Poland: Economic Figures
Poland counts a population of 38.17m and is the largest market in Central Europe and the sixth biggest in the EU. These 38.17m consumers drive an annual retail market growth of 10%.
The Polish economy is developing much faster than the economy of the whole Euro zone and about 1.5% more than the average of all 27 EU members together. With a GDP growth of 6,1% in 2006 it is projected to reach 6,5% in 2007. Poland's growth has been driven to a significant extent by export growth, industrial production and investments. Employment is also steadily increasing. In 2006 the unemployment rate has dropped by 4% in comparison to 2005.
Since 2000 high dynamics of export turnovers have been observed. In 2006 for example the rate reached 18.5%. This is due to improved competitiveness of Polish goods and just a slight increase in domestic consumption. Polish companies are more interested in exporting their goods; many market leaders are exporting not only to the EU markets but also to Russia and Asian countries. Polish exports are based on several key industry sectors: food, furniture, automotive parts, ships and plastic goods.
Among Poland’s major trade partners the highest export turnovers are attributable to Germany (27.2%), Russia (9.7%) and Italy (6.7%), while Poland’s main import partners are: Germany (27.2%), Italy (6.4%) and France (6.3%).
