Poland welcomed its highest recorded year for FDI since 2008, with fDi Markets recording a total of 335 projects into the country in 2017.

With 387 projects, 2008 has been the most successful year to date. Yet, 2009 noticed a significant drop in FDI, with a 45.99% decrease, while total jobs created in Poland more than halved, suffering a 51.39% decline. However, FDI into the country has witnessed a sharp rise in projects from 2015, with an increase of 36% between 2015 and 2016.

In 2017, investments into Poland continued to climb, with a 23.16% increase from the previous year. Equally, jobs creation and capital expenditure into Poland experienced a considerable growth between 2016 and 2017, with an incline of 52.08% and 48.03% respectively. 

Real estate dominates 

Between 2015 and 2017, the US and Germany were the leading source countries, assuming 21.06% and 14.74% of total projects into Poland respectively. During the same period, real estate took a clear lead as the predominate sector, with 109 of 807 total projects falling into this category.

In total, 40.49% of 121 projects citing motives for FDI into Poland accredited the investment to the skilled workforce availability in the country. Thirty-one out of 121 motives were attributed to proximity to markets and customers.

Real estate remained the leading sector in 2017, securing 20.59% of total FDI into Poland. However, the motives and determinants for investment slightly shifted focus. In 2017, proximity to markets and customers came out on top, with 33.9% of 53 projects citing this as the motive for investment.

US-based real estate developer Panattoni was the key investing company in 2017, with 17 out of 335 total investment projects. Thus, Poland’s influx of FDI can largely be attributed to its central European location, making it an attractive investment destination for both European and non-European investors alike.