Economic Overview

For the latest updates on the key economic responses from governments to address the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, please consult the IMF's policy tracking platform Policy Responses to COVID-19.

Poland has emerged as a dynamic market over the past 25 years and has become a major actor within Europe, being the tenth-largest economy in the EU. The country recovered well from the global Covid-19-induced crisis, with GDP returning to its pre-pandemic level already in the second quarter of 2021. In 2022, the Polish economy grew an estimated 3.8% with industrial output and retail sales expanding at a solid pace in the first semester of the year. Private consumption also grew, partly boosted by Ukrainian refugee spending and by the recovery from the pandemic, but investment slowed sharply. Economic growth is set to turn negative at the beginning of 2023 due to elevated cost pressures and increasing financing costs. However, private consumption is expected to remain strong and overall growth should pick up over the year, with the IMF expecting GDP growth to enter positive territory (+0.5%). In 2024, the easing of supply bottlenecks should support exports, with growth forecasted at 3.1%.

An expansionary fiscal policy and income tax cuts lead to an increase in the general government deficit in 2022, estimated at 4.2% of GDP (was 3.1% one year earlier). The measures taken to mitigate the impact of rising energy prices included the lowering of VAT rates, cash heating subsidies to households, and a multi-annual support scheme for energy-intensive industries and weighted for around 2.1% of GDP. Despite a multi-annual programme of investment in defence that should increase spending in this area up to 3% of GDP per year, the IMF sees a lower budget deficit in 2023 (3.7% of GDP). The country’s debt-to-GDP ratio is relatively low and was estimated at 48.7% in 2022. It is forecast to decrease further this year (to 45.1%) before picking up again in 2024 (46.2% - IMF). Rising energy prices, growing demand and supply-side bottlenecks have contributed to a steady and robust hike in inflation, which reached a record-high level of 13.8% in 2022. Continued wage growth, the pass-through of elevated energy prices, and significant policy support are set to continue fuelling core inflation, which is projected at 14.3% in 2023, before it decelerates to 4.3% towards the end of 2024.
 
The unemployment rate has been structurally low in recent years (just above 3%), though around one in four employees have temporary contracts, twice the EU average. The labour market has proved resilient to the crisis, although emerging labour shortages could act as a significant drag on employment growth in the near future. In 2022, minimum wage rises and tax changes associated with the “Polish Deal” fiscal stimulus programme added to wage pressures but partly helped households purchasing power. Nevertheless, the European Commission warns that a higher-than-expected increase in inflation arising from supply constraints and labour shortages may weigh on purchasing power and private consumption growth. The average unemployment rate stood at 2.8% in 2022 and is seen to increase only slightly over the forecast horizon, to 3.2% this year and 3.4% in 2024 (IMF). The GDP per capita (PPP) of Polish citizens was USD 42,466 in 2022, still 21.3% lower than that of the EU-27 (data IMF). Finally, there are still large disparities between the east and the west of the country.

Foreign Trade

Poland is open to international trade, which represents 112% of its GDP (World Bank, latest data available). The geographical location gives Poland strategic importance: the country is in fact situated halfway between Paris and Moscow and between Stockholm and Budapest, and it has important ports that are connected to the North Sea through the Baltic Sea. In addition, the country constitutes an excellent place for the export of merchandise to the former Soviet republics. According to figures by Statistics Poland, the country mainly exports machinery and transport equipment (37.1%), manufactured goods (18.3%), food and live animals (10.4%), and chemicals and related products (9.7%). Imports are led by similar product categories: machinery and transport equipment (34.5%), manufactured goods (17.6%), chemicals and related products (14.7%), and food and live animals (6.7%).

In 2021, the main trading partners were Germany (28.8%), the Czech Republic (5.9%), France (5.7%) and the United Kingdom (5%); while the top import origins were Germany (20.9%), China (14.8%), Russia (5.9%), and Italy (5%). Overall, the EU accounts for 75.1% of Poland’s total exports and 54.1% of its imports (data Statistics Poland).

Since Poland became a member of the European Union, its exports have increased by more than 30%. The country historically had a structurally negative trade balance; nevertheless, since 2013 this trend has reversed: when computing both goods and services, in 2021 Poland had a positive trade balance estimated at 3.4% of its GDP (it was 5.7% one year earlier - World Bank). According to data from WTO, in 2021 the country exported USD 337.9 billion worth of goods (+24.6% year-on-year), whereas imports stood at USD 338.3 billion (+31.5% y-o-y). Concerning services, exports stood at USD 80.5 billion (+20.2% y-o-y), with imports increasing at a faster pace (+23% y-o-y, to USD 49.3 billion). The latest figures from Statistics Poland show that foreign trade turnover in January-October 2022 in exports at current prices amounted to USD 302.9 billion (marking an increase of 23.3% on the same period one year earlier), while imports stood at USD 319.6 billion (+31% y-o-y). The overall balance was negative by USD 16.7 billion, while in the same period of 2021 it was positive and amounted to USD 2.1 billion. The EU accounted for 75.8% of exports and 51.3% of imports.

COVID-19 Country Response

COVID-19 epidemic evolution

To find out about the latest status of the COVID-19 pandemic evolution and the most up-to-date statistics on the COVID-19 disease in Poland, consult the daily statistics published by the WHO. For the geographical distribution of the infection within the country, visit the official governmental portal (in Polish).
For the international outlook you can consult the latest situation reports published by the World Health Organisation.

Sanitary measures

To find out about the latest public health situation in Poland and the current sanitary measures in vigour, please consult the dedicated pages on the official governmental portal, as well as the website of the Chief Sanitary Inspectorate (in Polish).
For the government’s recommendations on how to fight the spread of the disease, click here.

Travel restrictions

The COVID-19 situation, including the spread of new variants, evolves rapidly and differs from country to country. All travelers need to pay close attention to the conditions at their destination before traveling. Regularly updated information for all countries with regards to Covid-19 related travel restrictions in place including entry regulations, flight bans, test requirements and quarantine is available on TravelDoc Infopage.
It is also highly recommended to consult COVID-19 Travel Regulations Map provided and updated on the daily basis by IATA.
The US government website of Centers of Disease Control and Prevention provides COVID-19 Travel Recommendations by Destination.
The UK Foreign travel advice also provides travelling abroad advice for all countries, including the latest information on coronavirus, safety and security, entry requirements and travel warnings.

Import & export restrictions

For the up-to-date information on all the measures applicable to movement of goods during the period of sanitary emergency due to the COVID-19 outbreak (including eventual restrictions on imports and exports, if applicable), please consult the website of the Polish Customs Service. Further details can be found on the “Customs measures” section on KPMG's website.
For the updated information on the introduced trade import and export restrictions and other trade measures (ex. tariffs reductions) due to COVID-19 pandemic, please consult the section dedicated to the Poland on International Trade Centre's COVID-19 Temporary Trade Measures webpage.

Economic recovery plan

To know about the economic measures taken by the Polish government to address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the national economy, please visit the pages of the governmental portal dedicated to the so-called “Anti-crisis Shield” (in Polish).
The information on the EU’s economic response to COVID-19 and the actions to minimise the fallout on the EU member states’ economies of the COVID-19 outbreak is available on the website of the European Council.
For the general overview of the key economic policy responses to the COVID-19 outbreak (fiscal, monetary and macroeconomic) taken by the Hungarian government to limit the socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, please consult the section dedicated to Poland in the IMF’s Policy Tracker platform.

Support plan for businesses

For the information on the local business support scheme and taxation measures established by the Polish government to help businesses to deal with the economic impacts of the COVID-19 epidemic on their activity, please consult the dedicated pages on the official governmental portal (in Polish).
For a general overview of international SME support policy responses to the COVID-19 outbreak refer to the OECD's SME Covid-19 Policy Responses document.
You can also consult the World Bank's Map of SME-Support Measures in Response to COVID-19.

Support plan for exporters

To find out about the support plan for exporters put in place by the Polish government, please consult the website of the Polish Customs Service, as well as the portal of the Polish Investment & Trade Agency (in Polish). Further details can be found on the “Customs measures” section on the KPMG Polish website.
The European Commission adopted a Temporary Framework for State aid measures to support the economy in the COVID-19 outbreak, which enables short-term export credit insurance to be provided by the State where needed.