According to the ‘Economic Experts Survey’, it will come in last among industrialised countries – only around 0.4 per cent by 2025

With a growth rate of 0.4 per cent by 2025, Germany will come in last among all industrialised countries. This is the sobering conclusion of the ‘Economic Experts Survey’ conducted by the ifo Institute (https://www.ifo.de) and the Institute for Swiss Economic Policy (https://www.iwp.swiss/), for which 1,398 experts were surveyed.

‘A different economic policy is needed’

‘Germany urgently needs a different economic policy that will boost growth again. In the international competition between business locations, Germany has lost a great deal of its attractiveness. The new government should address this with market-oriented reforms,’ says ifo researcher Niklas Potrafke.

Worldwide, respondents expect a growth rate of 2.9 percent for 2025 – a slight increase year-on-year: they had predicted 2.6 percent for 2024. Respondents in Africa (3.9 percent) and Asia (3.8 percent) are particularly optimistic. Lower rates are expected in Europe (2.1 percent) and North America (2.4 percent).

Optimism for the rest of the world

The outlook is optimistic: global growth of 3.2 per cent is expected in 2026 and 3.1 per cent in 2028. Growth expectations for Germany are also slightly better than for 2025, at just one per cent for 2026 and 1.3 per cent for 2028, but remain well below the average of expectations for other industrialised countries, the report concludes.