Economy

Polish economy

Economic transformation has been in place in Poland since 1989. It is characterized by advancing privatization, opening to the world market, development of SME sector and influx of capital, mainly in the form of FDIs, which was greatly influenced by such factors as accession to the OECD or tax relief schemes for foreign investors. Poland entered the 21st century as a member of NATO. Poland’s position as a reliable partner was corroborated by the accession to the European Union in 2004, which opens new opportunities in the scope of economic cooperation with other countries.
Achievements of Polish economy encompass: relatively high economic growth, dynamic development of the market services sector, high share of the private sector, relatively balanced inflation level (the last year’s rise resulted from Poland’s accession to the EU, amongst others), dynamic development of international trade.

In 2004 GDP growth reached 5.4% and was the highest since 1997. Although GDP growth rate slowed down in the first half of 2005, the results of the third quarter are optimistic – growth by 3.5%. It is forecast that in the coming years Polish economy will continue to grow at a fast rate. GDP growth in the entire 2005 is forecast at 3.2 – 3.4%, and in 2006 - at 4.3%.

Although the labor market situation is perceived as the sore point of Polish economy, a slow change of the negative trends has been seen in the last two years. Unemployment rate is going slowly down– in October 2005 it was 17.3%.

Source: http://www.mgip.gov.pl

Ukrainian economy

Since 2000 Ukrainian economy has experienced dynamic development, mostly driven by export growth, low inflation rate and higher trust on the part of investors and consumers. In 2003 GDP growth in Ukraine amounted to 9.3%, and as much as 12% in 2004. Due to with „Orange revolution in the winter 2004/2005, GDP across 2005 has been at the level of 4.3%. Analysts of the Economist Intelligence Unit forecast that in 2005 Ukraine will reach GDP growth of 5%.

Source: CIA – The World Factbook
Source: „The Economist - The World in 2006”

Prices in Poland and Ukraine

General price and income levels in both Ukraine and Poland are still significantly below the EU average. Today, according to 2003 Worldbank statistics, gross national income on purchasing power parity per capita (GNI ppp) in Ukraine and Poland combined is almost 50% of that of the Portuguese level (31% in Ukraine and 63% in Poland). However, the economic growth rates (GDP) in the 2 countries are significantly higher than in the rest of Europe and reached in 2004 more than 5% in Poland and even 12% in Ukraine. It is expected that until 2012 the economies of Poland and Ukraine will continue to grow at rates double or more than the average rate of Europe as a whole.