December 2023: Consumer confidence up in Europe, Middle East and Africa
Ipsos’ Global Consumer Confidence Index gained 0.5 point since last month and sits at 47.7. This is the first significant month-over-month change for the Index since May. Among 29 economies measured, seven show significant gains in consumer sentiment, and just three show a notable decline.
Based only on the “legacy 20 countries” tracked since March 2010, the Index would read at 45.5. This is more than a point ahead of its reading from this time last year.
The Current, Expectations, and Investment sub-indices all show significant changes in consumer sentiment, while the Jobs Index is virtually unchanged.
Sentiment is up significantly in many European countries. Great Britain (+2.9 points), Poland (+2.5 points), and Belgium (+2.3 points) all show increases in their National Index. Of note, Poland is up a staggering 15 points since the start of 2023.
Consumer confidence is also up significantly in the Middle East and Africa, as both Israel (+3.2 points) and South Africa (+2.7 points) rebounded from last month’s declines.
In contrast, sentiment is mixed in Latin America. Argentina (+4.8 points) and Colombia (+3.5 points) show the largest increases among all countries, while Chile (-3.1 points) shows the biggest decline.
The Global Consumer Confidence Index is the average of all surveyed countries’ Overall or “National” indices. This month’s installment is based on a monthly survey of more than 21,000 adults under the age of 75 from 29 countries conducted on Ipsos’ Global Advisor online platform. This survey was fielded between November 24 and December 8, 2023.
Consumer sentiment in 29 countries
Among the 29 countries, India (64.3) holds the highest National Index score this month. Indonesia (63.9) and Mexico (60.0) are the only other countries with a National Index score of 60 or higher.
Six other countries show a National Index above the 50-point mark: Thailand (58.1), Singapore (57.5), Brazil (56.5), the Netherlands (52.2), Poland (51.5), and the U.S. (51.1). For Poland, this month’s score is the country’s highest since November 2019.
In contrast, five countries now show a National Index below the 40-point mark: Chile (39.9), South Korea (39.1), Japan (37.5), Hungary (36.6), and Türkiye (35.5).
Compared to 12 months ago, four countries show a significant drop in consumer sentiment. Nine countries show significant increases, most of all in Poland (+15.1).
Trends
Ipsos’ Global Consumer Confidence Index (based on all 29 countries surveyed) currently reads at 47.7, up 0.5 point since last month. Based only on the “legacy 20 countries” tracked since March 2010, it would read at 45.5.
The Current sub-index, reflecting consumers’ perceptions of the economic climate and their current purchasing, jobs, and investment confidence, gained 0.6 point across the 29 countries and is now at 37.7. Eleven countries show a significant month-over-month gain (at least 2 points) in their Current sub-index, compared to just four countries that show a significant loss.
The Investment sub-index, indicative of consumers’ perception of the investment climate, is up 0.8 point, the largest increase among the four sub-indices, and sits at 40.0. Similar to the Current Index, eleven countries show a significant gain in their Investment sub-index, and five show significant losses.
The Expectations sub-index, indicative of consumer expectations about future economic conditions, gained 0.5 point and now sits at 56.7. Five countries show significant gains in their Expectations sub-index, while Australia is the only one to show a significant loss.
The Jobs sub-index, reflecting perceptions about jobs security and the jobs market, is down an insignificant 0.1 point this month and sits at 57.3. It is the only sub-index to not increase this month. In total, six countries show significant gains in their Jobs sub-index, and five countries show significant losses.
Of note, five countries show significant gains (of at least 2 points) across all four sub-indices: Israel, Argentina, Great Britain, Colombia, and South Africa. In contrast, no countries show significant month-over-month declines across all four sub-indices.
Countries experiencing notable gains and losses since November
About this study
These findings are based on data from a monthly 29-country survey conducted by Ipsos on its Global Advisor online survey platform and, in India, on its IndiaBus platform. They are first reported each month by Refinitiv as the Primary Consumer Sentiment Index (PCSI).
The results are based on interviews with over 21,200 adults aged 18+ in India, 18-74 in Canada, Israel, Malaysia, South Africa, Türkiye, and the United States, 20-74 in Thailand, 21-74 in Indonesia and Singapore, and 16-74 in all other countries.