Press release
GDP Romandy: one of Europe’s most prosperous regions
In 2015, the French-speaking Swiss region climbed into the top 10 of the most
prosperous European regions in terms of value creation per inhabitant. With a
gain of four places, from 12th to 8th position, it was beaten only by Inner
London-West (City of London), Luxembourg and five other Swiss regions (Zurich, Ticino, north-west Switzerland, central Switzerland and Bern-Solothurn).
Already since 2009, it has been ranked among the wealthiest regions of Europe, as shown in an analysis accompanying the latest GDP growth forecasts
for the Romandy region published today by the region’s six cantonal banks, in
collaboration with the CREA Institute and the 100 Forum of “Le Temps”.
10 May 2017 – On the release of the 10th survey on the Romandy region’s gross
domestic product (GDP), the region’s cantonal banks have re-edited a comparison
with the GDPs of the 300 European
The pick-up continues
regions published by Eurostat, which
accompanied the 1st survey of RoThe pick-up is expected to continue in
mandy’s GDP in 2008. This time, the
French-speaking Switzerland. The latest
other Swiss regions have also been forecasts from the CREA Institute point
taken into consideration and their to GDP growth in Romandy of 1.5% in
GDPs have been calculated on the 2017 and 1.9% in 2018. The region’s
basis of the cantonal GDPs issued by economy started to recover, already in
the CREA Institute.
2016, from the effects of abandoning the
According to this data, two of the four
places gained in 2015 are due to
Romandy’s economic performance
and the two others to the combined
effects of the conversion, for
comparison purposes, of the GDPs of
the Swiss regions into euros and of
the rise in the rate of the franc once
the euro floor rate had been
abandoned. The comparison also
shows that the French-speaking
region scores evenly with territories
that benefit from the “capital city”
effect, meaning that they have the
advantage of a concentration of
business activities associated with
their number 1 city status within a
country, together with the economic
contribution from a lot of commuters.
This is relevant for the regions of
Amsterdam, Brussels, Copenhagen,
Helsinki, London, Luxembourg, Paris,
Stockholm and Vienna.
euro floor rate against the franc, with
growth rising by from 0.8% in 2015 to
1.2%. So, the region is growing at a
similar pace to that of the country as a
whole.
Romandy has benefited from its
diversification, from its move towards
high added value activities and a solid
domestic market. It has also been helped
by a franc which has depreciated slightly
compared to its peaks of 2015. As
regards world growth, it has remained
sluggish, but has not derailed, despite a
variety of surprises on the political front.
For 2017 and 2018, the Romandy
economy should, in particular, benefit
from an improvement in the world
environment, thanks to the continuing
upturn in the euro zone, to a relatively
solid American economy and a recovery
of the emerging countries. However, a
degree of caution is called for, as
multiple uncertainties and risk factors still
abound.
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However, what makes Romandy stand out the most is growth and value creation are
viewed together. Well ranked on the last theme, the region also displays a more rapid rise in its GDP that that of the continent’s industrial areas and almost as dynamic
as that of the emerging regions in Eastern Europe. When the rankings for growth
(between 2000 and 2015) and prosperity are combined, Romandy climbs on to the
podium, in third position.
The same comparisons can be made by erasing the effects of price levels and
fluctuations in exchange rates. Romandy’s ranking calculated at purchasing power
parity is slightly down on that in euros. Based on this measurement, the region still
comes out as one of the 10% most prosperous European regions: in 25th position in
2015 in terms of GDP per inhabitant and in 12th place according to the combined
growth-prosperity ranking.
More inhabitants – less GDP per inhabitant
Lastly, comparison with the regions of the Confederation confirms the conclusions of
the previous editions of Romandy’s GDP, but also enables them to be fine-tuned.
This shows that Romandy has benefited from a catch-up effect since the beginning
of the millennium, with growth in real terms of 33.7% between 2000 and 2015 (the
horizon covered in this analysis), against 29.5% for the whole country. However,
another region stands out: central Switzerland, with a rise of 43.0% in its GDP.
Nevertheless, the gap with the Swiss average as regards GDP per inhabitant has not
been bridged, mainly due to the more dynamic demographic growth in Romandy
(+20.8% over the period under consideration) compared to the national average
(+15.3%). If its population had grown at the same pace as that of Switzerland, Romandy would have chalked up a Romandy GDP per inhabitant 5.7 percentage points
higher. The fact remains that its proportion of total Swiss GDP has increased.
Consequently, with a nominal GDP of 155.4 billion francs in 2016, Romandy
represents one quarter (23.9%) of the Swiss economy, against 23.1% in 2000.
A key economic indicator
GDP is the most commonly used measure of a country’s or a territory’s economic
performance. This key indicator enables the evolution over time to be analysed and
inter-regional comparisons to be made. It is also the subject of forecasts which
enable private sector business leaders and political decision-makers to better
prepare their decisions and steer their projects.
The Confederation circulates Swiss GDP data, together with cantonal GDP
estimates covering the period 2008 to 2014. In addition, since 2008, the cantonal
banks in the Swiss-speaking region, in collaboration with the 100 Forum, have been
publishing a Romandy GDP, including historical data and forecasts for the current
and the following year. The calculations are performed by the CREA Institute of applied economics in the Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of
Lausanne, using a transparent methodology. The results will also be presented at
the 12th 100 Forum, held on 11 May in Lausanne.
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The detailed data can be consulted on the websites www.bcf.ch, www.bcge.ch,
www.bcj.ch, www.bcn.ch, www.bcvs.ch, www.bcv.ch, and on those of the CREA
(www.hec.unil.ch/crea) and the 100 Forum (www.forumdes100.ch).
Contacts:
BCF: Michel Gauthier, corporate officer
Tel: +41 26 350 72 02
E-mail: [email protected]
BCGE: Hélène De Vos Vuadens, Communications manager
Tel: +41 22 809 24 11
E-mail: [email protected]
BCJ: Serge Voisard, Communications manager
Tel: +41 32 465 13 68
E-mail: [email protected]
BCN: Caroline Plachta, secretary general
Tel: +41 32 723 62 20
E-mail: [email protected]
BCVs: Albert Gaspoz, Communications manager
Tel: +41 58 324 60 30
E-mail: [email protected]
BCV: Jean-Pascal Baechler, BCV Observatory of the Vaud economy
Tel: +41 21 212 22 51
E-mail: [email protected]
CREA: Claudio Sfreddo, project leader (for methodology)
Tel: +41 78 880 91 95
E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]
The 100 Forum: Alain Jeannet, producer
Tel: +41 79 213 16 49
E-mail: [email protected]
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