Country Details
Poland
Central Europe, east of Germany
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Environment
Detailed information and insights
Environmental issues
air pollution (despite environmental policy improvements) because of coal-burning in homes and power plants; acid rain leading to forest damage; water pollution from industrial and municipal sources; disposal of hazardous wastes
International environmental agreements
Party to
Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic- Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling
Signed, but not ratified
Air Pollution-Heavy Metals, Air Pollution-Multi-effect Protocol, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants
Climate
temperate with cold, cloudy, moderately severe winters with frequent precipitation; mild summers with frequent showers and thundershowers
Land use
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.)
Forest
31% (2023 est.)
Other
21% (2023 est.)
Urbanization
Urban population
60.2% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization
-0.16% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Carbon dioxide emissions
Total emissions
264.031 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
From coal and metallurgical coke
132.101 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
From petroleum and other liquids
95.095 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
From consumed natural gas
36.835 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
Particulate matter emissions
18.8 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
Methane emissions
Energy
954.2 kt (2022-2024 est.)
Agriculture
595.9 kt (2019-2021 est.)
Waste
292 kt (2019-2021 est.)
Other
36.3 kt (2019-2021 est.)
Waste and recycling
Municipal solid waste generated annually
12.758 million tons (2024 est.)
Percent of municipal solid waste recycled
38.3% (2022 est.)
Total water withdrawal
Municipal
2.113 billion cubic meters (2022)
Industrial
6.44 billion cubic meters (2022)
Agricultural
1.28 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)
Total renewable water resources
60.5 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)
Geoparks
Total global geoparks and regional networks
3 (2024)
Global geoparks and regional networks
Land of Extinct Volcanoes; Muskauer Faltenbogen / Łuk Mużakowa (includes Germany); Holy Cross Mountains (2024)