WIIW forecasts 2.5% GDP growth in Poland in 2010

2010-03-07



The Polish economy will expand by 2.5% in 2010, easily the fastest growth rate among the 10 new EU member states from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), according to the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (WIIW). In its latest report the think-thank forecasts that GDP growth in Poland will pick up to 3% in 2011 and to 3.4% in 2012.
Just three other countries in the region are projected to achieve positive growth this year, all of them of 1%: the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia. In 2011 all the 10 economies are expected to be in positive territory, but none will grow faster than 3%, the WIIF reckons. In 2012, Slovakia, Estonia and Romania are to enjoy 4% growth, and three other countries – Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and Hungary – are also to achieve (slightly) faster growth than Poland (3.5%).
In general, the think-tank concludes that although the crisis in the CEE region is over, serious problems remain, especially high unemployment, which will only start falling in 2011. Furthermore, the problems afflicting Greece may force some CEE countries to abandon plans of swift euro adoption.