OECD Economic Surveys: Poland 2025

1. Following large increases in social, health and defence spending, Poland requires a sustained fiscal adjustment to reduce the deficit and avoid excess demand, while addressing rising ageing costs.

2. The effectiveness of the health system and health outcomes can be improved by a range of reforms improving incentives, staffing, investment and prevention.

3. Greenhouse gas emissions have declined, but faster policy action in the energy, transport and housing sectors is needed to meet climate targets.

4. Continued convergence and productivity growth can be supported by upskilling, improving the governance of state-owned enterprises and developing a comprehensive migration strategy.

After the pandemic and the initial impact of Russia’s war of aggression on Ukraine, Poland should ensure a return to a path of strong economic growth, manage population ageing, improve health and long-term care, and accelerate the green transition.

Poland’s economic performance and standards of living have improved significantly over recent decades. A supportive business environment, combined with a well-educated population, have attracted foreign investment and innovative businesses. Inequalities in disposable income remain low, but poor health holds back life expectancy and the quality of life.

Progress has slowed in recent years as the pandemic and the war in Ukraine took a toll on society and the economy. Health outcomes deteriorated after the pandemic. Inflation increased sharply and the economy contracted. Energy security became a priority as progress on decarbonisation stalled, while the war led to higher defence spending.

Poland will need to ensure inflation is durably contained and the public finances are on a prudent path in order to support growth.

The coalition government, elected in 2023, plans a fiscal consolidation in 2026-28, while safeguarding investment, healthcare, defence and social policies.

To continue raising living standards and to address long-term challenges such as population ageing and the green transition, further measures are needed. An ageing population risks constraining growth as it exacerbates labour shortages, while future pension needs are likely to exert fiscal pressure. Improving relatively low health outcomes is increasingly important as the population ages. Upskilling, improved governance, and making more and better use of skilled migration can raise productivity further. Successfully managing the transition away from a carbon-intensive to a greener economy will help businesses and consumers to adjust.

Economic activity is projected to rebound in 2025-26 as inflationary pressures and financial conditions ease. Fiscal support measures, combined with additional spending on social policies, health and defence, have opened up a substantial fiscal deficit. Achieving a prudent fiscal path will require reducing expenditures and boosting tax revenues, while ensuring sustainable pension provision and adequately funding the green transition.

Following a substantial inflation shock, which weighed on activity, the economy returned to growth in mid-2023 (Figure 1), supported by trade and public investment, as well as a moderation of food and energy inflation. Headline inflation has fallen sharply from its peak and reached the target in early 2024, but a withdrawal of food and energy support has pushed it back up. Core inflation remains elevated amid a tight labour market and strong wage growth. With the withdrawal of the remaining energy support measures delayed to the second half of 2025, headline inflation is projected to rise to 5% in 2025, and decrease to 3.9% in 2026. Monetary policy is expected to remain restrictive, but interest rates should gradually ease as wage growth slows and inflationary pressures recede durably. Improving external demand, falling inflation and easing financial conditions will support growth. Real GDP is projected to expand by 3.4% in 2025 and 3% in 2026 (Table 1).

The economic outlook remains uncertain. Continued high wage growth could lead to strong consumption growth and pose an upside risk to inflation. Weaker global demand could weigh on exports while fiscal consolidation could take a toll on growth. The recovery could be also derailed by regional and global geopolitical developments.

The financial system appears resilient, but risks should be monitored closely. Variable mortgage interest rates are widespread, but households have managed to adjust to higher borrowing costs. Banks’ exposure to the commercial property market is limited and corporate credit risk remains low. Resolution of long-standing legal risks from disputes around foreign-currency loans has advanced.

In 2024, the fiscal deficit increased to 5.8% of GDP and should be broadly similar in 2025. Despite buoyant revenues, higher spending on social policies, health, defence, and energy and food-related supports have widened the gap between revenues and expenditures. The government’s medium-term fiscal plan foresees a four-year fiscal consolidation with a modest adjustment in 2025 and annual consolidation of around 1% of GDP in 2026-28.

Given the significant deficit, the planned fiscal adjustment is welcome. The adjustment during 2026-28 is ambitious and likely to dampen growth in the years ahead. Narrowing the deficit will allow for a better balance of fiscal and monetary policies. To increase revenues efficiently and fairly, a broadening of the tax base would help. More revenues can be raised by changing the base of annual property tax from surface area to value, as is the case in the majority of OECD countries. Developing comprehensive vehicle taxation based on emissions, raising fuel duties, reducing the number of items with preferential value added tax rates, as well as raising environmental taxes, would yield much needed revenue. The efficiency of family spending can be improved by withdrawing transfers at higher income levels. The budgetary process should include comprehensive spending and tax expenditure reviews.

Long-term fiscal pressures from population ageing and the green transition need to be addressed. Current plans assume a substantial reduction in the pension replacement rate in coming decades, while private retirement saving remains low, creating a risk of higher state spending in the future. Indexing the statutory retirement age to rising life-expectancy and gradually aligning the retirement age of women with that of men would help, while regulatory stability is needed for asset-backed pension plans. Public investment in infrastructure and adaptation as well as support for the most affected workers and households will be needed to facilitate the green transition, and new sources of revenue need to be developed.

Healthcare spending has historically been comparatively low, although it is now rising. Despite recent improvements, health outcomes have been poor. Any additional spending should focus on better treatment and more prevention and be linked to efficiency gains. A sustainable framework of long-term care for an ageing population is needed.

Despite significant improvements in health outcomes over the past two decades, life expectancy is still among the lowest in the OECD (Figure 2). Men live shorter than women, while the number of healthy life years lags behind most OECD countries. More than half of all deaths are due to diseases of the circulatory system and cancer. Healthcare services are widely available, but healthcare costs for patients are not fully covered by the public system, which puts poorer households at risk. Public spending on healthcare has been rising and is planned to reach 7% of GDP in 2027, up from an estimated 5.8% in 2023.

Efficiency in the healthcare sector can be improved by strengthening prevention and care coordination through making more use of incentives within primary care. A shift towards integrated care is under way, but many primary care practices experience difficulties in finding specialist clinics to cooperate with, while incentives for better performance are too low. Despite higher spending, the removal of limits on visits to specialists has not shortened waiting times.

The hospital system is large, complex and poorly coordinated. The number of hospital beds is relatively high. Hospitals are persistently indebted and management quality is variable. Rationalising the system while ensuring that services reflect adequately regional health needs would reduce costs and improve outcomes. Executive education and training and higher accountability for hospital performance could raise the overall managerial quality. Further investment is also needed.

Poland has experienced a persistent shortage of health workers due to an insufficient number of medical and nursing graduates, an ageing workforce, and migration. This has contributed to long waiting times and reduced access to healthcare. Following recent increases, salaries have now become competitive, but working conditions need to be improved. Staff shortages are hampering access to healthcare, particularly in rural areas. The authorities should continue to raise the number of training places for nurses and develop a comprehensive workforce strategy.

Preventable mortality is relatively high. Low participation in cancer screening should be raised to increase chances of successful treatment. More emphasis on prevention can reduce behavioural health risks and reduce healthcare costs. Excise duties on tobacco and alcohol should be raised further while opening hours and the number of shops selling alcohol should be restricted.

Currently, most long-term care is provided informally by households. An expansion of residential care and formal home-based care, which can improve wellbeing and increase the participation of carers in the formal labour market, is needed. This requires development of the care sector and an approach to funding based on needs and linked to both income and wealth.

Progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Poland has been slow and the challenge of reducing the economy’s reliance on carbon-based energy is considerable. A draft National Climate and Energy Plan 2030 published last year is an important step forward in terms of ambition and planned policies.

Despite decreasing emissions, Poland is likely to fall short of international commitments to reduce emissions. Following years of little policy action, progress in reducing emissions sustainably needs to accelerate (Figure 3), notably by setting out a clear long-term path of carbon pricing. The draft of National Climate and Energy Plan is welcome as it sets more ambitious goals in line with international commitments.

Due to heavy reliance on coal, the energy sector accounts for more than 40% of emissions. The current policy is focused on increasing renewables and nuclear capacity. A more ambitious phase-out of coal is needed and should also include lignite coal. To resolve potential grid connection bottlenecks, sustained and timely investments in electricity infrastructure should continue.

Emissions from the transport and buildings sectors are sizeable. Current reform of vehicle taxation falls short of international best practices. It should include all cars, be based on emissions and accompanied by strengthening public transport.

Climate change is increasing the frequency of extreme weather events in Poland, such as floods, prolonged droughts, and major storms. Adaptation strategies are in place across all levels of government, but coordination and the assessment of implementation is challenging.

Productivity convergence has been substantial but will gradually slow down. Improving the business environment further, reforming the governance of state-owned enterprises, increasing upskilling and boosting innovation can help raise productivity growth. A comprehensive immigration strategy could help address specific skill shortages.

The economy has doubled in size over the past two decades as it grew faster than neighbouring Central European countries and at twice the OECD average. Continued productivity convergence will lead to higher growth than the OECD average but will gradually slow down.

Improving regulation and reforming the governance of state-owned enterprises could help boost competition and sustain continued productivity growth. Regulatory barriers to competition in services and network sectors should be lowered and the insolvency framework strengthened. State ownership remains important. Governance of state-owned enterprises should be better aligned with OECD guidelines. Adopting a national strategy for public integrity and strengthening the implementation of the framework would improve the business environment.

Despite rising private R&D investments, innovation capacity remains low. Polish firms are half as likely to introduce product and business innovations than their EU counterparts. Generous subsidies for R&D exist, and their impact should be monitored and evaluated to maximise their effectiveness.

Persistent skill shortages, driven by workforce ageing, are a constraint on continued productivity growth. While this has been partly offset by rising labour market participation and migration, there is scope to further boost the labour supply among older workers and women. More widespread upskilling of workers and entrepreneurs would be welcome. Immigration could help alleviate skill shortages, but a comprehensive migration strategy including a focus on integration policies will be needed.