India’s economy was worth $2.94 trillion in 2019, according to the US-based think tank World Population Review. That put it fifth in the world, ahead of the United Kingdom at $2.83 trillion and France at $2.71 trillion.
The gap with the leaders is still wide. The report listed the United States first at $21.44 trillion, China second at $14.14 trillion, Japan third at $5.15 trillion and Germany fourth at $4 trillion.
Big in total, small per head
Measured by purchasing power parity, India’s GDP was $10.51 trillion, above both Japan and Germany. Spread across a very large population, though, the figure shrinks. GDP per capita came to $2,170, compared with $62,794 in the United States.
Growth was also cooling. Real GDP growth was expected to weaken for a third straight year, from 7.5 percent to 5 percent.
Where the output comes from
Services drive the economy. The report described India’s service sector as the fastest-growing in the world, accounting for 60 percent of output but only 28 percent of employment. Manufacturing and agriculture are the other significant sectors.
The report traced the economy’s expansion to liberalisation that began in the early 1990s. A balance-of-payments crisis in 1991 pushed India into broad reform after decades of protectionism, extensive state intervention and public ownership of key industries. The changes included industrial deregulation, looser controls on foreign trade and investment, and the privatisation of state-owned enterprises.
The ranking has not held on a nominal basis. India is now listed as the world’s sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP, and third-largest by purchasing power parity. By per capita income it ranks 151st on a nominal basis.
