India scores high on latest WEF standings: Growth outlook strongest, but some ground lost with MNCs

India’s growth story is gathering momentum even as its appeal to global businesses shows signs of losing some ground, showing a divergence between expectations for the economy and perceptions of its investment environment, a report said on September 22.

India has emerged as the strongest growth prospect among the geographies covered in the World Economic Forum’s September 2026 Chief Economists’ Outlook, with 74% of chief economists surveyed expecting strong or very strong growth over the next 12 months.

The report said India retained the strongest growth outlook among the regions and economies covered by the survey. Overall, 98% of economists expect the Indian economy to record moderate or stronger growth over the coming year.


The improvement in sentiment has been sharp. The proportion expecting strong or very strong growth has increased to 74% from 52% in May.

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India was marginally ahead of South-East Asia, where 73% of respondents expect strong or very strong growth over the next 12 months.

Household incomes & jobs outlook sunny

The upbeat assessment extends to household incomes. About 62% of chief economists expect inflation-adjusted household incomes in India to rise over the next year, with 7% forecasting a significant increase.

India and South-East Asia stand apart on this measure. In most other regions, a majority of respondents expect real household incomes to either remain unchanged or fall.

Expectations for the labour market remain largely stable. Around 70% of respondents expect India’s unemployment rate to remain unchanged over the next 12 months. Another 17% expect it to rise, while 13% foresee a decline.

Inflation expectations have also moderated since May. The survey found that 55% of chief economists expect moderate inflation in India over the next year, while 45% anticipate high inflation.

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Most economists do not foresee significant changes in policy settings. About 67% expect monetary policy to remain unchanged, while 72% expect fiscal policy to remain broadly stable.

Business environment slips a bit

The strong growth expectations, however, have not been matched by an improvement in India’s relative standing as a destination for multinational companies.

India slipped to fourth place from second in the survey’s ranking of favourable business environments for multinationals. Only 40% of respondents included India among their top three destinations, down from 56% in the previous outlook.

Globally, economic sentiment has improved significantly since May. A majority of chief economists, or 56%, expect the world economic outlook to remain unchanged or strengthen over the next 12 months. This compares with 89% in May who expected global economic conditions to weaken.

Geopolitical tensions remain the biggest source of uncertainty, however. Conflicts were identified as a key uncertainty by 97% of respondents.

The WEF survey was conducted between August 4 and 20, 2026, among chief economists from the public and private sectors.