Poland — Country Profile
Population, GDP, natural resources, leaders and history of Poland: the Magna Factbook country file, with its Magna Power score (--/100, ranked #-- of 195).
Last updated: October 2026
Poland is in Central Europe, east of Germany. It covers 312,685 sq km. Notable earlier dates: 14 April 966 (adoption of Christianity, traditional founding date), 1 July 1569 (Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth created). Terrain: mostly flat plain; mountains along southern border. Climate: temperate with cold, cloudy, moderately severe winters with frequent precipitation; mild summers with frequent showers and thundershowers.
| Capital | Warsaw |
|---|---|
| Population | 38,746,310 (2024 est.) |
| GDP (PPP) | $1.649 trillion (2024 est.) |
| GDP per capita (PPP) | $45,100 (2024 est.) |
| Real GDP growth | 2.9% (2024 est.) |
| Inflation | 3.8% (2024 est.) |
| Unemployment | 2.5% (2024 est.) |
| Public debt | 50.6% of GDP (2017 est.) |
| Exports | $478.579 billion (2024 est.) |
| Imports | $441.945 billion (2024 est.) |
| Life expectancy | 76.7 years (2024 est.) |
| Median age | 43.4 years (2025 est.) |
| Urbanization | 60.2% of total population (2023) |
| Government | parliamentary republic |
| Independence | 11 November 1918 (republic proclaimed); notable earlier dates: 14 April 966 (adoption of Christianity, traditional founding date), 1 July 1569 (Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth created) |
| Languages | Polish (official) 98.2%, Silesian 1.4%, other 1.1%, unspecified 1.2% (2011 est.) |
Poland’s GDP is $1.649 trillion (2024 est.) in purchasing-power-parity terms. At official exchange rates it stands at $914.696 billion (2024 est.). Real GDP grew 2.9% (2024 est.). See where Poland ranks among all 195 countries by GDP.
POWER --/100 — The Magna Power score is our 0–100 composite of structural national power — nine components, 135 indicators. It is the Bureau's own assessment, not a mirror of World Bank or CIA figures.
Momentum +2 — Quarterly momentum: the Bureau's read on the country's trajectory over the last quarter, from −10 (deteriorating fast) to +10 (accelerating).
Poland kept spending like the alliance's eastern anchor — the rearmament programme advanced while EU funds finally flowed.
Governing against a hostile presidency stayed the daily grind, but the strategic direction held: modestly positive.
- What our model rewards: inflation tamed at 3.8%; a current-account surplus of $2 billion — the world pays it more than it pays out
- What drags it down: only 30% of electricity from low-carbon sources; fertility of 1.3 children per woman — below replacement, the cradle is emptying
Coal, Sulfur, Copper, Natural gas, Silver, Lead, Salt.
Energy is the physical base of economic power — what a country can generate, move and burn decides what it can build, sell and defend.
| Electricity access | 100% (2022 est.) |
|---|---|
| Installed capacity mix (CIA) | fossil fuels: 72.7% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); solar: 6.9% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); wind: 14.4% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); hydroelectricity: 1.1% of total installed capacity (2023 est.) |
| Energy consumption per capita (CIA) | 103.651 million Btu/person (2023 est.) |
| Primary energy consumption (OWID) | 1,125.6 TWh (2024) |
| Electricity generation (OWID) | 170.2 TWh (2024) |
| Energy per capita (OWID) | 29,206 kWh per person (2024) |
| Electricity generation mix (OWID) | Coal 53.5%, Wind 14.6%, Gas 12.1%, Solar 8.9%, Oil 4.6%, Hydro 1.4% (2024) |
| Low-carbon share of electricity (OWID) | 29.8% (2024) |
| Carbon intensity of electricity (OWID) | 615.0 gCO2/kWh (2024) |
Sources: CIA World Factbook, Energy section; Our World in Data (IEA/Ember), 2024.
Trade shows what the world buys from a country and what the country must buy from the world — the balance between the two is a direct measure of economic leverage.
| Exports | $478.579 billion (2024 est.) |
|---|---|
| Imports | $441.945 billion (2024 est.) |
| Trade balance (calculated) | Surplus of $36.6 billion (2024), calculated from the CIA export and import figures above. |
| Key industries | machine building, iron and steel, coal mining, chemicals, shipbuilding, food processing, glass, beverages, textiles |
Source: CIA World Factbook, Economy section.
Donald Tusk — Prime Minister. President Karol NAWROCKI (since 6 August 2025)
Poland maintains 91 embassies and 33 consulates abroad, hosts 96 foreign diplomatic missions, holds permanent missions to UN New York, UN Geneva, EU Brussels, NATO Brussels, OECD Paris, UNESCO Paris, OSCE Vienna, CoE Strasbourg. The breadth of a diplomatic network is a direct measure of diplomatic power — it shows how far a country’s influence, alliances and interests reach.
| Embassies abroad | 91 |
|---|---|
| Consulates abroad | 33 |
| Foreign missions hosted | 96 |
| Multilateral missions | UN New York, UN Geneva, EU Brussels, NATO Brussels, OECD Paris, UNESCO Paris, OSCE Vienna, CoE Strasbourg |
Source: Abroad: Lowy GDI 2024 via Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_number_of_diplomatic_missions . Hosted: Consular Affairs Center in-country ranking, Mar 2026 (Warsaw 96). Multilateral rosters as for AUT.
Transport networks are economic power made physical — ports, runways, railways and pipelines decide what a country can move, sell and defend.
| Sea access | Coastal — 440 km of coastline. |
|---|---|
| Airports (total) | 318 + 16 heliports (registration prefix SP) |
| Major seaports | Gdansk, Gdynia, Port Polnochny, Szczecin |
| Railways | 19461 km |
| Pipelines | 14,198 km gas, 1,374 km oil, 2,483 km refined products (2018) |
| Top container ports (TEU) | Gdansk (2,117,829 TEU, 2021) |
Major airports
Copernicus Wrocław Airport (WRO) — Wrocław; Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport (GDN) — Gdańsk; Katowice Wojciech Korfanty International Airport (KTW) — Katowice; Kraków John Paul II International Airport (KRK) — Balice; Lublin Airport (LUZ) — Lublin; Poznań-Ławica Airport (POZ) — Poznań; Rzeszów-Jasionka Airport (RZE) — Jasionka; Solidarity Szczecin–Goleniów Airport (SZZ) — Szczecin(Glewice); Warsaw Chopin Airport (WAW) — Warsaw; Warsaw Modlin Airport (WMI) — Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki.
Showing 10 of 15 major airports.
Terminals
| LNG import terminals | Swinoujscie |
|---|---|
| River ports | Szczecin (River Oder) |
Sources: OurAirports public-domain extract (2026-10-02); per-entry Wikipedia links included; CIA World Factbook via cia_factbook snapshot (2026-09-28); theodora.com CIA mirror (CIA World Factbook Transportation section), scraped 2026-10-02
| Political system | parliamentary republic |
|---|---|
| Last election | 2023 — parliamentary; 2023-10-15; winner: Donald Tusk (Civic Coalition); opposition won 248/460; PiS lost majority; Tusk PM Wikipedia |
| Next election | 2027 — parliamentary (scheduled) |
Source: constitutional schedule / public election calendar
POWER --/100 Ranked #-- of 195 countries in the Magna Country Rankings. Full ranking breakdown for Poland.
This profile covers the population, economy, natural resources, leaders, and history of Poland — with the Bureau’s live national-power score of --/100, ranking #-- of 195 countries.
What is Poland's power score?
Poland has a Magna Power score of --/100. The score measures structural power — the proven capacity to shape events — across nine components.