World's 20 largest economies rebound in Q3 after Covid-induced declines, OECD says

Among the G20 nations, India recorded the strongest recovery

OECD's Secretary General Angel Gurria speaks during a ceremony marking the 60th anniversary of the creation of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), at its headquarters in Paris on December 14, 2020. AFP.Show less

The world’s 20 largest economies rebounded in the third quarter after record declines caused by Covid-19 in the first half, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development said.

The gross domestic product of G20 countries rose by 8.1 per cent from the previous quarter, the organisation said in a report on Monday.

However, the recovery remained 2.4 per cent below the pre-pandemic high recorded in the last quarter of 2019.

India, the world’s fifth-largest economy, grew by 21.9 per cent, compared with a record drop of 25.2 per cent in the second quarter.

Other G20 countries registered double-digit GDP growth, an improvement from the double-digit contractions of the previous quarter, OECD data showed.

The economies of France, Italy, the UK, South Africa and Mexico grew by 18.7 per cent, 15.9 per cent, 15.5 per cent, 13.5 per cent and 12.1 per cent, respectively.

The US, the world’s biggest economy, grew by 7.4 per cent during the quarter, OECD data showed, after having declined by 9 per cent in the previous quarter.

The economy of Saudi Arabia, the only Arab country in the G20, grew by 1.2 per cent, compared with a 4.9 per cent decline in the second quarter.

G20 nations account for 85 per cent of the world’s nominal GDP.

The group includes the EU and 19 other countries.

The OECD said the bloc remained below the levels of the same quarter a year ago with a contraction of 2 per cent.

Only Turkey and China, the world’s second-biggest economy, recorded positive annual growth of 5.4 per cent and 4.9 per cent, respectively.

The UK posted the biggest annual decline of 9.6 per cent.

The coronavirus had killed more than 1.6 million people and infected more than 72.8 million others around the world as of Monday, according to Worldometer.

About 50.9 million people have recovered.

The G20 bloc suffered a cumulative economic contraction of 2.4 per cent during the first three quarters of the year.

The pandemic – the worst health, economic and ­social crisis since the Second World War – is an opportunity to “build back better”, said Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and OECD secretary general Angel Gurria yesterday.

“We need to work together to develop effective global solutions for today’s global challenges: the Covid-19 recovery, climate change, biodiversity loss, growing inequality, the concentration of wealth, digitisation or the future of work,” they said.

The top three priorities are to eradicate the virus, create conditions for a broad-based recovery and ensure inclusive growth, they said.