IMF says Japan to fall to sixth in world GDP rankings behind India, Britain
The nominal gross domestic product projection for 2027 comes amid continued yen weakness against the US dollar and sluggish Japanese economic growth.
The International Monetary Fund has projected that Japan's nominal gross domestic product will be surpassed by India and Britain in 2027, causing the country to drop from fourth to sixth place in global rankings. Japan's GDP is currently estimated at US$4.3419 trillion for 2026 and US$4.4676 trillion for 2027, based on an exchange rate of 158 yen to the dollar.
In contrast, India's GDP is expected to reach US$4.5211 trillion by 2027, moving it up to fourth place globally. Britain's economy is projected to surpass Japan's in 2027, with a nominal GDP of US$4.4889 trillion, even though the IMF previously expected this to occur in 2029. Japan's real economic growth is forecasted to remain at 0.7% for both 2026 and 2027, while India's economy is anticipated to expand by 7% annually during this period.
The IMF attributes India's rapid growth to "resilient domestic demand and robust services activity." Britain's economy is expected to grow by 1.3% in 2026 and 1.2% in 2027. Japan once held the second spot globally, but following China's acceleration, it fell to third place in 2010 before being overtaken by Germany in 2023, ultimately dropping to fourth position.
Written by urgent.news from Free Malaysia Today's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
