New IMF data out.
I am living in the UK so know there are many Polish immigrants in the UK. While I have been to Poland, I still viewed Poland as the typical Eastern European country. But IMF data says it has higher GDP(PPP) than Spain.
Do Polish people actually feel you are now more developed than Spain? What industries are leading Poland to develop? I used to think Poland is relying on cheap labors, but not anymore?
https://i.redd.it/ojy3e02vpclg1.jpeg
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It is not….
GDP per Cápita Spain: 33.000€
GDP per Cápita Poland: 22.000€
And prices are basically the same nowadays.
That source that you are using is using 2026 salaries with 2021 prices.
Prices in Poland have doubled since 2021, so does not make sense at all, and it’s far from reality.
Ireland at #4 on this list. That is surprising.
Mostly because Spain’s population has massively increased over the last 5-10 years, primarily by Latin American immigrants, the vast majority of whom have very low productivity and return on investment.
Same reason why the UK has fallen so far behind on GDP per capita against countries like Netherlands and Germany which had less immigration.
Half of the component of GDP per capita is population. If your GDP grows by 20% in 5 years, that’s pretty good. But if your population grows by 20% in 5 years, that’s not very good. And GDP per capita remains the same.
Spain had 41 million people when Poland entered the EU in 2004. By 2020 it had 47 million. As of 2026 it has 50 million. In the same time frame, Polish population hasn’t really changed, floating around 38 million. Of course that means all growth is directly spread against the whole population for statistical purposes, while Spanish growth is spread against their new residents too.
6.1% of Spain’s entire population are post-2020 immigrants. Society has changed considerably. That means **Spain would need a GDP growth of 0.9% a year purely and only to keep GDP per capita stagnant.**
Anything under 1% growth a year, and they are basically poorer.
>While I have been to Poland
When was that exactly? Was it 5-7 or more years ago?
It is easy to compare a place when you visit it every few years. Then it is easy to notice the difference. However, when you live in that place, you should not see the changes. I would say that the country is changing so quickly that I myself find it difficult to keep up with some things. Very rapid economic growth, accompanied by rapid wage increases, is clearly visible. This year, economic growth will be 4% or more. Wage growth is expected to reach 6.5% in 2026, compared to around 8.5% in 2025.
The average gross salary in Poland is ~€2,100. In Spain, it is ~€2,300, but the cost of living is about 10-15% higher, so it works out to be similar. And as I can see from the data for Taiwan, it is ~€1,800.
Cheap labor from Poland is coming to an end.
I beg you to grow up and stop believing GDP has anything to do with how rich a country is and what is the standard of living.
Poland ain’t Eastern European my friend, but Central European.
It’s PPP, it’s not really richer. Still – Spanish cities are nicer, public services better, healthcare better as well.
Bro this is purchasing power
Why would being Taiwanese make you feel this way?
If you are talking about cheap labor, then the PPP index will not be good. International trade operates in nominal values, and large corporations settle accounts in the same way. Poles earn less than Spaniards, so they will be a cheaper labor force for American or German corporations. However, this era of cheap labor is coming to an end because Poland is getting rich quite quickly. The only chance I see to maintain this state of affairs is the reindustrialization of the EU and a break with globalism. Then, as one of the poorer EU countries, we have a chance to be a cheap labor force along with a few other countries. Without this, the model of a state based on cheap labor will disappear from the entire EU.
Someone from other part of the world :”oh how nice! It is good your and supprising that your country was able to develop so fast! Just look on those data”
People in Poland: “Reeeeee!”
Migrant here, lived in Spain and Poland, 4 years each. Same job, in Poland managed to achieve everything an adult expect to have. Poland is years ahead of Spain. It’s just some people have to much bias about it and some other are too proud to accept the decline of Spain.
It’s not. Not even remotely close.
This is not how it works, and even if it was the case GDP only measures the output in a certain year, accumulated wealth and investments are not part of it so you could have countries with a huge spike in GDP growth like Guyana but people have no wealth at all
It’s progressing in a steady pace already since the 90s. The starting point was just so low after communism but in general Poland for last years feels like a country on a European level, even though we’re still far from the richest.