In an article published by The Telegraph on 9 October entitled “How Poland is vying to steal Germany’s crown as the industrial heartland of Europe, ” redactor Matt Oliver explains how Central Europe’s economic power dynamic is shifting. 

Germany is known around the globe for its strong economic, industrial, and manufacturing might. However, as The Telegraph notes, Poland is quickly catching up with its western neighbour in all these fields. 

The British news outlet stresses that output per person in Poland has surged by 85% in the past decade. “That compares with a rise of just 46% in Germany and 55% on average across the EU during the same period” – we read in the article mentioned above.

The Telegraph also emphasises the key role that industry has played in Poland’s growth, especially since the early 1990s thanks to “its skilled and technically educated workforce” which made it “an attractive place for a range of industries, particularly because of […] lower wage costs”.

Similarly to its Central European neighbours such as Slovakia, Hungary or Romania, Poland was long perceived as a sort of economic hinterland of Berlin. As Matt Oliver rightly notices, Poland was an essential pillar of the German automotive supply chain, which still counts for about 10% of Germany’s manufacturing output. 

Another important element of Poland’s significant growth in the last few years is high-value items. The Telegraph underlines that in 2022, Poland overtook the USA as the world’s second-largest battery manufacturer, with a yearly output twice as large as that of Germany.

Interestingly, Poland’s economy is striving at a breathtaking China-like pace while in the meantime, Europe’s industrial giant – Germany, is starting to decline. As Matt Oliver’s article explains, this tendency is particularly visible in the area of new transport infrastructure. When it comes to this aspect of the race between the two neighbouring states, we learn that in the decade between 2011 and 2021, Poland built more than the double length of motorways in Germany (429 miles against 193) despite Poland “starting from a vastly smaller base”.

Image: Eurometal

Author: Sébastien Meuwissen