Poland Economy 2007

Economy - overview:
Poland has steadfastly pursued a policy of economic liberalization since 1990 and today stands out as a success story among transition economies. In 2006, GDP grew 5.3%, based on rising private consumption, a 16.7% jump in investment, and burgeoning exports. Poland today has a thriving private sector which created more than 300,000 new jobs during 2006 alone. GDP per capita roughly equals that of the three Baltic states. Consumer price inflation - at 1.3% in 2006 - remains among the lowest in the EU. Since 2004, EU membership and access to EU structural funds has provided a major boost to the economy. Inflows of direct foreign investment exceeded $10 billion in 2006 alone - and more than $100 billion since 1990 - with major investments being announced by foreign firms in computer, consumer electronics, and automobile component production. In early 2006, Poland reached agreement with its EU partners that will permit it to benefit from EU funds totaling nearly $80 billion during 2007-13. Since 2002, even though the zloty appreciated 30%, Poland's exports more than doubled. Despite Poland's successes, more remains to be done. Unemployment, which stood at 15% in December 2006, is still the highest in the EU. An inefficient commercial court system, a rigid labor code, bureaucratic red tape, and persistent corruption keep the private sector from performing to its potential. Agriculture is handicapped by inefficient small farms and inadequate investment. Restructuring and privatization of the remaining state-owned industries, especially "sensitive sectors" such as coal, oil refining, railroads, and energy transmission and generation, have stalled due to concerns about loss of control over critical national assets and lay-offs. Reforms in health care, education, the pension system, and state administration have failed so far to reduce the government budget deficit, which was roughly 2.7 percent of GDP in 2006. Further progress in public finance depends mainly on reducing losses in Polish state enterprises, restraining entitlements, and overhauling the tax code. The previous Socialist-led government introduced a package of social and administrative spending cuts to reduce public spending by about $17 billion through 2007, but full implementation of the plan was trumped by election-year politics in 2005. The right-wing Law and Justice party won parliamentary elections in September 2005, and Lech KACZYNSKI won the presidential election in October, running on a state-interventionist fiscal and monetary platform. The new government has proceeded cautiously on economic matters, however, retaining, for example, the corporate income tax cuts initiated by the previous administration and indicating its intention to reduce the top personal income tax rate.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$554.5 billion (2006 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
$337 billion (2006 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
6.1% (2006 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$14,400 (2006 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 4.5%
industry: 31.7%
services: 63.8% (2006 est.)

Labor force:
16.94 million (2006 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 16.1%
industry: 29%
services: 54.9% (2002)

Unemployment rate:
14.9% (2006 est.)

Population below poverty line:
17% (2003 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 3.1%
highest 10%: 27% (2002)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
34.5 (2002)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
1% (2006 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
19.8% of GDP (2006 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $63.7 billion
expenditures: $71.78 billion (2006 est.)

Public debt:
45.5% of GDP (2006 est.)

Agriculture - products:
potatoes, fruits, vegetables, wheat; poultry, eggs, pork, dairy

Industries:
machine building, iron and steel, coal mining, chemicals, shipbuilding, food processing, glass, beverages, textiles

Industrial production growth rate:
10.2% (2006 est.)

Electricity - production:
146.2 billion kWh (2005)

Electricity - consumption:
120.4 billion kWh (2005)

Electricity - exports:
16.19 billion kWh (2005)

Electricity - imports:
5.002 billion kWh (2005)

Oil - production:
35,880 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - consumption:
445,700 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - exports:
51,780 bbl/day (2004)

Oil - imports:
480,300 bbl/day (2004)

Oil - proved reserves:
96.38 million bbl (1 January 2006)

Natural gas - production:
5.828 billion cu m (2005)

Natural gas - consumption:
15.58 billion cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - exports:
42.2 million cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - imports:
10.01 billion cu m (2005)

Natural gas - proved reserves:
158.1 billion cu m (1 January 2006 est.)

Current account balance:
$-7.926 billion (2006 est.)

Exports:
$117.3 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

Exports - commodities:
machinery and transport equipment 37.8%, intermediate manufactured goods 23.7%, miscellaneous manufactured goods 17.1%, food and live animals 7.6% (2003)

Exports - partners:
Germany 27.2%, Italy 6.6%, France 6.2%, UK 5.7%, Czech Republic 5.6%, Russia 4.3% (2006)

Imports:
$122.2 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

Imports - commodities:
machinery and transport equipment 38%, intermediate manufactured goods 21%, chemicals 14.8%, minerals, fuels, lubricants, and related materials 9.1% (2003)

Imports - partners:
Germany 29%, Russia 9.6%, Italy 6.4%, Netherlands 5.7%, France 5.4% (2006)

Economic aid - recipient:
$1.524 billion in available EU structural adjustment and cohesion funds (2004)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$48.48 billion (2006 est.)

Debt - external:
$121.5 billion (2006 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
$104.2 billion (2006 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
$10.68 billion (2006 est.)

Market value of publicly traded shares:
$149.1 billion (2006)

Currency (code):
zloty (PLN)

Exchange rates:
zlotych per US dollar - 3.1032 (2006), 3.2355 (2005), 3.6576 (2004), 3.8891 (2003), 4.08 (2002)
note: zlotych is the plural form of zloty