1. Poland Author: Magdalena Wojcik

2. PL

4. Flag Coat of arms

5. Quick Facts and FiguresOfficial Name Republic of Poland Population 38,576,000 Capital City Warsaw (1.6 million) Latitude/Longitude 52° 00'N, 20° 00'E Languages Polish (official) Official Currency Zloty Religions Catholic, others Land Area 304,460 sq km (117,552 sq miles)

6. Administrative divisions • Poland's current voivodeships (provinces) are largely based on the country's historic regions, whereas those of the past two decades (to 1998) had been centred on and named for individual cities. The new units range in area from less than 10,000 square kilometres (3,900 sq mi) for Opole Voivodeship to more than 35,000 square kilometres (14,000 sq mi) for MasovianVoivodeship. Administrative authority at voivodeship level is shared between a government-appointed voivode (governor), an elected regional assembly (sejmik) and an executive elected by that assembly. • The voivodeships are subdivided into powiats (often referred to in English as counties), and these are further divided into gminas (also known as communes or municipalities). Major cities normally have the status of both gmina and powiat. Poland currently has 16 voivodeships, 379 powiats (including 65 cities with powiat status), and 2,478 gminas.

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8. Tourismin Poland • Poland is a part of the global tourism market with constantly increasing number of visitors, particularly after joining the European Union.[47] Tourism in Poland contributes to the country's overall economy. The most popular cities are Warsaw, Kraków, Wrocław, Poznań, Lublin, Toruń, including the historic site of the Auschwitz concentration camp near Oświęcim. Popular destinations include northeast Poland's Mazury lake district and Białowieża Forest. Poland's main tourist offers are sightseeing within cities and out-of-town historical monuments, business trips, qualified tourism, agrotourism, and mountain hiking, among others. Poland is the 17th most visited country by foreign tourists in 2008.

10. Culture • Famouspeople Polishculturehasbeeninfluenced by bothEasternworld and Western worldinfluences. Today, theseinfluencesareevidentinPolisharchitecture, folklore, and art. Poland isthebirthplace of someworldfamousindividuals, including Pope John Paul II, Marie Skłodowska Curie, Tadeusz Kościuszko, Kazimierz Pułaski, Józef Piłsudski, Nicolaus Copernicus and Frederick Chopin. The character of Polisharthasreflectedworldtrends. Painter Jan Matejko included many significanthistoricaleventsin his paintings. Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz was an example of a PolishRenaissance Man, alongwiththeplaywright, painter and poet Stanisław Wyspiański. • Polishliteraturedates back to the 12th century[59] and includes many famouspoets and writerssuch as Jan Kochanowski, Adam Mickiewicz, Bolesław Prus, Juliusz Słowacki, Witold Gombrowicz, Stanisław Lem and, Ryszard Kapuściński. Writers Henryk Sienkiewicz, Władysław Reymont, Czesław Miłosz, Wisława Szymborska haveeach won the Nobel PrizeinLiterature. Also a renownedPolish-bornEnglishnovelist was Joseph Conrad.[60] Many worldfamousPolishmoviedirectorsincludeAcademyAwardswinners Roman Polański, Andrzej Wajda, Zbigniew Rybczyński, Janusz Kamiński, Krzysztof Kieślowski, Agnieszka Holland. Worldrenownedactresseswere Helena Modjeska and Pola Negri. • Music Artistsfrom Poland, includingfamouscomposerslike Chopin or Penderecki and traditional, regionalized folk musicians, create a lively and diversemusicscene, whichevenrecognizesitsownmusicgenres, such as poezja śpiewana and disco polo. As of 2006, Poland is one of thefewcountriesin Europe where rock and hip hop dominateover pop music, whileallkinds of alternativemusicgenresareencouraged.

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