Japan slips into a recession, loses its spot as world’s third-largest economy
TOKYO — Japan’s economy is now the world’s fourth-largest after it fell behind Germany in the final quarter of 2023.
According to a report from The Associated Press, Japan’s government reported the economy shrank at an annual rate of 0.4 per cent in October to December, though it grew 1.9 per cent for all of 2023. It contracted 2.9 per cent in July-September. AP News explained that two straight quarters of contraction are considered an indicator an economy is in a technical recession.
Japan’s nominal GDP totaled $4.2 trillion last year, while Germany’s was $4.4 trillion, or $4.5 trillion, depending on the currency conversion.
Japan’s economy was the second largest until 2010, when it was overtaken by China’s.
The AP News report also said that the gap between developed countries and emerging nations is shrinking, with India likely to overtake Japan in nominal GDP in a few years.
The US remains the world’s largest economy by far, with GDP at $27.94 trillion in 2023, while China’s was $17.5 trillion. India’s is about $3.7 trillion.
