Minister of Finance Andrzej Domański emphasized in Łódź that in 2025 Poland will join the 20 largest economies in the world, overtaking Switzerland and chasing Saudi Arabia and the Netherlands. He also announced that according to forecasts, in 2030 our economic growth will be twice as high as the EU average.
The head of the Ministry of Finance, Andrzej Domański, took part in the Freedom Games in Łódź on Saturday, giving an introductory lecture to the debate on Polonization and investing in the Polish economy.
– I am absolutely convinced that 2025 is a special year from the point of view of the Polish economy, in which Poland crosses symbolic borders. We are entering the group of the 20 largest economies in the world, overtaking Switzerland. In 1989, our country ranked 35th in terms of the size of the economy with a nominal GDP of almost USD 67 billion. According to the latest forecasts of the International Monetary Fund, our GDP this year will exceed one trillion dollars and thus Poland is ahead of Switzerland and we are catching up with Saudi Arabia and the Netherlands – said Andrzej Domański.
According to the head of the Ministry of Finance, this is proof that 35 years of consistent work, reforms, openness and entrepreneurship have brought results.
– Freedom gained in 1989, throwing off the yoke of communism led to the free market eruption. We have built very strong institutions. We joined the European Union and I am talking here primarily about access to the common market. We managed to build a strong, highly diversified economy. Looking at what is happening in other countries of Central and Eastern Europe, we see that our diversification – the fact that we do not have one national champion, but have several strong economic sectors, makes us more resistant to external shocks – said Minister Domański.
He recalled the words of Lech Wałęsa, who promised Poles a second Japan. – This is happening in 2025. According to IMF data, Poland will overtake Japan in terms of GDP per capita adjusted for the price level – said Domański.
Domański warned, however, that the advantages on which the strength of the Polish economy was built are gradually exhausting, and in a world of growing geopolitical tensions, slowing globalization, and the tremendous pace of technological transformation, maintaining the dynamics of development requires something more.
– It requires courage, a vision of new sources and new engines of economic growth. That is why we are talking today about a new stage of development, and that is why we are also talking about the upcoming golden decade of the Polish economy. We are talking about reindustrialization, innovation, and productivity growth. OECD forecasts predict that in 2026 the Polish economy will be one of the fastest growing economies in Europe. The International Monetary Fund, in turn, predicts that by 2030 the economic growth rate in Poland will be twice as high as the EU average, said the minister.
He noted that signs of economic recovery in the Polish economy are already visible, but public investments must be an impulse, although private investments are the foundation of Poland's economic development.
Public procurement is a powerful lever of the economy
Andrzej Domański said that the value of the public procurement market in 2024 exceeded PLN 587 billion, which is a powerful lever that, if used wisely, can stimulate hundreds of thousands of companies across the country.
– For me, it is extremely important to say very clearly here, in Łódź, during the Freedom Games, where free market ideas are at the very heart of thinking – we want to support the private sector in Poland. We want to support private sector companies in Poland. We know that there is plenty of room for this growth here, said the head of the Ministry of Finance.
He added that only 30 percent of the Polish economy are Polish private companies. This, according to Domański, shows how much space there is for the private sector to grow in importance in Poland.
– And why do we want it to grow? Because efficiency companies in the private sector is three times higher than state-owned companies operating in the same sectors of the economy. (…) By supporting the private sector, we can gain some kind of leverage and achieve much more for the Polish economy. But at the same time, we know that to make this possible, we must, as a state, as a government, create conditions for more investments in Poland, for more capital for companies – emphasized Andrzej Domański.
He added that there is no sustainable growth without economic freedom. There is no innovation without trust in entrepreneurs.
– For me, the government's huge effort in the area of deregulation is de facto an effort to increase freedom. This year we started the largest process of deregulation of the Polish economy in 35 years. Thanks to cooperation with entrepreneurs and social organizations, we have already adopted almost 150 specific legislative changeswhich will make doing business in Poland simply easier – said Domański.
He estimated that deregulation, in addition to making it easier to run a business, may have a very specific impact on macroeconomic data – by up to one percentage point of GDP per year.
Andrzej Domański said that for the government, repolonization of the economy means creating space, space and conditions for Polish companies, including financial conditions, to participate in the huge investment process that is now underway in Poland.
– We want to support primarily private sector companies, and we have a lot of room to expand the private sector in Poland – concluded the minister.
The 12th Freedom Games in Łódź are held under the slogan “Time of uncertainty”. Experts from all over the world take part in debates on, among others: functioning in the conditions of ongoing conflicts, the threat of populism and fascism of public life, the politics of China, Latin America and the Middle East. Meetings with experts in the field of economics, social sciences and culture are also planned. Expert debates are largely broadcast live via the organizer's website. The event lasts at the Łódź EXPO hall until Sunday. (PAP)
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