% of countries citing barrier in top three 0 25 50 75 100Barriers to accelerating economic growth, by region and income group TABLE 2 Global G20 High income Upper-middle income Lower-middle income Low income Central Asia Eastern Asia Europe Latin America and the Caribbean Middle East and Northern Africa Northern America Oceania South-Eastern Asia Southern Asia Sub-Saharan Africa High costs of energy and commodities61.9 52.9 79.2 34.4 66.7 60.0 0.0 20.0 84.8 33.3 78.6 100.0 100.0 50.0 40.0 65.4 Lack of policy stability and continuity53.4 64.7 47.9 56.2 63.0 40.0 40.0 60.0 54.5 72.2 42.9 50.0 0.0 50.0 80.0 46.2 Lack of skilled workforce52.5 58.8 68.8 56.2 33.3 20.0 80.0 60.0 72.7 33.3 42.9 100.0 50.0 62.5 60.0 30.8 Outdated and inflexible regulations44.9 58.8 64.6 37.5 33.3 0.0 40.0 80.0 60.6 77.8 28.6 50.0 50.0 25.0 60.0 7.7 Lack of adequate infrastructure38.1 41.2 18.8 53.1 44.4 70.0 40.0 20.0 18.2 50.0 42.9 0.0 50.0 50.0 40.0 53.8 Limited access to finance for business investments35.6 11.8 10.4 28.1 63.0 100.0 40.0 20.0 9.1 16.7 42.9 0.0 50.0 12.5 40.0 88.5 Limited technological know-how and innovation capacity14.4 11.8 12.5 21.9 11.1 10.0 40.0 40.0 3.0 11.1 14.3 0.0 50.0 37.5 0.0 15.4 Limited access to/integration into global value chains10.2 5.9 8.3 15.6 7.4 10.0 40.0 0.0 6.1 11.1 14.3 0.0 0.0 25.0 0.0 7.7 Source: World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey 2025. While global trends are expected to have similar impacts across most economies, opportunities to accelerate growth through local interventions will vary significantly across countries. Executives were asked to identify from a list of eight barriers the three they believe are most hindering the acceleration of growth in their country. Table 2 reports the share of countries within each group where each barrier appears among the top three barriers.“High costs of energy and commodities” is the most consistent barrier, seen as one of the top three barriers in 73 out of 118 countries globally. This likely reflects heightened uncertainty around the extent of geoeconomic rifts and their impact on energy and trade flows, as well as growing energy demand across both advanced and developing economies. Regionally, it is cited as the number one barrier in all countries in Northern America and Oceania, and in the top three barriers in the majority 3.4 Unlocking faster growth Growth in the New Economy: Towards a Blueprint 19

Growth in the New Economy Towards a Blueprint 2026