B2B Market in Poland by the Numbers — 5.4 Million vs 2.9 Million | DataSend.ai

Introduction: The Biggest Discrepancy Between the Register and Reality in the Region

Poland is the sixth largest economy in the European Union and the largest market in Central Europe. However, if you look at Polish registers, you will encounter a figure that can be misleading: more than 5.4 million entities are registered in the REGON register.

The reality is different. The actual number of active businesses is approximately 2.9 million — about half. The difference consists of suspended activities and inactive entries.

This article summarizes specific numbers from the REGON register of the Central Statistical Office (GUS) and shows how to work with Polish data so that your campaign does not end up in spam.

1. Register vs. Reality: 5.4 Million vs. 2.9 Million

According to GUS data, at the end of October 2025, there were 5,426,800 entities in the REGON register. By the end of January 2026, this number was approximately 5.44 million.

However, the actual number of active businesses in the fourth quarter of 2025 was 2,909,645 — which is 4.3% more than in the same period the previous year.

The difference between these numbers is significant and needs to be understood. According to GUS, by the end of January 2026, approximately 844,600 entities (15.5%) had suspended activities. The remainder of the difference consists of inactive entries — entities that formally exist in the register but do not actually operate.

Practical Implication: If someone offers you "5 million Polish companies," almost half of them are not operating. Emails to these entities will either bounce or go unanswered — and your domain will pay the price for it.

2. Structure by Size: Micro-Enterprises Dominate

The distribution of active Polish businesses by the number of employees is extremely uneven:

Micro-enterprises (up to 9 employees) — 95.9% of all active businesses. Their number increased by 4.6% year-on-year.

Small businesses (10–49 employees) — 3.4%.

Medium enterprises (50–249 employees) — 0.6%.

Large enterprises (250 or more employees) — 0.1%.

With 2.9 million active businesses, this means approximately 99,000 small, 17,000 medium, and just under 3,000 large enterprises.

What This Means: If you sell a service for thousands of euros per month, your real target group in Poland is about 120,000 companies — not millions. If you sell cheaper, the entire micro-enterprise market opens up to you.

An interesting detail: in the segment of large and medium enterprises, the manufacturing industry significantly dominates — accounting for 43.1% of large and 34.9% of medium enterprises. If you are targeting larger companies, manufacturing is the strongest segment.

3. Distribution by Industry

According to GUS, in the fourth quarter of 2025, the most active businesses operated in the following sectors:

Trade and repair of motor vehicles — 17.0% of all active businesses. The largest segment, with approximately 495,000 companies.

Construction — 15.2%. Approximately 442,000 companies.

Professional, scientific, and technical activities — 13.8%. Approximately 401,000 companies.

The mining industry has the smallest share — 0.1%.

The fastest-growing segment is administration and support activities, where the number of companies increased by 18.2% year-on-year.

At the same time, trade is one of the few sectors where the number of companies is declining — this segment has been shrinking since the end of 2023. Agriculture is the second.

4. Geographical Distribution

The highest number of active businesses is located in Masovian Voivodeship — 20.2% of all. This is more than a fifth of the entire Polish market concentrated in one region, with Warsaw as its center.

Poland has 16 voivodeships, and the differences between them are significant. For you, this means the same choice as elsewhere: either target Masovia and Warsaw, where the highest density of companies and the largest budgets are, or regions with less competition among suppliers.

5. Dynamics: The Polish Market is Growing

Unlike Slovakia, the Polish market is growing. In the second quarter of 2025, 88,700 new entities were registered — 1.2% more than the previous year, while the number of bankruptcies decreased by 2.2%.

In the first quarter of 2026, approximately 89,000 new businesses were registered, of which 81.3% were sole proprietorships.

Throughout 2025, approximately 289,000 applications for business establishment were submitted to the CEIDG register.

Practical Conclusion: The Polish market generates tens of thousands of new companies every quarter. This means a steady influx of new potential clients — and businesses that are 1–2 years old are often the most open to new suppliers.

6. Registered vs. Reachable

5,426,800 — entities in the REGON register. 2,909,645 — actually active businesses. 2.58 million — Polish companies in the DataSend.ai database.

The difference between the second and third numbers is smaller than in other countries — Polish companies have a relatively good digital footprint. But even an "active business" does not automatically mean "a company with a functional email."

Polish registers KRS and CEIDG do not provide contacts in a usable form. KRS contains only registration data. CEIDG has partial contacts that entrepreneurs fill out themselves — and a large part of them is incomplete or outdated.

7. The Polish Trap: Grammar

Polish has seven grammatical cases and is among the languages where the correct forms matter the most.

“W Warszawie,” not “w Warszawa.” “Z Krakowa,” not “z Kraków.” “W branży budowlanej,” not “w budownictwo.” “Dla Państwa firmy,” not “dla Państwa firma.”

An email with such errors immediately reveals that it is a mass campaign generated by a machine. And in Poland, where competition in the inbox is lower than in the West, the quality of communication is an even more significant differentiating factor.

AI Grammar Variables in DataSend.ai automatically generate Polish grammatical forms — city, industry, and company name in the correct case, without you needing to master Polish.

8. How to Work with This Data Practically

Step 1: Filter for Active Entities. With 15.5% suspended activities and other inactive entries, this is the most important filter of all.

Step 2: Decide by Size. 95.9% of the market consists of micro-enterprises. If you need companies with a budget, filter for 10+ employees — you will get approximately 120,000 businesses.

Step 3: Choose an Industry According to Your Service. Trade, construction, and professional services make up almost half of the market. If you are targeting larger companies, look at the manufacturing industry.

Step 4: Consider Masovia vs. Regions. A fifth of the market is in one voivodeship — with the highest budgets and the most competition.

Step 5: Write Grammatically Correct. In Polish, this is a necessity, not a bonus.

Conclusion: A Large Market, but Half is Fiction

The Polish register contains 5.4 million entities, but only 2.9 million are actually active. The market is growing, micro-enterprises dominate, and the strongest sectors are trade, construction, and professional services.

The key to success in Poland is therefore twofold: work exclusively with active entities and communicate in grammatically correct Polish. Those who master both have access to the largest market in Central Europe with relatively low competition among suppliers.

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