The list of Polish counties where businesses are most heavily indebted may come as a surprise. Although Warsaw appears near the top, smaller urban centres such as Sosnowiec, Dąbrowa Górnicza and Krosno lead the ranking, according to the latest data from the National Debt Register, or KRD.
Looking at the country more broadly, counties with the highest levels of corporate debt are concentrated in Silesia, while those with the lowest debt burden are mainly located in eastern Poland.
Poland is now home to more than 3 million businesses, according to the latest data from the Social Insurance Institution, or ZUS. Approximately 9% of them have unpaid liabilities, with their total debt reaching PLN 11.6 billion, according to KRD.
To illustrate the scale of business debt in individual counties, the total amount owed was calculated per 1,000 active companies. This makes it possible to compare smaller territorial units with larger ones.
Two additional criteria were also taken into account: the average amount owed by each debtor and the proportion of all businesses in a county that have overdue liabilities. These indicators were used to prepare the latest ranking of Polish counties by corporate debt.
Business conditions vary considerably across Poland and depend on numerous factors, including labour costs, access to qualified specialists, infrastructure, local purchasing power and land prices.
Voivodeships and counties also differ in terms of their dominant industries and access to programmes supporting entrepreneurs. According to the latest data from Statistics Poland, Poland has 314 land counties and 66 cities with county status.
A broader analysis shows that corporate debt is not distributed randomly across the country. Counties in the Śląskie and Mazowieckie voivodeships appear more frequently near the top of the ranking.
Counties in the Podlaskie, Podkarpackie, Małopolskie and Lubelskie regions, meanwhile, regularly occupy positions near the bottom.
Silesia is particularly vulnerable to economic fluctuations
Sosnowiec takes the unenviable first place among cities with county status in terms of corporate debt. Almost 15% of businesses operating there have financial problems.
Debt per 1,000 companies reaches PLN 8.06 million, while the average indebted business owes PLN 54,700.
Dąbrowa Górnicza ranked second with a similar result. Almost 14% of companies there have overdue liabilities, while debt per 1,000 businesses amounts to PLN 7.62 million.
Businesses in Krosno also owe PLN 7.62 million per 1,000 companies, although only 7% of local enterprises are in debt.
Bytom also ranked highly, with debt exceeding PLN 6.49 million per 1,000 businesses.
Wałbrzych entered the top 10 not primarily because of the total value of its corporate debt, but because it has the highest proportion of indebted companies in the country, at 16.72%.
The full ranking of the 10 cities with county status recording the highest business debt is presented below.
| Rank | City | Voivodeship | Debt per 1,000 businesses | Share of indebted businesses | Average debt per debtor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sosnowiec | Śląskie | PLN 8.06m | 14.73% | PLN 54,700 |
| 2 | Dąbrowa Górnicza | Śląskie | PLN 7.62m | 13.89% | PLN 54,800 |
| 3 | Krosno | Podkarpackie | PLN 7.62m | 7.03% | PLN 108,500 |
| 4 | Bytom | Śląskie | PLN 6.49m | 15.16% | PLN 42,800 |
| 5 | Chorzów | Śląskie | PLN 5.92m | 14.93% | PLN 39,600 |
| 6 | Radom | Mazowieckie | PLN 5.67m | 9.79% | PLN 57,900 |
| 7 | Sopot | Pomorskie | PLN 6.22m | 13.47% | PLN 46,200 |
| 8 | Częstochowa | Śląskie | PLN 6.08m | 11.33% | PLN 53,700 |
| 9 | Warsaw | Mazowieckie | PLN 5.68m | 10.56% | PLN 53,800 |
| 10 | Wałbrzych | Dolnośląskie | PLN 4.89m | 16.72% | PLN 29,300 |
Half of the most heavily indebted cities with county status are located in Silesia.
According to data from the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development, Silesia is one of the country’s most entrepreneurial regions. However, the proportion of businesses surviving their first year of operation is lower than the national average.
In addition to industrial and retail companies, the region has a large number of construction businesses and companies engaged in professional, scientific and technical activities. These are among the sectors that tend to react quickly to fluctuations in the economy.
“The high level of corporate debt in the Śląskie Voivodeship results primarily from the specific structure of the regional economy. It is one of Poland’s most industrialised regions, with a strong presence of energy-intensive industries such as heavy industry, steelmaking, automotive manufacturing and machinery production,” says Adam Łącki, President of the Management Board of the National Debt Register Economic Information Bureau.
“Companies operating in these sectors were particularly severely affected by rising energy prices, inflation and high interest rates. This weakened their financial liquidity, and the consequences remain visible today.”
“The scale of business activity in Silesia is also very large, which means that even isolated financial problems can generate significant amounts of overdue debt. Financial management and the timely settlement of liabilities are also important, particularly during periods of economic slowdown, when such weaknesses become even more visible,” he adds.
Corporate debt and a weak labour market create a vicious circle
Among Poland’s land counties, the worst situation was recorded in Lipsko County, located in the south-eastern part of the Mazowieckie Voivodeship.
Debt there reaches PLN 7.04 million per 1,000 businesses. The average amount owed by an indebted company is almost PLN 140,000, the highest among all land counties in Poland.
Statistics Poland data show that unemployment in the area has reached 12.6%.
Malbork County in the Pomorskie Voivodeship ranked second, with arrears of PLN 7.83 million per 1,000 businesses. It also has an elevated unemployment rate of 9.9%.
The high unemployment levels observed in the most heavily indebted land counties indicate that local companies recruit fewer workers and therefore develop more slowly than businesses in other parts of the country.
These factors reinforce one another. Residents have lower incomes and therefore spend less, reducing demand for the products and services offered by local companies.
This can make it more difficult for businesses to cope with rising operating costs or even a temporary decline in demand. They may consequently become more vulnerable to losing financial liquidity and falling behind on their obligations.
Sejny, Rypin, Karkonosze and Głubczyce counties also ranked highly.
| Rank | County | Voivodeship | Debt per 1,000 businesses | Share of indebted businesses | Average debt per debtor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lipsko | Mazowieckie | PLN 7.04m | 5.03% | PLN 139,800 |
| 2 | Malbork | Pomorskie | PLN 7.83m | 11.05% | PLN 70,900 |
| 3 | Sejny | Podlaskie | PLN 7.14m | 8.21% | PLN 87,000 |
| 4 | Rypin | Kujawsko-Pomorskie | PLN 7.26m | 10.65% | PLN 68,200 |
| 5 | Karkonosze | Dolnośląskie | PLN 7.09m | 10.05% | PLN 70,500 |
| 6 | Głubczyce | Opolskie | PLN 5.94m | 8.35% | PLN 71,100 |
| 7 | Oborniki | Wielkopolskie | PLN 5.92m | 11.64% | PLN 50,900 |
| 8 | Ełk | Warmińsko-Mazurskie | PLN 5.84m | 8.71% | PLN 67,000 |
| 9 | Wałbrzych County | Dolnośląskie | PLN 4.30m | 15.23% | PLN 28,200 |
| 10 | Nidzica | Warmińsko-Mazurskie | PLN 5.25m | 12.90% | PLN 40,700 |
“Debt among small businesses in individual counties is often the result of lost financial liquidity. Micro and small enterprises usually complete contracts with deferred payment terms,” says Emanuel Nowak, an expert at factoring company NFG.
“They may have to wait 30, 60 or even 90 days to receive payment for a completed service or delivered goods, while current expenses such as wages, social insurance contributions, materials and utility bills must be paid immediately.”
“In such circumstances, even the smallest businesses are increasingly turning to factoring. Converting an invoice with a deferred payment date into funds available immediately enables them to settle their obligations without waiting for a transfer from the customer,” he explains.
Zamość businesses have the lowest debt among cities
Among cities with county status, businesses in Zamość have the lowest debt, at PLN 2.39 million per 1,000 companies.
Companies in Tarnobrzeg and Ostrołęka also demonstrate strong payment discipline.
Cities from the Podlaskie Voivodeship are well represented in this part of the ranking, including Łomża, Białystok and Suwałki.
| Rank | City | Voivodeship | Debt per 1,000 businesses | Share of indebted businesses | Average debt per debtor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zamość | Lubelskie | PLN 2.39m | 7.52% | PLN 31,800 |
| 2 | Tarnobrzeg | Podkarpackie | PLN 2.42m | 6.85% | PLN 35,400 |
| 3 | Ostrołęka | Mazowieckie | PLN 2.51m | 6.63% | PLN 37,900 |
| 4 | Łomża | Podlaskie | PLN 2.63m | 6.41% | PLN 41,000 |
| 5 | Jastrzębie-Zdrój | Śląskie | PLN 3.01m | 11.46% | PLN 26,300 |
| 6 | Białystok | Podlaskie | PLN 2.79m | 7.51% | PLN 37,100 |
| 7 | Suwałki | Podlaskie | PLN 3.00m | 7.65% | PLN 39,200 |
| 8 | Tarnów | Małopolskie | PLN 3.14m | 7.40% | PLN 42,500 |
| 9 | Świnoujście | Zachodniopomorskie | PLN 2.98m | 8.81% | PLN 33,900 |
| 10 | Piotrków Trybunalski | Łódzkie | PLN 3.05m | 9.06% | PLN 33,700 |
“The lower level of corporate debt in eastern Poland may result from the structure of local economies, which are dominated by micro and small businesses that more frequently finance their development with their own capital rather than external funding,” says Jakub Kostecki, Vice-President of the Management Board of Kaczmarski Inkasso.
“Entrepreneurs in the region have also had access for many years to dedicated loans and public support instruments. These help reduce financing costs and lower the risk of overdue liabilities.”
“The lower concentration of large, capital-intensive industrial sectors, which are particularly vulnerable to economic fluctuations and rising operating costs, is also significant,” he adds.
Lesko County records the lowest business debt
Among land counties, the lowest level of business debt was recorded in Lesko County, where liabilities amount to PLN 930,000 per 1,000 companies.
It was followed by Mońki County, with PLN 1.4 million per 1,000 businesses, and Lubaczów County, with PLN 1.2 million.
| Rank | County | Voivodeship | Debt per 1,000 businesses | Share of indebted businesses | Average debt per debtor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lesko | Podkarpackie | PLN 0.93m | 5.62% | PLN 16,500 |
| 2 | Mońki | Podlaskie | PLN 1.40m | 6.76% | PLN 20,600 |
| 3 | Lubaczów | Podkarpackie | PLN 1.20m | 4.41% | PLN 27,200 |
| 4 | Ropczyce-Sędziszów | Podkarpackie | PLN 1.37m | 4.40% | PLN 31,000 |
| 5 | Limanowa | Małopolskie | PLN 1.52m | 3.77% | PLN 40,300 |
| 6 | Myślenice | Małopolskie | PLN 1.42m | 4.43% | PLN 32,100 |
| 7 | Tarnobrzeg County | Podkarpackie | PLN 1.54m | 7.10% | PLN 21,600 |
| 8 | Nowy Targ | Małopolskie | PLN 1.78m | 4.24% | PLN 42,000 |
| 9 | Strzyżów | Podkarpackie | PLN 1.81m | 4.25% | PLN 42,600 |
| 10 | Góra | Dolnośląskie | PLN 2.38m | 10.30% | PLN 23,100 |
The data show a clear regional divide. Highly industrialised areas, particularly in Silesia, are more exposed to large corporate arrears, while counties in eastern and south-eastern Poland often record significantly lower levels of business debt.
Source: National Debt Register / CEO.com.pl
