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Summary for: The Economist: Czechia rockets to one of world's best economies in 2025Czechia has been ranked the world’s sixth-best performing economy this year, according to a new analysis by media magazine The Economist, marking one of the country’s strongest showings in more than a decade and a sharp climb from 18th place last year.
The British weekly’s assessment, based on growth, inflation, employment, and stock-market performance across 36 advanced economies, shows that the country has outperformed most of Europe in navigating inflationary pressures and a sluggish global environment.
Czechia has the best-performing economy in the entire Central and Eastern Europe region, and outperforms Western European countries like Luxembourg, Germany, and Denmark.
Strong showings in GDP, stocks
Czechia’s economy is growing at about 2.8 percent year on year, a rate the magazine describes as “decent” alongside solid employment figures. Core inflation, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, is only 1.4 percentage points above the target set by the Czech National Bank (CNB).
The Economist showed that the country’s rising equity market is a key strength, with share prices on the Prague Stock Exchange (PSE) rising 46 percent year on year—the third-largest rise in the whole ranking. The PSE's main PX index surged 41.6 percent between January and November, reflecting strong investor confidence, as Novinky.cz reports.
Challenges still ahead
Despite the strong placement, Czechia still faces persistent issues: a manufacturing-heavy industrial base, low value added, high energy costs, slow public and private investment, tight labor supply, and worsening housing affordability, Czech media outlet Novinky.cz describes.
Additionally, Novinky.cz names Germany “Czechia’s largest trading partner.” With much of Czechia’s economy tied to Germany’s automotive and manufacturing sectors, the west European neighbor’s recently ailing economy could limit Czech economic growth in the future.
Global outlook stable, but large countries stumble
Traditional economic powerhouses, including the U.S. and the UK, were pushed to the middle of The Economist's ranking, reflecting high inflation and weaker labor market momentum. Southern Europe, by contrast, posted some of its strongest results in years.
Portugal topped this year’s ranking, followed by Ireland, Israel, Colombia, and Spain. The rest of the top 10 includes Greece, Canada, Slovenia, and Poland. The Economist writes that the world economy’s 2025 performance “could have been a lot worse,” predicting that global GDP will grow by a total of 3 percent this year.
