Poland

Rzeczypospolita Polska

Political Status: Independent state reconstituted 1918; Communist-ruled People's Republic established 1947; constitution of July 22, 1952, substantially revised in accordance with intraparty agreement of April 5, 1989, with further amendments on December 29, including name change to Polish Republic; new interim “small” constitution introduced December 8, 1992; permanent “large” constitution approved by national referendum on May 25, 1997, effective October 17, 1997.[Page 1069]

Area: 120,725 sq. mi. (312,677 sq. km.).

Population: 38,230,100 (2002C); 38,100,000 (2007E).

Major Urban Centers (2005E): WARSAW (1,697,000), Łódź (772,000), Kraków (757,000), Wrocław (635,000), Poznań (570,000), Gdańsk (458,000), Szczecin (412,000).

Official Language: Polish.

Monetary Unit: Złoty (market rate November 1, 2008: 2.78 złotys = $1US). After Poland joined the European Union in May 2004, the Polish government announced that it hoped to adopt the euro ...