Poland

· Country name: Poland

· Year founded: was founded in 966.

· Population: Poland has a population of over 38 million people.

· Primary language: Polish.

· Ethnic make-up: Poles constitute 97.6% of the total population; Germans make up 1.3%; Ukrainians account for 0.6%; and Belarussians, 0.5%.

· Political system: Parliamentary representative democratic republic.

· Year entered the European Union: 2004

· Representative of the European Union included (party):
Ireland takes over the presidency of the Council of the European Union.
Poland will become a full member of the EU.

· Type of economy: Poland is considered to currently have one of the fastest growing economies in Central European nations, with an annual growth rate of over 6.0%. Poland has steadfastly pursued a policy of economic liberalization throughout the 1990s, with positive results for economic growth but negative results for some sectors of the population.

· Currency: euro

· Current Exchange rate for American Currency:

· GDP: Poland has made a tremendous overall economic progress over the last decade, and now is ranked 21st worldwide in terms of the GDP. With the largest component of its economy being the service sector, and the continued forecasts of positive economic growth, Poland is likely to continue to move up in the world GDP ranking.

GDP
$632 billion (As of 2007)
GDP growth
7% (As of 2007)
GDP per capita
$17,500 (As of 2008)
GDP by sector
Agriculture (3%), industry (32%), services (66%) (2007)

· Percentage of Trade within the European Union:

· Unemployment Rate: 9.7%

· Chief Exports: Machinery and transport equipment, intermediate manufactured goods, miscellaneous manufactured goods, food and live animals.

· Key imports:Overview of the energy industry in Poland and provides data and information on each of the key sub-segments of the industry – oil, natural gas, coal and electricity.

· Major religions: Religions: Roman Catholic 90%, Eastern Orthodox, Uniate, Protestant, Judaism.

· Surrounding countries:Baltic Sea, Russia, Lithuania, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Belarus, Ukraine, and Germany

· Literacy rate:definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99.8% male: 99.8% female: 99.7% (2003 est.)

· one insteresting fact: Poland is the 6th most populous and the 6th largest of the European Union's 27 member states. Most of the country is flat, with an average elevation of 173 meters.