Share of plastic waste exports in Poland

Poland: Share of plastic waste exports was 4.3% in 2024. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2024)
4.3%
Change on year
up 43.4%
World rank
4th
of 162 countries
All-time high
4.3%
in 2024
All-time low
0.0%
in 2021
Years of data
21
1994–2024

Share of plastic waste exports in Poland, 1994–2024

012341994200920241994: 0.306 %1995: 0.271 %1996: 0.223 %2001: 0.259 %2005: 0.426 %2007: 0.494 %2010: 0.707 %2011: 0.703 %2012: 0.681 %2013: 0.797 %2014: 0.996 %2015: 1.2 %2016: 1.7 %2017: 1.7 %2018: 2.3 %2019: 2.9 %2020: 3.3 %2021: 0 %2022: 4.1 %2023: 3 %2024: 4.3 %

Source: United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

In 2024, share of plastic waste exports in Poland stood at 4.3%. That is the highest value across all 21 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 43.4% on the previous year and up 332.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of plastic waste exports in Poland peaked at 4.3% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 2021.

Poland ranks 4th of 162 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 0.3% 0.2% 0.3% 3
2000s 0.4% 0.3% 0.5% 3
2010s 1.4% 0.7% 2.9% 10
2020s 2.9% 0.0% 4.3% 5

Countries ranked near Poland

  1. 1 Japan 21.3% compare
  2. 2 Netherlands 17.4% compare
  3. 3 Belgium 11.3% compare
  4. 5 Sweden 3.8% compare
  5. 6 Slovenia 3.6% compare
  6. 7 Czechia 3.6% compare

See the full ranking of 162 places →

More environment data for Poland

All data for Poland →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of plastic waste exports in Poland?
Share of plastic waste exports in Poland was 4.3% in 2024, according to United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest share of plastic waste exports recorded in Poland?
The highest recorded value was 4.3% in 2024.
What is the lowest share of plastic waste exports recorded in Poland?
The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 2021.
How does Poland rank for share of plastic waste exports?
Poland ranks 4th out of 162 countries with data for 2024.
Is share of plastic waste exports rising or falling in Poland?
Over the last ten years it is up 332.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Poland data come from?
The figures come from United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of plastic waste exports. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 21 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Share of plastic waste exports
Unit
%
Source
United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
162 places, 2,674 data points, 1988–2024
Last refreshed

The percentage of global plastic waste exports that a country accounts for.