# Germany and Poland compared Germany and Poland side by side: 42 shared sourced indicators across 9 domains, and the 5 events their chronicles record of each other. Canonical: https://terralore.co/compare/deu-vs-pol Updated: 2026-08-10 (latest of the two dossiers' refreshes and the two chronicles' verification dates) Two sourced records set beside each other — nothing on this page was written for the pair. Every figure is the same observation, with the same source, as on the two national dossiers; every event is the same record, with the same sources, as on its own chronicle. Figures are compared, never graded. A "—" is an absence in the source data, never a zero; each value shows its own observation year — vintages differ by indicator and nation. ## Formation - Germany: 18 January 1871 — The German Empire is proclaimed - Poland: 966 — Mieszko I is baptised and the first unified Polish state enters Latin Christendom ## Economy | Metric | Germany | Observed | Poland | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | GDP | $4.69 T | 2024 | $918 B | 2024 | | GDP per capita | $56,104 | 2024 | $25,104 | 2024 | | GDP growth | -0.5% | 2024 | 3.0% | 2024 | | Inflation | 2.3% | 2024 | 3.8% | 2024 | | Trade openness | 79.1% | 2024 | 100.4% | 2024 | ## Society | Metric | Germany | Observed | Poland | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population | 84 m | 2024 | 37 m | 2024 | | Life expectancy | 80.8 yrs | 2024 | 78.4 yrs | 2024 | | Urban population | 82.0% | 2024 | 60.0% | 2024 | | Fertility rate | 1.4 | 2024 | 1.1 | 2024 | ## Governance | Metric | Germany | Observed | Poland | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Voice & accountability | 84.8 | 2024 | 70.0 | 2024 | | Political stability | 68.0 | 2024 | 74.4 | 2024 | | Government effectiveness | 81.4 | 2024 | 64.4 | 2024 | | Regulatory quality | 78.5 | 2024 | 65.7 | 2024 | | Rule of law | 84.9 | 2024 | 66.9 | 2024 | | Control of corruption | 83.8 | 2024 | 63.9 | 2024 | ## Health | Metric | Germany | Observed | Poland | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Health spending | 12.3% | 2024 | 8.1% | 2024 | | Physicians | 4.53 | 2022 | 4.03 | 2023 | | Under-5 mortality | 3.7 | 2024 | 4.2 | 2024 | | Measles immunisation | 96.0% | 2024 | 92.0% | 2024 | | Safe drinking water | 99.9% | 2024 | 88.7% | 2024 | ## Education | Metric | Germany | Observed | Poland | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Education spending | 5.2% | 2022 | 4.3% | 2022 | | Primary enrolment | 102.6% | 2024 | 105.4% | 2024 | | Secondary enrolment | 100.2% | 2024 | 107.9% | 2024 | | Tertiary enrolment | 76.7% | 2024 | 80.9% | 2024 | ## Technology | Metric | Germany | Observed | Poland | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | R&D spending | 3.2% | 2023 | 1.6% | 2023 | | Researchers (per million) | 5,926 | 2023 | 3,675 | 2023 | | Internet users | 93.5% | 2024 | 88.6% | 2024 | | Mobile subscriptions | 129 | 2024 | 138 | 2024 | | High-tech exports | 18.0% | 2024 | 13.5% | 2024 | ## Geography | Metric | Germany | Observed | Poland | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Land area | 349,430 km² | 2023 | 306,270 km² | 2023 | | Forest area | 32.7% | 2023 | 31.1% | 2023 | | Agricultural land | 47.5% | 2023 | 47.6% | 2023 | | CO₂ per capita (t) | 6.9 | 2024 | 7.6 | 2024 | | Renewable energy | 17.6% | 2021 | 15.2% | 2021 | ## Resources | Metric | Germany | Observed | Poland | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Resource rents | 0.1% | 2021 | 1.0% | 2021 | | Oil rents | 0.0% | 2021 | 0.0% | 2021 | | Mineral rents | 0.0% | 2021 | 0.5% | 2021 | | Forest rents | 0.0% | 2021 | 0.2% | 2021 | | Electricity access | 100.0% | 2023 | 100.0% | 2023 | | Copper (mined) | — | — | 410 kt | 2025 | ## Military | Metric | Germany | Observed | Poland | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Military burden | 1.9% | 2024 | 4.2% | 2024 | | Defense spending | $88 B | 2024 | $38 B | 2024 | | Armed forces | 183,000 | 2020 | 189,000 | 2020 | Each metric is also ranked across all nations: https://terralore.co/rankings (markdown twins at /rankings/.md). Full dossiers: https://terralore.co/country/DEU.md and https://terralore.co/country/POL.md. ## Entangled histories (5 events) Events in which either nation's sourced chronicle names the other — including under earlier names of the same state. Each is the record exactly as its own chronicle carries it, with that chronicle's sources. - 1772–1795: **The Partitions of Poland** — In three stages (1772, 1793, 1795) Russia, Prussia and Austria divided the Commonwealth among themselves, despite the reforming Constitution of 3 May 1791, ending Polish statehood for 123 years. (from the Poland chronicle; sources: Partitions of Poland; Constitution of 3 May 1791) - 1 Sep 1939: **German and Soviet invasion of Poland** — Nazi Germany invaded on 1 September, starting the Second World War in Europe; the Soviet Union invaded from the east on 17 September, and the two powers again partitioned Poland. (from the Poland chronicle; sources: Invasion of Poland, Fall 1939; Invasion of Poland (1939)) - 1 Sep 1939: **Invasion of Poland** — Germany invaded Poland, igniting the Second World War in Europe and beginning six years of conquest, occupation and total war. (from the Germany chronicle; sources: The Holocaust and World War II: Key Dates) - 1940–1945: **Auschwitz-Birkenau and the Holocaust on Polish soil** — Germany operated its largest concentration and extermination camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau, where some 1.1 million people, overwhelmingly Jews, were murdered as part of the genocide carried out across occupied Poland. (from the Poland chronicle; sources: Auschwitz Birkenau German Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camp (1940-1945); Polish Victims) - 1 Aug 1944: **The Warsaw Uprising** — The Polish Home Army rose against the German occupiers in Warsaw; after 63 days the rising was crushed, much of the city was destroyed and tens of thousands of civilians were killed. (from the Poland chronicle; sources: Polish Victims) ## Sources - World Development Indicators — World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://data.worldbank.org - Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) — Worldwide Governance Indicators / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators - Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) — WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.who.int/data/gho - Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) — UNICEF and WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://childmortality.org - R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) — UNESCO Institute for Statistics / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://uis.unesco.org - ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) — ITU / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics - Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) — SIPRI / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://www.sipri.org/databases/milex - Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 — U.S. Geological Survey · Public domain (U.S. Government work) · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center Chronicle references are cited inline above and resolve in full at https://terralore.co/country/DEU/chronicle.md and https://terralore.co/country/POL/chronicle.md. Citation template: Terralore, "Germany and Poland compared", terralore.co/compare/deu-vs-pol, retrieved .