Country profile · Central Europe
Poland
Poland has 38.1 million people and spent 4.5% of its GDP on its military in 2025, the highest share in NATO. Prime Minister Donald Tusk leads a coalition government. President Karol Nawrocki, backed by the opposition, has vetoed more laws than any Polish president since 1989. Russia and Belarus are its main rivals.
Where Poland ranks
All rankings →Who runs Poland?
Prime Minister Donald Tusk runs the government. He returned to the job on December 13, 2023, after leading Poland from 2007 to 2014 and chairing the European Council from 2014 to 2019. In the 1980s he worked for Świetlik, a Gdańsk cooperative that painted industrial chimneys with climbing gear and gave work to people blacklisted by the communist regime. President Karol Nawrocki, a historian and former amateur boxer backed by the Law and Justice party (PiS), can block Tusk's laws. He issued 41 vetoes in his first year, more than any president since 1989. Tusk's coalition holds 239 of 460 seats in the Sejm, short of the three-fifths needed to override a veto. In July 2026, 40 PiS MPs led by former prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki broke away to form Development Plus.
- Civic Coalition 156
- Coalition partners (PSL, the Left, Poland 2050, Centrum) 83
- Opposition (PiS 147, Development Plus 40 and others) 221
Photo (2025): Gov.pl, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0 PL
Who are Poland's allies and rivals?
The United States is Poland's closest ally, with about 7,000 troops there in September 2026, and the two countries are negotiating a permanent US base. France signed a mutual defense treaty with Poland that took effect on January 22, 2026. Russia is the main threat. On the night of September 9 to 10, 2025, at least 19 Russian drones entered Polish airspace, and NATO aircraft fired on threats in allied airspace for the first time. Belarus has pushed migrants toward the Polish border since 2021. Poland is the main hub for Western military aid to Ukraine, but relations cooled in June 2026. President Nawrocki revoked Volodymyr Zelensky's Order of the White Eagle after Ukraine honored the wartime nationalist army behind the Volhynia massacres of Poles.
Allies and partners
United StatesAbout 7,000 troops; talks on a permanent base
FranceMutual defense treaty since January 2026
United KingdomNortholt defense treaty signed May 2026
GermanyLargest trade partner, 26.9% of exports
South KoreaSupplied 47% of Poland's arms imports, 2021-25
UkraineMilitary aid hub, strained by WWII dispute
Rivals
RussiaDrones in Polish airspace; rail sabotage in 2025
BelarusPushes migrants toward border since 2021
- Suwałki Gap About 65 km between Belarus and Russia's Kaliningrad region. NATO's only land link to the Baltic states.
- Rzeszów-Jasionka Airport Hub for Western military aid to Ukraine. US forces left in April 2025, and NATO allies now run it.
- Redzikowo US Aegis Ashore missile defense site, under NATO command since November 2024.
- Świnoujście Poland's LNG terminal. Gazprom cut pipeline gas to Poland in April 2022.
- Poland
- Partner
- Rival
Who does Poland trade with?
Poland exported $414.4 billion of goods in 2025 and imported $422.7 billion, its first trade deficit after surpluses in 2023 and 2024. Germany took 26.9% of exports, and the EU as a whole about three-quarters. China was the second-largest source of imports at 15.5%. The economy grew 3.6% in 2025, and GDP passed $1 trillion. From 1992 to 2022, Poland's GDP per person at purchasing power grew 3.5 times, faster than in any other upper-middle or high-income economy. The government deficit was 7.3% of GDP in 2025, the second-highest in the EU. Moody's cut Poland's rating to A3 on September 18, 2026. Coal produced 52.7% of electricity in 2025. Poland's first nuclear power plant is due to start operating in 2036.
Sells to
Share of Poland's exports
- Germany26.9%
Czechia6.2%- France6.1%
- United Kingdom5.1%
Netherlands4.6%
Buys from
Share of Poland's imports
- Germany19.0%
China15.5%- United States4.8%
Italy4.6%- Netherlands3.9%
Goods trade, 2025. Shares of Poland's exports and imports (imports by country of origin), from Statistics Poland (GUS), preliminary data.
How strong is Poland's military?
Poland spent $46.8 billion on its military in 2025, 4.5% of GDP (SIPRI). That was the highest share in NATO in 2025, but NATO's estimates for 2026 put Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia ahead. The IISS counts 173,000 active troops. Poland's own count, which includes the Territorial Defence Force, passed 220,000 in August 2026, and the target is 500,000 including reserves by 2039. Poland has ordered 360 South Korean K2 tanks, 366 American Abrams tanks, 96 Apache helicopters and 32 F-35 fighters. The first three F-35s landed at Łask on May 22, 2026. Poland is the largest borrower in the EU's SAFE defense loan program, with €43.7 billion. The East Shield program is fortifying about 700 km of the borders with Belarus and Russia's Kaliningrad region.
Military spending as a share of GDP in NATO, 2025
Full ranking →- Poland4.5%
Latvia3.6%
Estonia3.4%
Denmark3.3%- United States3.1%
Lithuania3.1%- United Kingdom2.4%
- Germany2.3%
- France2.0%
SIPRI Military Expenditure Database, 2026 edition
Why is Poland buying so much gold?
Adam Glapiński, governor of the National Bank of Poland, says the country buys gold for security. "We are not Portugal, Switzerland or Belgium. We are a flank country, a border country, next to a dangerous area," he said in April 2026. The bank held about 648 tonnes at the end of August 2026. It was the world's largest central bank gold buyer in 2024 (90 tonnes) and 2025 (102 tonnes), and bought about 98 tonnes more through August 2026. Its board set a target of 700 tonnes on January 20, 2026. In 2019 the bank flew 100 tonnes home from the Bank of England. In May 2026 only about 18% of the gold was stored in Poland, with the rest in London and New York.
Gold reserves in Europe, 2026 (tonnes)
Full ranking →- Germany3,349.3
- Italy2,451.9
- France2,437.0
- Russia2,326.5
Switzerland1,039.9- Poland640.2
- Netherlands612.5
Portugal382.7- United Kingdom310.3
IMF International Liquidity, September 2026