The economy of Poland is an industrialized, mixed economy with a developed market that serves as the sixth largest in the European Union (EU) and the largest among the former Eastern Bloc members of the EU. Since 1988, Poland has pursued a policy of economic liberalization and today stands as the greatest success story of all the post-communist states of Europe - its economy was the only one in the EU to avoid a recession through the 2007–08 economic downturn, and as of 2019 the Polish economy has been growing steadily for the past 28 years, a record high in the EU and only surpassed by Australia in the world economy. GDP per capita at purchasing power parity has grown on average by 6% p.a. over the last 20 years, the most impressive performance in Central Europe resulting in the country increasing its GDP seven-fold since 1990.