Flag of Poland

Poland is an Eastern European state, bordered by the Baltic Sea. Its surface area is 312.679 km2 and its population is 38.5 million (2009).

The country is a republic, a member of the European Union since 2004. It is divided administratively into 16 provinces (wojewodztwa, singular : wojewodztwo). capital : Warzawa (Warsaw). Other major cities : Krakow (Krakow), Poznan, Wroclaw (Breslau), Gdansk (Danzig), Lublin, Lodz, Szczecin (Stettin).