World Factbook
Poland
Rzeczpospolita Polska
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Area
land
304,255 sq km
water
8,430 sq km
total
312,685 sq km
Climate
temperate with cold, cloudy, moderately severe winters with frequent precipitation; mild summers with frequent showers and thundershowers
Terrain
mostly flat plain; mountains along southern border
Land use
other
21% (2023 est.)
forest
31% (2023 est.)
agricultural land
47.6% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: arable land
arable land: 36.6% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent crops
permanent crops: 1.1% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent pasture
permanent pasture: 9.8% (2023 est.)
Location
Central Europe, east of Germany
Coastline
440 km
Elevation
lowest point
near Raczki Elblaskie -2 m
highest point
Rysy 2,499 m
mean elevation
173 m
Irrigated land
1,327 sq km (2016)
Map references
Europe
Land boundaries
total
2,865 km
border countries
Belarus 375 km; Czechia 699 km; Germany 467 km; Lithuania 100 km, Russia (Kaliningrad Oblast) 209 km; Slovakia 517 km; Ukraine 498 km
Maritime claims
territorial sea
12 nm
exclusive economic zone
defined by international treaties
Natural hazards
flooding
Geography - note
historically an area of conflict because of flat terrain and the lack of natural barriers on the North European Plain
Natural resources
coal, sulfur, copper, natural gas, silver, lead, salt, amber, arable land
Area - comparative
about twice the size of Georgia; slightly smaller than New Mexico
Geographic coordinates
52 00 N, 20 00 E
Population distribution
population concentrated in the southern area around Krakow and the central area around Warsaw and Lodz, with an extension to the northern coastal city of Gdansk
Major lakes (area sq km)
salt water lake(s)
Zalew Szczecinski/Stettiner Haff (shared with Germany) - 900 sq km
Major watersheds (area sq km)
Atlantic Ocean drainage
(Black Sea) Danube (795,656 sq km)
Major rivers (by length in km)
Wisla (Vistula) river source and mouth (shared with Belarus and Ukraine) - 1,213 km note: longest river in Poland