Areas of attraction

The Silesia voivodship was the most attractive region for foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2007, according to the Investment attractiveness of Polish voivodships and sub-regions 2007 report published by the Gdańsk Institute for Market Economics (IBnGR). Silesia was followed by the Dolnośląskie and Mazowieckie voivodships, while Lubelskie and Podlaskie sat at the bottom of the list. IBnGR's report was presented in December by the Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency.

"There is a variety of factors that foreign investors take into account when choosing a place to invest. Our report gives a general picture," said Tomasz Kalinowski, head of the IBnGR team which prepared the report.

The key factors presented in the report were human resources and labor costs, followed by the voivodships' efforts to attract investors, transport infrastructure, and the size of the local market and economic infrastructure. Social infrastructure and general security were also factors presented in the report.

Silesia ranked best in terms of HR and labor costs. It was also the leader in social infrastructure and came in second in economic infrastructure and in local market.

Although it held the top spot in both 2005 and 2006, Silesia may soon lose its position, especially since lower-ranked voivodships have increased their efforts to draw investors, Kalinowski said.

It will take a lot of time for the least attractive areas to climb to the very top, however.

"Do not expect me to say that voivodships like Kujawsko-Pomorskie will soon overtake Silesia," Kalinowski said, pointing to the gap between the least- and most-developed regions of Poland. This gap will not disappear in just a couple of years, Kalinowski added.

Attractiveness of voivodships in 2007

Voivodship      Overall indicator          Position in the value      2006 ranking

1.         Silesia  0.86     1

2.         Dolnośląskie    0.73     3

3.         Mazowieckie   0.61     2

4.         Małopolskie     0.31     4

5.         Wielkopolskie  0.30     5

6.         Łódzkie           0.09     7

7.         Pomorskie       0.03     6

8.         Zachodniopomorskie   0.03     8

9.         Opolskie          0.00     9

10.       Lubuskie          -0.06   10

11.       Kujawsko-Pomorskie  -0.31   11

12.       Podkarpackie  -0.35   13

13.       Warmińsko-Mazurskie -0.38   12

14.       Świętokrzyskie -0.55   14

15.       Lubelskie         -0.64   15

16.       Podlaskie         -0.69   16