2019 Q1 Free Zones World Economic Barometer

The results of the 2019Q1 round, conducted in the second half of February, suggest that economic conditions in free zones worldwide have improved compared to the previous three months in the second consecutive quarter. 56 percent of the free zones participating regard their current economic performance as good, up from 50 percent at the end of 2018. 39 percent evaluate the current situation as normal, while only 5 percent experience poor conditions. This translates into an F-WEB Economic Conditions Index of 51, up from 44 in 2018Q4. These results are reflected in the corresponding F-WEB Economic Conditions Index of 51, up from 44 in 2018Q4 and substantially above the value of 25 observed in 2018Q3, reaching again a similar level as seen in the first half of 2018. At the same time, expectations regarding future economic conditions remained largely unchanged compared to the previous quarter and below the expectations seen in the first three rounds of F-WEB.