Poland, with 38.5 million 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).

Poland historically contained many languages, cultures and religions on its soil. The country had a particularly large Jewish population prior to the Second World War, when the Nazi Holocaust caused Poland’s Jewish population, estimated at 3 million before the war, to drop to just 300,000. The outcome of the war, particularly the westward shift of Poland’s borders to the area between the Curzon line and the Oder-Neisse line, coupled with post-war expulsion of minorities, gave Poland an appearance of homogeneity.

As of 2002, 36,983,700 people, or 96.74% of the population consider themselves Polish (Census 2002), while 471,500 (1.23%) declared another nationality. 774,900 people (2.03%) did not declare any nationality. The largest nationalities and ethnic groups in Poland are Silesians, Germans (most in the former Opole Voivodeship), Ukrainians, Lithuanians, Russians, Jews and Belarusians. The Polish language, a member of the West Slavic branch of the Slavic languages, functions as the official language of Poland. English and German are the most common second languages studied and spoken.

In recent years, Poland’s population has decreased because of an increase in emigration and a sharp drop in the birth rate. In 2006, the census office estimated the total population of Poland at 38,536,869, a slight rise on the 2002 figure of 38,230,080. Since Poland’s accession to the European Union, a significant number of Poles have immigrated 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 (11.4%), 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.

However lately it has been reported that large numbers of Polish citizens who had previosuly emigrated to other parts of the EU for better prospects are in fact returning due to the dramatic increase in standards of living for Poles in their own country as well as sharp increases in wages. The Central Statistical Office of the Polish government recently published figures which gave evidence that there is now a net inflow of people into the country.[citation needed]

Polish minorities are still present in the neighboring countries of Ukraine, Belarus, and Lithuania, as well as in other countries (see Poles for population numbers). Altogether, the number of ethnic Poles living abroad is estimated to be around 20 million. The largest number of Poles outside of the Poland can be found in the United States.

Urban Areas
Gdańsk, Długi Targ
Gdańsk, Długi Targ

The largest metropolitan areas in Poland are the Upper Silesian Coal Basin centred on Katowice (3.5 million inhabitants); the capital, Warsaw (3 million);Kraków (1.3 million) Łódź (1.3 million); the Tricity of Gdańsk-Sopot-Gdynia in the Vistula delta (1.1 million); Poznań (0.9 million); Wrocław (0.9 million); and Szczecin (0.7 million). For an overview of Polish cities, see List of cities in Poland.

Ethnicity and religion

In terms of ethnicity, Poland has been a homogeneous state since the end of World War II. This is a major departure from much of Polish history. Due to the Holocaust and the flight and expulsion of German and Ukrainian populations, Poland has become almost uniformly Catholic. About 97% of the population belongs to the Roman Catholic Church, with 58% as practising Catholics according to 2005 survey by the Centre for Public Opinion Research.[3] 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. Religious minorities include Polish Orthodox (1.3% or about 509,500), Jehovah’s Witnesses (0.3% or about 123,034), Eastern Catholics (0.2%), Lutherans (0.2%), and smaller minorities of Mariavites, Polish Catholics, Pentecostals, Seventh-Day Adventists, Jews, Muslims (including the Tatars of Białystok) and various Protestants (about 86,880 in the largest Evangelical-Augsburg Church, plus about as many in smaller churches). Resulting from the socio-political emancipation of the county, freedom of religion has become guaranteed by the 1989 statute of the Polish constitution,[4] allowing for the emergence of additional denominations.[5] However, due to pressure from the Polish Episcopate, exposition of doctrine has entered public education system as well, drawing criticism from the popular media, as unconstitutional.[6][7] According to 2007 survey, 72% of respondents were not against the fostering of catechism in public schools; nevertheless, the alternative courses in ethics have become available only in one percent of the entire public educational system.[8]

Poles (including Silesians and Kashubians) make up an overwhelming 99.3% majority of the Polish population. According to the 2002 census, the remainder of the population is made up of small minorities of Germans (152,897), Belarusians (c. 49,000), and Ukrainians (c. 30,000), as well as Tatars, Lithuanians, Roma, Lemkos, Russians, Karaites, Slovaks, and Czechs. Among foreign citizens, the Vietnamese are the largest ethnic group, followed by Greeks, and Armenians.

The climate is mostly temperate throughout the country. The climate is oceanic in the north and west and becomes gradually warmer and continental as one moves south and east. Summers are generally warm, with average temperatures between 20 °C (68 °F) and 27 °C (80,6 °F). Winters are cold, with average temperatures around 3 °C (37,4 °F) in the northwest and –8 °C (17,6 °F) in the northeast. Precipitation falls throughout the year, although, especially in the east; winter is drier than summer. The warmest region in Poland is Lesser Poland located in Southern Poland where temperatures in the summer average between 23 °C (73,4 °F) and 30 °C (86 °F) but can go as high as 32 °C (89,6 °F) to 38 °C (100,4 °F) on some days in the warmest month of the year July. The warmest city in Poland is Tarnów. The city is located in Lesser Poland; it is the hottest place in Poland all year round. The average temperatures being 30 °C (86 °F) in the summer and 4 °C (39,2 °F) in the winter. Tarnów also has the longest summer in Poland spreading from mid May to mid September. Also it has the shortest winter in Poland which often lasts from January to March, less than the regular three-month winter. The coldest region of Poland is in the Northeast in the Podlachian Voivodeship near the border of Belarus. The climate is efficient due to cold fronts which come from Scandinavia and Siberia. The average temperature in the winter in Podlachian ranges from -15 °C (5 °F) to -4 °C ( 24,8 °F).

Many animals that have since died out in other parts of Europe still survive in Poland, such as the wisent in the ancient woodland of the Białowieża Forest and in Podlachia. Other such species include the brown bear in Białowieża, in the Tatras, and in the Beskids, the gray wolf and the Eurasian lynx in various forests, the moose in northern Poland, and the beaver in Masuria, Pomerania, and Podlachia. In the forests, one also encounters game animals, such as red deer, roe deer, and boars. In eastern Poland there are a number of ancient woodlands, like Białowieża, that have never been cleared by people. There are also large forested areas in the mountains, Masuria, Pomerania, and Lower Silesia.
Family of White stork, a national bird in Poland
Family of White stork, a national bird in Poland

Poland is the most important breeding ground for European migratory birds. Out of all of the migratory birds who come to Europe for the summer, one quarter breed in Poland, particularly in the lake districts and the wetlands along the Biebrza, the Narew, and the Warta, which are part of nature reserves or national parks. In Masuria, there are villages in which storks outnumber people.

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 square miles) — is protected within 23 national parks. In this respect, Poland ranks first in Europe. Three more national parks are projected for Masuria, the Cracow-Częstochowa 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 many areas designated as landscape parks, and numerous nature reserves.

Błędów Desert is a desert located in Southern Poland in the Silesian Voivodeship and stretches over the Zagłębie Dąbrowskie region. It has a total area of 32 km². It is the only desert located in Poland. It is one of only five natural deserts in Europe. It is the warmest desert that appears at this latitude. It was created thousands of years ago by a melting glacier. The specific geological structure has been of big importance – the average thickness of the sand layer is about 40 meters (maximum 70 m), which made the fast and deep drainage very easy. In recent years the desert has started to shrink. The phenomenon of mirages has been known to exist there.

The Polish Baltic coast is approximately 528 kilometres (328 miles) long and extends from Świnoujście 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. This continual erosion and deposition has formed cliffs, dunes, and spits, many of which have migrated landwards to close off former lagoons, such as Łebsko Lake in Słowiński National Park. The largest spits are Hel Peninsula and the Vistula Spit. The largest Polish Baltic island is Wolin. The largest port cities are Gdynia, Gdańsk, Szczecin, and Świnoujście. The main coastal resorts are Sopot, Międzyzdroje, Kołobrzeg, Łeba, Władysławowo, and the Hel Peninsula.

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 kilometers (38.6 square miles), are Lake Śniardwy and Lake Mamry in Masuria, as well as Lake Łebsko and Lake Drawsko in Pomerania. In addition to the lake districts in the north (in Masuria, Pomerania, Kashubia, Lubuskie, and Greater Poland), there is also a large number of mountain lakes in the Tatras, of which the Morskie Oko is the largest in area. The lake with the greatest depth—of more than 100 metres (328 ft)—is Lake Hańcza in the Wigry Lake District, east of Masuria in Podlaskie Voivodship.

Among the first lakes whose shores were settled are those in the Greater Polish Lake District. The stilt house settlement of Biskupin, occupied by more than one thousand residents, was founded before the seventh century BC by people of the Lusatian culture. The ancestors of today’s Poles, the Polanie, built their first fortresses on islands in these lakes. The legendary Prince Popiel is supposed to have ruled from Kruszwica on Lake Gopło. The first historically documented ruler of Poland, Duke Mieszko I, had his palace on an island in the Warta River in Poznań.

For the most important lakes of Poland, see the Category:Lakes of Poland.

Poland has 21 mountains over 2,000 metres (6,561 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 (8,199 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 (5,659 ft). The next highest mountain group is the Karkonosze, whose highest point is Śnieżka, at 1,602 metres (5,256 ft). Among the most beautiful mountains of Poland are the Bieszczady Mountains in the far southeast of Poland, whose highest point in Poland is Tarnica, with an elevation of 1,346 metres (4,416 ft). Tourists also frequent the Gorce Mountains in Gorce National Park, with elevations around 1,300 metres (4,300 ft), and the Pieniny in Pieniny National Park, with elevations around 1,000 metres (3,300 ft). The lowest point in Poland—at 2 metres (7 ft) below sea level—is at Raczki Elbląskie, near Elbląg in the Vistula Delta. For a list of the most important mountain ranges of Poland, see the Category:Mountain ranges of Poland.

The geological structure of Poland has been shaped by the continental collision of Europe and Africa over the past 60 million years, on the one hand, and the Quaternary glaciations of northern Europe, on the other. Both processes shaped the Sudetes and the Carpathians. The moraine landscape of northern Poland contains soils made up mostly of sand or loam, while the ice-age river valleys of the south often contain loess. The Cracow-Częstochowa Upland, the Pieniny, and the Western Tatras consist of limestone, while the High Tatras, the Beskids, and the Karkonosze are made up mainly of granite and basalts. The Kraków-Częstochowa Upland is one of the oldest mountain ranges on earth.

The longest rivers are the Vistula (Polish: Wisła), 1,047 km (678 miles) long; the Oder (Polish: Odra) – which forms part of Poland’s western border – 854 km (531 miles) long; its tributary, the Warta, 808 km (502 miles) long; and the Bug – a tributary of the Vistula – 772 km (480 miles) long. The Vistula and the Oder flow into the Baltic Sea, as do numerous smaller rivers in Pomerania. The Łyna and the Angrapa flow by way of the Pregolya to the Baltic, and the Czarna Hańcza flows into the Baltic through the Neman. While the great majority of Poland’s rivers drain into the Baltic Sea, Poland’s Beskids are the source of some of the upper tributaries of the Orava, which flows via the Váh and the Danube to the Black Sea. The eastern Beskids are also the source of some streams that drain through the Dniester to the Black Sea.

Poland’s rivers have been used since early times for navigation. The Vikings, for example, traveled up the Vistula and the Oder in their longships. In the Middle Ages and in early modern times, when Poland-Lithuania was the breadbasket of Europe, the shipment of grain and other agricultural products down the Vistula toward Gdańsk and onward to eastern Europe took on great importance. For an overview of Polish rivers, see Category:Rivers of Poland.