Poland

For more than 30 years, Poland has been an attractive market for foreign investors, mainly due to its geographical location (central Europe), economic stability, access to a well-educated workforce and large domestic market (around 38 million consumers).

Poland is also a major destination for greenfield investments in Central and Eastern Europe (according to UNCTAD 2021 World Investment Report, fifth globally and second among EU countries) and a regional leader in terms of the number of M&A transactions carried out by foreign entities. The number of merger and acquisition transactions in Poland hit a record high of 341 in 2022, with key sectors being: media/IT/telecom, biotech/medical, PE/VC, energy, industry (Fordata report).

Key facts:

Poland is the sixth largest economy in the European Union, closely behind the Netherlands and Spain.

Law labour costs and its highly skilled workforce (over 300 institutes of higher education and over 1.2 million students) makes Poland a very attractive investment option. According to EUROSTAT, in 2021 average hourly labour costs stood at EUR 11.50 in Poland, compared to EUR 29.10 in the EU and EUR 37.4 in Germany. Additionally, the influx of Ukrainian workers has increased the labour supply by around 5-6%.

Poland has stable FDI growth – 7.8% in FDI stock between 2020 and 2021, with FDI representing approx. 40% of Polish GDP. The most popular sectors are electronics, home appliances, automotive, R&D, IT and BPO/SSC. According to the 2021 Economic Survey of the German-Polish Chamber of Commerce and Industry (AHK Poland), Poland is the third  most attractive investment destination in the CEE region, after Estonia and the Czech Republic.

Poland, with its developed infrastructure (15 airports, four major maritime ports, railway lines of approx. 19,000 km in total, over 4,000 km of motorways in total, and standing at the crossroads of European trade and transport routes), sea access, central position between Western and Eastern Europe and well-developed logistic centres, is a logistics hub in Europe. 

One of lowest EU CIT statutory rates – standard 19% and 9% for small taxpayers. Investors can obtain CIT exemption under Polish Investment Zone regulations, and grants and reliefs for R&D. In Poland, there are also a number of tax preferences for innovation and R&D, including R&D relief, IP BOX and relief for automation.

Poland is an attractive destination for international investment projects, including (but not limited to) sectors such as electronics, home appliances, automotive, metal and plastics processing, R&D, IT and BPO/SSC.

Poland is a member of key international institutions and alliances, such as the EU, NATO, OECD, UN and WTO.