Economic briefing by Nicola Imfeld over the past year
What was positive in Switzerland in 2022
We say every year that next year can only be better. There is no reason in Switzerland to see the glass half empty, says Blick business editor Nicola Imfeld.
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The year 2022 is on the home stretch. The New Year’s Eve fireworks in Zurich will ring in the new year on Saturday. (archive image)
Nicholas ImfeldEditor Economics
2022 was a bad year for the world. Especially for the war-torn people in Ukraine. 10 million of them have to survive the cold winter without electricity. Hard to imagine for us.
The year 2022 cannot be sugarcoated for the Ukrainians. And in Switzerland, too, one hears the phrase again and again among friends and on the street these days: “2023 can only get better”.
But wait, stop: don’t we say that every year?
So that this negativity doesn’t get the upper hand, I’m concentrating anti-cyclically on the positive news from the economy at the end of the year. Because for us in Switzerland in 2022 the glass was half full and not half empty.
- While inflation rose to between 8 and 20 percent in western countries, it remained at 3 percent in Switzerland. It is the world’s second-lowest rate of inflation among the major economies, after China.
- The corona pandemic seems to be over. The economic consequences are less severe and of shorter duration than feared. In 2022, Switzerland will have recorded economic growth of around 2 percent. One example is the tourism industry, which has recovered stronger and faster than expected.
- We Swiss don’t have to freeze in our own four walls or take cold showers – the feared shortage of electricity and gas has been averted. Contrary to expectations, the Swiss reservoirs are well filled. For the current winter, we don’t have to worry.
The last few years have been difficult for us and the world with the corona pandemic – 2022 was not yet a turnaround. However, anyone who constantly complains in Switzerland fails to recognize the fact that we are much better off than 99 percent of the world.
Let’s be thankful for that and above all let’s remain positive for the year 2023. It can get better, but it can also get a lot worse for us.