India Ranked No. 1 in Swedish Business Climate Survey

India emerges as the top country for its business climate amongst 41 global markets in the 2026 Global Business Climate Survey by the Swedish Chamber of Commerce in India (SCCI). The Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal made a mention about the ranking on September 18, calling out that the business environment of India is a good performer in an uncertain global economy scenario. The survey reflects the economic and business situation prevailing in the main export markets from the point of view of Swedish companies. India also ranks among those markets that offer great growth and investment opportunities in the Asia Pacific region.

India Ranks Top in Global Business Climate Survey

The Global Business Climate Survey 2026 includes 41 markets and focuses on how Swedish companies perceive business conditions outside Sweden.

The survey helps to benchmark economic performance, expectations for the future and business environment in the key export markets of Sweden.

India ranks the highest among all the markets when it comes to business climate assessment according to the Global Business Climate Survey.

Business Optimism Highest in APAC Region

Asia-Pacific (APAC) turned out to be the most optimistic region according to the survey.

The most optimistic countries included India and Vietnam, which demonstrates positive business sentiments towards the region from Swedish companies.

Meanwhile, business sentiments varied greatly across other regions. While Middle East & Africa were less optimistic regions, the perceptions of Europe & Americas were somewhat positive compared to 2025 year.

Ireland also featured in the top list.

India Among Markets with the Higest Growth Expectations

Another important result of the survey includes India as one of the markets with the highest growth expectations.

Growth expectations of the markets were the highest in India, the Philippines and Poland.

It is clear that Swedish companies surveyed expect high growth potential in these markets even amid global uncertainties.

India was also among the leading APAC markets for investments.

44 Percent of Swedish Enterprises Have Higher Investments

On average across the surveyed markets, 44 percent of Swedish enterprises claimed they would increase their investments in 2026.

This number turned out to be somewhat smaller than in 2025, where 45 percent of Swedish enterprises claimed they would increase their investments.

This downturn was primarily connected with lower expectations regarding investments in the Americas. APAC remained almost unchanged, and India and the Philippines remained the most attractive destinations for investments.

Europe remained the laggard region when it comes to investment expectations.

Middle East War Influenced Survey Results

The survey pointed out that its results need to be considered with some reservations due to the fact that data gathering coincided with the beginning of the Middle East war on February 28, 2026.

About 75 percent of surveys were made before February 28, and 25 percent of surveys were conducted after it.

As is seen from the survey, there was an influence of the Middle East war on businesses’ perception of the business climate, industry turnover and investments.

Nevertheless, despite regional differences, 64 percent of Swedish enterprises were profitable in the surveyed markets.