India’s GDP dropped one position from the previous year to become the sixth largest in the world in 2025, as per the International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates on Thursday.
The GDP is estimated at $3.92 trillion in 2025, which is less than that of Japan’s $4.44 trillion and the United Kingdom’s $4 trillion. At $30.8 trillion, the US economy continues to be the largest, followed by China’s $19.6 trillion and Germany’s $4.7 trillion.
Despite India’s nominal rupee growth of about 9 per cent during the year, the country’s position has dropped. However, the rate of expansion was slowed in dollar terms by a stronger US dollar and lower revisions to GDP under a new data series.
According to estimates, the rupee depreciated from 84.6 to 88.5 per dollar in 2024 and 2025. Gains in domestic output have therefore resulted in a lesser increase when measured in dollars.
India had secured the fifth rank in 2024, with a GDP of $3.5 trillion, surpassing the UK, which stood at $3.4 trillion. In 2026, India is expected to remain at 6th position, and after that, it is expected to rise in the rankings.
As per the projections, India’s GDP is expected to reach $4.58 trillion by 2027, which is little higher than the UK’s projected GDP of $4.47 trillion, positioning it fourth. With an estimated output of $5.06 trillion, India is then projected to surpass Japan in 2028.
The estimates further shows that India’s GDP is expected to reach $6.79 trillion, surpassing Japan’s USD 5.13 trillion, making it the third-largest economy by 2031.
Interestingly, IMF, on Wednesday, updated India’s growth forecast for the fiscal year 2026-2027 to 6.5 per cent, an increase from the earlier estimate of 6.4 per cent made in January. It states that despite global uncertainty, India’s growth forecast is still favorable.
