This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at St. Andrews chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.
Picture Poland as a quiet girl sitting in the back of a classroom made up of European countries. Years pass, and quiet is how everyone knows her. Until one day, she walks into class and something has changed. She sits down in the front row. Yes… something’s definitely different about her… what is it?.. maybe… no way… But it’s possible…. Could it be….the glow of her GDP?
So yes, in class that day, Poland’s GDP shakes up Europe. And Poland finally gets to have her main character moment in the European economy. And I’m here to tell you all about it.
As a Polish person myself, growing up in the UK, my upbringing was vastly different from my parents as they would often recall their most formative years being spent living in a communist country with none of the glitz and glamour that these Western countries possessed. Therefore, I spent most of my life being thankful for my parents’ decision to move away, despite it causing emotional torment and separation from my family.
However, over the recent years, the glitz and glamour of the West have caught up with it, as I’ve watched the UK’s rapid decline unfold after the Covid-19 recession and everyone’s favorite political decision, Brexit. I got to thinking, how has Poland become such an Icon?
In 1989, with the fall of the Berlin Wall. Poland entered the economic runway. She was damaged – incredibly damaged – with detrimental losses during WW2, shortly after being invaded by the communist regime; she had no time to mend her wounds. Raul Sanchez Costa, writing for El País, interviewed a Polish car dealership worker about his recollection of those difficult times, as he states: “We were coming out of a regime as a poor country, so we had a lot to recover, but now the country offers opportunities that, just a decade ago, were only seen in Western Europe.”
This is backed up by Jan Macaeck, who states, “Poland has maintained a high and sustainable growth trajectory, with its GDP having grown 220% in real terms since 1989.” However, it can be argued that poorer countries’ economies tend to grow faster. But Macaek notes, “Polish economic growth has been uninterrupted for decades, which is not historically typical for any market economy.”
According to the IMF, Poland’s economy grew around 2.8% last year and could reach 3.5% over the next two years. This boom in growth is particularly amazing when the whole of Europe, dare I say, the world, is falling apart. Especially considering her neighbors who are at War (Ukraine and Russia) and the fact that one of Europe’s most influential EU countries, Germany, is on the brink of a recession, showing that Poland is just built differently, she’s the it-girl of our time.
I’m sure if you’re frolicking the streets of St Andrews, you’ve noticed the imposing price of a cup of coffee. Long gone are the days when a latte would cost less than five pounds – that’s inflation for you. Well, Poland is one of the few EU countries that has managed to avoid a significant financial crisis that would later prompt inflation to rise, such as the 2008 recession and the aftermath of the CoronaVirus outbreak. In fact, Poland has managed to stabilize inflation at 2.7% and to top it all off, in July of 2025, wages have risen to 7.6% which in turn allows more people to be able to afford the glitz and the glamour of shopping, vacationing, and all in all, spending money throughout Poland.
The IMF states that Poland will rank 20th among the world’s largest economies, with a GDP of $980 billion, and the 5th-largest EU economy. However, this growth does not just come from nothing: Miss Polonia has been a total Boss by investing the EU’s money in all the right places, like infrastructure—the Warsaw Skyline is a testament to this—and agriculture. Furthermore, the Polish Government has made significant changes to taxes and social policies to ensure that all 36.55 million people can dip their toes into Poland’s economic success.
Warsaw, the capital city, has become a technology hotspot for many companies. It’s as if Silicon Valley merged with central Europe. Warsaw is now home to over 3,000 tech start-ups, and companies like Google, Apple, and Microsoft all have major R&D or cloud centers there. Oh, and I can’t forget to mention that Global Venture funds are also looking to take a piece of Warsaw’s cake. With now 400,00 people employed in the Polish IT force, which is still ever-expanding. So if you’re looking for a good place to get a job in Europe… you now know where to go.
Poland’s economic story is basically like a real-life makeover. She went from communist grey apartment blocks to glass skyscrapers in less than 40 years. The Glow-Up is unreal. So next time, when you think of European powerhouse countries/cities, don’t think of Paris, London, or Berlin. Think of Warsaw—the girl who entered the party late but is now running it. And let this be a testimony to yourself as well, if you think you can’t begin again.. Well, you’re wrong.
