The Central and Eastern European region with its 20 countries is becoming increasingly important for German companies. For our German-Central and Eastern European Business Outlook 2025, we surveyed 133 companies operating in Eastern and Central European countries together with the Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations. More than half of those surveyed (55 per cent) expect the region's economic relevance to grow by 2030.
Attractive investment location
The largest economy in Central and Eastern Europe is Poland, and the country also leads the ranking of favoured investment destinations for German companies. It is followed by Romania, Ukraine, Hungary and the Czech Republic. 42 per cent of the companies surveyed intend to invest in these and other countries in the region over the course of the year; 56 per cent plan to invest in the next five years. The focus of investment intentions is on the expansion or construction of production capacities - 30 per cent of the companies surveyed stated this for 2025.
Andreas Glunz
Managing Partner International Business
KPMG AG Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft
Optimism about the business situation
Almost half of the companies (45 per cent) rate their current business situation in the Central and Eastern European countries as positive: 36 per cent rate their situation as "good" and 9 per cent even as "very good". Looking ahead, the assessment of the business situation is even more optimistic: 80 per cent of companies expect their economic situation to improve by 2030.
In terms of the region's most important location factors, domestic demand was cited by 40 per cent of respondents, the availability of qualified specialists by 37 per cent and low labour costs by 33 per cent.
The region of Central and Eastern Europe is an area of opportunity in which the good business opportunities far outweigh the challenges that still exist here and there. We would therefore like to see progress finally made in deepening the internal market and further EU integration in eastern and south-eastern Europe in order to make this region even more accessible.
Location disadvantages
Political risks and a lack of security in individual countries were cited by 67 per cent of the companies we surveyed as the region's greatest locational disadvantages - caused primarily by the war in Ukraine and the threat from Russia. For 38 per cent, problems caused by corruption in some Central and Eastern European countries and for 31 per cent bureaucratic hurdles are further disadvantageous factors.
Relocation of production to Central and Eastern Europe
Despite the risks mentioned, 22 per cent of companies are considering relocating production activities from Germany to Central and Eastern Europe as early as 2025. However, only 3 per cent have made a concrete decision to do so.
Germany's well-known location weaknesses are prompting companies in this country to relocate their production abroad. Central and Eastern Europe is a favoured location. The German economy is already heavily invested there, is familiar with the location and at the same time remains close to its home country.
You can now download the full study with relevant macroeconomic data for the region as well as analyses of opportunities, risks and growth potential.