Poland

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The numbers of tourists to Poland is increasing every year as people begin to realise that there is far more to the country than just Warsaw, Krakow & Gdansk. Poland is actually a beautiful country with mountains, lakes, woodland and a coastline and this section is designed to provide a brief introduction to what is on offer outside of Warsaw.

Poland (Polish: Polska), officially the Republic of Poland (Rzeczpospolita Polska), is a country in Central Europe. Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north. The total area of Poland is 312,679 square kilometres (120,726 sq mi), making it the 69th largest country in the world and the 9th largest in Europe. Poland has a population of over 38 million people, which makes it the 34th most populous country in the world and the most populous Eastern European Member State of the EU.

Terrain

Poland has 21 mountains over 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) in elevation, all in the High Tatras. The Polish Tatras, which consist of the High Tatras and the Western Tatras, is the highest mountain group of Poland and of the entire Carpathian range. In the High Tatras lies Poland's highest point, the northwestern peak of Rysy, 2,499 metres (8,200 ft) in elevation. At its foot lies the mountain lake, the Morskie Oko. The second highest mountain group in Poland is the Beskids, whose highest peak is Babia Góra, at 1,725 metres (5,660 ft).

With almost ten thousand closed bodies of water covering more than one hectare (2.47 acres) each, Poland has one of the highest numbers of lakes in the world. In Europe, only Finland has a greater density of lakes. The largest lakes, covering more than 100 square kilometres (39 sq mi), are Lake Sniardwy and Lake Mamry in Masuria, as well as Lake Lebsko and Lake Drawsko in Pomerania.

The Polish Baltic coast is approximately 528 kilometres (328 mi) long and extends from Swinoujscie on the islands of Usedom and Wolin in the west to Krynica Morska on the Vistula Spit in the east. For the most part, Poland has a smooth coastline, which has been shaped by the continual movement of sand by currents and winds from west to east.

Bledów Desert is a desert located in Southern Poland in the Silesian Voivodeship and stretches over the Zaglebie Dabrowskie region. It has a total area of 32 square kilometres (12 sq mi). It is the only desert located in Poland.

Forests cover 28% of Poland's land area. More than half of the land is devoted to agriculture. While the total area under cultivation is declining, the remaining farmland is more intensively cultivated. More than 1% of Poland's territory, 3,145 square kilometres (1,214 sq mi), is protected within 23 national parks. In this respect, Poland ranks first in Europe. Three more national parks are projected for Masuria, the Cracow-Czestochowa Upland, and the eastern Beskids. Most Polish national parks are located in the southern part of the country. In addition, wetlands along lakes and rivers in central Poland are legally protected, as are coastal areas in the north. There are also over 120 areas designated as landscape parks, and numerous nature reserves and other protected areas.

Demographics

Poland, with 38,116,000 inhabitants, has the eighth-largest population in Europe and the sixth-largest in the European Union. It has a population density of 122 inhabitants per square kilometer (328 per square mile).

In recent years, Poland's population has decreased because of an increase in emigration and a sharp drop in the birth rate. Since Poland's accession to the European Union, a significant number of Poles have emigrated to Western European countries such as the United Kingdom, Germany and Ireland in search of work. Some organizations have stated that Polish emigration is primarily due to Poland's high unemployment rate (10.5% in 2007), with Poles searching for better work opportunities abroad. In April 2007, the Polish population of the United Kingdom had risen to approximately 300,000 and estimates place the Polish population in Ireland at 65,000. Some sources claim that the number of Polish citizens who emigrated to the UK after 2004 is as high as 2 million. This, however, is contrasted by a recent trend that shows that more Poles are leaving the country than coming in.

Religion

Because of the Holocaust and the post-World War II flight and expulsion of German and Ukrainian populations, Poland has become almost uniformly Roman Catholic. Most Poles-approximately 89%-are members of the Roman Catholic Church. Though rates of religious observance are currently lower than they have been in the past, Poland remains one of the most devoutly religious countries in Europe.