Gross domestic product in Poland has been increasing since 2016 and is expected to reach approximately 643 billion U.S. dollars by 2020. Poland’s economy tripled in size during the early 2000s, before being hit by the global financial crisis. After several years of fluctuation, Poland’s GDP recently reached an all-time high of around 586 billion U.S. dollars in 2018.

Major changes in the nineties

Poland suffered an economic crisis during the late 1980s, with shortages of goods and a debt crisis among the reasons for a rising inflation rate. In the two years from 1988 to 1990, inflation increased from around 60 percent to almost 600 percent. However, Poland’s GDP began to grow during the 1990s, following the end of communist rule. Poland’s GDP per capita reflects this change, rising from around 1,600 U.S. dollars in 1990 to more than 4,300 U.S. dollars in 1999.

Improving rates of employment

Unemployment rates in Poland have steadily improved over recent years and in 2018 reached some of the lowest levels the country has reported in decades. Poland’s unemployment rate has been declining since 2013 and fell below four percent in 2018. Youth unemployment rates were especially affected following 2008, with the number of young people without jobs growing by roughly ten percent in just five years. By 2013, almost a third of those aged between 15 and 24 years were unemployed.