The Polish economy has achieved a symbolic success, surpassing Spain in terms of per capita income according to purchasing power parity. Simultaneously, national giants like PZU are reporting record annual profits exceeding PLN 6.7 billion, and the mortgage market has reached a historic value of PLN 103 billion. Despite optimistic forecasts from the EBRD, the financial sector is grappling with a high budget deficit, rising debt in agriculture, and a steady wave of consumer bankruptcies.

Symbolic Success Over Spain

Poland surpassed Spain in terms of GDP per capita (purchasing power parity), reaching a level of $58.56 thousand annually.

Record Profits for the PZU Group

Poland's largest insurer closed 2025 with a historic net profit of PLN 6.7 billion, planning an attractive dividend.

Barriers in the Housing Market

Despite a record value of granted loans (PLN 103.4 billion), the number of active contracts fell by 4 percent, and the creditworthiness of singles stagnated.

Financial Problems of Farmers

The average delay in debt repayment by farmers exceeded two years, indicating a hidden collapse in the agricultural sector.

The Polish economy entered 2026 with strong macroeconomic fundamentals, as confirmed by the latest data from the International Monetary Fund. According to these statistics, Poland has for the first time in history surpassed Spain in per capita income adjusted for purchasing power, reaching a level of $58.56 thousand. Prime Minister Donald Tusk described this event as entering the European economic elite. This optimism is shared by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), which raised its GDP growth forecast for Poland for 2026 to 3.7 percent. The institution, however, points to risks such as weak economic conditions in its main trading partner – Germany – and high dependence on imported equipment for military modernization. On the capital and insurance markets, the results of PZU dominate, which in 2025 generated a record net profit of PLN 6.7 billion, representing growth of over 25 percent year-on-year. Despite these impressive figures, Thursday's session on the Warsaw Stock Exchange saw the insurer's shares discounted by about 4 percent, which analysts attribute to weaker-than-expected results in the fourth quarter alone. Concurrently, Austria's Erste Group is finalizing the acquisition of Santander Bank Polska, which Peter Bosek called a strategic shift and a milestone in the group's history, emphasizing Poland's role as a growth engine in the region. Poland's economic transformation after 1989 is considered one of the fastest examples of income convergence in modern European history, allowing it to successively catch up with the economies of the continent's south. Despite macroeconomic prosperity, data from the domestic market indicates structural problems. The budget deficit for 2025 amounted to over PLN 275 billion, mainly due to reforms in local government financing and a drastic drop in revenues from PIT in the central budget. The situation in microeconomics is also concerning – farmer-entrepreneurs are struggling with debts, and the average period of arrears in repaying obligations has exceeded 700 days. Additionally, the number of consumer bankruptcies has stabilized at a high level of over 21,000 annually, most severely affecting individuals aged 36 to 45, burdened with mortgage loans and family maintenance costs. „To był wyjątkowy rok. Pełen wyzwań. Dzięki zespołowej pracy byliśmy jednak w stanie osiągnąć rekordowe wyniki” (It was an exceptional year. Full of challenges. Thanks to teamwork, however, we were able to achieve record results) — President of PZU

Mentioned People

  • Donald Tusk — Prime Minister of Poland, who announced the country's economic success over Spain.
  • Bogdan Benczak — President of PZU, commenting on the group's record financial results for 2025.
  • Peter Bosek — CEO of Erste Group, responsible for the acquisition of Santander Bank Polska.
  • Elżbieta Czetwertyńska — President of Bank Handlowy, forecasting a decline in banking sector profits.
  • Waldemar Rogowski — Chief Analyst of the BIK Group, an expert on the credit market.