POLAND
Republic of Poland
Rzeczpospolita Polska
CAPITAL : Warsaw (Warszawa)
FLAG : The national flag consists of two horizontal stripes, the upper white and the lower red.
ANTHEM : Jeszcze Polska nie zginela (Poland Is Not Yet Lost ).
MONETARY UNIT : The zloty ( Z ) is a paper currency of 100 groszy. There are coins of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, and 50 groszy and 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 zlotys, and notes of 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1,000, 2,000, and 5,000 zlotys. A currency reform on 1 January 1995 replaced 10,000 old zlotys with 1 new zloty. Z 1 = $0.2638 (or $1 = Z 3.79) as of May 2003.
WEIGHTS AND MEASURES : The metric system is the legal standard.
HOLIDAYS : New Year's Day, 1 January; Labor Day, 1 May; National Day, 3 May; Victory Day, 9 May; All Saints' Day, 1 November; Christmas, 25–26 December. Movable holidays are Easter Monday and Corpus Christi.
TIME : 1 PM = noon GMT.
FLORA AND FAUNA
Coniferous trees, especially pine, account for 70% of the forests; deciduous species include birch, beech, and elm. Lynx, wildcat, European bison, moose, wild horse (tarpan), and wild goat are among the few remaining large mammals. Birds, fish, and insects are plentiful.
FISHING
Most of the fishing industry has been brought under state ownership. Sea fishing is conducted in the Baltic and North seas and in the Atlantic (Labrador, Newfoundland, and African waters), and there are inland fisheries in lakes, ponds, and rivers. The 2000 saltwater catch was 200,811 tons, predominantly pollock; freshwater fishing yielded about 17,543 tons. Exports of fish products amounted to $242.7 million in 2000.
DEPENDENCIES
Poland has no territories or colonies.
Susie Q