India Becomes 6th Largest Economy and Beat France

The World Bank issued the updated economic figures for previous year which showed that India held the sixth rank for the world’s largest economy and pushed France lower into the seventh spot. The gross domestic product (GDP) of India reached $2.597 trillion at the end of 2017 while France’s GDP amounted to  $2.582 trillion.

The Indian economy had a strong rebound since July last year following the declines in the past quarters due to economic policies imposed by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration. There are about 1.34 billion Indian citizens which would likely make India the world’s highest population against 67 million French inhabitants. This explains that India’s per capita GDP remains a portion of France which is approximately 20 times higher according to the World Bank.

The consumer and manufacturing expenditure served as the main drivers for India’s economy in 2017 after Modi’s demonetization program of large banknotes way back in 2016 as well as the unorganized new tax system of the country.

India was able to double its GDP in a span of a decade and anticipated to power ahead as Asia’s economic engine as China wind down. The International Monetary Fund stated that India is predicted to grow by 7.4 percent in the current year and 7.8 percent in 2019, supported by tax reform and household spending. This was compared to the world’s forecast average expansion of 3.9 percent.

The Centre for Economics and Business Research mentioned that India would likely beat the GDP of France and the United Kingdom at the end of 2017. The London-based consultancy further told that there is a modest chance for the Indian economy hit the third place for the world’s largest economy by 2032.

Last year, Britain was regarded to be the fifth biggest economy in the world with a GDP worth $2.622 trillion. Meanwhile, the United States hailed as the number one economy followed by China, Japan, and Germany.