Doing business got tougher in 2025: World Economic Forum survey

Companies found it harder to do business in 2025 due to a deterioration in global cooperation on issues including trade, climate, technology and security, a survey published by the World Economic Forum showed on Thursday. Released ahead of the WEF’s next annual gathering in Davos later this month, the online poll of 799 executives in 81 economies using a McKinsey global survey panel showed 43 percent found doing business got more difficult compared to 2024. Only 7 percent were of the opposite view, with the remainder saying things had stayed the same or offering no opinion. Nearly four in ten executives indicated growing barriers to trade, talent and cross-border capital flows had made it harder to do business, with only 10 percent of the opposite point of view.