Transition in Poland is four years old. State firms which dominated the economy are struggling with market forces. A new private sector quickly emerged and has taken hold. Unemployment, which did not exist, is high. These changes are raising many fears and many questions, to which economists have not yet given answers. Will this process of transition accelerate, or slow down? Will unemployment keep increasing? Can things go wrong and how? The purpose of this note is to organise the facts so as to suggest the beginning of an answer. The first part reviews the facts. The second part speculates about the future.