The Religious Consultation
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Deutsche Presse-Agentur, May 18, 2005 Poland facing
population decline, German office says
DATELINE: Wiesbaden, Germany Poland, a growing economic partner on Germany's eastern border, is facing a decline in population brought on by a low birth rate and emigration, Germany's Federal Statistics Office said Wednesday. In a comparative statistics report on the two countries as part of the recently launched "Germany-Poland Year" activities, the office noted that Poland's population, at 38.2 million, was less than half of Germany's 82.5 million. "On this and the other side of the River Oder, the birth rate is low, with the number of the population tending to stagnate or go down, but the underlying developments differ," the office said of the two neighbours. "While in Germany the birth deficit is almost offset by immigration at the time being, the declining number of births in Poland is accompanied by emigration," it added. The office said that economic conditions are fuelling emigration. Unemployment in Poland averaged 18.8 per cent in 2004, nearly double Germany's 9.5 per cent. Poland's economic situation has been influenced by political changes in eastern Europe and by the country's entry into the European Union in 2004, the office said. It said there were "two sides" to the Polish economy. On the one hand, it has grown stronger in recent years, rising 5.3 per cent in 2004 and projected by the E.U. Commission to grow 4.4 per cent this year. Both are well above Germany's 1.6 per cent growth last year and the projected 0.8 per cent for 2005, the report noted. But on the other hand, there is the high unemployment, which is particularly strong among the younger population. Whereas in Germany the jobless rate is 15.2 per cent for people below 25 years, in Poland the rate is 39.5 per cent. Also, Poland's budget deficit last year was 4.8 per cent, compared with Germany's 3.6 per cent. Poland's per-capita gross domestic product is 47 per cent of the E.U. average, while Germany's is 109 per cent, the report noted. The statistics office said the Polish economy also faces structural problems. Among others, there is still a relatively high portion of the population - 18 per cent - in agriculture, while there was uneven development between Poland's rural and urban regions. In the foreign trade sector, Germany and Poland have become important partners, the office said. In 2004, Germany was Poland's largest supplier of products, worth 18.8 billion euros (23.7 billion dollars). At the same time, Germany imported 15.9 billion euros' worth of Polish goods making it Poland's single largest export market. But overall, the two countries differ in their foreign trade structures. Whereas Germany is an exporting nation which runs a trade surplus - 156 billion euros in 2004 - Poland's is a net importer, with its trade deficit last year reaching 11.5 billion euros. dpa ds pb << Deutsche Presse-Agentur -- 05/18/05
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