For 2025 to 2029

Wifo predicts only low economic growth

Austria's economy is only expected to grow by one percentage point per year in the coming years. This is according to a current forecast by Wifo (symbolic image).

(Bild: dpa/Boris Roessler)

The Austrian Institute of Economic Research (Wifo) has revised its forecast for 2025 to 2029 downwards. Austria's economy will grow by just one percentage point per year on average and adjusted for inflation, it announced on Friday.

In November, the economists were still forecasting growth of 1.3 percent. The austerity measures presented by the expected future FPÖ/ÖVP government have not yet been taken into account in the latest forecast. These could lead to a weakening of "overall economic demand", they said. 

Wifo is forecasting a growth rate of 0.6 percent for the current year 2025, rising to 1.2 percent in 2026. After that, the annual growth rate will stabilize at around one percent until 2029.

Here you can see the economic forecast in detail.

Fewer unemployed
Despite the rather moderate economic growth, the research team expects the unemployment rate to fall. Study author Josef Baumgartner justifies this with the demographic development in the coming years. The unemployment rate for this year is still calculated at 7.4 percent. It is then expected to fall to 6.2 percent by 2029.

The budget balance (excluding planned measures) is expected to average minus 4.2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) over the next five years. The public debt ratio would therefore rise to 89.2% of GDP by 2029. In the fall, the average budget deficit was still stated at 3.8 percent.