South Asia remains the brightest growth spot among emerging regions, with India anchoring the outlook despite mounting trade headwinds. This is a key finding of the World Economic Forum’s latest survey, released ahead of the Davos annual meeting next week.
The Chief Economists’ Outlook notes that India is continuing on its reform pathway by reducing restrictions on employment. It adds that AI adoption is surging, alongside investments from US technology firms.
According to the report, the global economic outlook has improved modestly but remains uncertain, with asset valuations, mounting debt, geoeconomic realignment and rapid artificial intelligence deployment creating both opportunities and risks. Nearly 53 per cent of chief economists surveyed expect global economic conditions to weaken in the year ahead, down from 72 per cent who held this view in September last year. Uncertainty around technology remains high, with 52 per cent expecting AI-related stocks in the US to decline and 40 per cent expecting gains.
On growth, expectations diverge by region, with economists expecting strong momentum in South Asia and East Asia and weak to moderate growth in Europe. South Asia has returned to the top of the regional growth outlook, according to two-thirds of the surveyed chief economists.
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