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Poland (Polish:
Polska), officially
the Republic of
Poland (Polish:
Rzeczpospolita
Polska), is a
country in Central
Europe. Poland is
bordered by
Germany to the
west; the Czech
Republic and
Slovakia to the
south; Ukraine,
Belarus and
Lithuania to the
east; and the Baltic
Sea and Kaliningrad
Oblast, a Russian
exclave, to the
north. The total
area of Poland is
312,679 km? (120,728
sq mi), making it
the 69th largest
country in the world
and 9th in Europe.
Poland's population,
concentrated mainly
in urban areas, is
over 38.5 million
people which makes
it the 33rd most
populous country in
the world.
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The first Polish
ruler to adopt
Christianity was
Mieszko I in 966
(see Baptism of
Poland), when the
state covered
territory similar to
that of present-day
Poland. Poland
became a kingdom in
1025, and in 1569 it
cemented a long
association with the
Grand Duchy of
Lithuania by uniting
to form the
Polish-Lithuanian
Commonwealth. The
Commonwealth
collapsed in 1795.
Poland regained its
independence in 1918
after World War I
but lost it again in
World War II,
occupied by Nazi
Germany and the
Soviet Union. Poland
lost over six
million citizens in
World War II, and
emerged several
years later as a
communist country
within the Eastern
Bloc under the
control of the
Soviet Union. In
1989 communist rule
was overthrown and
Poland became
what is
constitutionally
known as the "Third
Polish Republic".
Poland is a unitary
state made up of
sixteen voivodeships
(Polish:
wojew?ztwo). Poland
is also a member of
the European Union,
NATO and OECD.
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