India will slip to seventh largest economy in 2021, shows IMF data

The good news that came in a year ago may not hold good for long. Due to a severe contraction in gross domestic product, India is set to lose its gradually improving position in global gross domestic product (GDP). The International Monetary Fund (IMF) data shows that India became the world’s fifth-largest economy in 2019, surpassing the UK and France. 

The latest IMF data, however, puts India back in the sixth position in 2020, and further down to No 7 in 2021. India’s share in the global GDP is seen to be shrinking from 3.3 per cent of the pie in 2017, to an estimated 3.1 per cent in 2021. China is not just firm at the No. 2 spot, but is nearing the US fast. From 15.3 per cent of the world economy, its share will rise to 18.6 per cent, the IMF data shows. While data till 2019 are sourced from respective countries, numbers for 2020 and 2021 are IMF estimates.