10 October 2022 – Internationally connected sectors of the economy accounted for nearly 60% of GDP growth in French-speaking Switzerland between 2001 and 2021. In other words, almost two-thirds of the region’s growth during the period can be traced to the outward-looking nature of its economy, according to the 15th edition of the study on Western Switzerland’s GDP, published by the region’s six cantonal banks, in collaboration with the CREA Institute and Forum des 100 (an annual conference held by Swiss newspaper Le Temps).
The economy can be divided into three categories: first, industries that target foreign customers, are sensitive to global economic trends, or relate to financial markets; second, those that are affected mainly by the Swiss business cycle; and third, those that are largely unaffected by the business cycle.
Sectors connected to the international economy account for just over half of French-speaking Switzerland’s GDP (53.7% in 2021). That is slightly lower than the Swiss average (56.9%), which is driven up by Basel-based pharma, but higher than the eurozone average of 48.8%. Outward-focused sectors grew by 56.4% between 2001 and 2021 in Western Switzerland, compared with 51.0% in Switzerland as a whole and 28.2% in the eurozone.
However, French-speaking Switzerland is not the only front-runner. Countries in the east and north of the European Union have also experienced robust growth: GDP rose 88.1% in the east and 60.2% in the north over the same period, primarily on the strength of sectors oriented toward international markets.
Western and Southern Europe lagged, with Western Europe up 25.4% between 2001 and 2021 and Southern Europe up 9.2%. Although some countries with outward-focused economies such as Ireland and Luxembourg have posted high growth figures, others – including larger countries like Spain, France, Italy, and to a lesser extent Germany – have seen below-average growth compared with Europe as a whole.
