Poland General Information

Poland General Information

Official Name : The Republic of Poland

The Name Poland comes from the Polish name for plains or fields 'Pola'

National Anthem : Dabrowski's Mazurka :

Land Area : 312,685 Square Kilometers (120,728 Square Miles).

Population Density : 124 per Square Kilometer.

Capital : Warsawa

Provinces : (Woiwodships): 16

Parliament : The Sejm 460 deputies and the Senate 100 Deputies

Currency : 1 Zloty (PLN) = 100 groszy

Time : GMT + 1 hour.

Religion : 91% Catholics, 1.4% Orthodox

Nationalities : Poles 98.5% Ukrainians 0.6%, German 0.5%, others 0.4%

Life expenctancy : Men 68 Yr, women 77 Yr.

Gross Domestic Product per capita : 16,310 US Dollars

Inflation : 3.3% p.a. (December 2008)

Average Monthly Salary : 1000 USD

Unemployment : 9.3%

Literacy : 99%:

Tourism : 14,000,000 persons per year

Unique traditions: Name Day - Every Polish christian nama has a celebration day spread out over the 365 days of the year. It is customary to congratulate people who's name day it is and give flowers or small gifts.

Dyngus Day, Easter Monday, traditionally gentlemen, particularly younger men, spray ladies with water, using anything from high power water pistols to buckets. Nobody seems to know the reason for this tradition but everyone still keeps and eye open on Easter Monday.