Britain

General elections are held every five
years in Britain. You are eligible to vote
once you are 18. Voting in Britain is not
compulsory.

There are three main political parties:
the Labour Party, the Conservative Party
and the Liberal Democrats.

There are two Houses of Parliament: the
House of Commons and the House of
Lords. Elections are held every five years

●

The population of Poland is approxi-
mately 39 million.

●

The capital of Poland is Warsaw. It has a
population of approximately two million
people.

●

Other large cities include Łódź, Katowice,
Gdańsk, Wrocław, Poznań and Kraków.

●

The main religion in Poland is
Catholicism.

898

Politics and the economy

●

The currency of Poland is the złoty.

●

Poland has a system of social security.

●

The State provides benefits for the
unemployed and housing for people with
low incomes.

●

There is a public health care system.

●

Education is compulsory until the
age of 18.

●

Men between the ages of 19 and 24 have to
do one year’s military service.

Poland: some facts and figures

Politics

Poland

Britain

US

Political system

Democracy/Republic

Democracy/

Democracy/Republic

Constitutional Monarchy

Parliamentary
structure
— lower house:

Sejm

House of Commons

House of Representatives

— upper house:

Senate

House of Lords

Senate

General elections

every 4 years

every 5 years

Presidential elections:
every 4 years

House of Representatives
and Senate elections:
every 2 years (one third
of senators are elected
to the Senate every two
years for a six-year term)

Leaders
— head of state

President

Queen/King

President

— head of government

Prime Minister

Prime Minister

President

to choose Members of Parliament
who will sit in the House of Commons.
The members of the House of Lords are
called peers. They are not elected. There
are hereditary peers and life peers, who
are appointed by the government. The
Labour Government under Tony Blair has
begun reforming the House of Lords by
phasing out hereditary peers. The issue
of how future peers will be selected is
still being debated.

OXFORD WORDPOWER SŁOWNIK ANGIELSKO-POLSKI

© Oxford University Press www.oup.com/elt

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