With an average GDP growth of 4% since it joined the European Union, Poland has proved to be a no less valuable EU locomotive than Germany. Having the 7th biggest economy in the EU, the country is continuing its way towards the top-3. But will that ever happen? And if that’s bound to happen, what are the factors to boost the growth?
On one hand, who really contributes to the prolonged yet largely underestimated Polish economic blast is the workfolk from nearby Ukraine, Belorussia, and Georgia; on the other – the whopping rate of growth may be hampered by an ongoing trend with a minus sign – aging of the population. Let’s try to figure out which one will get the upper hand.
Aging vs. Generation Z
Confirming the global tendency, the median age of 40.1 years has doubled since 1955. Poland looks phenomenal for immigrants from poorer European counties, but will that be enough to make up for a decreasing birth rate and feed the aging population? Possibly yes, but only if Poland will remain appealing to nearby states, which for sure is more possible if the country manages to keep its mesmerizing growth rates.
Sounds like it’s looped, huh? Additional workers boost the GDP and saturate the market, which in turn looks, even more, inviting for the next wave of floaters.
Customer behavior is changing as fast as the informational space. No doubt, that is generation Z born in after 1994 that has already started to shape the Polish economy and will continue polishing it for a few more decades. Born in the digital age, those youngsters literally live online, digitalizing everything that can be digitalized, and the competitiveness of the market rather drives them than scares away.
Ultra-Right Manifests and Church Oddities
It’s hard to believe that the EU growth champion is also a home for some unexplainable cultural phenomena like burning world-known books by Catholic priests who claimed them to be sacrilegious, or annual Polish far-right groups’ rallies of racist and xenophobic slogans. It seems like those things became possible partially due to the reluctance of the Polish government to take firm measures instead of populist.
Indeed, Polish authorities are not always successful in adopting rules and regulations. Take, for example, the gambling industry: illegal games are alive and kicking, and even with a new Act regulating online gambling in Poland came into force in 2017 it’s not guaranteed to get any better.
Video Games to Change the Game
Poland is the 4th largest video game exporter after Japan, Hong Kong, and China: the export of video games and consoles soared by unimaginable 38 times since 2013. To a large extent, the secret of that success is The Witcher action role-playing game based on the eponymous novel series by Andrzej Sapkowski.
While the world thanks Poland for The Witcher, Netflix is preparing to release the same-named fantasy drama series. But here’s the thing: when deciding on what to stick to, the filming company has naturally chosen the book, not the game, but that is the latter that has sold more than 20 million copies worldwide and is one of the most popular video games ever made.
Looks like Netflix made a mistake with its trailer and could have achieved more if it had adopted game features at the expense of the original book storyline.
To Wrap it Up: Society is the Key
There’s no slightest doubt in the fact that the Polish success is achieved by the personalities who are willing to change their lives and the lives of their peers for the better.
Having a faster economic growth than most G-7 members, Poland has all the chances to strengthen its positions in the years to come by continuing the policy of endorsing young, vigorous, energetic people to build the country’s informational and economic space.
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