Brazil drops out of the top 10 most relevant countries for CEOs, says PwC

A PwC study showed that CEOs of companies from more than 100 countries rate Brazil as less relevant on the global stage. It went from 10th to 14th in the ranking important to executives.

The CEO Survey was carried out with more than 4,700 “business leaders”. The survey annually shows which countries are most cited by CEOs as sources of growth for their companies. Brazil was among the 10 most cited in the last 10 editions, since 2014. Here is the full text (PDF – 7 MB).

The country lost 4 positions in 1 year. It was the biggest annual decline in the last 10 surveys. The last time there was a similar drop was from 2019 to 2020, when it went from 6th to 9th. Before 2024, Brazil was in 10th place for 2 consecutive years.

In 2014, 12% of executives cited Brazil as important in the strategic market. It rose to 3% in 2024.

According to the report, other most cited countries had a reduction in importance in the ranking. The main one was the United States, which had a drop of 11 pp (percentage points), but is still the leader in the survey. China, Germany, the United Kingdom, India and Australia also lost relevance.

The partner-president of PwC Brasil, Marco Castro, stated that a significant part of the world is in conflict or “on the verge”. For Castro, even with Brazil’s departure from top 10, the country is “within a privileged group for attracting investments”. He cited the reasons: “Without conflicts, with more positive economic perspectives, with upsides [vantagens, em tradução livre] important and opportunities”.

BRAZILIAN OPTIMISM

The PwC report showed that Brazilians are more optimistic about economic growth than the global average. While 55% of Brazilian CEOs said there will be an acceleration in the national GDP (Gross Domestic Product) in 12 months, executives from international corporations were less confident.

The global average is 44% for accelerating the country’s own economic growth. In other words, each respondent talked about the nation in which the company resides.

Regarding global economic growth, the survey showed that 36% of CEOs believe in an improvement in GDP in the next 12 months. The rate is lower, but similar to that of global leaders (38%).

The main threats are inflation and macroeconomic instability, according to global executives.

According to PwC, 45% of global executives responded that they are afraid their company will not be viable for more than a decade. In Brazil, the percentage is 41%.