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%.

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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%

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.