Global Economy Gains Further Momentum in December

The First Data on Global Economic Activity Levels - Every Month
The only survey with current month, month-on-month, monthly year-on-year, and forward looking questions
Updated: December 18, 2025

The Global Sales Managers Index rose to 52.1 in December, reaching its highest level in over a year and confirming a continued modest strengthening of worldwide economic expansion as the year ends. The improvement was broad-based, driven by robust demand, solid optimism, and a pickup in hiring.

Note: Data Shown as a Diffusion Index. (50 = 'No Change', above 50 = Increasing growth, below 50 = Declining growth)

Sales managers reported growing optimism about the near-term outlook, with forward-looking confidence climbing to a nine-month high. This improved sentiment is underpinned by resilient demand in India and the United States, combined with the ongoing stabilisation in China.

Perceptions of business opportunities and sales growth held steady, remaining comfortably in modest expansion territory and providing a stable platform for activity without sharp swings.

Demand built further on November’s already strong showing, pushing sales activity to its highest level in over six years. This sustained strength across sectors and regions highlights the resilience of both consumer and business spending through the closing months of 2025. Firms continued to exercise solid pricing power, with prices charged advancing to their strongest level in over three years. The measured rise suggests cost pressures are still being passed through effectively to customers, without pointing to aggressive inflation.

Companies showed greater willingness to expand payrolls in December, with hiring moving more clearly into growth territory and reaching a seventeen-month high. This reflects improving confidence in sustained demand and a gradual shift away from earlier labour-market caution.

Overall, December’s reading of 52.1 paints a picture of gathering global economic momentum, led by vigorous sales and the strongest pricing trends in several years. Supportive contributions from the United States and India, alongside China’s quiet stabilisation, have helped lift the tone. With both confidence and employment trending higher, the global economy heads into 2026 on firmer ground than much of the past year, though trade and geopolitical risks still merit close attention.

Sales Managers Index Components

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About the Sales Managers Indexes

The Sales Managers' Indexes provide the earliest monthly data on the speed and direction of economic activity in key growth areas of the world.

The SMI’s (Sales Managers’ Indexes) are compiled and analysed by World Economics and are based on survey data collected from a panel of companies stratifying all Industry Classification Board (ICB) sectors which are weighted to reflect their contribution to national Gross Domestic Product.

Key advantages of the SMI's:

• The SMI's provide the first indication each month of the speed and direction of economic growth.
• The SMI's provide the most complete indication of growth, covering all private sector activity.
• The SMI's are based on a key occupational group - sales executives - uniquely able to sense accurate changes in business activity levels.
• The SMI survey base - salespeople - are used by virtually all businesses, including in frontier markets, unlike other occupational groups.
• The SMI's focus on the key countries contributing to over 60% of global growth in recent years.