Press Releases

Coronavirus will continue to set the tone for economic activity around the world, across Europe and in Switzerland this year. According to the KOF Economic Forecast, the economy in Switzerland will gradually recover and return to its pre-crisis levels in the third quarter. Under its baseline scenario KOF expects gross domestic product to grow by 3.0 per cent this year and 2.8 per cent next year.

In the April 2020 edition, the Global Leading Barometer and the Global Coincident Barometer have fallen sharply, reflecting the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the world economy. The second consecutive decrease in the two barometers shows that the economies of all regions were seriously shaken by the pandemic.

Despite the fact that growth in GDP for the third quarter of 2018 was negative, the Swiss economy remains in fairly good shape on the whole. KOF expects GDP to rise by 2.6 per cent in 2018. Consumer spending will become a key driver of economic activity over the forecast period. Unemployment will continue to fall owing to the robust performance of the economy. KOF is forecasting that GDP growth will be slightly lower at 1.6 per cent in 2019 before rebounding to 2.1 per cent in 2020.