(PwC: Davos, Switzerland) -- Nearly half (48%) of the 1,258 CEOs polled worldwide believe the global economy will decline even further during the next 12 months, according to PricewaterhouseCooper’s (PwC) 15th Annual Global CEO Survey. Just 15 percent of survey respondents said the global economy will improve during 2012.

However, nearly three times as many CEOs are confident in their own companies’ growth prospects for the next 12 months than in the outlook for the global economy, suggesting CEOs believe they have learned how to manage through difficult and volatile economic times.

Forty percent of CEOs said they are “very confident” of revenue growth for their companies during the next 12 months, down from the 48 percent last year, although still up from the 31 percent who were “very confident” in 2010.

In addition, more than half of CEOs worldwide expect to increase head count during the next 12 months, although the picture changes from sector to sector, with hiring much more likely in entertainment and media than elsewhere.

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