Poland (continued)
Nationality: noun—Pole(s); adjective—Polish
Ethnic divisions: 98.7% Polish, 0.6% Ukrainian, 0.5% Byelorussian, less than 0.05% Jewish
Religion: 95% Roman Catholic (about 75% practicing), 5% Russian Orthodox, Protestant, and other
Language: Polish
Literacy: 98%
Labor force: 17,128,000 (1988); 36.5% industry and construction; 28.5% agriculture; 14.7% trade, transport, and communications; 20.3% government and other
Organized labor: trade union pluralism
Government
Long-form name: Republic of Poland
Type: democratic state
Capital: Warsaw
Administrative divisions: 49 provinces (województwa, singular województwo); Biała Podlaska, Białystok, Bielsko-Biała, Bydgoszcz, Chełm, Ciechanów, Częstochowa, Elbląg, Gdańsk, Gorzów Wielkopolski, Jelenia Góra, Kalisz, Katowice, Kielce, Konin, Koszalin, Kraków, Krosno, Legnica, Leszno, Łódź, Łomza, Lublin, Nowy Sącz, Olsztyn, Opole, Ostrołęka, Piła, Piotrków, Płock, Poznań, Przemyśl, Radom, Rzeszów, Siedlce, Sieradz, Skierniewice, Słupsk, Suwałki, Szczecin, Tarnobrzeg, Tarnów, Toruń, Wałbrzych, Warszawa, Włocławek, Wrocław, Zamość, Zielona Góra
Independence: 11 November 1918, independent republic proclaimed
Constitution: the Communist-imposed Constitution of 22 July 1952 will be replaced by a democratic Constitution before May 1991
Legal system: mixture of Continental (Napoleonic) civil law and Communist legal theory; no judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday: National Liberation Day, 22 July (1952) will probably be replaced by Constitution Day, 3 May (1794)
Executive branch: president, prime minister, Council of Ministers (cabinet)
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament (Parlament) consists of an upper house or Senate (Senat) and a lower house or National Assembly (Sejm)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Leaders: Chief of State—President Gen. Wojciech JARUZELSKI (since 19 July 1989, Chairman of Council of State since 6 November 1985);
Head of Government—Premier Tadeusz MAZOWIECKI (since 24 August 1989)
Political parties and leaders: Center-right agrarian parties—Polish Peasant Party (PSL, known unofficially as PSL-Wilanowska), Gen. Franciszek Kaminski, chairman; Polish Peasant Party-Solidarity, Josef Slisz, chairman; Polish Peasant Party-Rebirth (formerly the United Peasant Party), Kazimirrz Olrsiak, chairman;
Other center-right parties—National Party, Bronislaw Ekert, chairman; Christian National Union, Urrslaw Chnzanowski, chairman; Christian Democratic Labor Party, Wladyslaw Sila Nowicki, chairman; Democratic Party, Jerzy Jozwiak, chairman;
Center-left parties—Polish Socialist Party, Jan Jozef Lipski, chairman;
Left-wing parties—Polish Socialist Party-Democratic Revolution;
Other—Social Democracy of the Republic of Poland (formerly the Communist Party or Polish United Workers' Party/PZPR), Aleksander Kwasnuewski, chairman; Union of the Social Democracy of the Republic of Poland (breakaway faction of the PZPR), Tadrusz Fiszbach, chairman
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections: Senate—last held 4 and 18 June 1989 (next to be held June 1993); results—percent of vote by party NA; seats—(100 total) Solidarity 99, independent 1;
National Assembly—last held 4 and 18 June 1989 (next to be held June 1993); results—percent of vote by party NA; seats—(460 total) Communists 173, Solidarity 161, Polish Peasant Party 76, Democratic Party 27, Christian National Union 23; note—rules governing the election limited Solidarity's share of the vote to 35% of the seats; future elections are to be freely contested
Communists: 70,000 members in the Communist successor party (1990)
Other political or pressure groups: powerful Roman Catholic Church; Confederation for an Independent Poland (KPN), a nationalist group; Solidarity (trade union); All Poland Trade Union Alliance (OPZZ), populist program; Clubs of Catholic Intellectuals (KIKs); Freedom and Peace (WiP), a pacifist group; Independent Student Union (NZS)
Member of: CCC, CEMA, Council of Europe, FAO, GATT, IAEA, ICAO, ICES, IHO, ILO, ILZSG, IMO, IPU, ISO, ITC, ITU, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, Warsaw Pact, WIPO, WMO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Jan KINAST; Chancery at 2640 16th Street NW, Washington DC 20009; telephone (202) 234-3800 through 3802; there are Polish Consulates General in Chicago and New York; US—Ambassador John R. DAVIS, Jr.; Embassy at Aleje Ujazdowskie 29/31, Warsaw (mailing address is APO New York 09213); telephone [48] 283041 through 283049; there is a US Consulate General in Krakow and a Consulate in Poznan
Flag: two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red a crowned eagle is to be added; similar to the flags of Indonesia and Monaco which are red (top) and white
Economy
Overview: The economy, except for the
agricultural sector, had followed the
Soviet model of state ownership and control
of the country's productive assets. About
75% of agricultural production had come
from the private sector and the rest from
state farms. The economy has presented a
picture of moderate but slowing growth
against a background of underlying
weaknesses in technology and worker motivation.
GNP increased between 3% and 6%
annually during the period 1983-1986, but
grew only 2.5% and 2.1% in 1987 and
1 988, respectively. Output dropped by
1.5% in 1989. The inflation rate, after
falling sharply from the 1982 peak of
100% to 22% in 1986, rose to a galloping
rate of 640% in 1989. Shortages of
consumer goods and some food items worsened
in 1988-89. Agricultural products
and coal have remained the biggest hard
currency earners, but manufactures are
increasing in importance. Poland, with its
hard currency debt of approximately $40
billion, is severely limited in its ability to
import much-needed hard currency goods.
The sweeping political changes of 1989
disrupted normal economic channels and
exacerbated shortages. In January 1990,
the new Solidarity-led government
adopted a cold turkey program for
transforming Poland to a market economy. The
government moved to eliminate subsidies,
end artificially low prices, make the złoty
convertible, and, in general, halt the
hyperinflation. These financial measures are
accompanied by plans to privatize the
economy in stages. Substantial outside aid
will be needed if Poland is to make a
successful transition in the 1990s.
GNP: $172.4 billion, per capita $4,565; real growth rate -1.6% (1989 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 640% (1989 est.)
Unemployment rate: NA%; 215,000 (official number, mid-March 1990)
Budget: revenues $23 billion; expenditures $24 billion, including capital expenditures of $3.5 billion (1988)
Exports: $24.7 billion (f.o.b., 1987 est.); commodities—machinery and equipment 63%; fuels, minerals, and metals 14%; manufactured consumer goods 14%; agricultural and forestry products 5% (1987
