Free sms to Poland
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west, the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south, Ukraine and Belarus to the east, and the Baltic Sea, Russia (in the form of the Kaliningrad Oblast exclave) and Lithuania to the north. It also shares a maritime border with Denmark and Sweden. The total area of Poland is 312,683 sq km (120,728 sq mi) making it the 69th largest country in the world with population over 38.5 million people concentrated mainly in large cities, including the historical capital of Poland, Krakow, and the present capital, Warsaw.
The first Polish state was born in 966, within territory very similar to the present boundaries of Poland. Poland became a kingdom in 1025, and in 1569 it cemented a long association with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania by uniting to form the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Commonwealth collapsed in 1795, and the Poles were without a state for 123 years. Poland regained its independence in 1918 after World War I but lost it again in World War II, emerging several years later as a communist country within the Eastern Bloc under control of the former Soviet Union. In 1989 communist rule was overthrown and Poland became what is informally known as the "Third Polish Republic". Today, as the 6th most populated member state of the European Union, Poland is a liberal democracy made up of sixteen voivodeships (Polish: wojewodztwo). Poland is also a member of NATO, the United Nations, and the World Trade Organization.
Principal cities
| |
City |
Voivodeship |
Inhabitants
May 20, 2002 |
Inhabitants
December 31, 2005 |
| 1 |
Warsaw (Warszawa) |
Masovia |
1,671,670 |
1,697,596 |
| 2 |
Lodz |
Lodz |
789,318 |
767,628 |
| 3 |
Krakow |
Lesser Poland |
758,544 |
756,629 |
| 4 |
Wroclaw |
Lower Silesia |
640,367 |
635,932 |
| 5 |
Poznan |
Greater Poland |
578,886 |
567,882 |
| 6 |
Gdansk |
Pomerania |
461,334 |
458,053 |
| 7 |
Szczecin |
Western Pomerania |
415,399 |
411,119 |
| 8 |
Bydgoszcz |
Kuyavia-Pomerania |
373,804 |
366,074 |
| 9 |
Lublin |
Lublin |
357,110 |
354,967 |
| 10 |
Katowice |
Silesia |
327,222 |
317,220 |
| 11 |
Bialystok |
Podlasie |
291,383 |
294,864 |
| 12 |
Gdynia |
Pomerania |
253,458 |
252,791 |
| 13 |
Czestochowa |
Silesia |
258,436 |
246,890 |
| 14 |
Radom |
Masovia |
229,699 |
227,018 |
| 15 |
Sosnowiec |
Silesia |
232,622 |
226,034 |
| 16 |
Kielce |
Swietokrzyskie |
212,429 |
208,193 |
| 17 |
Torun |
Kuyavia-Pomerania |
211,243 |
208,007 |
| 18 |
Gliwice |
Silesia |
203,814 |
199,451 |
| 19 |
Zabrze |
Silesia |
195,293 |
191,247 |
| 20 |
Bytom |
Silesia |
193,546 |
187,943 |
| 21 |
Bielsko-Biala |
Silesia |
178,028 |
176,864 |
| 22 |
Olsztyn |
Warmia-Masuria |
173,102 |
174,473 |
| 23 |
Rzeszow |
Subcarpathia |
160,376 |
163,069 |
| 24 |
Ruda Slaska |
Silesia |
150,595 |
146,582 |
| 25 |
Rybnik |
Silesia |
142,731 |
141,580 |
| 26 |
Tychy |
Silesia |
132,816 |
131,153 |
| 27 |
Dabrowa
Gornicza |
Silesia |
132,236 |
130,128 |
| 28 |
Opole |
Opole |
129,946 |
128,268 |
| 29 |
Plock |
Masovia |
128,361 |
127,461 |
| 30 |
Elblag |
Warmia-Masuria |
128,134 |
127,275 |
| 31 |
Walbrzych |
Lower
Silesia |
130,268 |
126,465 |
| 32 |
Gorzow
Wielkopolski |
Lubusz |
125,914 |
125,416 |
| 33 |
Wloclawek |
Kuyavia-Pomerania |
121,229 |
119,939 |
| 34 |
Tarnow |
Lesser
Poland |
119,913 |
117,560 |
| 35 |
Zielona Gora |
Lubusz |
118,293 |
118,221 |
| 36 |
Chorzow |
Silesia |
117,430 |
114,686 |
| 37 |
Kalisz |
Greater Poland |
109,498 |
108,841 |
| 38 |
Koszalin |
Western Pomerania |
108,709 |
107,886 |
| 39 |
Legnica |
Lower Silesia |
107,100 |
105,750 |
| 40 |
Grudziadz |
Kuyavia-Pomerania |
99,943 |
99,578 |
| 41 |
Slupsk |
Pomerania |
100,376 |
98,695 |
| |
Agglomeration or conurbation |
Voivodeship |
Inhabitants
(Estimated, 2005) |
| 1 |
Upper Silesian Industry Area |
Silesia |
3,487,000 |
| 2 |
Warsaw (Warszawa) |
Masovia |
2,679,000 |
| 3 |
Krakow |
Lesser Poland |
1,400,000 |
| 4 |
Lodz |
Lodz |
1,300,000 |
| 5 |
Tricity |
Pomerania |
1,100,000 |
| 6 |
Wroclaw |
Lower Silesia |
945,000 |
| 7 |
Poznan |
Greater Poland |
855,000 |
|