Poland on the way to SDGs. Report 2025

Poland belongs to the group of countries that are systematically narrowing the wealth gap with the largest economies of the EU. Between 2015 and 2024, the Polish economy grew by nearly 39% in real terms. This is three times as much as the EU economy, for which this figure was less than 13%. Poland was one of the top five EU countries with the fastest growing economies. Only Ireland (47%) and Croatia (44%) recorded a higher GDP growth than Poland during this period, while Romania, Bulgaria and Cyprus showed a similar growth. In 2024, Poland's GDP per capita (expressed in PPS¹) was 79% of the EU average. This is still below the regional average, but indicates an improvement in relation to 2015, when GDP per capita accounted for 70% of the EU average. Labour productivity, i.e. the value of GDP per employee, is also on the rise. Compared to 2015, it increased in Poland by 26% in real terms, and by only 4% in the whole EU. Currently, labour productivity in Poland reaches almost 83% of the regional average (compared to 75% in 2015).

In Poland, investments drive economic growth to a lesser degree than in most EU countries. Gross fixed capital formation in relation to GDP decreased from 20% in 2015 to 17% in 2024, while in the whole EU, it increased from 20% to almost 22%. Regional companies invest more on average than their Polish counterparts: in 2015–2024, their fixed capital formation amounted to approximately 9–11% of GDP, while in the EU it was about 12–14%. On the other hand, the investments of the government sector in Poland are larger than in most EU countries. Its expenditure reaches 3–5% of GDP per year, while the EU average is usually 3–4%. Household investment expenditure in Poland remains at the level of 3–5%, while in the EU, it is 5–6%.

¹ The PPS is a common artificial currency adopted in the EU for the purpose of international comparisons, which makes it possible to eliminate any differences between countries.

In the years 2015–2024, the labour market in Poland underwent a series of changes: the duration of working life increased, economic activity rose, unemployment decreased and employment went up. The situation in the labour market temporarily deteriorated only in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Today, on average, Poles remain active on the labour market nearly 3 years longer than in 2015. The predicted average duration of working life has increased from 33 to 36 years, while across the whole EU from 35 to 37 years. Although Poles work longer, they still belong to the group of EU countries with the shortest period of economic activity. Among the reasons behind this situation is the lower than in many EU countries economic activity of individuals aged 15+ and the differences in retirement age. Romanians and Italians remain on the labour market for the shortest time (less than 33 years on average), while Danes, Swedes and Dutch the longest (over 40 years).

Poles’ economic activity has also improved: its rate for people aged 20–64 has increased from 73% to 81%, while the EU average from 77% to 80%. As a result, since 2020, the level of economic activity among Poles has become closer to or higher than the EU average.

Poland is among the EU countries with the lowest unemployment rates, ranking second, behind Czechia. The unemployment rate among people aged 20–64 is now more than twice as low as the EU average. Since 2015, unemployment in Poland has fallen from 7.6% to 2.8%, and from 10.0% to 5.7% in the whole EU. The decrease in unemployment was observed among all age groups, including those most vulnerable to the challenges of the labour market. For example, among young people (aged 15–24), the unemployment rate has fallen by nearly a half, from 21.0% to 10.8%, which is one of the best results in the EU. However, the unemployment affecting young people remains significantly higher than among other age groups. Unemployment in Poland is similar for men and women.

Long-term unemployment in Poland is also less severe than it was just a few years ago. Among people aged 20–64, its rate fell from 3.0% in 2015 to 0.8%, which is lower than the average long-term unemployment rate in the EU (which decreased from 4.9% to 1.9%). The percentage of the long-term unemployed (i.e. individuals who have been out of work for a minimum of 12 months) has also gone down significantly. In 2015, they accounted for 40% of all unemployed people aged 20–64, and now they account for 28%.

Employment increased significantly during the favourable economic situation in Poland in the years 2015–2024. The employment rate for people aged 20–64 rose from 66% to 78%, while a slightly lower increase was observed for the whole EU, i.e. from 69% to 76%. Poland ranks fourth among the EU (after Greece, Malta and Croatia) in terms of the greatest improvement in employment since 2015.

Women in Poland remain less economically active than men, and their employment rate is lower; however, these differences are smaller than a decade ago. Since 2015, the employment rate for women aged 20–64 has risen from 60% to 73%, and for men from 73% to 84%. A similar situation is observed with regards to economic activity: the share of economically active women aged 20–64 in the total number of women in this age group increased from 66% to 75%, and men from 81% to 87%. One of the reasons for the lower level of employment and economic activity among Polish women compared to men results from women's greater involvement in care-related responsibilities. The most common cause of the economic inactivity of women aged 20–64 is caring for children, sick people or other family commitments. In 2024, this applied to as many as 60% of economically inactive women, while among men, it was 21%. This is more than in 2015 in the case of economically inactive women (when 55% of them indicated such reasons) and the same in the case of economically inactive men. Compared to other EU countries, these are quite high numbers: similar reasons caused economic inactivity among slightly over 30% of women and 7% to 11% of men across the whole EU.