Polish government adopts 2027 draft budget with 282.6 billion PLN deficit

Deficit targets and macroeconomic baseline

The Polish Council of Ministers adopted the draft state budget for 2027 on 28 August 2026, setting state expenditures at 977.6 billion PLN against revenues of 695 billion PLN. The draft caps the central budget deficit at 282.6 billion PLN, with the general government deficit projected at 7.2% of gross domestic product. Government macroeconomic assumptions project real economic growth of 3% in 2027 alongside an average inflation rate of 2.8%. Registered unemployment is forecast to reach 6.0% by the end of 2027, compared to 5.8% recorded in July 2026. The draft now proceeds to the Social Dialogue Council and the Fiscal Council before its formal submission to the Sejm by 30 September.

Defense, energy and infrastructure spending

National defense funding across the budget and the Armed Forces Support Fund is set at 198.1 billion PLN, representing 4.51% of projected 2027 GDP. An additional 36.5 billion PLN is allocated to internal security services, including the Police, Border Guard, State Fire Service, State Protection Service, and intelligence agencies. Energy security and transformation initiatives will receive 19.7 billion PLN, an 8.3% increase over 2026, which includes 8 billion PLN to recapitalize Poland's first nuclear power plant project. Other planned energy investments include the 1.5 GW Baltica 2 offshore wind farm, a combined-cycle gas unit in Rybnik, and a lithium-ion energy storage facility in Żarnowiec. Combined spending on road and rail transport infrastructure will total 62.4 billion PLN.

Healthcare funding and financial control

Total healthcare expenditures are planned at 274.1 billion PLN for 2027, an increase of 26.3 billion PLN compared to the 2026 plan. The total combines health insurance contribution receipts with 73 billion PLN in direct state budget funding, which includes a 41.5 billion PLN subsidy for the National Health Fund (NFZ). Statutory requirements mandate health spending to reach at least 7% of GDP calculated against economic output from two years prior. Prime Minister Donald Tusk tied the additional resources to upcoming legislation aimed at preventing financial mismanagement in the medical sector.

We are working to ensure that this noticeably larger amount of money for healthcare is not wasted in any way, and that is why we are guarding work on this bill so diligently, so that this money is not eaten away, to use an ugly colloquialism, but truly serves the patient and improves the situation in healthcare.

Wages, pensions and fiscal debate

Average nominal wages in the national economy are projected to grow by 5.9% in 2027, representing a 3% real increase following a 3.3% real gain projected for 2026. Public sector salaries will rise by 2.8%, while approximately 19 billion PLN is allocated for statutory pension indexation. Personal income tax adjustments included in the draft are set to affect 3.5 million middle-class taxpayers, alongside 46.2 billion PLN allocated for science and higher education and 5.8 billion PLN for housing programs. Former economy minister Janusz Steinhoff noted that public sector debt servicing costs now exceed 100 billion PLN annually.

One must be aware that we have a massive deficit, above 7%. Debt growth is incredibly high, at over a dozen percent annually. Meanwhile, the cost of servicing public sector debt exceeds 100 billion zlotys, which is almost half of health spending.