Economic Environment¹

Global economic growth remained stable in 2025 despite major trade policy uncertainties. This was supported by significant frontloading effects on exports to the United States, which supported growth in Europe and Asia. In the chemical industry, global growth amounted to 3.6%. The regional differences in growth rates were even greater than in previous years, with positive contributions to global chemical growth coming almost exclusively from China. In Europe, on the other hand, production declined by 2%.

Global gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 2.9% compared with the previous year (2024: 2.8%). Global industrial production rose by 2.9% (2024: 2.0%). Global chemical production grew by 3.6% (2024: 4.2%). While chemical production in China increased by 7.0%, it decreased by 0.2% in the rest of the world.

The average price of Brent crude oil remained considerably below the prior-year level at $69 per barrel (previous year: $81 per barrel). The annual average gas price in Northwestern Europe was €36.17 per MWh or $11.88 per mmBtu (2024: €34.17 per MWh or $10.83 per mmBtu), more than three times as high as in the United States (2025: €10.65 per MWh or $3.52 per mmBtu, 2024: €6.93 per MWh or $2.20 per mmBtu).

Trends in the Global Economy in 2025

In the European Union (EU), GDP growth at 1.6% was slightly higher than the previous year (1.0%). Industrial production increased only slightly, by 1.3%.

Within the EU, there were significant differences in growth between member states. While GDP in Spain grew by almost 3% and both private consumption and investment increased significantly, growth in France and Italy remained below 1%. In both countries, private consumption expenditures and investments were weak. Ireland contributed around 0.4 percentage points to total EU growth with dynamic growth of more than 10%, mainly due to strong growth in the pharmaceutical industry there.

Germany largely stagnated again in 2025, mainly due to declining investment and a deteriorating trade balance. German GDP was thus roughly at the level of 2019, while GDP in the rest of the eurozone grew by almost 9% during this period.

In the eastern EU countries, growth was just over 2%. In Poland, the economy grew comparatively strongly at more than 3%, driven primarily by strong private consumption and increasing government spending. Growth in the Czech Republic was also above average at 2.6%, while the Hungarian economy almost stagnated against a backdrop of high inflation rates and weak domestic demand.

In the United Kingdom, GDP grew by 1.3%, roughly the same as in the EU, as households’ purchasing power and willingness to consume increased, falling lending rates supported investment expenditure and government spending expanded more strongly than in the previous year.

In the United States, economic growth declined compared to 2024 (2.8%), but remained high compared to the EU at 2.3%. Development in the first two quarters was characterized by frontloading effects and the associated strong fluctuations in the trade balance. Private consumption proved to be rather stable because cost increases due to higher import tariffs and the weaker dollar were not initially passed on in full, and rising stock prices strengthened the propensity of private households to spend. Momentum in capital expenditure, especially in the artificial intelligence sector, was also high. The construction sector, on the other hand, remained weak against the backdrop of high interest rates and construction costs. Overall, industrial production largely stagnated in 2025, as declining construction activity was accompanied by weak growth in the manufacturing sector.

In China, the official growth target of 5.0% was achieved. However, private consumption lagged slightly behind the macroeconomic growth rate. Exports, on the other hand, continued to grow significantly, as declining exports to the United States were more than offset by higher exports to other regions, especially to the ASEAN countries. Industrial production increased by 5.6% overall. Once again, the manufacturing sector grew at a faster rate than the industry as a whole, at 6.4%, as the ongoing crisis in residential construction dampened the overall industrial growth rate.

India’s GDP grew at a high rate of 7.5%. Private consumption and investment grew at a similar pace. Industrial production (6.4%) and especially production in the manufacturing sector (around 4%) lagged behind the overall trend. In the ASEAN countries, overall growth remained at the prior-year level at 4.8%. Vietnam in particular benefited from high demand, especially for electronic products, and grew by 8%.

Growth in mature Asian markets lagged behind the emerging markets in the region. In South Korea and Japan, economic growth was only around 1%. While growing exports supported GDP, private consumption increased only moderately in both countries. Furthermore, in South Korea, investments declined significantly.

Overall, GDP in South America rose by 2.8%, slightly more than in the previous year (2.0%). Following declines in GDP in the two previous years, Argentina’s economy grew significantly by 4.3% in 2025, driven by fundamental economic reforms. In Brazil, growth momentum slowed down after a strong start to the year with high growth contributions from the agricultural and service sectors. Private consumption grew only marginally in an environment of high inflation rates and rising central bank interest rates, and investment momentum also slowed compared to the previous year. While industrial production increased only moderately, agricultural production rose significantly after a decline in the previous year. Thus, South America’s largest economy recorded moderate growth of 2.5%.

1 All information relating to past years in this chapter can deviate from the previous year’s report due to statistic revisions. Where available, calendar-adjusted macroeconomic growth rates are reported. Figures for 2025 not yet available in full are estimated.