Warsaw remains one of the largest and fastest-growing business services hubs in Europe, attracting investors with its scale, expertise, broad access to talent, and high quality of life. The city also stands out for its strong focus on knowledge-based services, according to the latest report, “Business Services Sector in Warsaw 2025/2026,” prepared by ABSL (the Association of Business Service Leaders in Poland) in cooperation with Colliers, Mercer, Randstad, and Randstad Enterprise.
According to ABSL data, Warsaw ranks first in Poland in terms of both the number of centers and total employment. The capital is home to 418 business service centers (as of the end of Q1 2025), including BPO (Business Process Outsourcing), SSC/GBS (Shared Services Centers/Global Business Services), IT, and R&D (Research and Development) operations. Of these, 330 centers, or 79%, are foreign-owned. In 2025, employment in the sector reached 111,200 people, representing nearly one-quarter of total business services employment in Poland and marking a 66.5% increase between 2020 and 2025. Warsaw remains an attractive location for investors seeking a stable business environment, access to highly qualified specialists, and infrastructure that supports the development of knowledge-based services.
Warsaw’s Growing Competence Advantage
Warsaw’s business services sector is undergoing a dynamic transformation, with simple processes increasingly replaced by advanced operations requiring specialized knowledge and expertise. Knowledge-intensive tasks now account for nearly 60% of all activities in Warsaw, exceeding the national average. The city has also seen a marked increase in the importance of specialized IT services. Since 2015, the share of IT centers in total employment has risen from 18.7% to 31.6%.
“The maturity of the Warsaw market is reflected not only in its impressive scale but above all in its quality. More and more centers are operating as Centers of Excellence (CoE), delivering projects in IT, finance, banking, and life sciences. With this development, access to highly qualified talent is becoming increasingly critical, forming the foundation for further expansion,” said Dariusz Kubacki, Member of the Strategic Council at ABSL.
A Capital of Talent
Demand for skilled professionals continues to grow, and access to a diverse pool of young talent is one of Warsaw’s key investment advantages, strengthening its competitiveness. Warsaw is Poland’s largest academic center, offering an exceptionally strong educational base. A total of 258,500 students study at 69 higher education institutions in the capital, and 50,900 graduates enter the labor market each year from Warsaw universities.
A Strong Magnet for Investors
Warsaw remains attractive to investors thanks to its favorable quality-to-cost ratio compared with business hubs such as London or New York. The city is also valued for its strategic location within the European Union, its operation within the Central European Time (CET) zone, and its mature office market — the largest in Central and Eastern Europe — offering more than 6 million square meters of modern office space.
ABSL data show that Warsaw attracts capital from 35 countries, positioning it as a strong competitor to key metropolitan areas in Western and Northern Europe. The largest investor presence comes from companies based in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, and Switzerland.
“Warsaw has become a place where global investors find not only talent but also stable conditions for cooperation between business, universities, and local government. This is a strong foundation for the continued growth of the business services sector in the capital,” emphasized Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski.
High Quality of Life
Warsaw ranks highly in international quality-of-life rankings. At the end of 2025, it topped the “European Cities of the Future: 10 Places To Visit In 2026” list published by the American edition of Forbes. The city was recognized for its green spaces, safety, public transport, and the pace of urban transformation that now defines Poland’s capital. Warsaw also ranked third in Europe in the fDi Intelligence “European Cities and Regions of the Future” ranking and second in the Human Capital and Lifestyle category. Additionally, it placed second globally in The New York Times’ “52 Places to Go in 2026” list of the most exciting travel destinations.
Warsaw maintains a strong position in ABSL’s location attractiveness ranking, as confirmed by assessments from business center representatives participating in the survey.
“The city is highly rated by investors in areas such as transport accessibility, the quality and security of telecommunications infrastructure, and proximity to other sector companies. All these advantages further strengthen Warsaw’s competitiveness on the global investment map,” concluded Dariusz Kubacki.
The report “Business Services Sector in Warsaw 2025/2026” was prepared by ABSL for the City of Warsaw in cooperation with partners Colliers, Mercer, Randstad, and Randstad Enterprise. The findings confirm Warsaw’s dominant position in Poland in terms of the number of centers and scale of employment, further strengthening its standing in Europe.
