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Economic 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.
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.
Main indicators:
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)
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)
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
(Source : The world factbook)
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