In 2005, the Gross National Income per capita (GNI, Polish: PNB) in Poland, according to the data of the World Bank, amounted to around 7 thousand USD. According to this criterion, Poland is much poorer than Germany or France, where, according to the same source, GNI in 2005 reached 34 thousand USD - but still richer that Turkey (4.750 USD) or Russia (4.460 USD).

But the standard of life depends also on the purchasing power of the money earned. As prices on the Polish market are, in most cases, lower than in the Western Europe, the GNI or the GDP (the difference between these two indices is small) not has to be modified with the purchasing power parity, to give a better understanding of the standard of life in Poland as compared to other European countries. Such a correction reveals that the standard of life in Poland is 49% of the EU average (see Table 7.1)

For the last 10 years, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Poland has grown faster than in the EU. Also, the salaries were on the rise in recent years. The average monthly salary in 2002 amounted to PLN 1894. Until September 2005 it has increased to PLN 2347.

Savings are another indicator reflecting the standard of life. Even though they are much lower than in the most developed countries in the world, the sums are not insignificant, and they are growing rapidly: according to the Global Wealth 2004 report, published by Boston Consulting Group, the Poles have entrusted financial institutions with USD 98 billion. Just a year before, it had been only USD 84 billion.

Polish society is slowly becoming wealthier. This is represented by the changing structure of household expenditures. In 1990, 60 % of all the expenditures were related to food and clothing, while in 2004 they constituted only 1/3 of all spendings. The main field of increase in spendings were housing costs (together with energy), as well as transport, body care, healthcare, culture, sport, and leisure. The structure of the expenditures of an average Polish household is presented in the Table 7.2.

The wealth of Polish households is reflected in one more indicator - the industrial goods. According to the survey, the most widespread commodities were a TV set (less than 1.5 % did not own a TV set) and a fridge (3 % lacked this commodity). For the full list of commodities which were presented in the survey, please see Table 7.2.

In the years 2000 to 2005, there was an increase in the quantity of all these goods. As one can see, there is still a long way to go before all the needs are fully satisfied. Combined with the information about the increase in wealth among Polish citizens this is a clear indicator that Poland is a very attractive market for producers of many commodities.

Table 7.1
GDP per capita in PPS, EU25 = 100

Source: Eurostat

Table 7.2

Source: „Polityka” No. 2/2006, basing on data from CSO

Wykres 7.3.

Source: „Diagnoza Spoleczna” report 2005