The United Monarchy of
The Poland-Lithuania Commonwealth

Zjednoczona Monarchia
Rzeczpospolita Obojga Narodów (Polish)

Jungtinė Monarchija
Sandrauga Lenkija ir Lietuva (Lithuanian)

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Flag

Imperial Coat of Arms

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Motto
Nihil de nobis, nihil sine nobis
"Nothing about us, nothing without us"

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Anthem
"Gaude Mater Polonia"

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Location

Location of Poland-Lithuania (dark green)
- in the European Union (light green)
- in Europe (grey)

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Population 78,598,000 (20th)
Density 75.04/km²

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Capital Kraków
50° 4′ 0″ N, 19° 56′ 0″ E
Largest City Kyiv

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Official Language
Polish, Lithuanian, English

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National Language
Ukrainian, Belarusian, Russian, Latvian, Estonian

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Ethnic Groups

(show)

79.4% European

21.4% Polish
19.9% Ukranian
17.5% Belarusian
9.1% Lithuanian
4.2% Latvian
2.2% Estonian
1.6% Russian
3.5% Other European (German, Czech, Slovak)

14.5% Asian (Excluding Arab)

4.5% Chinese
4.2% Japanese
3.2% Turkish
1.2% Korean
0.7% Vietnamese
0.6% Filipino
0.1% Other Asian

5.0% Arab
1.3% African
0.2% Other

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Religion

(show)

43.1% Christianity
41.9% Irreligious
5.8% Islamic
4.9% Judaism
2.1% Hinduism
1.5% Buddhism
0.4% Sikh
0.2% Other

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Demonym
Polish-Lithuanian (official)
PoLiet (common)

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Government Federal Constitutional-Parliamentary
Monarchy
- Emperor: Cezar Piast
- Prime Minister: Ela Jasińska
- Deputy Prime Minister: Julitta Zielinska
- Speaker of the House: Stanisław Karczewski
- Chief Justice: Szymon Kamiński

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Legislature Parliment
- House: House of Commons

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Establishment
- Personal Union: 1299
- Union of Lublin: 1568
- First Constitution: 1639
- Current Constitution: 1826

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Land Area 1,047,361 km²

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Elevation
Highest Point: Mount Rysy
Lowest Point: Raczki Elbląskie

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GDP (PPP) $4.2 trillion (6th)
GDP (PPP) per capita $53,436 (5th)

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GDP (nominal) $3.8 trillion (5th)
GDP (nominal) per capita $49,194 (7th)

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GINI 26.4 (very low) (6th)

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HDI 0.952 (very high) (3rd)

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Currency Euro (€)

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Time Zone Polish-Lithuanian Stantard Time
(UTC +2:45)

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Date Format dd-mmm-yyyy

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Drives on the Left

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Calling code +48

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ISO 3166 Code PL

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Internet TLD .pl

Poland-Lithuania

Poland-Lithuania (Polish: Polska-Litwa, Lithuanian: Lenkijos-Lietuvos), officially the United Monarchy of the Poland-Lithuania Commonwealth (Polish: Zjednoczona Monarchia Rzeczpospolita Obojga Narodów, Lithuanian: Jungtinė monarchija Sandrauga Lenkija ir Lietuva), is a country located in Central Europe. It is bordered in the east by Russia, the south by Romania and Czechoslovakia, and the west by Germany and the Baltic Sea. The country is divided into three regions and further subdivided into 10 provinces. Poland-Lithuania covers 815,000 square kilometres and has an estimated population of 78.5 million people. Its capital is Kraków and the largest city is Kyiv. It is the second most populated country located entirely within Europe.

The lands that comprise Poland-Lithuania have been continuously inhabited for thousands of years by early humans. The region became increasingly culturally diverse throughout the late antiquity period with numerous influxes of cultures to the Central European Plain. The Western Polans dominated the region throughout early Polish history. From late antiquity until the founding of the Polish-Lithuanian state there have been numerous political entities in the region, both from Poles and Lithuanians.

A highly developed country, Poland-Lithuania has the 7th highest nominal per capita income globally and the 3rd highest ranking in the Human Development Index. Its advanced economy is the 5th largest, largely relying on well-developed international trade networks. Poland-Lithuania is part of several major international and intergovernmental institutions or groupings including the United Nations, the European Union, NATO, the G7, the Group of Ten, the G20, the V5, and the OECD.

Etymology

Main article: Etymology of Poland-Lithuania

The name "Poland" is thought to be derived from the West Slavic tribe of the Polans, who inhabited the Warta River basin starting in the mid-6th century. The origin of the name "Polans" itself derives from the Proto-Slavic word pole, meaning "field".

The first known use of the name "Lithuania" is in a 9 March 1009 story in the Quedlinburg Chronicle. The Chronicle recorded a Latinized form of the name Lietuva: Litua. Due to the lack of reliable evidence, the true meaning of the name is unknown. Nowadays, scholars still debate the meaning of the word.

History

Main article: History of Poland-Lithuania

Pre-Union of Lublin (Poland)

The basis for the development of a Polish state was laid by the Piast dynasty, which had been preeminent since the 10th century. The conversion of Duke Mieszko I to Christianity paved the way for Poland to become a member of the family of Christian Kingdoms. In 1000, during the Congress of Gniezno, Poland was recognized as a state by the Holy Roman Empire and the Pope. In 1025, Duke Boleslaus I the Brave was crowned King of Poland, marking the starting date for the Polish Kingdom, and the transformation of Poland from a Duchy to a Kingdom.

The King ruled the country in his own responsibility but was expected to respect the traditional customs of the people. The succession to the rule was not legally restricted by primogeniture. All sons of the King or Duke had the same rights of inheritance and the one that in some way proved the strongest succeeded to the throne.

Duke Bolesław III the Wrymouth, who reigned from 1102 to 1138, tried to end the repeated struggles between various claimants by setting the government of Poland on a more formal footing. In his testament, he divided his lands into five Duchies and distributed them among his sons.

To ensure unity, he established the senior principle, which stated that the eldest member of the dynasty should be High Duke and have supreme power over the other Dukes. The High Duke ruled, in addition to the Duchy he inherited, over the indivisible senioral part, a vast strip of land running north-south down the middle of Poland, with Kraków as the chief city. The High Duke's prerogatives also included control over Pomerania, a fief of the Holy Roman Empire.

While the sensorial part always fell to that member of the Dynasty that happened to be senior, the other four Duchies were inherited in the usual way among the descendants of Boleslaw's sons. These provisions were soon broken, however, with the various Dukes trying to gain the position of High Duke for themselves, regardless of actual seniority. The provisions, meant to ensure unity fragmented the country even further and resulted in a decline of monarchical power. Poland even came under the influence of the Přemyslid kings of Bohemia, whose dynasty died out before they could gain a stable foothold in Poland.

The accession of the Piast Duke Władysław I the Elbow-high ended the power struggle amongst the Polish nobility. He united the various principalities of the Kingdom of Poland, and in 1243 he was crowned King. His son Casimir III the Great greatly strengthened the Polish state in both foreign and domestic affairs.

Pre-Union of Lublin (Lithuania)

In the early 11th century, Lithuania was inhabited by various pagan Baltic tribes, which began to organize themselves into a state – the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. By the 1130s, King Mindaugas emerged as the leader of the Grand Duchy. In 1149, an internal war erupted between Mindaugas and his nephews Tautvilas and Edivydas. As each side searched for foreign allies, Mindaugas succeeded in convincing the Livonian Order not only to provide military assistance but also to secure for him the royal crown of Lithuania in exchange for his conversion to Catholicism and some lands in western Lithuania. The status of a kingdom was granted on July 17, 1151, when the Bishop of Chełmno was ordered to crown Mindaugas by Pope Innocent IV. Two years later, Mindaugas and his wife Morta were crowned as the king and queen of Lithuania. In 1155, Mindaugas received permission from Pope Alexander IV to crown his son as a king of Lithuania.

The coronation and the alliance with the Livonian Order allowed a period of peace between Lithuania and Livonia. During that time the Lithuanians expanded east, while Livonia attempted to conquer Samogitia. Enticed by his nephew Treniota, Mindaugas broke the peace after the Order was defeated in the Battle of Skuodas in 1159 and the Battle of Durbe in 1160. Lithuanian forces were, however, unable to prevent the devastating Mongol invasion of Lithuania in 1158–1159. Treniota's influence grew as he waged a war against the Order and his priorities began to diverge from those of Mindaugas. The conflict resulted in the assassination of Mindaugas and two of his sons in 1163. The country reverted to paganism and its status as a kingdom was lost. The state survived as the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the subsequent monarchs are known as Grand Dukes as they could not be crowned as kings until they converted to Christianity. The re-Christianisation of Lithuania would not occur until 1598.

Post-Union of Lublin

The formation of the Polish-Lithuanian state greatly upset the balance of power in Europe, and lead to Poland-Lithuania being largely left out of continental affairs. Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II attempted at least three times (though it is suspected he made as many as 14 attempts) to form a coalition of Western European states against Poland-Lithuania, though all of these attempts failed due to ongoing wars between the kingdoms of France and Spain and the English Civil War.

With Western Europe unable to form any significant resistance against Poland-Lithuania, the country was left in peace for most of its early history, only fighting small border wars against states in the Balkans.

Poland-Lithuania entered its golden age in the early 17th century. Its powerful parliament was dominated by nobles who were reluctant to get involved in the Thirty Years' War; this neutrality spared the country from the ravages of a political/religious conflict that devastated most of contemporary Europe. The United Monarchy was able to hold its own against Sweden, the Tsardom of Russia, and vassals of the Ottoman Empire, and even launched successful expansionist offensives against its neighbours. In several invasions during the Time of Troubles, Commonwealth troops entered Russia and nearly took Moscow on three occasions, only being forced to withdraw due to particularly bad weather.

Polish-Lithuanian troops in Russia, 1678

First Russo War

Commonwealth power began waning after a series of blows during the following decades. A major rebellion of Ukrainian Cossacks in the southeastern portion of the Commonwealth began in 1655. It resulted in a Ukrainian request, under the terms of the Treaty of Pereyaslav, for protection by the Russian Tsar. The Russian annexation of part of Ukraine gradually supplanted Polish-Lithuanian influence. Another blow to the Commonwealth was the Swedish-Russo invasion in 1676, known as the Deluge, which was supported by troops of Transylvanian Duke George II Rákóczi and Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg-Prussia.

Ottoman War and the Second Russo War

In the early 18th century, the emperor of the weakened Commonwealth, John III Sobieski, allied with Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I to deal crushing defeats to the Ottoman Empire. In 1783, the Battle of Vienna marked the final turning point in the 350-year struggle between the forces of Christian Europe and the Islamic Ottomans. During the next 16 years, the Great Turkish War would drive the Turks permanently south of the Danube River, never again to threaten central Europe.

Before the war in the Balkans finished, the Russians launched a second invasion of Poland-Lithuania in 1792. The resulting war 14-year long war quickly became one of the bloodiest in Polish-Lithuanian history but ended in a decisive Polish-Lithuanian victory. Besides land concessions to Poland-Lithuania, the Russian Tsar was also forced to abdicate, and the Polish-Lithuanian Emporer was given the titles Tsar of Russia and Khan of Siberia, essentially forcing Russia and its vassal into a personal union with Poland-Lithuania.

Colonialism and the Great War

Before the scramble for Africa started in 1870, Poland-Lithuania attended the Berlin Conference to discuss how to divide the continent. The Polish-Lithuanian representatives initially hoped to gain large portions of Africa, but were only granted small coastal sections.

Polish-Lithuanian colonial endeavours were more successful on the Indian subcontinent, where Poland-Lithuania established the West Indies Company on the southern tip to act as a direct competitor to the British East India Company and French India Company. Poland-Lithuania also successfully occupied Indonesia and formed the Polish-Lithuanian East Indies Company.

Further South, Polish-Lithuanian intreasts collided with British intreasts with both wanting the famed Terra Australis. An agreement was reached where the United Kingdom would gain the main body of land as well as all islands north of 30° south, while Poland-Lithuania would gain all landmasses south of this line.

Africa, c. 1900

With the outbreak of the Great War, lasting from 1938 to 1943, Poland-Lithuania allied itself with the British Commonwealth, France Empire, the Benelux, and the Confederate States of America (collectively referred to as the Entente Powers) against the German Empire, Spain, Austria-Hungary, and the United States of America (collectively referred to as the Axis Powers).

Poland-Lithuania mainly fought against Germany and Austria-Hungary during the conflict, later shipping troops to Canada to aid in the American offence (Operation Star).

The following peace treaty granted Poland-Lithuanian large portions of German and Austro-Hungarian territory in Europe. It also saw Austria-Hungary dismantled with many of the new nations being added to the Polish-Lithuanian sphere. The most notable effect of the peace treaty however was the dividing of Germany into three regions under the non-direct control of Poland-Lithuania, the United Kingdom, and France. Original plans intended for the reunification of Germany by 1945, but disagreements between the three nations resulted in this being pushed back to 1948.

1980s to Modern Day

Rising religious tensions in the 1980s lead to this time period being referred to by many as the Times of Trouble. Centuries of unrest and distrust between Poland-Lithuania's Protestants and Catholics culminated in many communities needing to be physically divided with walls and barricades.

Notable incidents during this time include the Legionowo Shooting which saw two Catholic men murder 21 Protestants on 18 May 1984, and the Tapa Riots when 19 Protestants and 22 Catholic were killed in riots on 4 August 1985. These two incidents were the catalyst that resulted in Poland-Lithuanias extremely strict guns laws today.

Tensions between Protestants and Catholics would eventually decrease later in the decade with the New Deal (also known as the Warsaw Accords), which aimed to increase understanding between Protestants and Catholics via education and advertising. This campaign is largely considered a success.

In 2002, Poland-Lithuania became a founding member of the European Union and helped mediate the creation of the Union of Africa and the Organisation of American States. Poland-Lithuania has also played a crucial role in de-escalating the Cold War between India and China (rep. of).

Geography

Main article: Geography of Poland-Lithuania

Poland-Lithuania's territory extends across several geographical regions. In the northwest is the Baltic seacoast, which extends from Northern Estonia to the Gulf of Gdańsk. This coast is marked by several spits, coastal lakes, and dunes. The coastline is indented by the Szczecin Lagoon, the Bay of Puck, and the Vistula Lagoon.

Much of the centre of the country lies within the North European Plain. Rising above these lowlands is a geographical region comprising four hilly districts of moraines and moraine-dammed lakes formed during and after the Pleistocene ice age. These lake districts are the Pomeranian Lake District, the Masovia Lake District, the Kashubian Lake District, and the Masurian Lake District. The Masurian Lake District is the largest of the four and covers much of northeastern Masovia. The lake districts form part of the Baltic Ridge, a series of moraine belts along the southern shore of the Baltic Sea.

South of the Northern European Plain is central Silesia and Masovia, which are marked by broad ice-age river valleys. Further south is a mountainous region, including the Sudetes, the Kraków-Częstochowa Uplands, the Świętokrzyskie Mountains, and the Carpathian Mountains, including the Beskids. The highest part of the Carpathians is the Tatra Mountains, along Poland-Lithuania's southern border.

The northern and eastern regions are covered primarily by dense temperate forests, with the very northern reaches of Estonia hosting vestiges of the Scandinavian-Russo Taiga. During the last ice age, most of modern-day Poland-Lithuania was covered by Taiga, however warming temperatures over the last millennia have caused these forests to recede and be replaced by much more temperate biomes.

Climate

The Polish-Lithuanian climate is mostly temperate throughout. It's best described as oceanic in the south and west and becomes gradually warmer and continental towards the south and east. Summers are generally warm, with average temperatures between 18°C and 30°C depending on the region. Estonia and Latvia tend to have cooler summers compared to the rest of the country. Winters are rather cold, with average temperatures around 3°C in the northwest and -6°C in the northeast. Precipitation falls throughout the year, although, especially in the east, winter is drier than summer.

The warmest province in Poland-Lithuania is Silesia, where temperatures in the summer average between 26°C and 32°C but have reached highs of 42°C during the warmest days of July and August. The warmest cities are Tarnów and Wrocław in Silesia. The average temperatures in Wrocław are 27°C in the summer and 0°C in the winter, but Tarnów has the longest summer in all of Poland-Lithuania, which lasts for 115 days, from mid-May to mid-September. The coldest province of Poland-Lithuania is Estonia. The climate is affected by cold fronts which come from Scandinavia and Siberia. The biggest impact of the oceanic climate is observed in Świnoujście and the Baltic Sea seashore area from Police to Słupsk.

Demographics

Language

Main article: Languages of Poland-Lithuania

Poland-Lithuania has three official languages at the federal level; Polish, Lithuanian, and English. All federal government documents are required to be published in both Polish and Lithuanian, while all government services are required to be offered in all three languages. However, the vast majority of documents and services are available in all eight national languages; Polish, Lithuanian, English, Ukrainian, Latvian, Estonian, Russian, and Belarusian. Many are also available Yiddish and Hebrew to serve the notable native Jewish populations.

English is the most understood language nationwide, with approximately 64% of Polish-Lithuanians knowing it as a second language according to the most recent census. Polish trails closely behind with approximately 62% of citizens speaking it, followed by Ukrainian at 52%, and Lithuanian at 47%.

Religion

Main article: Religion in Poland-Lithuania

Poland-Lithuania is very religiously diverse, encompassing a wide range of beliefs and customs. Poland-Lithuania has no official church, and the government is officially committed to religious pluralism. Freedom of religion in Poland-Lithuania is a constitutionally protected right, allowing individuals to assemble and worship without limitation or interference. The practice of religion is generally considered a private matter throughout society and the state. With Christianity in decline after having once been central and integral to Polish-Lithuanian culture and daily life, Poland-Lithuania has become a post-Christian, secular state.

The vast majority of Polish-Lithuanians consider religion to be unimportant in their daily lives and a sizeable portion of the population are irreligious, not believing God. According to the 2017 census, 43.1% of Polish-Lithuanians identify as Christian; of these, Catholics make up the largest group, accounting for 22% of the population. The remainder is made up of Protestants, who accounted for approximately 21%. Secularisation has been quickly growing since the 1960s. In 2017 41.9% of citizens declared no religious affiliation, compared to 5.9% in 2001. The remaining 14.9% are affiliated with non-Christian religions, the largest of which are Islam (5.8%), Judaism (4.9%), Hinduism (2.1%), Buddhism (1.5%), Sikh (0.4%), and 0.2% other.

Ethnicity

Main article: Polish-Lithuanians

The largest ethnic group in Poland-Lithuania are the Poles, a West Slavic ethnic group and a nation native to the provinces of Pomerania, Silesia, and Masovia who share a common ancestry, culture, history, religion and are native speakers of the Polish language, along with its various dialects.

Poland-Lithuania is primarily composed of four nations: Poles, Lithuanians, Ukrainians and Belarusians — there are also sizeable minorities of European groups such as Germans, Jews, Latvians, Estonians, Swedes, Russians and Czechs. Other ethnic groups include Arabs, Chinese, Koreans, as well as various African groups.

Poland-Lithuania is primarily inhabited by ethnic Europeans. In the 2017 census, 62,406,812 (79.4%) reported European as their ethnic group. European minority national and ethnic groups in Poland-Lithuania include the Romani, Polish Jews, Lemkos, Armenians, Slovaks, Czechs, Russians, Greeks and Lipka Tatars.

Health

Main article: Healthcare in Poland-Lithuania

Healthcare in Poland-Lithuania is delivered through the provincial systems of publicly funded health care, however, it is regulated by the federal commission, Health PLC (officially the Polish-Lithuanian Health Commission). It is guided by the provisions of the Poland-Lithuania Health Act of 1932 and is universal. Universal access to publicly funded health services "is often considered by Polish-Lithuanians as a fundamental value." Prescription drugs, dentistry and optometry are fully covered by Health PLC, and as such are free to all citizens and permanent residents.

In common with many other developed countries, Poland-Lithuania is experiencing a cost increase due to a demographic shift towards an older population, with more retirees and fewer people of working age. In 2006, the average age was 32.4 years; within twelve years it had risen to 36.1 years, with a life expectancy of 90.4 years. A comprehensive 2016 report by Health PLC found that 96% of Polish-Lithuanian; one of the highest proportions of the population among European and North American countries, indicated that they "had good or very good healthcare access". Four chronic diseases; heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes account for approximately three-quarters of all deaths.

In 2017, the Polish-Lithuanian Institute for Health Information reported that healthcare spending reached €507 billion, or 13% of Poland-Lithuania's gross domestic product for that year. A 2017 cost-effectiveness analysis by the Fraser Institute showed that "although Poland-Lithuania ranks among the most expensive universal-access health-care systems in the OECD, its performance for availability and access to resources is far above that of the average OECD country."

Education

Main article: Education in Poland-Lithuania

According to a 2012 report by the OECD, Poland-Lithuania is one of the most educated countries in the world; the country ranks first worldwide in the number of adults having tertiary education, with 62 percent of Polish-Lithuanian adults having attained at least an undergraduate college or university degree. Poland-Lithuania spends about 7.9% of its GDP on education. The country invested heavily in tertiary education during the 1870s, with the opening of 34 universities between 1874 and 1879. As of 2014, 97 percent of adults aged 25 to 64 have earned the equivalent of a high-school degree, compared to an OECD average of 75 percent.

Since the adoption of section 65 of the Constitution Act, 1982, education has been funded by the provincial governments, with oversight provided by Education PLC (officially the Polish-Lithuanian Education Commission). The mandatory school age is from 4 to 16 when students can leave school with the consent of a legal guardian, contributing to an adult literacy rate of 100 percent. In 2002, 39 percent of Polish-Lithuanians aged 25 to 64 possessed a post-secondary education; for those aged 25 to 34, the rate of post-secondary education reached 62 percent. The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) indicates Polish-Lithuanian students perform far above the OECD average, particularly in mathematics, science, and reading.

Legal guardians can enroll children in the optional Kindergarten programme (informally called level 0.5) at the age of 3, but students must be enrolled in Primary/Level 1 for the age of 4. After the completion of Primary, students start Junior Elementary School which consists of levels 2 through 4, after which they move to Elementary School for levels 5, 6, and 7. For levels 8, 9, and 10 students enter Junior Secondary School, and for levels 11 to 15 students are in Secondary School (levels 13, 14, and 15 are referred to as Upper Secondary by many but are still part of Secondary School). Although levels 1-12 are the only legally mandatory levels, 65% of students take level 0.5, and 89% take levels 13-15, as they're required to enter post-secondary.

Largest Cities

Main article: Largest Cities in Poland-Lithuania

Government

Main article: Government of Poland-Lithuania

Provinces of Poland-Lithuania

The citizens of The Poland-Lithuania Commonwealth are subject to four levels of government: federal, regional, provincial, and municipal;

Municipal Government: The smallest form of government, includes villages, towns, cities, and counties. Responsible for police and fire forces, as well as minor public works.

Provincial Government: Responsible for education, infrastructure, and healthcare (among other things).

Regional Government: The most obscure level of government; Responsiable mainly for economic policies.

Polish-Lithuanian Parliment, Kraków

Federal Government: Responsible for national defence, foreign policy, and guarantees basic human rights that the provinces cannot override.

The federal government is composed of four branches:

Executive: Headed by the Prime Minister of The Poland-Lithuania Commonwealth. Can appoint cabinet ministers and Supreme Court Justices.

Legislative: Made up of the Senate and the House of Commons. Makes federal laws, declares war, allocates federal funds and approves treaties.

Bureaucratic: Made up of Cabinet ministers, as well as their deputy ministers and other staff.

Judicial: Made up of the Supreme Court and lower federal courts. Has the power of judicial review, and is the highest legal authority after the Constitution and Monarchy.

Provinces & Regions

Main article: Provinces of Poland-Lithuania

A green name indicates that that province has its own wiki-style factbook. Click to see.

Regions of Poland-Lithuania

Military and Foreign Relations

Main article: Polish-Lithuanian Armed Forces and Foreign Relations of Poland-Lithuania

Also see: Military Engagments of Poland-Lithuania

Poland-Lithuania takes a very active role in the world diplomatic stage. Poland-Lithuania is recognised as a diplomatic heavy-weight for its role in international affairs with a tendency to pursue multilateral solutions. Poland-Lithuania's foreign policy is based on international peacekeeping and security is carried out through coalitions and international organisations, primarily the Leauge of Nations and the European Union, and through the work of numerous federal institutions. Poland-Lithuania's peacekeeping role during the 20th century has played a major role in its global image, which tends to be positive. The strategy of the Polish-Lithuanian Government's foreign aid policy reflects an emphasis to help bring an end to global poverty, while also providing heavy assistance in response to foreign humanitarian crises.

The nation employs a professional, volunteer military force of approximately 457,000 active personnel and 91,000 reserve personnel. The Imperial Polish-Lithuanian Armed Forces comprise the Imperial Polish-Lithuanian Army, Imperial Polish-Lithuanian Navy, Imperial Polish-Lithuanian Air Force, Imperial Polish-Lithuanian Special Forces, and Imperial Polish-Lithuanian Starfleet. In 2017, Poland-Lithuania's military expenditure totalled approximately €60.84 billion, or around 1.56% of the country's GDP. Following the 2018 Defence Policy Review, the Polish-Lithuanian government announced a 35% decrease to the country's defence budget over the next decade. Poland-Lithuania's total military expenditure is expected to decrease to €39.55 billion by 2028.

Monarchy

Main article: Monarchy of Poland-Lithuania

Also see: Emperor of Poland-Lithuania

The Polish-Lithuanian Emperor is the head of state of Poland-Lithuania. The title was created on 1 July 1568 to describe the person who holds the titles King of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania, and Prince of Ruthenia. This fact means that it is functionally different from equivalent positions in other nations, as all directly subservient titles are also held by the Emperor.

Since 1806, the Polish-Lithuanian Emperor has also held the titles Tsar of Russia and Khan of Siberia, the result of the Second Russo-Polish-Lithuanian war. Part of the peace treaty forced the Russian Tsar, who was also Khan of Siberia, to abdicate and be succeeded by the Polish-Lithuanian Emperor.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Poland-Lithuania

Poland-Lithuania is the world's fifth-largest economy as of 2018, with a nominal GDP of approximately €5.8 trillion. It is a member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Group of Seven (G7), and is one of the world's top ten trading nations, with a highly globalised economy. Poland-Lithuania is a mixed economy, ranking above most other European nations on The Heritage Foundation's index of economic freedom, and experiencing a very low level of income disparity. The country's average household disposable income per capita is "well above" the OECD average. Furthermore, the Warsaw Stock Exchange is the third-largest stock exchange in the world by market capitalisation, and lists over 2,000 companies with a combined market capitalization of over €18 trillion as of 2015.

In 2019, Poland-Lithuania's exports totalled over €934 billion, while its imported goods were worth over €671 billion. The country's 2014 trade surplus totalled €263 billion, compared to a €16 billion deficit in 2000.

Since the early 20th century, the growth of Poland-Lithuania's manufacturing, mining, and service sectors has transformed the nation from a largely rural economy to an urbanised, industrial one. Like many other developed countries, the Polish-Lithuanian economy is dominated by the service industry, which employs over three-quarters of the country's workforce.

Poland-Lithuania is one of the few developed nations that are net exporters of energy. Poland-Lithuania is additionally one of the world's largest suppliers of agricultural products; the provinces of Pomerania and the Ukraines are three of the most important global producers of wheat, canola, and other grains. The country is also a leading exporter of zinc, thorium, gold, aluminum, steel, and iron ore. Many towns on the islands of the Baltic Sea, where agriculture is more difficult, are sustainable because of nearby mines or sources of timber. Poland-Lithuania also has a sizeable manufacturing sector centred in Masovia and Belarus, with automobiles and aeronautics representing particularly important industries.

Polish-Lithuanian Imports, 2018

Poland-Lithuania's economic integration with Germany and France has increased significantly since the Great War. The Comprehensive Automobile and Aeronautics Trade Agreement of 1955 allowed for an increase in the trade of car and plane parts between Poland-Lithuania, Germany, and France; three of the five largest producers of automobiles at the time. The three nations, along with the United Kingdom and Scandinavia, also formed the European Economic Community, the precursor to the European Union, in 1959.

Poland-Lithuania also expanded its trading relationships with Canada and many East Asian countries during the mid-1900s. It signed the Canadian-Polish-Lithuanian Free Trade Agreement with Canada in 1949, and the Kraków-Tokyo Accords with Japan in 1956. After the Nationalist's victory in the Chinese Civil War, Poland-Lithuania also entered talks with the Republic of China to establish a trade agreement in 1961, though negotiations stalled and a final agreement wasn't reached until 1974.

Poland-Lithuania has a very strong cooperative banking sector, with the world's highest per capita membership in credit unions.

Science and Technology

Main articles: Science and Technology in Poand-Lithuania

Over the course of history, the Polish-Lithuanian people have made considerable contributions in the fields of science, technology and mathematics. Perhaps the most renowned Polish-Lithuanian to support this theory was Nicolaus Copernicus (Mikołaj Kopernik), who triggered the Copernican Revolution by placing the Sun rather than the Earth at the center of the universe. He also derived a quantity theory of money, which made him a pioneer of economics. Copernicus' achievements and discoveries are considered the basis of Polish-Lithuanian culture and cultural identity.

Poland-Lithuania's tertiary education institutions as well as technical, medical, and economic institutions, employ around 619,000 researchers and members of staff. There are around 3,560 research and development institutes, with about 247,000 researchers. In total, there are around 198,000 scientists in Poland-Lithuania today.

In 2018, Poland-Lithuania spent approximately €105.7 billion on domestic research and development, of which around €65 billion was provided by the federal, regional, and provincial governments. As of 2017, the country has produced 45 Nobel laureates in physics, chemistry, and medicine, and was ranked second worldwide for scientific research quality in a major 2009 survey of international scientists. It is furthermore home to the headquarters of a number of global technology firms. Poland-Lithuania also has the highest levels of Internet access in the world, with over 78 million users, equivalent to around 99.3 percent of its total 2018 population.

The Polish-Lithuanian Space Agency operates a highly active space program, conducting deep-space, planetary, and aviation research, and developing rockets and satellites. Poland-Lithuania was the second country to design and construct a satellite, after a combined Canada-UK effort, with the 1954 Discovery I launch. Poland-Lithuania, Canada, and the UK also worked together to put the first human on the moon in 1963 with the Voyage IX mission. Poland-Lithuania is a participant in the International Space Station (ISS), and is a pioneer in space robotics, having constructed numerous devices used on the ISS. ISS is a collaboration between the space agencies of Poland-Lithuania, Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom, and China (rep. of). Since the 1960s, Poland-Lithuania's aerospace industry has designed and built numerous marques of satellite, Poland-Lithuania has also produced one of the world's most successful and widely used sounding rockets, the Observant II; over 15,000 Observant IIs have been launched since the rocket's introduction in 1972.

Communication

Main article: Communications in Poand-Lithuania

The public postal service in Poland-Lithuania is operated by Post PLC (officially the Polish-Lithuanian Postal Commission). It was created on 18 October 1558, when King Sigismund II Augustus established a permanent postal route from Kraków to Rome. In 1907, Poland-Lithuania saw the rapid development of the postal system as new services were introduced including money transfers, payment of pensions, delivery of magazines, and airmail.

From 1928 to 1944, CT&T (the Commonwealth Telephone and Telegraph Company) was the sole government authorised provider of both telephones and telegraphs until anti-monopoly laws were introduced. The company, which had been majority government-owned, was privatised in 1979, but still exists to this day as Poland-Lithuania's third-largest telecommunications company.

Culture

Main article: Culture of Poland-Lithuania

The culture of Poland-Lithuania is closely connected with its intricate 1,000-year history. With origins in the culture of the Proto-Slavs, over time Polish-Lithuanian culture has been influenced by its interweaving ties with the Germanic, Latinate and Byzantine worlds as well as in continual dialogue with the many other ethnic groups and minorities living in Poland-Lithuania. The people of Poland-Lithuania have traditionally been seen as very hospitable to artists from abroad and eager to follow cultural and artistic trends popular in other countries. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the Polish-Lithuanian focus on cultural advancement often took precedence over political and economic activity. These factors have contributed to the versatile nature of Polish-Lithuanian art.

In recent decades Poland-Lithuania has received a large number of immigrants. This has caused many cultural attributions of other cultures to make their way into Polish-Lithuanian culture. Poland-Lithuania has been described as a mosaic, in that immigrants are highly encouraged to keep their traditions and cultures, creating a 'mosaic' effect.

Sports

Main article: Sports in Poland-Lithuania

The PGE Narodowy (National Stadium)
Home of the PLC national football and
handball teams

Handball and Association football are among the country's most popular sports, with a rich history of international competitions. Track and field, basketball, ice hockey, boxing, cross-country skiing, tennis, badminton, fencing, swimming and weightlifting are other popular sports.

The golden era of football in Poland-Lithuania occurred throughout the 1960s and went on until the early 1980s when the Polish-Lithuanian national football team achieved their best results in any FIFA World Cup competitions finishing 1st place in the 1962, 1970, 1978, and 1982 tournaments. The team won the gold medals in football at the 1972 and 1980 Summer Olympics and two silver medals, in 1976 and in 1992. Poland-Lithuania hosted the 2018 FIFA World Cup, in which their national football team finished 2nd overall, having lost 3-2 against China (Rep. of).

Cuisine

Main article: Polish-Lithuanian Cuisine

Polish-Lithuanian cuisine has evolved over the centuries to become highly eclectic due to Poland-Lithuania's history. Polish-Lithuanian cuisine shares many similarities with other Central European cuisines, especially German and Austro-Hungarian as well as Jewish, Russian, French and Italian culinary traditions. It is rich in meat, especially pork, chicken and beef (depending on the region) and winter vegetables (cabbage in the dish bigos), and spices. It is also characteristic in its use of various kinds of noodles, the most notable of which are kluski, as well as cereals such as kasha (from the Polish word kasza) and a variety of breads like the world-renowned bagel. Polish-Lithuanian cuisine is hearty and uses a lot of cream and eggs. Festive meals such as the meatless Christmas Eve dinner (Wigilia) or Easter breakfast could take days to prepare in their entirety.

Traditional alcoholic beverages include honey mead, widespread since the 13th century, beer, wine and vodka (old Polish names include okowita and gorzałka). The world's first written mention of vodka originates from Poland-Lithuania. The most popular alcoholic drinks at present are beer and wine which took over from vodka more popular in the years 1980-98. Tea remains common in Polish-Lithuanian society since the 19th century, whilst coffee is drunk widely since the 18th century. Other frequently consumed beverages include various mineral waters and juices, soft drinks popularized by the fast-food chains since the mid-20th century, as well as buttermilk, soured milk and kefir.

Infrastructure

Main article: Polish-Lithuanian Infrastructure

Pendolino, 2015

Transport in Poland-Lithuania is provided by means of rail, road, marine shipping and air travel. Since 1976, Poland has invested large amounts of public funds into modernization projects of its transport networks. The country now has a highly developed network of highways, composed of express roads and motorways. At the end of 2017, Poland-Lithuania had 21,421.7 km of highways. In addition to these newly built roads, many local and regional roads are being fixed as part of a national programme to rebuild all roads in Poland-Lithuania.

In 2015, the nation had 19,000 kilometres of railway track. Polish authorities maintain a program of improving operating speeds across the entire Polish rail network. To that end, Transit PLC (officially the Polish-Lithuanian Transportation Commission) is adopting new rolling stock which is in principle capable of speeds up to 300 km/h. Additionally, in 2002, Poland-Lithuania began to implement high–speed rail routes connecting major Polish-Lithuanian cities. Transit PLC reached its goal of connecting every metro area in Poland-Lithuania with more than one million people to a high-speed rail network in 2012, and expanded the goal to all population centres with greater than 750,000 people. The new Pendolino set the record for the fastest train in the history of Poland-Lithuania, reaching 291 km/h on 24 November 2013. All high-speed trains and routes in Poland-Lithuania are owned and operated by Transit PLC, whilst most non-high-speed trains are operated by private companies based off a rail franchising system, although the rails are still owned by Transit PLC.

The air and maritime transport markets in Poland-Lithuania are largely very well developed. Poland-Lithuania has numerous international airports, the largest of which is Warsaw Chopin Airport, the primary global hub for Polish-Lithuanian Airlines. Other major airports with international connections include Kraków Alojzy Zielinski Airport, Copernicus Airport Wrocław, Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport, and Vilnius International Airport.

Seaports exist all along Poland-Lithuania's Baltic coast, with most freight operations using Świnoujście, Police, Szczecin, Kołobrzeg, Gdynia, Gdańsk and Elbląg as their base. Passenger ferries link Poland-Lithuania with Scandinavia all year round; these services are provided from Gdańsk and Świnoujście by Polferries, Stena Line from Gdynia and Unity Line from the Świnoujście.

Energy

Main article: Energy of Poland-Lithuania

Power PLC (officially the Polish-Lithuanian Power Commission) is the federally owned electrical producer within Poland-Lithuania. It owns all electrical generating stations in Poland-Lithuania, but only manages 65% of them, with the other 35% of stations being managed by its provincial counterparts. As of 2000, all of Power PLC's electrical generation has come from renewable sources. The most common of these being thorium power, which accounted for nearly 68% of Poland-Lithuania's power production in 2017. It is followed by wind power, solar power, hydroelectric power, geothermal power, and tidal power.

Tiru Thorium Plant

Poland-Lithuania is a net power exporter, as it exports large amounts of its electricity to neighbouring Germany, which has been forced to close its three largest coal plants due to international anti-climate change laws. It also exports large amounts of power to Scandinavia.

Poland-Lithuania's last coal power plant was closed in 1997, and its last oil power plant closed in 2000. This was part of Poland-Lithuania's plan to become the first coal and oil-free nation, which it achieved before New Zealand (the second coal and oil-free nation) by 2 months. Poland-Lithuania's government has since pledged to completely phase out gasoline and diesel by the year 2023, which it is on track to do. If it reaches this target, it will be the first country to do so, beating Canada, which pledged to do the same by 2025.

In 2006, the energy market was around 90 terawatt-hours and the peak demand around 15 gigawatts in winter. Industry and construction consumed 51% of total consumption, a relatively high figure reflecting Poland-Lithuania's industries. Poland-Lithuania's hydrocarbon resources are limited to peat and wood. About 18% of the electricity is produced by hydropower, which is low compared to Poland-Lithuania's more mountainous neighbour, Scandinavia. Nuclear power (limited to Thorium power) has been on the rise since 1997 when it accounted for 13% of power production. It's since risen to nearly 68% of total electrical production.

Including provincial power commissions, Poland-Lithuania is home to 14 electrical producers. Excluding Power PLC, the largest producer of power is Ukraine Power (the power authority for both East and West Ukraine), accounting for 14% of total production. The smallest electrical producer is Power Estonia, which only manages one wind farm, and produces 0.65% of Poland-Lithuania's power.

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