WARSAW: Real-GDP growth in Poland will continue at a strong and steady pace of 3.5 percent in both 2016 and 2017, the European Commission forecast in a report published on Thursday.
The figures greatly exceed the growth expected for the European Union as a whole, projected at 1.9 percent and 2.0 percent respectively in 2016 and 2017. Meanwhile, GDP in the 19 countries of the Eurozone is expected to grow by 1.7 percent this year, accelerating slightly to 1.9 percent in 2017.
This year, Poland is expected to see the fifth fastest growth in the European Union, following Ireland (4.5 percent), Romania (4.2 percent), Malta (3.9 percent) and Luxembourg (3.8 percent). “Poland is the only country for which forecast accuracy improved in recent years for both horizons,” read the EC’s European Winter Economic Forecast. “Economic growth in Poland is expected to remain robust and stable, driven by domestic demand.
Private consumption is expected to benefit from a strong labour market and a fiscal stimulus but price pressures are set to remain subdued. The government deficit is projected to remain just below three percent of GDP in 2016 but may exceed it in 2017, unless additional measures are taken,” the report read.
