Economy of Poland

Main article: Poland

GDP

2023

2022

Industry's share of GDP is less than 22.5%

GDP estimate - $0.7 trillion

GDP size forecast - $0.7 trillion

2021

GDP size - $0.66 trillion

Agriculture's share of GDP - 2.2%

Financial system

National debt

2023: State debt - 50% of GDP

Non-financial debt

2022: Aggregate non-financial debt

Currency: zloty

2022

Germany pushes for Poland to switch to euro, but country refuses

In July 2022, the head of the Polish Central Bank, Adam Glapinsky, said that Germany was putting pressure on his country to switch to the euro, and vowed not to allow this while he was in charge of monetary policy.

Poland's current government has repeatedly ruled out joining the single currency in the foreseeable future.

Depreciation to 5 zlotys per euro against the background of Russia's special operation in Ukraine

1995: Denomination of zloty

Key rate

2022: Rate increase to 6% with 25-year record inflation

Poland has been raising interest rates for the ninth month in a row to contain inflation soaring to a 25-year high. On June 8, 2022, the Central Bank raised the base rate by 75 bp to 6%, in accordance with the expectations of economists. The decision comes amid growing concerns about slowing economic growth and complaints from mortgage borrowers.

Earlier on April 6, 2022, Poland was forced to raise the key rate more than expected to 4.5% after a surge in inflation. Inflation in Poland accelerated to 10.9% in March (a 22-year high), even after the government cut duties on everything from fuel to food to ease consumers.

Inflation

2023: 18.4% - record since 1996

Inflation in Poland in February 2023 rose to the level of 18.4%. This is the highest since December 1996. Food and drinks rose in price by 24%, transport - by 23.7%.

2022

Inflation in October 17.9% - a record for 25 years

Inflation in Poland broke the record 25 years ago - in October 2022, the figure reached 17.9%.

Inflation in July - 15.6%

2021

Stock market

2022: Warsaw Exchange degradation continues

By March 2023, market participants are increasingly disappointed with the Warsaw Stock Exchange, where the number of traded shares has dropped to the lowest in more than a decade.

Investments

2023: Reduced foreign investment

Largest companies

Energy supplies

2022

Poland bought LNG from the Russian Federation almost twice as much as the rest of Europe

Poland purchased liquefied hydrocarbon gas from the Russian Federation almost twice as much as the whole of Europe in 2022. "Poland is still the largest importer of LPG from Russia, this is one seventh of the fuel on our market," Rzeczpospolita wrote in March 2023. In 2022, Warsaw imported 710.3 million euros of liquefied gas from Russia, and the rest of the EU - by 417 million euros.

Coal shortage with 4 million coal domestic furnaces. The dirtiest air in Europe

In December 2022, a shortage of coal began in Poland, and prices soared 4 times. Poland is not the richest country. For example, one of the Poles, through relatives, bought coal for the winter for $2,000. Some of the money had to be borrowed, but she was lucky, according to FPR.

About 80% of air pollution in Poland is caused by almost 4 million household furnaces where coal is burned. In Poland, about 45,000 people die each year from air pollution. It's a medium-sized city. Air pollution in Poland is so severe that schools are closed in winter to protect children from toxic air.

Due to rising prices, Poles resort not only to illegal coal mining in abandoned coal mines, but also burn toxic garbage - tires, furniture, window frames, everything that can be found on the street.

Until 2022, coal from Russia accounted for about half of all coal burned by Poles for heating. Sanctions after the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine "eliminated this dependence." The Polish government is now replacing coal from Russia with supplies from Colombia, South Africa and Australia. But prices have risen. The ban on burning lignite, a coal that emits more sulfur and mercury when burned, was also lifted. As a result, Poland secures its status as the dirtiest air country in Europe.

Termination of the contract with Gazprom for the supply of gas

In November 2022 Poland , against the background of the conflict, the authorities seized To Ukraine a stake "" in Gazprom the operator of the Polish part of the Yamal-Europol Europe Gaz gas pipeline.

Poland is a member of the Three Seas Initiative, aimed at countering Russia.

On May 13, 2022, Poland broke the agreement with Russia on gas supplies of 1993 ahead of schedule, which was supposed to expire at the end of 2022, Climate and Environment Minister Anna Moscow said on Twitter.

Launch of GIPL gas pipeline between Poland and Lithuania

On May 1, 2022, the gas pipeline between Poland and Lithuania GIPL (Gas Interconnection Poland - Lithuania) began operation.

Power

2023

Lithuania, Poland discuss land power line instead of Harmony Link sea cable

In November 2023, Lithuania and Poland are discussing a ground power line instead of the Harmony Link sea cable. It is believed that such an alternative will allow the project to be completed earlier than 2030, and its implementation will cost less.

Earlier, the plan was frozen: system operators of both republics decided to cancel the announced tenders for the construction of an underwater cable due to high prices.

The commissioning of Harmony Link would allow Lithuania to import and export electricity within a single European energy market. The connection with a capacity of 700 MW and a length of about 330 km was supposed to connect the Darbenai substation in the Lithuanian district of Kretinga with the Polish substation Zharnovets.

Back in May 2023, the Poles calculated the approximate cost: the total investment, taking into account the proposals submitted at that time, amounted to about 1.6 billion euros. This significantly exceeded the planned budget of 680 million euros.

The main question is also that the alternative in the form of a ground-based power line requires a political agreement between Vilnius and Warsaw and the approval of the European Commission.

Agreement with Westinghouse to build the first nuclear power plant in Poland

On September 27, 2023, Poland and the United States at a meeting in Warsaw signed an agreement on the construction of the first nuclear power plant in Poland.

American companies Westinghouse and Bechtel signed an agreement with the Polish state-owned company Polskie Elektrownie Jadrove, which oversees the program. The nuclear power plant will be located in the Pomerania region on the Baltic Sea.

In 2022, the Polish authorities announced that they had chosen the United States as a partner for the project.

Poland plans to spend $40 billion on the construction of two nuclear power plants with three reactors each, the Associated Press notes.

Record electricity prices for industrial enterprises due to the rejection of energy resources from Russia

2022: Rise in electricity prices due to pressure on Russia

from

2021: Coal is the country's main energy source

2020: Average energy consumption per capita

and

Telecommunications market

• Communication (Polish market)

IT market

Main article: IT market in Poland

Microelectronics

2023: $4.9 billion Intel plant construction plan

In June 2023, it became known that Intel plans to invest $4.9 billion in the construction of a plant in western Poland, which is the latest project in the EU, which seeks to increase chip production amid growing geopolitical tensions.

Transport

2021: Average train speed - 113.6 km/h

Automotive market

2021: 260,000 cars produced

Foreign trade

2024

Russia delivered a record amount of fertilizers to Poland in 2024

In January-September 2024, Poland acquired a record amount of fertilizers from Russia - about 952 thousand tons. This is 140% more compared to the same period in 2023, when 397 thousand tons of these Russian products were purchased. Such data in mid-December 2024 are given in the material Rzeczpospolita. Read more here.

Direct deliveries to Russia with indication in the documents of Kyrgyzstan

In April 2024, exports to Russia through third countries in Central Asia continue to remain at a record level. Kyrgyzstan is a key hub for transshipment, with exports from European countries never arriving in Bishkek. Kyrgyzstan is what is indicated in the bill, but these goods go directly to Russia.

2023

Poland's exports to Belarus reach a new historical maximum

In December 2023, Poland's exports to Belarus reached a new historical maximum.

Continued trade with Russia through Central Asian countries

Channel through the Baltic Spit bypassing Russia did not meet expectations

The Poles opened the canal through the Baltic Spit in September 2022 with great fanfare and pride. Thus, the Polish authorities hoped to find new ways of logistics bypassing the territorial coast of the Russian Federation from the Baltic Sea.

However, things were not going very well near the harbor: cross-country traffic is simply terrifying (on average, three ships a day, and the ships did not go through the border crossing at all). To Warsaw They pretended that it was conceived: they say that the opening of the canal is of political, not economic importance, since ships with a small draft can sail there.

In 2023, the Higher Control Chamber of Poland (NIK) announced that the budget for digging braids increased from 880 million zlotys to almost 2 billion zlotys - an increase of more than 125%. According to the controllers, it was initially known that the entire project was impractical to implement in terms of economic and social benefits and it lost economic validity.

Germany holds back development of Polish port of Świnoujście

The port of Świnoujście is a strategically important element of the Polish economy. It is especially important for the transit of natural gas, since there is a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal. It can also handle a large number of containers and large volumes of bulk cargoes, iron ore, coal, building materials and other cargoes. In accordance with economic development plans, the Polish government decided to modernize it.

Germany opposes the construction of a transshipment terminal in August 2023. Local authorities, environmental organizations and MEPs are protesting. According to German politicians, the Polish terminal will pose a threat to the territories protected by the European Union under the Natura 2000 program. In this case, we are talking about the island of Uznam, on which the port is located.

Germans worry about local fauna and flora. Violations caused by the development of the Polish port, in their opinion, will have a negative impact on the tourism industry of the island.

However, Poles believe that the real reason for the dispute may be that the port will become an investment that will make Poland independent of Germany will pose a threat to Hamburg.

This is partly true: sanctions against Russia eventually caused transshipment volumes in German ports to decline, which worries the authorities. The volume of cargo transshipped at German seaports in 2022 decreased by 3.2% compared to the previous year. In Bremen, throughput fell by 20% at the beginning of 2023.

The Poles perceive the blocking of Polish investments by the Germans as "an attack aimed at stopping the economic development of Poland."

2022

Germany is the largest export destination

Goods trade deficit with China

2021: Eleventh largest importer to Russia

2015: Top ten global apple exporters with 4.5% share

Labour market

2022: Proportion of workers aged 65 or over - above 5%

2019: Average labor productivity - $37.08 per hour

Foreign labour

2022: Foreigners make up 6.2% of the Polish workforce, more than 1 million people

Immigration to Poland has increased tenfold since 2012, and in 2022 foreigners make up 6.2% of the Polish workforce, more than 1 million people.

Incomes of the population

2023: Minimum wage - $584

Unemployment

2023: Youth unemployment - 10.3%

2022: Unemployment rate - 2.7%

2020: Unemployment rate - 3.8%

Welfare of citizens

2023: $7 billionaires

2020

4th place since the end in the EU in terms of the size of financial assets of citizens

6.3% of Poles are malnourished

2018: In Poland - 1.6 billionaires per 10 million people

Tourism

2019: More than 15% of the population went on tourist trips. Germany is the most popular country

Agriculture

2019: Low use of pesticides in agriculture

Food industry

2021: Cheese production - 24.4 kg per capita

Consumption

Real estate

2020: 10.9% rise in property prices

Tea

2018: Per capita tea consumption per kg per year

Milk

2018: Milk consumption in litres per year per person

Meat

2023: Pork is the most consumed type of meat

2019: Pork is the most consumed type of meat

Beer

2019: Beer consumption in litres per year per person

Economic history

Poland's membership cost other EU countries €162 billion over 20 years

At the end of April 2024, it became known that Poland received about €246 billion from it during its 20 years in the European Union. Of these, approximately €84 billion was paid back as membership fees. Thus, Poland's membership cost other EU countries €162 billion. Read more here.