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Poland is a country in Central Europe. The total area of Poland is 312,679 km˛ and has a population of over 38.5 million people which makes it the 33rd most populous country in the world.
The capital is Warsaw and is the largest city of the country.
The longest rivers are the Vistula, the Oder, the Warta, and the Bug.
The largest metropolitan areas in Poland are the Upper Silesian Coal Basin, the capital, Warsaw; Kraków, Łódź ; the Tricity of Gdańsk-Sopot-Gdynia in the Vistula delta (1.1 million); Poznań (0.9 million); Wroclaw (0.9 million); and Szczecin (0.7 million).
Poland has a large number of private farms in its agricultural sector, with the potential to become a leading producer of food in the European Union. Structural reforms in health care, education, the pension system, and state administration have resulted in larger-than-expected fiscal pressures. Warsaw leads Central Europe in foreign investment
Poland is considered to have one of the healthiest economies of the post-communist countries, with GDP growing by 6.1% in 2006. Since the fall of communism, Poland has steadfastly pursued a policy of liberalising the economy and today stands out as a successful example of the transition from a state-directed economy to a primarily privately owned market economy.
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