The novel coronavirus pandemic, or COVID-19, had a severe impact on the global economy, causing a decrease of the G20 countries' gross domestic product (GDP) of all G20 countries except for ***** and ****** in 2020. The rising inflation in 2022 and 2023 also caused slowing economic growth in some countries, but not nearly as heavy as during the COVID-19 pandemic.For more information about the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global economy, please check out our dedicated topic page.

The gross domestic product (GDP) of the United States amounted to **** trillion U.S. dollars in 2023, making it the largest economy in the G20 and the largest worldwide. China was the second largest economy in that year, with a GDP valued at **** trillion U.S. dollars. It is worth noticing that while the U.S. GDP was forecast to increase by around **** trillion U.S. dollars until 2027, China's GDP is forecast to grow by around *** trillion U.S. dollars in the same time.

The statistic shows gross domestic product (GDP) in Brazil from 1987 to 2024, with projections up until 2030. Gross domestic product denotes the aggregate value of all services and goods produced within a country in any given year. GDP is an important indicator of a country's economic power. In 2024, Brazil's gross domestic product amounted to around 2.17 trillion U.S. dollars. In comparison to the GDP of the other BRIC countries India, Russia and China, Brazil was ranked third that year. Brazil's national finances Brazil is one of the fastest growing economies in the world and the largest amongst all Latin American countries. Brazil is also a member of multiple economic organizations such as the G20 as well as one of the four countries in the BRIC economies, which consist of Brazil, Russia, India and China. Despite having one of the lower populations out of the four countries, Brazil maintained a relatively stable dollar value of all goods and services produced within the country in comparison to India, for example. This indicates that unemployment is low and in general business demand within the country has become relatively high. Spending within the country has been relatively high, however is considered to be normal, especially for developing countries. It is expected that developing economies have a budget deficit of roughly 3 percent, primarily because spending is needed in order to fuel an economy at most times. However, most Brazilians still have faith in their country’s economic future and still believe that their own personal financial situation will improve along with the country’s economic position in the world.

Among the 19 G20 countries, India had the largest population in October 2024, overtaking China as the most populous country in the world in 2023. Both countries had an estimated population of 1.4 billion people. The number of inhabitants in India is expected to be over 1.5 billion people in 2029, higher than in China at 1.4 billion.

In 2025, the United States had the largest economy in the world, with a gross domestic product of over 30 trillion U.S. dollars. China had the second largest economy, at around 19.23 trillion U.S. dollars. Recent adjustments in the list have seen Germany's economy overtake Japan's to become the third-largest in the world in 2023, while Brazil's economy moved ahead of Russia's in 2024. Global gross domestic product Global gross domestic product amounts to almost 110 trillion U.S. dollars, with the United States making up more than one-quarter of this figure alone. The 12 largest economies in the world include all Group of Seven (G7) economies, as well as the four largest BRICS economies. The U.S. has consistently had the world's largest economy since the interwar period, and while previous reports estimated it would be overtaken by China in the 2020s, more recent projections estimate the U.S. economy will remain the largest by a considerable margin going into the 2030s.The gross domestic product of a country is calculated by taking spending and trade into account, to show how much the country can produce in a certain amount of time, usually per year. It represents the value of all goods and services produced during that year. Those countries considered to have emerging or developing economies account for almost 60 percent of global gross domestic product, while advanced economies make up over 40 percent.

In the first quarter of 2024, the real gross domestic product (GDP) of Russia grew by 5.4 percent compared to the same quarter of the previous year. The decline in GDP recorded between the second quarter of 2022 and the first quarter of 2023 was related to the economic impact of the war in Ukraine, in response to which Western countries imposed sanctions on Russia. However, the recent monthly GDP growth data reflects the resilience of the economy in the face of external pressure in the short term. GDP refers to the total market value of all goods and services produced within a country. It is an important indicator of economic strength. Real GDP is adjusted for price changes and is therefore regarded as a key indicator for economic growth. Trade with China has eased the sanctions’ pressure The dynamic trade relationship with China has likely played a key role in bolstering Russia's economic recovery, contributing to an over-three-percent GDP growth estimated for 2024. The importance of trade partnerships and their impact on GDP growth is underscored by the example of China's influence on both Russia's imports, especially of technology and equipment, and exports, particularly of fossil fuels. Russian economic growth in the global context Amid the global economic challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical disruptions such as the war in Ukraine, Russia's annual GDP growth was close to the global one, which was forecast to reach approximately 3.2 percent in 2024. Moreover, Russia was expected to become the fourth-fastest-growing economy in the G20 in that year, following India, Indonesia, and China.

Since 1980, Europe's largest economies have consistently been France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom, although the former Soviet Union's economy was the largest in the 1980s, and Russia's economy has been larger than Spain's since 2010. Since Soviet dissolution, Germany has always had the largest economy in Europe, while either France or the UK has had the second largest economy depending on the year. Italy's economy was of a relatively similar size to that of the UK and France until the mid-2000s when it started to diverge, resulting in a difference of approximately 800 billion U.S dollars by 2018. Russia's economy had overtaken both Italy and Spain's in 2012, but has fallen since 2014 due to the drop in international oil prices and the economic sanctions imposed for its annexation of Crimea - economic growth is expected to be comparatively low in Russia in the coming years due to the economic fallout of its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. In 2025, Germany, now the world's third-largest economy, was estimated at over *** trillion U.S. dollars.

The statistic shows gross domestic product (GDP) of South Korea from 1987 to 2024, with projections up until 2029. GDP or gross domestic product is the sum of all goods and services produced in a country in a year; it is a strong indicator of economic strength. In 2024, South Korea's GDP was around 1.87 trillion U.S. dollars. See global GDP for a global comparison. South Korea’s economy South Korea is doing quite well economically. It is among the leading export countries worldwide, it mainly exports electronics, automobiles and machinery. South Korea is also one of the leading import countries worldwide. Additionally, it is one of the leading countries with the largest proportion of global domestic product / GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity (PPP). Its GDP has been increasing for the last few years, while the gross domestic product / GDP growth in South Korea has not been steady but increasing since 2009. South Korea is an OECD member and a member of the G20 states. Among the latter, its GDP growth was higher than that of the United States or the European Union in 2013. South Korea is one of the fastest-growing economies worldwide. Its standard of living is also considered to be quite high, the unemployment rate, which is one key factor, has been at around 3 percent, give or take a few percentage points, for the past decade. As a comparison, the United States’ unemployment rate was almost twice, sometimes three times as high as in South Korea during the same period. As for employment, South Korea’s rate is almost the same as that of the United States or France, with more than 60 percent of employed persons in the population.

Several of the G20 members rely more on trade with either the United States or China, while some depend heavily on trade with both. Unsurprisingly, the two neighbors of the U.S., Canada and Mexico, send more than ************** of their exports to the U.S.. Moreover, nearly ** percent of exports from Japan, South Korea, and Brazil went to either China or the U.S. in 2022. With rising tensions between the world's two largest economies, the G20 members' reliance on the two may be a cause for concern.

Of the major developed and emerging economies, China had the lowest inflation rate at *** percent in December 2024. On the other end of the spectrum, the inflation rate in Russia stood at nearly ** percent. The country's inflation rate increased sharply after the country's President, Vladimir Putin, decided to invade Ukraine, declined somewhat in 2023, before increasing slowly again since. The rate of inflation reflects changes in the cost of a specified basket containing a representative selection of goods and services. It is derived from the consumer price index (CPI).