1982 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1982 (Wikisource)
Geography
Area
312,354 km2; 49% arable, 14% other agricultural, 27% forested, 10% other
Coastline
491 km
Land boundaries
3,090 km WATER
Limits of territorial waters (claimed)
12 nm (6 nm contiguous zone claimed in addition to the territorial sea; fishing 12 nm, lateral limits based on geographical coordinates)
People and Society
Ethnic divisions
98.7% Polish, 0.6% Ukrainians, 0.5% Belorussians, less than 0.05% Jews, 0.2% other
Labor force
19.3 million; 27% agriculture, 32% industry, 41% other nonagricultural (1980)
Language
Polish, no significant dialects
Literacy
about 98%
Nationality
noun—Pole(s); adjective—Polish
Organized labor
Solidarity Union—new independent trade union formed as result of labor disturbances in Gdańsk (fall 1980)—claims 10 million members, suspended in December 1981
Population
36,229,000 (July 1982), average annual growth rate 0.9%
Religion
95% Roman Catholic (about 75% practicing), 5% Uniate, Greek Orthodox, Protestant, and other
Government
Branches
legislative, executive, judicial system dominated by parallel Communist party apparatus
Capital
Warsaw
Communists
3,091,900 party members (1980)
Elections
parliamentary and local government every four years Dominant political party and leader: Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR; Communist), Wojciech Jaruzelski, First Secretary Voting strength (1975 election): 99% voted for Communist-approved single slate
Government leaders
Wojciech JARUZELSKI, Chairman of Council of Ministers (Premier); Henryk Jabłloński, Chairman of Council of State (President)
Legal system
mixture of Continental (Napoleonic) civil law and Communist legal theory; constitution adopted 1952; court system parallels administrative divisions with Supreme Court, composed of 104 justices, at apex; no judicial review of legislative acts; legal education at seven law schools; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Member of
CEMA, FAO, GATT, IAEA, ICAO, ICES, IHO, Indochina Truce Commission, ILO, IMCO, International Lead and Zinc Study Group, IPU, ISO, ITC, ITU, Korea Truce Commission, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, all specialized agencies except IMF and IBRD, Warsaw Pact, WIPO, WMO, WTO
National holiday
National Liberation Day, 22 July
Official name
Polish People's Republic
Other political or pressure groups
National Unity Front (FJN), including United Peasant Party (ZSL), Democratic Party (SD), progovernment pseudo-Catholic Pax Association and Christian Social Association, Catholic independent Znak group; powerful Roman Catholic Church
Political subdivisions
49 provinces
Suffrage
universal and compulsory over age 18
Type
Communist state, temporarily under martial law
Economy
Agriculture
self-sufficient for minimum requirements; main crops—grain, sugar beets, oilseed, potatoes, exporter of livestock products and sugar; importer of grains; 3,200 calories per day per capita (1970)
Crude steel
19.5 million metric tons produced (1980), about 546 kg. per capita
Electric power
26,240,000 kW capacity (1981); 113.0 million kWh produced (1981), 3,129 kWh per capita
Exports
$16,975 million (f.o.b., 1980); 48% machinery and equipment, 35% fuels, raw materials, and semimanufactures, 8% agricultural and food products, 9% light industrial products (1980)
Fiscal year
same as calendar year; economic data are reported for calendar years except for caloric intake which is reported for the consumption year, 1 July-30 June
Fishing
catch 791,000 metric tons (1980)
GNP
$165.0 billion in 1980 (1980 dollars), $4,638 per capita; 1980 growth rate, -2.6%
Imports
$19,064 million (f.o.b., 1980); 35% machinery and equipment; 46% fuels, raw materials, and semimanufactures; 15% agricultural and food products; 4% light industrial products (1980) Major trade partners: $36,039 million (1979); 56% with Communist countries, 44% with West
Major industries
machine building, iron and steel, extractive industries, chemicals, shipbuilding, and food processing
Monetary conversion rate
80.0 złlotys=US$1 (January 1982)
Communications
Freight carried
rail—481.8 million metric tons (1980), 135.3 billion metric ton/km (1979); highway—2,146 million metric tons, 43.9 billion metric ton/km (1979); waterway—23.2 million metric tons, 2.0 billion metric ton/km (1979)
Highways
305,863 km total; 65,000 km concrete, asphalt, stone block; 98,000 km crushed stone, gravel; 142,863 km earth (1977)
Inland waterways
4,035 km navigable rivers and canals (1979)
Pipelines
3,540 km for natural gas; 1,515 km for crude oil; 322 km for refined products
Ports
4 major (Gdańsk, Gdynia, Szczecin, Świnoujście), 12 minor (1979); principal inland waterway ports are Gliwice, Wrocłlaw, and Warsaw (1979)
Railroads
27,236 km total; 24,380 km standard gauge (1.435 m), 2,856 km other gauge; 7,474 km double track; 6,868 km electrified; government owned (1980)
Military and Security
Military budget
announced for fiscal year ending 31 December 1981, 75.2 billion złlotys; 4.9% of total budget
Military manpower
males 15-49, 9,242,000; 7,388,000 fit for military service; 256,000 reach military age (19) annually