Poland  

Polish workers benefit from access to a comparatively large amount of physical capital, such as offices, factories, and machinery, ranking the country 39th on this variable. Unemployment ranks in the bottom third, but an inflation rate of only 2% implies a moderately stable economy. Both net interest margins and the percentage of non-performing loans are around the international average, ranking the country 49th and 51st respectively. A healthy level of household expenditure, at 26% of GDP, provides a large domestic market for Polish firms to sell into. Lower than average domestic saving rates place Poland 57th, internationally, but levels of investment are buoyed by the injection of foreign direct investment, which is above average at 39th. Reliance on the export of raw materials is low, ranking the country in the top quarter of the international community for this measure, and export revenues are relatively high compared to the price of imported goods, ranking the country 30th worldwide.

With an average of 10 formal procedures as barriers to entry for new business start up, Poland ranks near the global average, with over 26,000 new businesses registered in 2007. However, the level of internet infrastructure as measured by bandwidth and secure internet servers per million capita is very high, with Poland ranking the country just inside the top third, internationally, on both these indexes. The number of personal computers available is also above the international average, with one for every six people. ICT accounts for over 5% of total goods exports, ranking the country 29th, internationally. However, levels of high-tech exports still fall below the global average, ranking the country 65th on this variable. Value added in the service industry stands at 64% of GDP and R&D expenditure is the 22nd highest, internationally, with royalty receipts also high, ranking Poland above the global average. All of these variables indicate strong commercialisation of innovation.

In Poland, civil and political rights are heavily protected. Political constraints provide the opportunity to veto legislation at multiple levels, making it difficult for political leaders to enforce arbitrary decisions, or to change laws based on personal preference; the stringency and potential effectiveness of these measures ranks the country 41st. Multiple parties compete in free and fair elections, at both executive and legislative levels, and as the judiciary is independent from the rest of the government, it is difficult for other branches to interfere with legal processes. With less than 20 years since the last regime change, Poland’s political system ranks 56th on this variable of stability.

With 96% of primary school age children enrolled in an educational establishment, Poland ranks 33rd on this variable. The ratio of teachers to pupils for this age range is one to 11, an extremely low number comparatively, ranking Poland 11th, internationally. Secondary enrolment is 100%, while tertiary enrolment rates of 66% rank in the top 20. There is near gender equality with 99 girls for every 100 boys at the primary and secondary levels. The typical Polish worker benefits from only average levels of secondary schooling, ranking the country 53rd, internationally, but extremely high levels of tertiary schooling per worker place Poland in the top quintile on this variable. Educational expenditure is also above average at more than $4,500 per student.

Health-adjusted life expectancy in Poland is 66 years, ranking the country 33rd, globally. However, only three-quarters of respondents were satisfied with their state of health, less than two-thirds felt well rested, and 29% reported health problems, ranking in the bottom 15, internationally.* Conversely, only 18% of people said that they had been in pain the day before.* Despite 98% having access to sanitation facilities, only 71% indicated satisfaction with the water quality.* The availability of two doctors and nurses per 1,000 capita is higher than the international average, and Poland ranks in the top third for the number of hospital beds with 52 beds, per 10,000 people. Only 3% of the population are undernourished, and only six instances of infant death occur from every 1,000 births, both very low figures, globally.

Poland faces a relatively small threat to its national security from the internal displacement of refugees, social groups with a history of discrimination, and government-sponsored violence and political imprisonment of citizens, as all of these indexes rank in the top third worldwide. Human flight, or voluntary emigration from undesirable conditions, presents a much greater threat, ranking Poland 58th. Contrastingly, personal security is comparatively high; this is reflected in the low occurrences of physical violence, with only 4% of respondents reporting assaults or muggings in 2008, and less than two homicides per 100,000 people in 2007.* In addition, only 9% of respondents reported theft in 2008.* Despite this, a relatively low proportion of people indicated they felt safe walking alone at night, ranking 41st on this variable.*

Rule of law is enforced fairly and equally in Poland, earning a rank of 42 on this measure. Only 40% of Poles have confidence in their judicial system, ranking 68th, internationally. Still, the quality of economic and commercial regulation ranks in the top third in this category, and the Polish civil service is more effective when imposing legislative changes than the international average. Nonetheless, despite political participation being classified as free and fair, just over half of Poles have confidence in electoral honesty, ranking Poland 44th on this variable.* A very high proportion of citizens believe that local businesses and government are corrupt, ranking in the bottom 15 on both these indexes.* This lack of confidence does not apply to all state institutions as almost four-fifths of Poles have confidence in their military.*

Polish citizens have very high levels of freedom to practise their religious beliefs, speak freely without fear of government censorship, and travel freely within and out of their own country. Consequently, 79% of Poles are satisfied with their freedom of choice, ranking the country 39th, internationally, for this variable.* Tolerance of both ethnic minorities and immigrants is well below average with around 58% believing that Poland was a good place for such people to live.*

Only 19% of Poles believe that they can trust strangers, suggesting a low level of general social capital. This is further evidenced by low levels of charitable giving and volunteering, placing the nation 42nd and 89th in the international rankings, respectively.* Furthermore, just over one-third of respondents reported helping a stranger in the previous month.* Evidence of familial social capital is much stronger as Poles believe that friends are moderately important, placing them 41st, and a very high 92% believe they can rely on friends and family in times of need.* On the self-assessed religiosity scale, Poles estimated that religion was a fairly important part of their daily lives, ranking the country around the international average on this variable and indicating moderate access to religious support networks.*

* Data taken from the Gallup World Poll

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