Poland

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. Poland borders Kaliningrad Oblast and Lithuania to the north; Belarus and Ukraine to the east; Slovakia and the Czech Republic to the south; and Germany to the west. The territory has a varied landscape, diverse ecosystems, and a temperate 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 312,696 km2 (120,733 sq mi). The capital and largest city is Warsaw; other major cities include Kraków, Wrocław, Łódź, Poznań, and Gdańsk. 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 in 966 under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Church. 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. It was also a military power, with extremely effective cavalry called Hussars. With the passing of the prosperous Polish Golden Age, the country was partitioned by neighbouring states at the end of the 18th century. At the end of World War I in 1918, Poland regained its independence with the founding 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 signatory of the Warsaw Pact. Through the 1980 emergence and contributions of the Solidarity movement, which initiated the fall of the Iron Curtain, the communist government was dissolved and Poland as the first of the communist countries re-established itself as a liberal democracy in 1989, and held free elections. Poland is a parliamentary republic with its bicameral legislature comprising the Sejm and the Senate. Considered a middle power and regional power, it is a developed market and high-income economy. In terms of nominal GDP, it is the 20th largest economy in the world and the sixth in the European Union, and fifth largest by PPP-adjusted GDP in the EU. Poland enjoys a very high standard of living, safety, and economic freedom, as well as free university education and universal health care. It has 17 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, over 100 Historic Monuments and 23 national parks. Poland is a founding member state of the United Nations, and a member of the Council of Europe, World Trade Organisation, OECD, NATO, and the European Union (including the Schengen Area).