For more than 30 years Poland has been an attractive market for foreign investors who appreciate the country’s openness, geographic location and economic stability. Businesses that have decided to locate their capital here can benefit from a number of incentives and enjoy having access to well-educated workforce and a large internal market. These features make Poland one of the biggest recipients of greenfield investments in Central and Eastern Europe, as well as a target country for numerous M&A transactions made by foreign entities.
After Brexit, Poland has become the sixth largest economy in the European Union. Over the last decade (2009-2019), its GDP grew by 3.6% per year on average. At the end of 2019, Poland’s liabilities under foreign direct investments (FDI) amounted to EUR 209.5 billion. Throughout the year, foreign investors invested EUR 9.7 billion net, which comprised reinvested earnings of EUR 10.1 billion, equity and shares of EUR 1 billion and debt instruments worth EUR -1.4 billion.
Economic growth in Poland is driven by domestic demand, primarily private consumption, which, in turn, results from low unemployment and rising wages. From a level of well over ten per cent in the early 21st century, the unemployment rate fell below the EU average, to 2.9%, at the end of 2019. In 2019, Poland recorded a slightly positive balance of trade in goods, exporting EUR 235.8 billion worth of products. At that time, imports were lower by less than EUR 2 billion, amounting to EUR 234 billion. Only a year earlier, Poland’s trade balance in goods was slightly negative but has remained relatively close to zero year after year. More than a half of gross added value in Poland is produced in wholesale and retail trade, transport and HoReCa and in the industrial sector. These sectors also generate the largest share of all jobs.
