The purchasing power of an average Polish citizen amounts to PLN 20,583
Warsaw, 12 January 20010
GfK Institute conducts an annual analysis of consumers’ purchasing power. The GfK Purchasing Power Index, which defines the total value of goods and services which can be purchased annually by the population of a given area, is based on the macroeconomic data and GfK research.
GfK purchasing power data are calculated for nearly all European countries, and the purchasing power of an average European amounts to EUR 11,699 – such an amount can be spent on the purchase of goods and services within one year. With the average purchasing power of EUR 4,650 (39.7 per cent of the European average), Poles rank 29 in the ranking of European consumers’ affluence. The following table illustrates the differences in the purchasing potential.
In Poland, only the citizens of 15 out of 379 counties achieve the purchasing power amounting to 50 per cent of the European average (over EUR 5,849 within one year). They are the citizens of the largest Polish cities, the Tri-City (Gdańsk, Sopot, Gdynia), the counties located in the West of Poland, as well as the cities of Płock and Lublin. The most affluent consumers live in the capital, where an average citizen can spend EUR 7,786 within one year (PLN 34,467) amounting to 66.7 per cent of the European average and 167 per cent of the Polish average.
The lowest purchasing power is recorded in Brzozowskie County and Podkarpackie Voivodship, where an average citizen can spend EUR 3,012 (PLN 13,331) amounting to only 26 per cent of the purchasing power of an average European.
At the end of 2009, we recorded a slight decline (by 1.5 per cent) in the affluence of an average Polish consumer in comparison to the previous year. This means that all Polish consumers can spend PLN 11.7 less within one year.
The world financial crisis had a clearly negative impact on the situation and, to some degree, affected the Polish consumers – the number of the registered unemployed person grew from 1.47 million in 2008 to 1.71 million in the first 11 months of 2009, with the unemployment rate rising from 9.5 per cent in 2008 to nearly 11 per cent in 2009. The real income growth stagnated especially in the enterprise sector (0.7 per cent from January to November 2009). It has to be noted that the demographic changes taking place in Poland also influenced the Poles’ purchasing power. Similarly to 2008, the natural growth rate remained positive in 2009 (ca. 1 per cent), which means that the percentage of Poles at the pre-productive age increased and reduced the value of the purchasing power per citizen.
This year, the economic potential of an average citizen of Poland amounts to PLN 20,583. This money is spent on the necessary living expenses, products of everyday use, pleasure purchases and investments.
This year, 81 counties have the purchasing power higher than the national average, which is 10 counties fewer than in 2009. The crisis had a negative impact in the citizens of the cities of Suwałki, Mysłowice, Bytom, Piotrków Trybunalski and Łomża, as well as Augustowski, Cieszyński, Słubicki, Żywiecki and Pszczyński counties. The most counties with a high purchasing power are located in Mazowieckie, Śląskie, Pomorskie and Dolnośląskie voivodships.
About GfK Polonia
GfK Polonia is ranked No. 3 among Polish market research agencies. In 2008, it had a turnover of PLN 65.1 million (in 2007: 61.6 million). It employs 167 people.
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