Official Name: Rzeczpospolita Polska (Republic of Poland)

Area: Europe

Size: 312,683 km² 

Coastline: 491 km

Independence: formatin of Christianisation 966 

Form of Govt.: Unitary multiparty republic

Head of Govt.: Prime Minister

Capital: Warsaw

Largest City: Warsaw

Demographics (2005): 38,122,000.   122 /km²

Polish 96.7%, German 0.4%, Byelorussian 0.1%, Ukrainian 0.1%, other 0.7%, not declared 2.0%

GDP per Capita (2005): $14,880

Languages: Polish

Geography: The country is mostly part of the Great European Plain while north of the Polish Plateau there are lowlands of clay and sand as well as the Baltic Sea coast which is flat and contains numerous lagoons. To the south, the plateau rises to the Carpathian and Sudetes Mountains. Around 30% of the land area is covered by Pine, Beech and Birch forests while patches of tundra are found along the Baltic Sea coast and steppe covers the Polish Plateau. The principal rivers are the Wisla or Vistula and Oder or Odra.

Climate: Poland has a continental climate with severe winters and mild summers. Rainfall mostly occurs during the summer months and the average annual precipitation varies from 500 mm to 1,220 mm depending on the region. Average temperature ranges in Warsaw are from -5 to 0 degrees in January to 15 to 24 degrees in July.