018. Mariusz Pudzianowski is a highly successful strongman competitor and has won more World's Strongest Man titles than any other competitor in the world, winning the event in 2008 for the fifth time.

Poland has made a distinctive mark in motorcycle speedway racing. The top Ekstraliga division has one of the highest average attendances for any sport in Poland. The national speedway team of Poland is one of the major teams in international speedway. Individually, Poland has three Speedway Grand Prix World Champions, with the most successful being five-time World Champion Bartosz Zmarzlik who won back-to-back championships in 2019 and 2020 as well as 2022, 2023 and 2024. In 2021, Poland finished runners-up in the Speedway of Nations world championship final, held in Manchester, England in 2021.

In the 21st century, the country has seen a growth of popularity of tennis and produced a number of successful tennis players including World No. 1 Iga Świątek, winner of five Grand Slam singles titles; former World No. 2 Agnieszka Radwanska, winner of 20 WTA career singles titles including 2015 WTA Finals; Top 10 ATP player Hubert Hurkacz; former World No. 1 doubles player Łukasz Kubot, winner of two Grand Slam doubles titles and Jan Zieliński, winner of two Grand Slam mixed doubles titles. Poland also won the 2015 Hopman Cup with Agnieszka Radwańska and Jerzy Janowicz representing the country.

Poles made significant achievements in mountaineering, in particular, in the Himalayas and the winter ascending of the eight-thousanders (e.g. Jerzy Kukuczka, Krzysztof Wielicki, Wanda Rutkiewicz). Polish mountains are one of the tourist attractions of the country. Hiking, climbing, skiing and mountain biking and attract numerous tourists every year from all over the world. Water sports are the most popular summer recreation activities, with ample locations for fishing, canoeing, kayaking, sailing and windsurfing especially in the northern regions of the country.

See also

• Outline of Poland

Notes

1. Multiple national identity was available in the census.
2. "The dukes (dux) were originally the commanders of an armed retinue (drużyna) with which they broke the authority of the chieftains of the clans, thus transforming the original tribal organisation into a territorial unit."
3. "Mieszko accepted Roman Catholicism via Bohemia in 966. A missionary bishopric directly dependent on the papacy was established in Poznań. This was the true beginning of Polish history, for Christianity was a carrier of Western civilisation with which Poland was henceforth associated."
4. Polish: Polska [ˈpɔlska]
5. Polish: Rzeczpospolita Polska [ʐɛt͡ʂpɔsˈpɔlita ˈpɔlska]
6. Kaliningrad Oblast, an exclave of Russia

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Works cited

• Materski, Wojciech; Szarota, Tomasz (2009). Poland 1939–1945. Casualties and the victims of repressions under the Nazi and the Soviet occupations [Polska 1939–1945. Straty osobowe i ofiary represji pod dwiema okupacjami] (excerpts online). Institute of National Remembrance (IPN). Hardcover, 353 pages. ISBN 978-83-7629-067-6. With a Foreword by Janusz Kurtyka (IPN); and expert contributions by Waldemar Grabowski, Franciszek Piper, and Andrzej Krzysztof Kunert. Archived from the original on 31 March 2012. Retrieved 12 December 2013.

External links

• Gov.pl – Polish national portal. .
• Poland. The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency.
• "Poland" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 21 (11th ed.). 1911.
• "Poland" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 32 (12th ed.). 1922.
• Wikimedia Atlas of Poland
• Geographic data related to Poland at OpenStreetMap

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Considered European for cultural, political and historical reasons but is geographically in Western Asia. Oceanic islands within the vicinity of Europe are usually grouped with the continent even though they are not situated on its continental shelf. Governed by the Holy See which has sovereignty over Vatican City. Category Europe portal v t e Countries bordering the Baltic Sea Denmark Estonia Finland Åland Lapland Germany Schleswig-Holstein Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Latvia Lithuania Poland West Pomeranian Voivodeship Pomeranian Voivodeship Warmian–Masurian Voivodeship Russia Kaliningrad Oblast Leningrad Oblast Sweden v t e Organisation internationale de la Francophonie Members Members Albania Andorra Armenia Belgium Benin Bulgaria Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Comoros Cyprus Democratic Republic of the Congo Republic of the Congo Djibouti Dominica Egypt Equatorial Guinea France Gabon Ghana Greece Guinea-Bissau Haiti Ivory Coast Laos Lebanon Luxembourg North Macedonia Madagascar Mauritania Mauritius Moldova Monaco Morocco Qatar Romania Rwanda Saint Lucia São Tomé and Príncipe Senegal Seychelles Switzerland Togo Tunisia Vanuatu Vietnam National/regional members French Community of Belgium New Brunswick Quebec Associate members Kosovo New Caledonia Qatar Serbia United Arab Emirates Observers Angola Argentina Austria Bosnia and Herzegovina Chile Costa Rica Croatia Czechia Dominican Republic Estonia French Polynesia Gambia Georgia Hungary Ireland Latvia Lithuania Louisiana Malta Mexico Montenegro Mozambique Nova Scotia Ontario Poland Saarland Slovakia Slovenia South Korea Thailand Ukraine Uruguay Suspended members Burkina Faso Guinea Mali Niger Organization Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie Agence de Coopération Culturelle et Technique Agence universitaire de la Francophonie Culture French language UN French Language Day International Francophonie Day Jeux de la Francophonie Prix des cinq continents de la francophonie AFFOI TV5Monde LGBT rights Related Francophone economy Senghor University Category v t e Member states of the European Union Austria Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden See also: Potential enlargement and Former members v t e Members of the European Economic Area (EEA) EFTA member states Iceland (EU relations) Liechtenstein (EU relations) Norway (EU relations) EU member states Austria Belgium Bulgaria Croatia (provisional member) Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden See also: UK membership, CH–EU relations, and UK–EU relations v t e Council of Europe Institutions Secretary General Committee of Ministers Parliamentary Assembly Congress Court of Human Rights Commissioner for Human Rights Commission for the Efficiency of Justice Commission against Racism and Intolerance Venice Commission Pompidou Group Members Albania Andorra Armenia Austria Azerbaijan Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Georgia Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Moldova Monaco Montenegro Netherlands North Macedonia Norway Poland Portugal Romania San Marino Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey Ukraine United Kingdom Observers Canada Holy See Israel Japan Mexico United States EU relations Former members Czechoslovakia (1991–1992) Russia (1996–2022) Saar (assoc. 1950–1956) Serbia and Montenegro (2003–2006) v t e Lublin Triangle Members  Lithuania  Poland  Ukraine Joint projects Ukraine-Poland-Lithuania Interparliamentary Assembly LITPOLUKRBRIG

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• Poland
• 1918 establishments in Poland
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• Member states of NATO
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