Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol

Geography - note: historically, an area of conflict because of flat
terrain and the lack of natural barriers on the North European Plain

People Poland

Population: 38,625,478 (July 2002 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 17.9% (male 3,535,701; female 3,361,515) 15-64
years: 69.5% (male 13,358,128; female 13,500,443) 65 years and over: 12.6%
(male 1,860,274; female 3,009,417) (2002 est.)

Population growth rate: -0.02% (2002 est.)

Birth rate: 10.29 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Death rate: 9.97 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.49 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05
male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over:
0.62 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2002 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 9.17 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: 78.05 years (2002 est.) male: Total fertility
rate: 1.37 children born/woman (2002 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.07% (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: NA

HIV/AIDS - deaths: less than 100 (1999 est.)

Nationality: noun: Pole(s) adjective: Polish

Ethnic groups: Polish 97.6%, German 1.3%, Ukrainian 0.6%, Belarusian 0.5%
(1990 est.)

Religions: Roman Catholic 95% (about 75% practicing), Eastern Orthodox,
Protestant, and other 5%

Languages: Polish

Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total
population: 99% male: 99% female: 98% (1978 est.)

Government Poland

Country name: Republic of Poland conventional short form: Government
type: republic

Capital: Warsaw

Administrative divisions: 16 provinces (wojewodztwa, singular -
wojewodztwo); Dolnoslaskie, Kujawsko-Pomorskie, Lodzkie, Lubelskie,
Lubuskie, Malopolskie, Mazowieckie, Opolskie, Podkarpackie, Podlaskie,
Pomorskie, Slaskie, Swietokrzyskie, Warminsko-Mazurskie, Wielkopolskie,
Zachodniopomorskie

Independence: 11 November 1918 (independent republic proclaimed)

National holiday: Constitution Day, 3 May (1791)

Constitution: 16 October 1997; adopted by the National Assembly 2 April
1997; passed by national referendum 23 May 1997

Legal system: mixture of Continental (Napoleonic) civil law and holdover
Communist legal theory; changes being gradually introduced as part of
broader democratization process; limited judic