Frontex, the European Union agency for external border security, and ODIHR, one of the principal institutions of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, have their headquarters in Warsaw. The Warsaw Stock Exchange is the largest and most important in Central and Eastern Europe.

The city is a significant centre of research and development, business process outsourcing, and information technology outsourcing. Major public transport services operating in the city include the Warsaw Metro, buses, commuter rail service and an extensive tram network. Warsaw is served by two international airports, the busiest being Warsaw Chopin and the smaller Warsaw Modlin intended for low-cost carriers. Much of the historic city was destroyed and its diverse population decimated by the Ghetto Uprising in 1943, the general Warsaw Uprising in 1944 and systematic razing. Known then for its elegant architecture and boulevards, Warsaw was bombed and besieged at the start of World War II in 1939. The 19th century and its Industrial Revolution brought a demographic boom which made it one of the largest and most densely-populated cities in Europe. Warsaw served as the de facto capital of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1795, and subsequently as the seat of Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. The city rose to prominence in the late 16th century, when Sigismund III decided to move the Polish capital and his royal court from Kraków. Warsaw traces its origins to a small fishing town in Masovia. Warsaw is an Alpha global city, a major cultural, political and economic hub, and the country's seat of government. The city area measures 517 km 2 (200 sq mi) and comprises 18 quarters, while the metropolitan area covers 6,100 km 2 (2,355 sq mi). The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officially estimated at 1.8 million residents within a greater metropolitan area of 3.1 million residents, which makes Warsaw the 7th most-populous capital city in the European Union. Warsaw ( Polish: Warszawa, ( listen)), officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and largest city of Poland.

Ocean state