Pomeranian Region covers the area of over 18 000 sq km (6% of the total area of Poland ) with population of 2,2 million inhabitants who live mainly in the cities. Gdansk, the capital of the Region, is known in Europe and in the world for the birth of Solidarność movement in 1980 under the leadership of Lech Wałesa. This movement became an impulse for democratic transformation in Poland and other Central European countries.
Pomeranian Region's economic potential lies especially in shipbuilding , refineries, food, machine and furniture industries, transport and port services. It should be stressed that the shipbuilding industry has undergone substantial reconstructing to become again a competitive field with a future. Stocznia Gdynia SA shipyard and Stocznia Remontowa SA repair shipyard are among the leading such companies worldwide. Seaports in Gdańsk and Gdynia, with total handling capacity of 37 million tonnes, are not only important transport junctions, but also have significant development areas for different types of production and services. Opportunity for dynamic development lies in activating the service sector and supporting the development of small and medium-sized enterprises. In terms of the number of private businesses per capita, Pomeranian Region ranks fourth among Poland's regions. Many businesses are headquartered in the Gdańsk-Sopot-Gdynia Tricity area.
Well known companies from Western Europe and United States invest the capital in the area. The American corporation "International Paper" is the unquestioned leader in terms of invested capital - it has paid over 320million USD for the pulp and paper factory in Kwidzyn. Other well known investors in the region include: Auchan, Géant, Nestlé, Pepsi Co., General Electric, Scania Truck and Buses, Federal Mogul Corporation, Helvetia Partia Grupe, Alte Leipziger Europa AG, Farm Frites BV, Malma, Metro AG, Baltic Malt Philips, Gaspol, Dr Oetker. There are the branch offices representative offices of well known banks and insurance companies (e.g. Deutsche Bank, Nationale Nederlanden). Pomeranian Region hosts also various smaller companies with foreign capital.
In order to reactivate the consumer industry, thousands hectares of rural grounds have been contributed to the companies with foreign capital. National Agency of Rural Property lets the tourist and recreation grounds to foreigners in order to create the conditions for development of tourism.
What is also essential for the economy of our Region is the existence of Special Economic Zones: 
Żarnowiec-Tczew and Słupsk. Technological park is being established there on the basis of Flextronics investments in the high-tech sector.
Moreover Gdańsk is an important exhibition centre. The very well functioning Gdańsk International Fair Company arranges about 30 events in the year.
Creating conditions for development of industries using advanced technologies is an important challenge for the regional authorities. Such a policy can be shaped due to a large number of universities and academies, such as Gdańsk Technical University, Gdynia Maritime Academy and Gdańsk University. The technology transfer centres and technology parks, whose development is supported by regional authorities, are also established successes.
