Poland
312,566 km² · 69th largest of 193
Land borders
Nearest countries
Size
Facts that mention Poland
Which country is named after a person?
The Philippines
Named in 1543 for the then Prince Philip of Spain. Bolivia and Colombia are the other well-known examples, after Simon Bolivar and Christopher Columbus.
The Haskell Free Library sits on which border, with a line painted through the reading room?
Canada and the US
Built deliberately astride the Vermont-Quebec line in 1904. The books are in Canada and the main entrance is in the US, so readers cross an international boundary to reach the shelves.
How many NATO members share a land border with Russia after 2023?
Five
Norway, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania (via Kaliningrad) and Poland (also via Kaliningrad), plus Finland from 2023. Finland's accession more than doubled NATO's land border with Russia.
Where did the potato originate?
The Andes
Potatoes were domesticated in the Peru-Bolivia highlands thousands of years ago and reached Europe only in the 1500s. Peru still grows several thousand varieties.
Which national flag looks different when flown upside down, and means something else?
The Philippines
Blue is uppermost in peacetime and red on top in wartime, the only national flag with a deliberate wartime configuration. Poland and Indonesia invert into each other's flags by accident.
Which two countries have square national flags?
Switzerland and Vatican City
Both are 1:1. Switzerland's civil ensign at sea is rectangular, because square flags do not behave well on ships.
Which country notably has no McDonald's at all?
Bolivia
Bolivia's outlets closed in 2002 after years of losses, widely attributed to a preference for local food culture. A number of countries have never had one at all, including several in Africa.
What is Transnistria?
A breakaway region
A strip of Moldova east of the Dniester that declared independence in 1990. It has its own currency and border posts, and no UN member recognises it.
