Record level of optimism

The figures come from PwC's 24th annual Global CEO Survey, which surveyed 5050 CEOs in 100 countries and regions in January and February 2021. The percentage of CEOs expecting growth has increased from 22 percent in 2020 to 76 percent. This is the highest level of optimism since the survey was first conducted in 2012.

CEOs' optimism about global economic growth is particularly pronounced in North America and Western Europe. 86 percent and 76 percent of CEOs from these regions respectively forecast improved global growth for the current year. CEOs are also once again more optimistic about the future of their companies.

Some 36 percent of respondents said they were "very confident" about the prospects for their sales growth over the next twelve months. In 2020, this was the case for only 27 percent of CEOs. Although global confidence has increased, there is wide variation across industries, reflecting the varying extent to which consumer behavior has been affected by the pandemic.

CEOs from the technology and telecommunications sectors show the highest confidence, at 45 percent and 43 percent respectively. By contrast, CEOs in the transport and logistics (29 percent) and hotel and leisure (27 percent) sectors are least likely to believe that they will be able to increase their sales over the next twelve months.

When asked about their spending on digital transformation, nearly half of CEOs (49 percent) foresee an increase of ten percent or more. Less than half of CEOs who plan to increase spending on digital investments also foresee an increase in spending on cybersecurity. At the same time, a growing number of CEOs (36 percent) plan to use automation and technology.