Poland

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Country summary

Capital

Warsaw

Borders

Belarus 605 km, Czech Republic 615 km, Germany 456 km, Lithuania 91 km, Russia (Kaliningrad Oblast) 432 km, Slovakia 420 km, Ukraine 428 km

Government type

republic

Population

38,482,919 (July 2010 est.)[1]

Population growth

-0.047% (2010 est.)[1]

Life expectancy

75.63 years[1]

Unemployment

8.9% (January 2010 est.)[1]

Index of Economic Freedom

71[2]

Corruption Perceptions Index

49[3]

Doing Business ranking

72[4]


Poland is an ancient nation that was conceived near the middle of the 10th century. Its golden age occurred in the 16th century. During the following century, the strengthening of the gentry and internal disorders weakened the nation. In a series of agreements between 1772 and 1795, Russia, Prussia, and Austria partitioned Poland amongst themselves. Poland regained its independence in 1918 only to be overrun by Germany and the Soviet Union in World War II. It became a Soviet satellite state following the war, but its government was comparatively tolerant and progressive. Labor turmoil in 1980 led to the formation of the independent trade union "Solidarity" that over time became a political force and by 1990 had swept parliamentary elections and the presidency. A "shock therapy" program during the early 1990s enabled the country to transform its economy into one of the most robust in Central Europe, but Poland still faces the lingering challenges of high unemployment, underdeveloped and dilapidated infrastructure, and a poor rural underclass. Solidarity suffered a major defeat in the 2001 parliamentary elections when it failed to elect a single deputy to the lower house of Parliament, and the new leaders of the Solidarity Trade Union subsequently pledged to reduce the Trade Union's political role. Poland joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004. With its transformation to a democratic, market-oriented country largely completed, Poland is an increasingly active member of Euro-Atlantic organizations.[1]

Economical characteristics

  • Currency: Złoty (ISO code: PLN)
  • Central bank discount rate: 5% (31 December 2008)[1]
  • Commercial banks lending rate: NA% (31 December 2008)[1]
  • Stock of money (M1): $118.2 billion (31 December 2008)[1]
  • Quasi money (with M1 makes M2): $109 billion (31 December 2008)[1]

Notable events:

Statistics

Statistic / Year 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
GDP (million USD)[7] 167 958 171 276 190 421 198 180 216 801 252 769 303 912 341 670 425 321 527 866
Govt. debt (% of GDP)[8] 32.963 41.379 45.136 44.542 46.914 47.444 42.838 44.767
Govt. revenue (% of GDP)[9] 31.536 29.439 32.916 30.719 31.879 32.134 32.664 32.022
Govt. expenses (% of GDP)[10] 35.576 35.301 38.687 36.871 36.274 35.854 34.229 35.326
Debt to revenue (years) 1.045 1.406 1.371 1.450 1.472 1.476 1.311 1.398

References

Note: statistical data was rounded. Different sources may use different methodologies for their estimates. Debt to revenue is calculated by dividing the two variables from their original ('unrounded') values. It represents how long it would a government take to repay its entire debt if it used its whole revenue for this purpose.

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 CIA - The World Factbook. "Poland", from The World Factbook. Referenced 2010-09-29.
  2. Heritage Foundation. "Poland", Economic Freedom Score. A lower ranking is better; but please be careful when comparing between different countries or years. Referenced 2010-09-29.
  3. Transparency International. "Poland", Corruption Perceptions Index 2009. A lower ranking is better; but please note that the numbers cannot be compared between countries or years due to different methodology. Referenced 2010-09-29.
  4. Doing Business. "Poland", Doing Business 2010 (part of The World Bank Group). A lower ranking is better; but please be careful when comparing between different countries or years. Referenced 2010-09-29.
  5. Carmen M. Reinhart and Kenneth S. Rogoff. "This Time is Different", Princeton University Press, ISBN 978-0-691-14216-6, p. 379. (The list does not claim to be complete.) Referenced 2011-07-21.
  6. Carmen M. Reinhart. "This Time is Different Chartbook: Country Histories on Debt, Default, and Financial Crises" (pdf), March 3, 2010, p. 92. (The list does not claim to be complete.) Referenced 2011-07-21.
  7. World Bank. "Poland: GDP", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-29.
  8. World Bank. "Poland: government debt", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-29.
  9. World Bank. "Poland: government revenue", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-29.
  10. World Bank. "Poland: government expenses", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-29.

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