Europe / Caspian / CIS
Country profile: Poland
Location: | billion cu m (1 January 2006 est.) |
Climate: | temperate with cold, cloudy, moderately severe winters with frequent precipitation; mild summers with frequent showers and thundershowers |
Terrain: | mostly flat plain; mountains along southern border |
Size: | 312679 sq. km total (Land area: 304459 sq. km Water area: 8220 sq.km) |
Population: | 38,500,696 (July 2008 est.) |
Languages: | Polish 97.8%, other and unspecified 2.2% (2002 census) |
Government: | republic |
Capital city: | Warsaw |
Legal system: | based on a mixture of Continental (Napoleonic) civil law and holdover Communist legal theory; changes being gradually introduced as part of broader democratization process; limited judicial review of legislative acts |
Currency: | zloty (PLN) |
Licensing: |
Country profile
Poland, the Czech Republic, the Slovak Republic (commonly referred to as Slovakia), and Hungary are members of the Visegrad Group, created in February 1991 at the northern Hungarian town of Visegrad. After World War II until 1989-1990, these countries were Communist states, as well as members of the Warsaw Pact. On January 1, 1993, the Czech and Slovak Republics, previously Czechoslovakia, split to form two separate states. During the past decade, the Visegrad group has made the transition to democracy and to market-based economies. On May 1, 2004, the Visegrad countries became members of the European Union (EU). In 1999, Hungary, Poland, and the Czech Republic became the first former Warsaw Pact countries to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) . Slovakia joined NATO in 2004. The Czech Republic became a member of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 1995, Hungary and Poland joined in 1996, and Slovakia in 2001.
As members of the Visegrad Group, the four countries also belong to Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) . Slovenia , Romania , and Bulgaria are members too. The Visegrad countries are dependent on trade with the EU, in particular with Germany . These four countries also continue to face economic restructuring challenges, including: modernizing large, and to a certain extent, antiquated agricultural sectors (especially in Poland); implementing more energy efficient processes for industry in order to decrease energy consumption; absorbing the costs from cleaning up heavily-polluting industries; and adapting industries and services to EU standards.
Energy production and consumption
Oil | Gas | |
Production: | 32,800 bbl/day (2005 est.) | 5 billion cu m (2005) |
Consumption: | 462,700 bbl/day (2005 est.) | 15 billion cu m (2005) |
Exports: | 51,780 bbl/day (2004 est.) | 42 million cu m (2005) |
Imports: | 480,300 bbl/day (2004 est.) | 10 billion cu m (2005) |
Reserves: | 96 million bbl (1 January 2006 est.) | 158 billion cu m (1 January 2006 est.) |
Major fields: |
Poland - recent news
24 Apr 23 |
Poland: Polish offshore wind expects huge boost as Siemens Gamesa signs largest project in the country Poland’s offshore wind industry is set to make giant leaps in the coming years, facilitated by a 1.5-GW deal between Siemens Gamesa and developers PGE Group and Ørsted in which they agreed to supply the wind turbines for the Baltica 2 offshore wind project in the Baltic Sea. |
13 Mar 23 |
Poland: DNV officially authorized to issue certificates for offshore wind projects in Poland DNV has been authorized by the Polish Ministry of Infrastructure to issue certificates for offshore wind farms and assembly of power output equipment in Poland. The certification will be executed according to Polish law requirements, reflected in DNV’s Service Specification 'Project certification of wind power plants'. |
06 Mar 23 |
Poland: TotalEnergies invests in renewable energies with biogas and solar projects TotalEnergies is developing its renewable activities in Poland by acquiring the country’s main biogas producer, Polska Grupa Biogazowa (PGB), and a 200-megawatt (MW) development pipeline of solar projects. |
09 Jan 23 |
Poland: Hitachi Energy awarded major orders to integrate two large offshore wind farms with Poland’s power grid Hitachi Energy has won two major orders from Equinor and Polenergia to provide an AC grid connection and power quality solution for their jointly owned MFW Baltyk II and MFW Baltyk III offshore wind farms, with a combined generating capacity of 1,440 megawatts in the Polish sector of the Baltic Sea. |
02 Jan 23 |
Poland: Equinor awards electrical systems infrastructure contract for Baltyk offshore wind projects to Hitachi Energy Equinor and Polenergia have selected Hitachi Energy to deliver electrical systems infrastructure for the MFW Baltyk II and MFW Baltyk III offshore wind projects in Poland. The wind projects, which are located in the Baltic Sea, are two of the largest and most advanced offshore wind farms being developed in Poland. |
Poland - more news
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