Poland vs. Belarus
Geography
| Poland | Belarus | |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Central Europe, east of Germany | Eastern Europe, east of Poland |
| Geographic coordinates | 52 00 N, 20 00 E | 53 00 N, 28 00 E |
| Map references | Europe | Europe |
| Area | total: 312,685 sq km land: 304,255 sq km water: 8,430 sq km | total: 207,600 sq km land: 202,900 sq km water: 4,700 sq km |
| Area - comparative | about twice the size of Georgia; slightly smaller than New Mexico | slightly less than twice the size of Kentucky; slightly smaller than Kansas |
| 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 | total: 3,599 km border countries (5): Latvia 161 km, Lithuania 640 km, Poland 375 km, Russia 1312 km, Ukraine 1111 km |
| Coastline | 440 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: defined by international treaties | none (landlocked) |
| Climate | temperate with cold, cloudy, moderately severe winters with frequent precipitation; mild summers with frequent showers and thundershowers | cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime |
| Terrain | mostly flat plain; mountains along southern border | generally flat with much marshland |
| Elevation extremes | highest point: Rysy 2,499 m lowest point: near Raczki Elblaskie -2 m mean elevation: 173 m | highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m mean elevation: 160 m |
| Natural resources | coal, sulfur, copper, natural gas, silver, lead, salt, amber, arable land | timber, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay |
| 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.) | agricultural land: 43.7% (2018 est.) arable land: 27.2% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 0.6% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 15.9% (2018 est.) forest: 42.7% (2018 est.) other: 13.6% (2018 est.) |
| Irrigated land | 970 sq km (2012) | 1,140 sq km (2012) |
| Natural hazards | flooding | large tracts of marshy land |
| Environment - current issues | 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 | soil pollution from pesticide use; southern part of the country contaminated with fallout from 1986 nuclear reactor accident at Chornobyl' in northern Ukraine |
| Environment - international 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 | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Antarctic-Environmental Protection, 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, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
| Geography - note | historically, an area of conflict because of flat terrain and the lack of natural barriers on the North European Plain | landlocked; glacial scouring accounts for the flatness of Belarusian terrain and for its 11,000 lakes |
| Total renewable water resources | 60.5 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) | 57.9 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) |
| Population distribution | 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 | a fairly even distribution throughout most of the country, with urban areas attracting larger and denser populations |
Source: CIA Factbook
