Economy - overview:
Poland has steadfastly pursued a policy of economic liberalization
throughout the 1990s and today stands out as a success story among
transition economies. Even so, much remains to be done. The
privatization of small and medium state-owned companies and a
liberal law on establishing new firms has encouraged the development
of the private business sector, but legal and bureaucratic obstacles
alongside persistent corruption are hampering its further
development. Poland's agricultural sector remains handicapped by
structural problems, surplus labor, inefficient small farms, and
lack of investment. Restructuring and privatization of "sensitive
sectors" (e.g., coal, steel, railroads, and energy), while recently
initiated, have stalled due to a lack of political will on the part
of the government. Structural reforms in health care, education, the
pension system, and state administration have resulted in larger
than expected fiscal pressures. Further progress in public finance
depends mainly on privatization of Poland's remaining state sector,
the reduction of state employment, and an overhaul of the tax code
to incorporate the growing gray economy and farmers most of whom pay
no tax. The government's determination to enter the EU has shaped
most aspects of its economic policy and new legislation; in June
2003, 77% of the voters approved membership, now scheduled for May
2004. Improving Poland's export competitiveness and containing the
internal budget deficit are top priorities. Due to political
uncertainty, the zloty has recently depreciated in relation to the
euro and the dollar while currencies of the other euro-zone
aspirants have been appreciating. GDP per capita equals that of the
3 Baltic states.
GDP:
purchasing power parity - $373.2 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
1.4% (2002 est.)
GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $9,700 (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 3.8%
industry: 35%
services: 61.2% (2000 est.)
Population below poverty line:
18.4% (2000 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 3.2%
highest 10%: 24.7% (1998)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
31.6 (1998)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
1.9% (2002 est.)
Labor force:
17.6 million (2000 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
industry 22.1%, agriculture 27.5%, services 50.4% (1999)
Unemployment rate:
18.1% (2002)
Budget:
revenues: $49.6 billion
expenditures: $52.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
(1999)
Industries:
machine building, iron and steel, coal mining, chemicals,
shipbuilding, food processing, glass, beverages, textiles
Industrial production growth rate:
0.3% (2001)
Electricity - production:
135 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 98.1%
hydro: 1.5%
other: 0.4% (2001)
nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption:
118.8 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports:
11.04 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports:
4.306 billion kWh (2001)
Oil - production:
17,180 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption:
424,100 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports:
53,000 bbl/day (2001)
Oil - imports:
413,700 bbl/day (2001)
Oil - proved reserves:
116.4 million bbl (37257)
Natural gas - production:
5.471 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:
13.85 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - exports:
41 million cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - imports:
8.782 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves:
154.4 billion cu m (37257)
Agriculture - products:
potatoes, fruits, vegetables, wheat; poultry, eggs, pork
Exports:
$32.4 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Exports - commodities:
machinery and transport equipment 30.2%, intermediate manufactured
goods 25.5%, miscellaneous manufactured goods 20.9%, food and live
animals 8.5% (1999)
Exports - partners:
Germany 33%, Italy 5.7%, France 5%, UK 4.8%, Czech Republic 4.3%
(2002)
Imports:
$43.4 billion f.o.b. (2002)
Imports - commodities:
machinery and transport equipment 38.2%, intermediate manufactured
goods 20.8%, chemicals 14.3%, miscellaneous manufactured goods 9.5%
(1999)
Imports - partners:
Germany 29.9%, Italy 8.1%, Russia 7.4%, France 7.2%, Netherlands
5.3% (2002)
Debt - external:
$64 billion (2002)
Economic aid - recipient:
EU structural adjustment funds
Currency:
zloty (PLN)
Currency code:
PLN
Exchange rates:
zlotych per US dollar - 3.99 (2002), 4.09 (2001), 4.35 (2000), 3.97
(1999), 3.48 (1998)
note: zlotych is the plural form of zloty
Fiscal year:
calendar year