📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / the International Monetary Fund
Business
IMF Projects UK and India to Surpass Japan as World’s Third-Largest Economies
✍️ The Japan Times
🗓 15 Oct 2026, 07:46 AM
👁 5
The International Monetary Fund’s latest outlook predicts that both the United Kingdom and India will overtake Japan to become the world’s third‑largest economies by the mid‑2020s.
The International Monetary Fund released its newest World Economic Outlook, indicating that the United Kingdom and India are on track to overtake Japan in terms of nominal GDP. The projection places the shift in ranking to occur in the mid‑2020s, as growth in both economies outpaces that of Japan.
According to the IMF, India’s demographic dividend and ongoing reforms are sustaining a robust expansion, while the United Kingdom benefits from a rebound in services and investment after recent economic turbulence. Japan, by contrast, faces slower growth due to an aging population and persistent deflationary pressures.
The forecast underscores a reshaping of the global economic hierarchy, with the IMF urging policymakers in all three countries to address structural challenges to maintain momentum. The report does not specify exact GDP figures, focusing instead on the relative trajectory of the three economies.
According to the IMF, India’s demographic dividend and ongoing reforms are sustaining a robust expansion, while the United Kingdom benefits from a rebound in services and investment after recent economic turbulence. Japan, by contrast, faces slower growth due to an aging population and persistent deflationary pressures.
The forecast underscores a reshaping of the global economic hierarchy, with the IMF urging policymakers in all three countries to address structural challenges to maintain momentum. The report does not specify exact GDP figures, focusing instead on the relative trajectory of the three economies.