Poland is now among the world's 20 largest economies. How it happened
Published on: Sunday 15 March 2026
A generation ago, Poland rationed sugar and flour while its citizens were paid one-tenth what West Germans earned. It’s a historic leap from the post-Communist ruins of 1989-90 to European growth champion, which economists say has lessons on how to bring prosperity to ordinary people — and that the Trump administration says should be recognized by Poland's presence at a summit of the Group of 20 leading economies later this year. The transformation is reflected in people like Joanna Kowalska, an engineer from Poznan, a city of around 500,000 people midway between Berlin and Warsaw.