page_title: Poznań
section_title: Economy
hierarchical_section_title: Poznań / Economy
caption_attribution_description: Stary Browar in Poznań, interior
context_page_description: Poznań is a city on the Warta River in west-central Poland, in the Greater Poland region. It is best known for its renaissance Old Town and Ostrów Tumski Cathedral. Today, Poznań is an important cultural and business centre and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's Fair, traditional Saint Martin's croissants and a local dialect.
  Poznań is the fifth-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. The city's population is 538,633, while the continuous conurbation with Poznań County and several other communities is inhabited by almost 1.1 million people. The Larger Poznań Metropolitan Area is inhabited by 1.3–1.4 million people and extends to such satellite towns as Nowy Tomyśl, Gniezno and Września, making it the fourth largest metropolitan area in Poland. It is the historical capital of the Greater Poland region and is currently the administrative capital of the province called Greater Poland Voivodeship.
  Poznań is a center of trade, sports, education, technology and tourism. It is an important academic site, with about 130,000 students and Adam Mickiewicz University, the third largest Polish university.
context_section_description: Poznań has been an important trade centre since the Middle Ages. Starting in the 19th century, local heavy industry began to grow. Several major factories were built, including the Hipolit Cegielski steel mill and railway factory (see H. Cegielski - Poznań S.A.).
  Nowadays Poznań is one of the major trade centres in Poland. Poznań is regarded as the second most prosperous city in Poland after Warsaw. The city of Poznań produced PLN 31.8 billion of Poland's gross domestic product in 2006. It boasts a GDP per capita of 200.4% (2008) of Poland's average. Furthermore, Poznań had very low unemployment rate of 2.3% as of May 2009. For comparison, Poland's national unemployment rate was over 10%.
  Many Western European companies have established their Polish headquarters in Poznań or in the nearby towns of Tarnowo Podgórne and Swarzędz. Most foreign investors are German and Dutch companies, with a few others. The best known examples of corporation who have their headquarters in Poznań and the surrounding areas are that of GlaxoSmithKline, Raben Group (near Kórnik) and Kuehne + Nagel (near Gądki).
  Investors are mostly from the food processing, furniture, automotive and transport and logistics industries. Foreign companies are primarily attracted by low labour costs and by the relatively good road and railway network, good vocational skills of workers and relatively liberal employment laws.
  The recently built Stary Browar shopping centre contains many high-end shops and is considered one of the best in Europe. It has won an award for the best shopping centre in the world in the medium-sized commercial buildings category. Other notable shopping centres in the city include Galeria Malta, one of the largest in Central Europe, and the shops at the Hotel Bazar, a historical hotel and commercial centre in the Old Town.
  Some of the best-known major corporations founded and still based in Poznań and the city's metropolitan area include Allegro, Poland's biggest online auction site, H. Cegielski-Poznań SA, a historic manufacturer, Solaris Bus & Coach, a modern bus and coach maker based in Bolechowo and Enea S.A., one of the country's biggest energy firms. Poznań is also where the software development leader Netguru was founded, one of the fastest growing companies in Europe. Kompania Piwowarska based in Poznań produces some of Poland's best known beers, and includes not only the local Lech Brewery but also Tyskie from Tychy and Dojlidy Brewery from Białystok among many others.
caption: Stary Browar (Old Brewery) in Poznań
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