In the 13-year-long history of GEM, 2012 was another year in which the number of countries covered by surveys increased to 69, which translates into the three fourths of the global popu lation and almost 90% of the global GDP. Poland was present in GEM in 2004, and then joined the group of the countries participating in the project again in 2011, as a team formed by the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development and the University of Economics in Katowice.

Numerous scientists all over the world use the GEM results, and in particular the data on en trepreneurship collected under the project. In 2012, the European Commission also expressed interest in GEM research by financing certain part of quantitative survey and obtaining data for its own analyses and publications.

This year’s Global Entrepreneurship Monitor report – Poland 2012 presents the condition of entrepreneurship in Poland compared to the other European countries and the USA in 2012, as well as in relation to the previous year. It describes intentions and motivations of Poles to start business activity and its further development. It also shows determinants of entrepreneurship in such aspects as support programmes for entrepreneurs, access to financing, technology transfer, cultural and social determi nants, as well as entrepreneurship of women, high growth companies and young people.