| Location | Central Europe, east of Germany |
| Geographic coordinates | 52 00 N, 20 00 E |
| Map references | Europe |
| Area | total: 312,685 sq km land: 304,255 sq km water: 8,430 sq km |
| Area - comparative | about twice the size of Georgia; slightly smaller than New Mexico |
| Land boundaries | 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 | 440 km |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: defined by international treaties |
| Climate | temperate with cold, cloudy, moderately severe winters with frequent precipitation; mild summers with frequent showers and thundershowers |
| Terrain | mostly flat plain; mountains along southern border |
| Elevation extremes | highest point: Rysy 2,499 m lowest point: near Raczki Elblaskie -2 m mean elevation: 173 m |
| Natural resources | coal, sulfur, copper, natural gas, silver, lead, salt, amber, arable land |
| Land use | 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 | 970 sq km (2012) |
| Total renewable water resources | 60.5 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) |
| Natural hazards | flooding |
| Geography - note | historically, an area of conflict because of flat terrain and the lack of natural barriers on the North European Plain |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021
