IMF country review: Resilient and innovative Swiss economy in an uncertain global environment
Berne, 01.07.2025 — In its concluding statement for the annual country review, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) commends the resilience of the Swiss economy. The IMF identifies challenges for the authorities mainly in the areas of government expenditure and the strengthening of financial stability.
The IMF regards Switzerland as one of the most competitive, resilient and innovative economies in the world, with highly credible institutions and a skilled labour force. For 2025, it expects economic growth to reach 1.3% (real, adjusted for sporting events), driven by private consumption, real wage growth and construction activity. At the same time, the IMF highlights significant external risks, including heightened geopolitical tensions and uncertainty around global trade policy and supply chains.
The IMF commends the federal government's budget policy, which envisages a deficit of 0.2% of GDP for 2025. The Swiss National Bank's monetary policy is also judged to be appropriate. The IMF regards inflation expectations as being anchored around the mid-point of the target range (0% to 2%). According to the Fund, priorities for the Swiss authorities are safeguarding price stability, addressing fiscal pressures in the federal budget, advancing financial sector reforms, and implementing structural measures to boost productivity and competitiveness. The IMF team's concluding statement identifies the challenges in these areas and provides a number of recommendations.
The IMF's analysis and conclusions on the financial sector are based on the ongoing assessment under the IMF's Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP). For example, the IMF calls on Switzerland to strengthen the regulatory framework for supervision, crisis management and resolution, including to draw lessons from the Credit Suisse case. The IMF welcomes the Federal Council's reform proposals, which are largely in line with the FSAP recommendations. In the IMF's view, swift implementation of this package of reforms would contribute to the long-term stability of the Swiss financial centre.
Regular evaluation of the economic and financial situation of its member states, so-called Article IV Consultations, are a key element of the IMF's surveillance activities. An FSAP assessment is also part of these activities and is carried out every five years for systemically important financial centres like Switzerland. The IMF's full reports will be available in autumn.