GDP growth by country: past 10 years

Reading the table

Each year compares real GDP in the fourth quarter with the fourth quarter a year earlier, as published by each statistics office. The same quarter is used each year to keep countries comparable. The final column gives the latest quarter we hold for each country.

Some countries have fewer than ten years. Mexico's series starts in the fourth quarter of 2024, leaving earlier years blank. Germany's begins in 2001, Malaysia's in 2016 and Pakistan's in the third quarter of 2016. The US series begins in 1948 and France's in 1950.

Ten-year averages

Across the ten fourth-quarter figures from 2016 to 2025, Ireland had the fastest average growth at 6.1% a year, ahead of the Philippines (4.7%), Malaysia (4.1%), Singapore (3.7%) and Poland (3.6%). Japan averaged the least at 0.6%, followed by Germany (0.8%), Finland (1.0%) and Italy (1.1%). These averages cover the 35 countries with all ten years; Mexico's series is too short.

US fourth-quarter growth ranged from 1.2% to 3.4% each year apart from 2020 (-0.9%) and 2021 (5.8%), giving a ten-year average of 2.5%.

Years below zero

Only Pakistan grew in all ten fourth quarters. Latvia contracted in four (2019, 2020, 2022 and 2023), while Sweden, Qatar, Finland and Estonia contracted in three.

The 2020 trough

The biggest drop was in the second quarter of 2020, when 34 of 35 countries were smaller than a year before. The United Kingdom shrank 21.6%, Spain 21.5%, Italy 18.1%, Portugal 17.6% and France 17.0%. Ireland alone grew, by 1.9%. The US shrank 7.4%, then grew 12.6% in the second quarter of 2021.

2020 to 2021

In the fourth quarter of 2020, 29 of the 35 countries with data had smaller economies than a year earlier. Spain had the largest fall (-9.0%), followed by the Philippines (-8.2%) and the United Kingdom (-7.8%). Ireland (5.9%) and Pakistan (4.6%) grew fastest.

Every country was growing a year later. In the fourth quarter of 2021, Ireland grew 15.7%, Chile 11.7% and Colombia 11.1%, partly because the comparison was with the low 2020 quarter.

The most recent quarter

As of 19 October 2026, most countries had published figures for the second quarter of 2026. Malaysia (6.0%), Singapore (5.9%) and Denmark (5.8%) had the fastest growth compared with a year earlier, while Saudi Arabia had the largest decline (-4.7%). Statistics offices revise their figures, and the table uses the latest published value.

By then, 34 of the 36 countries had published figures for the second quarter of 2026. Three recorded declines: Saudi Arabia (-4.7%), Ireland (-0.4%) and Chile (-0.2%).

Growth from the prior quarter

The table compares each quarter with the same quarter a year earlier. The API also provides growth from the previous quarter. On that basis, as of 19 October 2026, US GDP grew about 0.6% in each of the first two quarters of 2026. Four countries recorded declines in their latest quarter: Saudi Arabia (-4.8%), Luxembourg (-0.9%), Qatar (-0.3%, in the fourth quarter of 2025) and Austria (-0.1%).