According to data from the Central Statistical Office quoted in a report by the Polish Economic Institute (PIE), in 2021, 23.3 thousand companies with foreign capital were operating in Poland, and the total value of capital invested in the Polish economy amounted to PLN 231.5 billion. This is 7.4 % more than in 2020,

According to the report, companies with foreign capital employed 2.11 million people in Poland, accounting for 14% of the total number of people working in the national economy in 2021. Enterprises with foreign capital are predominantly small companies, employing fewer than 49 people (80.1%). However, they include also large companies (over 250 employees). They are relatively few on the Polish market (7 % of the total), and account for 51% of foreign capital and 76.8 % of jobs in all companies with foreign capital.

Companies representing foreign capital mainly originate from EU countries – the Netherlands (18.1 %), Germany (18.8 %) and France (12 %). Among non-European countries, the most active are companies from South Korea, which ranks 7th in terms of capital employed (3.7 % share of total foreign capital), ahead of the UK in this year’s ranking.

By sectors, almost one in four foreign-owned businesses is engaged in motor vehicle trade and repair (24.8 %). This is followed by companies involved in manufacturing (19.9 %), which has the largest amount of foreign capital involved overall (36.8 %). More than half of the companies generate revenues from exports to third-country markets – most in manufacturing (31 %) and trade and repair of motor vehicles (28.3 %).

Arkadiusz Słomczyński