Poland is located in the centre of the European continent. It is bordered to the west by Germany, to the north by the Baltic Sea and Russia, to the south by the Czech Republic and Slovakia and to the east by Lithuania, Belarus and the Ukraine. It has an area of 312,685 square kilometres. Its capital city is Warsaw.

Poland had a population of 38,626,349 in July 2004 with an estimated growth rate of 0.02%. Polish is the official language. The main religion is Roman Catholic.

Poland’s climate is moderate with maritime elements in northern and western Poland which bring gentle, humid winters and cool, rainy summers and more continental elements with harsh winters and hotter, drier summers in the eastern part of the country. The terrain is mostly flat with an average height above sea level of 173 m.

Parliamentary democracy was established in Poland in 1991. The supreme state authority is the Sejm (Lower House). It consists of 460 Deputies. The Presidium, the Council of Seniors and Parliamentary Commissions are the main bodies of Sejm. The executive branch of the government consists of the Prime Minister, the Government’s Presidium and the Office of The Council of Ministers.

Poland’s economy has been booming since the nineties after taking drastic economic steps including opening up the market to international competition and massive privatization. Poland has rich natural and mineral resources particularly coal. Agriculture in Poland is not developed despite the fact that some 27% of the labour force is employed in agriculture. 51% are employed in services and 22% in industry. The currency of Poland is the Zloty.

Franchising is growing in Poland.

There is no specific franchise law in Poland.