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Business

Poland brings back fuel price caps: petrol 1.39 zł a litre cheaper

Since 3 October, VAT on fuel has been cut from 23% to 8% and excise duty to the EU minimum. Petrol stations must keep to maximum prices.

Key facts

  • Maximum prices for 3–5 October: Pb95 petrol 6.73 zł, Pb98 7.59 zł and diesel 7.88 zł per litre.
  • According to Reflex, compared with average prices on 1 October, Pb95 is about 1.39 zł a litre cheaper, Pb98 1.37 zł and diesel 1.23 zł.
  • The energy minister sets the maximum prices in an official notice, based on wholesale prices and station costs.
  • LPG is not covered by the package.

What's next

  • The lower VAT and excise rates apply until 31 December 2026.
  • Fuel accounted for roughly half of September's 4.0% inflation, so cheaper fuel should bring it down.

Source: Reflex, e-petrol, Forsal, Do Rzeczy (2–4 Oct 2026)

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76% of Polish workers are not worried about losing their jobs

Most working Poles rate their company's situation as good and expect no change over the next year, according to the CBOS polling institute.

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Key facts

  • 58% rate the situation at their workplace as good (60% in August), while 10% rate it as bad.
  • 76% are not worried about losing their job, 18% have some concerns and 4% are seriously worried.
  • 61% think they could find work locally, while 29% say it would be difficult or impossible.

What's next

  • 67.5% expect no change at their company within a year, up 7 points from August. 15% expect improvement and 11.4% expect things to get worse.
  • The survey was carried out on 14–27 September 2026 among 956 people.

Source: CBOS, Bankier.pl (4 Oct 2026)

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Cramped but owned: 31% of Poles live in overcrowded homes

Polish homes are cheap to run but cramped and expensive to buy, according to a comparison of Eurostat data across the European Union.

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Key facts

  • 31% of Poles live in overcrowded housing, against an EU average of about 17%.
  • Poles have 1.2 rooms per person, compared with 1.7 in the EU.
  • 87% of Poles live in a home they own, and 75% have no mortgage, the fourth-highest share in the EU.
  • Only 4.1% of residents spend more than 40% of their income on housing, against 11.2% in Germany and 23.4% in Denmark.
  • Home prices rose by about 88% between Q1 2019 and Q1 2026, the fifth-fastest increase in the EU.

What it means

  • 51% of Poles aged 25–34 still live with their parents, the fourth-highest share in the EU.

Source: Eurostat, Bankier.pl (4 Oct 2026)