Desk:Amid rising tensions between India and Pakistan, there is positive news on the economic front for India. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected that India could surpass Japan by December 2025 to become the world’s fourth-largest economy.
According to IMF data, India—currently the fifth-largest economy with a GDP of $4.3 trillion—is expected to overtake Japan, whose GDP currently stands at $4.4 trillion. As of now, the countries ahead of India in terms of economic size are the United States, China, Germany, and Japan.
Key Projections
The IMF estimates that India’s nominal GDP will reach $4,187.017 billion by 2025, slightly ahead of Japan’s projected GDP of $4,186.431 billion. The forecast suggests that India is on track to surpass Germany as well and could become the world’s third-largest economy by 2028 if current growth trends continue. Germany’s GDP stands at approximately $4.9 trillion.
This would mark a significant economic shift, especially considering that in 2024, India had a GDP of $3.9 trillion and held the fifth position globally.
In its recent World Economic Outlook, the IMF revised India’s projected real GDP growth to 6.3% for the current year, slightly down from its earlier forecast of 6.5%.
India Already Surpassed the UK
India’s emergence as the fourth-largest economy signals a broader transformation in the global economic landscape. India had already overtaken the United Kingdom in 2020 to become the fifth-largest economy.
According to IMF forecasts, India’s economy could grow by 10.1% over the next four years, potentially reaching $6.8 trillion by 2030. If this holds true, India’s economy will be 20% larger than Germany’s and more than 33% bigger than Japan’s by the end of the decade.