Poland

C

Natural Resources

Poland has diverse mineral deposits. Mineral wealth is heavily concentrated in the southern upland regions and adjacent areas. Of greatest importance are the deposits of hard coal. Reserves are estimated at 63.5 billion tonnes, 90 per cent of which are located in Upper Silesia. Poland, in addition, has more than 12.9 billion tonnes of lignite. The major deposits are in the Turoszów, Konin, and Bełchatów basins. The country also has small reserves of petroleum and natural gas.

Sulphur and copper are the most important of the country’s non-fuel mineral resources. Some of the world’s largest sulphur deposits occur near Tarnobrzeg in the south-east, and large reserves of copper are located in Lower Silesia. Important reserves of zinc and lead occur in Upper Silesia. Other minerals of economic consequence are rock salt, potash, iron ore, and gypsum.

D

Plants and Animals

Forest covers 29.4 per cent of Poland. About four fifths of the woodland is made up principally of spruce or pine. A few forests in the north-east contain old and scarce species, such as dwarf birch and Lapp willow, which are unique in Europe. Much of Poland’s forest has been cut down to create farmland or has been damaged by pollution.

Poland’s animals are of limited variety. Most wildlife is typical of that found in other parts of Europe. Poland also has species that are either absent or extremely rare elsewhere in Europe. Those animals include chamois, lynx, wildcat, and elk. European bison are preserved in Białowieża National Park, which straddles the Belorussian frontier. Wolves and brown bear survive in the higher mountains, and elk and deer are fairly numerous in the lake districts. Grouse, heathcock, and black stork inhabit grain-producing areas, lake marshes, and forests. The inland lakes and streams support considerable fish populations.

E

Environmental Concerns

In the early 1990s, as Poland emerged as a free and independent democratic state, its overall environmental situation was dismal. The country produces most of its energy by burning imported fossil fuels and has the lowest energy generation per capita in eastern Europe, with extremely high energy prices. Severe air pollution resulting from the emissions of coal-fired power stations has measurably affected human health. Up to three-quarters of Poland’s trees show damage from acid rain. Poland also struggles with water pollution problems from agricultural chemicals run-off, and the Baltic Sea is heavily polluted along the coast. Some improvements have been made, however. Pollution controls in industry and for motor vehicles are falling in line with western European standards. Many old, outdated factories that were once major sources of pollution have been closed or modernized. As a result, some areas of Poland are now cleaner.

Despite the heavily agricultural landscape of Poland, about 28.7 per cent (1995) is forested. Poland maintains 17 national parks as well as numerous nature reserves and landscape parks. Overall, 9.6 per cent (1997) of the country’s land is protected. Threatened biomes include peat bogs and a vast system of lakes that covers nearly 2 per cent of the country. Poland has ratified the World Heritage Convention and the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. The country also has seven biosphere reserves under the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Man and the Biosphere Program. Other international environmental agreements ratified include those pertaining to air pollution, the Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, climate change, endangered species, environmental modification, hazardous wastes, marine dumping, nuclear test ban, ozone layer, ship pollution, and whaling. Regionally, Poland has committed itself to the protection of marine resources through the Baltic Convention and to the preservation of European heritage through the Bern Convention.

III

Population

Poland’s ethnic composition has changed dramatically in the 20th century. In the inter-war years, about 30 per cent of Poland’s population consisted of ethnic minorities. Many of these, especially the Jews, were exterminated in the Nazi Holocaust during World War II, and others emigrated during and after the war. Border changes also caused Poland to lose some of its ethnic mix, particularly Germans, and today ethnic Poles make up about 98 per cent of the population. Of the approximately 500,000 people reported as members of ethnic minority groups, the Ukrainians and Belorussians form the largest communities, with much smaller groups of Slovaks, Czechs, Lithuanians, Germans, Roma (Gypsies), and Jews.

A

Population Characteristics

Poland has a population of 38,500,696 (2008 estimate). The country has a moderate overall population density of 127 people per sq km (328 per sq mi), with the highest densities in the southern upland areas and the lowest in the north-west and north-east. The average annual rate of population increase was less than 1 per cent from the mid-1960s, and between 1990 and 1995 the average increase was estimated at 0.29 per cent.

The rate of urbanization has accelerated since the end of World War II, and it was estimated that about 62 per cent of its population lived in urban centres in 2005. Although the population is comparatively youthful, the average age has been steadily increasing. The proportion of the population aged 15 years or less was about 22 per cent by 2008 and that of people aged 65 years or more about 13.4 per cent. Poland has about 94 men for every 100 women.

Since the end of the massive population transfers in the early post-World War II period, the size and composition of the Polish population has been little affected by migration. Emigration since 1950 has consisted mainly of Germans and Jews, whereas immigration has consisted primarily of Polish repatriates from the former republics of the USSR. There are also about 12 million people of Polish origin living in the Polonias (a Polish term designating Polish communities abroad). Of these, some 6 to 7 million are permanently settled in the United States, 1.5 million in Germany, 1 million in France, 400,000 in Canada, 200,000 in Brazil, 150,000 in Australia, and about 140,000 in the United Kingdom. The size of the Polonias in Russia and the former Soviet republics is estimated at between 1 and 2.5 million.