Poland’s GDP accounted for 1 percent of the total global GDP in 2022, according to a report from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Poland’s GDP in 2022 was €688.3 billion, putting it in 22nd place, just below Taiwan. However, in terms of importance to global trade, Poland was judged to be more significant than Taiwan, the Netherlands and Switzerland.
According to the director of the Polish Economic Institute (PIE), Piotr Arak, the Polish economy “was never as important in the context of global trade as is the case currently.” Poland’s exports have bolstered the importance of the country’s economy and its GDP, as it now accounts for 1.4 percent of global exports.
Arak, speaking at an Atlantic Council conference in Washington D.C., said that Poland is currently one of the most attractive places for foreign investment in Europe.
Arak said that Poland is benefitting from the current trend of reshoring and nearshoring. This trend of shifting production from Asia to Europe began in earnest during the pandemic and has continued as a result of the war in Ukraine and concerns over the power of China.
According to available data, nearly one in four companies that are shifting their production are choosing Europe. The reasons for this are higher productivity, competitively priced labor, good infrastructure and access to the EU’s single market.
Poland is doing well in terms of greenfield investments (direct foreign investments), with firms such as Microsoft choosing to set up in Poland. In 2021, Poland attracted 3.5 percent of greenfield projects, and thus for the first time in history, Poland surpassed China in terms of attractiveness as a location for such investments.
The IMF forecasts that Poland’s GDP in 2023 will reach $748.9 billion. China will be at the top of the pyramid with $19 trillion dollars, and the largest economy in Europe is still set to be Germany with a GDP of $4.3 trillion dollars. Poland’s GDP is forecast to reach $1 trillion in 2028.
