<hdr>The World Factbook 1994: Poland<nl>Geography</hdr><body>
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<item><hi format=bold>Location:</hi> Central Europe, between Germany and Belarus
<item><hi format=bold>Area:</hi>
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<item>• <hi format=ital>total area:</hi> 312,680 sq km
<item>• <hi format=ital>land area:</hi> 304,510 sq km
<item>• <hi format=ital>comparative area:</hi> slightly smaller than New Mexico
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<item><hi format=bold>Land boundaries:</hi> total 3,114 km, Belarus 605 km, Czech Republic 658 km, Germany 456 km, Lithuania 91 km, Russia (Kaliningrad Oblast) 432 km, Slovakia 444 km, Ukraine 428 km
<item><hi format=bold>Climate:</hi> temperate with cold, cloudy, moderately severe winters with frequent precipitation; mild summers with frequent showers and thundershowers
<item><hi format=bold>Terrain:</hi> mostly flat plain; mountains along southern border
<item>• <hi format=ital>meadows and pastures:</hi> 13%
<item>• <hi format=ital>forest and woodland:</hi> 28%
<item>• <hi format=ital>other:</hi> 12%
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<item><hi format=bold>Irrigated land:</hi> 1,000 sq km (1989 est.)
<item><hi format=bold>Environment:</hi>
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<item>• <hi format=ital>current issues:</hi> forest damage due to air pollution; improper means for disposal of large amounts of hazardous and industrial waste; severe water pollution from industrial and municipal sources; severe air pollution results from emissions of sulfur dioxide from coal-fired power plants
<item>• <hi format=ital>natural hazards:</hi> NA
<item>• <hi format=ital>international agreements:</hi> party to—Air Pollution, Antarctic Treaty, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified—Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law of the Sea
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<item><hi format=bold>Note:</hi> historically, an area of conflict because of flat terrain and the lack of natural barriers on the North European Plain