Polish society and culture

Offering the opportunity to study and conduct academic research in Poland, we invite you to a modern, dynamically-developing country with a fascinating past and a centuries-old academic tradition. The achievements of many great Poles are the best advertisement of our rich culture and history. Poland was the birthplace of ground-breaking discoverers, such as the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus, the author of the heliocentric model of the universe, or Maria Skłodowska-Curie, the laureate of two Nobel Prizes: in physics and chemistry.

Frederic Chopin and world-famous contemporary composers, like Jan A.P. Kaczmarek and Wojciech Kilar, were also born in Poland. Poems by Wisława Szymborska and Czesław Miłosz and the prose of Stanisław Lem have been translated into dozens of languages. Films directed by Andrzej Wajda, Agnieszka Holland, and Krzysztof Kieślowski have been watched and admired all over the world.

Poland – facts and figures

  • Official name: Republic of Poland
  • Official language: Polish
  • Population: 38 million
  • Area: 312,000 km², 7th largest country in Europe
  • Location: Central Europe; border countries: Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, and Russia
  • Membership: European Union (EU), Schengen Area, European Higher Education Area (EHEA), North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), United Nations (UN), and others
  • Capital city: Warsaw; other major cities: Krakow, Gdansk, Wroclaw, Poznan, Lodz, Szczecin
  • Time zone: Central European time zone (GMT + 1 hour / UTC + 1 hour)
  • Climate: moderate
  • Landscape: most of Poland’s territory is lowland; three major mountain chains: the Carpathians (Karpaty), the Sudeten Mountains (Sudety), the Holy Cross Mountains (Góry Swiętokrzyskie); the Baltic Sea;
  • Currency: zloty (PLN)
  • Government type: parliamentary republic
  • Academic tradition: 650 years, 132 public Higher Education Institutions (HEIs)

Recommended links

Studying in Poland is not only an opportunity to acquire top-quality education, but also to become truly acquainted with Polish tradition and culture. To find out more about Poland, its history, culture, tradition, economy, and position in today’s world, visit the following web pages:

Polish Institute in your country
Official information portal about Poland
Polish Culture
Polish Tourism Organisation
Ready, Study, Go! POLAND
Study in Poland