FDI & Nearshoring to Poland, 2026

Foreign direct investment into Poland is best read through official balance-of-payments data rather than headline project announcements. According to the National Bank of Poland, the stock of foreign direct investment in Poland reached PLN 1.51 tn at the end of 2025, while net FDI inflow for the year was PLN 65.5 bn. The central bank records these flows under the directional principle, and reinvested earnings make up a large part of the annual figure. That pattern indicates that existing investors are retaining and expanding capital in Poland; it is not a measure of gross announced investment.

Global context

UNCTAD estimates global FDI flows in 2025 at USD 1.6 trillion (+6%). This indicator does not describe flows into Poland, but it frames the competitive environment: capital is selective, and location decisions increasingly weigh supply-chain resilience, regulatory alignment and proximity to end markets alongside cost.

Macroeconomic setting

The European Commission's Spring 2026 forecast projects real GDP growth of 3.5% for Poland in 2026 and an unemployment rate of 3.1%. These are forecasts rather than outcomes and should be checked against later editions before they enter an investment case.

Trade integration

Polish goods exports reached €368.6 bn in 2025 according to final Statistics Poland data, and EU markets took 75.1% of goods exports in January–June 2026. Both indicators cover goods only. For nearshoring, the practical implication is integration: production and distribution in Poland already sit inside EU value chains and the EU customs union.

Where foreign capital sits

Manufacturing held an FDI stock of PLN 415.3 bn at the end of 2025. Financial and insurance activities (PLN 231.9 bn) and professional, scientific and technical activities (PLN 165.9 bn) show that the foreign-owned base extends well beyond production.

Talent and services

ABSL counts 500,500 professionals in business services centres in Poland in early 2026; the figure covers business services centres only, not the wider labour market. Statistics Poland records 1,322,800 students in higher education in the current academic year, which supports recruitment pipelines across engineering, finance and digital roles.

Sovereign profile

The Ministry of Finance lists Poland's long-term foreign-currency ratings as A- at Fitch (negative outlook), A3 at Moody's (stable outlook) and A- at S&P (stable outlook). Ratings change and should be re-checked before they are relied on.

Reading the evidence

National indicators set the context, but nearshoring decisions are made at the level of a location, a talent pool and an incentive decision. Investors should validate labour availability, site readiness, grid connection and eligibility for support for each shortlisted location before committing capital.

How Poland FDI can help

Poland FDI helps foreign companies test these indicators against a specific project, location shortlist and timeline. Assess your Poland readiness or contact our team.