POMORSKIE VOIVODSHIP - Economy
Industry, transport, agriculture and tourism play major roles in the structure of the economy. However, businesses connected with the maritime economy determine the character of the region's overall economy.
The share of Pomorskie Voivodship in gross domestic product generated in 2000 amounted to 5.7%. GDP calculated per capita was 0.6% higher than the national average (ranking the region 5th in the country following Mazowieckie, Slaskie, Wielkopolskie and Dolnoslaskie voivodships).
The largest shares in the creation of gross value added according to kinds of activity were market services (49.0%) as well as industry and construction (34.8%), with agriculture noting the smallest share (2.6%). Market and non-market services created more than half of the voivodship's gross value added (i.e., 62.5%). Labour productivity, measured by gross value added per employed person, was higher than average in the country.
In 2000, the Gdansk-Gdynia-Sopot subregion had the largest share in the creation of GDP (51.8%). The value of GDP calculated per capita in this subregion was more than 50% higher than the average in the voivodship. This area also leads the voivodship in terms of the level of achieved labour productivity. Gross value added calculated per employed person was 23.3% higher than the average in the voivodship.
The voivodship's share in investment outlays has been increasingly lower in recent years (amounting to 4.9% in 2001). Investment outlays borne in industry (28%), real estate and business activity (18%) as well as trade and repairs (13%) dominate.
The high degree of economic activity of the population, particularly in the sphere of market services, is a characteristic feature of the region. In 2001, there were 956 entities per 10 thousand population. Legal persons and organisational entities without legal personality accounted for 6.8% of their total number in the country, and registered natural persons conducting economic activity - 6.2%. The voivodship ranked 6th in the country in terms of the number of companies with foreign capital participation.
Industry in Pomorskie Voivodship generated 6% of domestic sold production. The value of production has grown in recent years and, calculated per capita, was 4% higher than the national average (ranking the region 4th in the country).
The manufacture of petroleum products and derivatives, manufacture of food products and beverages as well as the manufacture of other transport equipment had a substantial share in the value of sold production of industry. However, these are capital consuming industries and many of the enterprises require fundamental restructuring. The manufacture of metal products, manufacture of machinery and equipment, manufacture of rubber and plastic products, chemical products, wood and wood products, paper and paperboard has an increasingly greater significance.
Investment outlays on research and development activity per capita are considerably lower than the national average and fluctuate each year between 70-80% of the national average.
Due to its seaside location, the maritime economy has always played a key role in the voivodship. The voivodship has two major seaports, located in Gdansk and Gdynia, as well as two smaller ports, located in Ustka and Wladyslawowo. The port in Gdansk is an industrial-port complex and serves as a maritime-river port complex. It has excellent technical facilities (competitive location in the portion of the Baltic that does not freeze over, deepwater docks for vessels with a submersion of up to 15 m, which allows the largest ships sailing the Baltic to dock at the port. As a result, Gdansk ranks first among Polish ports in terms of the volume of trans-shipped cargo. The port in Gdynia is newer, built during the inter-war period, and a continually modernised universal port for general and container trans-shipments. It also serves as a specialised seaport for coal and ores as well as a passenger-tourist port.
A drastic decline in the volume of maritime transports of goods has been noted in recent years (60% in comparison with 1995). In 2001, maritime transports of goods accounted for 7.6% of domestic transports, against 16.4% in 1995. Somewhat more than 55% of the transports of goods in seaports in Poland occurred at the commercial ports in Gdansk and Gdynia. In the structure of goods loaded and unloaded, coal and coke as well as petroleum and petroleum products dominate. The presence of manufacturing plants in the Pomorskie Voivodship is due to ties of their production process with maritime transport. The shipbuilding industry has developed in the port-industry complexes in Gdansk and Gdynia. Regardless of the economic situation on world markets, the voivodship maintains a strong position in the field of building and renovating ships. In 2001, 72.4% of the vessels manufactured by all Polish shipyards originated from shipyards in the Pomorskie Voivodship.
The role of sea fishing in the voivodship's economy has declined in recent years due to the shrinking fishing fleet and declining natural resources. The region possesses the appropriate research and development base for the maritime economy sector, including: Gdansk Polytechnic, Maritime Academy in Gdynia, Ship Technology Centre in Gdansk, Institute of Industrial Machinery of the Polish Academy of Sciences as well as Marine Fishing Institute in Gdynia.
In 2001, agricultural land accounted for 49.6% of the voivodship's total area. The largest homogenous area of agricultural land is located in the eastern portion of the voivodship. This is also the area in which the most fertile soils as well as highest degree of woodiness occurs in the voivodship.
The private sector owned 89.6% of agricultural land in the region. The average size farm was 14.4 ha, including 12.5 ha of agricultural land.
In the structure of crops, basic cereals predominated (63.5%), among which the largest acreage was planted in wheat and rye. Sown areas of rape and agrimony accounted for 7.8% of the domestic sown areas of these crops. Yields of the main crops were lower than the national averages.
A decline in stocks of farm animals has been observed for several years. In 2001, the cattle stock per 100 ha of agricultural land in the voivodship was 22.8% lower than the national average. In animal output, the production of pigs for slaughter as well as milk dominated. The agricultural character of the region encourages the development of the agricultural foodstuff industry. The natural conditions and the relatively limited use of artificial fertilisers provide an opportunity for the development of higher quality foodstuff production, particularly in areas with long traditions of fruit and vegetable farming (e.g., Kashubia).
In 2001, Pomorskie Voivodship generated 3.6% of domestic gross agricultural output and the same percentage of market agricultural output.
The region possesses convenient domestic and international transportation links. A passenger airport is located in Gdansk-Rebiechowo, servicing both domestic and international traffic. This is the second largest airport in Poland after Warsaw's Okecie and also serves as a backup airport for the capital. Gdansk currently has direct air links with Hamburg, Frankfurt and Copenhagen. Ferries link the voivodship with Scandinavian countries.
In 2001, the length of hard surface public roads totalled 11.2 thousand km, of which 90.6% were roads with an improved surface. The density of the road network in the voivodship was lower than the national average (61.3 km per 100 km2). Delays in building the network of motorways, particularly the Pomorskie section of the A1 motorway, have resulted in the transit capacity of the voivodship becoming a factor lowering the competitiveness of the Pomorskie Voivodship relative to other regions of the country and delaying development processes. An important shortcoming is the lack of ring roads around the majority of cities in the voivodship, which could direct transit traffic around urbanised areas.
Tourism is an important branch of the economy of the Pomorskie Voivodship. The majority of tourist accommodation establishments is located in coastal areas and has a mainly seasonal character. The voivodship ranks 2nd in the country in terms of the number of beds in collective tourist accommodation establishments (94 thousand beds), and 5th in terms of the number of tourists accommodated (1.2 million). Agrotourism, comprising recreational activities on farms as well as private homes and rooms rented in areas characterised by a scenic landscape, is noting significant development. The voivodship's seaside location creates a natural recreational base with an exceptional microclimate. Health resorts in Ustka and Sopot provide treatment and rehabilitation services based on rich deposits of therapeutic waters.
The borders of the Kashubian Coastland, the central portion of the Kashubian Lake District, and the western area of the Tucholskie Forest offer the greatest recreational-tourism potential.
The seaside area promoted as the Amber Coast, in which the ports, marinas and seaside resorts are located, is a tourist asset of Pomorskie Voivodship. The sandy beaches running along the entire coast are a huge tourist attraction. Bicycling plays a large role in the region. Three international bicycle trails, Hanseatic Bicycle Trail, Amber Bicycle Trail and the R1 Euro-route Trail, traverse areas of the voivodship.
Products associated with cultural traditions, such as handicrafts and souvenirs, as well as amber, particularly characteristic for the region, in all its forms - from raw material extraction through processing to jewellery, cosmetics and foodstuffs - are an important tourist attraction.
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