^a The aurie o Poland, as gien bi the Central Statistical Office, is 312,679 km2 (120,726 sq mi), o that 311,888 km2 (120,421 sq mi) is laund an 791 km2 (305 sq mi) is internal watter surface aurie.[7]
^b The adoption o Christianity in Poland is seen bi mony Poles, regairdless o thair releegious affiliation or lack thareo, as ane o the maist signeeficant events in thair kintra's history, as it wis uised tae unifee the tribes in the region.[8]
Territorial organization
The Republic o Poland (Pols: Rzeczpospolita Polska), for ordinar kent juist as Poland (Polska), is a kintra in central/aestren Europe. It mairches ontae the Baltic Sea tae the north, alang wi the Kaliningrad Oblast o Roushie. Lithuanie mairches tae the nor-aest, Beloroushae tae the aest, Ukraine tae the sooth-aest, Slovakie an Czechie tae the sooth, an Germany tae the wast.
The haill area o Poland is 312,679 km², makkin it the 69t lairgest kintra i the warld and 7t in Europe. Poland's population is mair nor 38.5 million, concentratit mainly around the ceities.
The first Pols state wis stertit i 966, in a territory similar tae the present area o Poland. Poland becam a kinrick i 1025, an i 1569 it cementit a lang associe wi the Grand Duchy o Lithuania by unitin ti form the Polish-Lithuanian Commonweal. The Commonweal collapsed i 1795. Poland regained its independence i 1918 eftir the Furst Warld War bit tint it aince mair i the Saicont Warld War, bein occupied bi Nazi Germany an the Soviet Union, an emergin eftir as a communist kintra in the Eastern Block under the control o the Soviet Union. I 1989, communist rule wis owerthrawn an Poland becam whit is informally kent as the "Third Polish Republic". Poland is the 33rd maist populous kintra in the warld. Poland is a unitary state made up o saxteen voivodeships (Polish: województwo). Poland is a memmer o the European Union, NATO, and OECD anaw.
![Location o Poland (dark green) – on the European continent (green & dark grey) – in the European Union (green) — [Legend]](File:EU-Poland.svg)
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