India 7th most economically confident country globally: Ipsos

NEW DELHI: Buoyed by healthy farm output and narrowing current account deficit, India is the seventh most economically confident country in the world, a study by global research firm Ipsos has said.

Saudi Arabia is the most economically confident country, followed by Germany, Sweden, Canada, China and Australia in that order, according to the study.

India's economic confidence jumped sharply by 11 points to 51 per cent in November from the previous month.

According to the study 'Ipsos Economic Pulse of the World', India's economic confidence revived substantially due to healthy farm output, a sharp boost in exports and narrowing of current account deficit.

Saudi Arabia continues to dominate the global ratings of national economies as 85 per cent of respondents in Saudi Arabia are confident about their country's economy, followed by Germany (68 per cent), Sweden (67 per cent), Canada (66 per cent), China (65 per cent) and Australia (64 per cent).

Three in ten (32 per cent) Indians believe that the local economy which impacts their personal finance is good.

Moreover, Indians are very hopeful about stability and growth in future with general election in the first half of 2014 as four in ten people expects that the economy in their local area will be stronger in next six months.

"Indian economy has bottomed out after a two-year slump and it is likely to see a positive growth trend from here on with positive indicators like narrowing CAD, revival of exports, growth of manufacturing sector and increasing investor confidence," Mick Gordon, CEO, Ipsos in India said.

Gordon further added that "good Monsoon resulted in bumper crop output, which in turn generated rural demand for goods such as tractors, motorcycles and consumer goods leading to growth of manufacturing sector."

Countries which witnessed the greatest improvements in economic confidence include Indonesia (45 per cent, 14 points), India (51 per cent, 11 points), South Africa (27 per cent, 6 points), Brazil (35 per cent, 5 points), Great Britain (29 per cent, 5 points) and China (65 per cent, 4 points).

The survey further noted that Brazilians hold the strongest future outlook for their local economy in the next six months. The other countries, which are optimistic about the future outlook about their economy include Saudi Arabia, India, China, Indonesia and Argentina.

The online Ipsos Economic Pulse of the World survey was conducted in October 2013 among 18,083 people in 24 countries.