Germany vs. Poland
Geography
| Germany | Poland | |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark | Central Europe, east of Germany |
| Geographic coordinates | 51 00 N, 9 00 E | 52 00 N, 20 00 E |
| Map references | Europe | Europe |
| Area | total: 357,022 sq km land: 348,672 sq km water: 8,350 sq km | total: 312,685 sq km land: 304,255 sq km water: 8,430 sq km |
| Area - comparative | three times the size of Pennsylvania; slightly smaller than Montana | about twice the size of Georgia; slightly smaller than New Mexico |
| Land boundaries | total: 3,694 km border countries (9): Austria 801 km, Belgium 133 km, Czechia 704 km, Denmark 140 km, France 418 km, Luxembourg 128 km, Netherlands 575 km, Poland 447 km, Switzerland 348 km | total: 2,865 km border countries (7): Belarus 375 km, Czechia 699 km, Germany 467 km, Lithuania 100 km, Russia (Kaliningrad Oblast) 209 km, Slovakia 517 km, Ukraine 498 km |
| Coastline | 2,389 km | 440 km |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation | territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: defined by international treaties |
| Climate | temperate and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers; occasional warm mountain (foehn) wind | temperate with cold, cloudy, moderately severe winters with frequent precipitation; mild summers with frequent showers and thundershowers |
| Terrain | lowlands in north, uplands in center, Bavarian Alps in south | mostly flat plain; mountains along southern border |
| Elevation extremes | highest point: Zugspitze 2,963 m lowest point: Neuendorf bei Wilster -3.5 m mean elevation: 263 m | highest point: Rysy 2,499 m lowest point: near Raczki Elblaskie -2 m mean elevation: 173 m |
| Natural resources | coal, lignite, natural gas, iron ore, copper, nickel, uranium, potash, salt, construction materials, timber, arable land | coal, sulfur, copper, natural gas, silver, lead, salt, amber, arable land |
| Land use | agricultural land: 48% (2018 est.) arable land: 34.1% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 0.6% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 13.3% (2018 est.) forest: 31.8% (2018 est.) other: 20.2% (2018 est.) | agricultural land: 48.2% (2018 est.) arable land: 36.2% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 1.3% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 10.7% (2018 est.) forest: 30.6% (2018 est.) other: 21.2% (2018 est.) |
| Irrigated land | 6,500 sq km (2012) | 970 sq km (2012) |
| Natural hazards | flooding | flooding |
| Environment - current issues | emissions from coal-burning utilities and industries contribute to air pollution; acid rain, resulting from sulfur dioxide emissions, is damaging forests; pollution in the Baltic Sea from raw sewage and industrial effluents from rivers in eastern Germany; hazardous waste disposal; government established a mechanism for ending the use of nuclear power by 2022; government working to meet EU commitment to identify nature preservation areas in line with the EU's Flora, Fauna, and Habitat directive | decreased emphasis on heavy industry and increased environmental concern by post-communist governments has improved environment; air pollution remains serious because of emissions from burning low-quality coals in homes and from coal-fired power plants; the resulting acid rain causes forest damage; water pollution from industrial and municipal sources is a problem, as is disposal of hazardous wastes |
| Environment - international agreements | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Heavy Metals, Air Pollution-Multi-effect Protocol, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, 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, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected 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 |
| Geography - note | strategic location on North European Plain and along the entrance to the Baltic Sea; most major rivers in Germany - the Rhine, Weser, Oder, Elbe - flow northward; the Danube, which originates in the Black Forest, flows eastward | historically, an area of conflict because of flat terrain and the lack of natural barriers on the North European Plain |
| Total renewable water resources | 154 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) | 60.5 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) |
| Population distribution | most populous country in Europe; a fairly even distribution throughout most of the country, with urban areas attracting larger and denser populations, particularly in the far western part of the industrial state of North Rhine-Westphalia | population concentrated in the southern area around Krakow and the central area around Warsaw and Lodz, with an extension to the northern coastal city of Gdansk |
Source: CIA Factbook
