India’s economy, the world’s largest population, will rise to fourth place in the world this year, s..

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A view of the city center of Mumbai, India. [Reuters Yonhap News]

India’s economy, the world’s largest population, will rise to fourth place in the world this year, surpassing Japan, according to an Indian government think tank.

“India is in the process of becoming the world’s fourth-largest economy and I am confident it will be realized by 2025,” Arvind Birmani, an economist at India’s National Economic Policy Organization’s National Reform Committee, told India’s PTI news agency on the 26th (local time).

Dr. Birmani is a former senior economic adviser to the Indian government and a former director of the International Monetary Fund.

Based on the global economic outlook report released by the IMF last month, he predicted that India’s economic growth rate will reach 6.2% this year, with nominal GDP reaching $4.187 trillion (about 5,727 trillion won) by the end of this year.

On the other hand, Japan’s economic growth rate was only 0.6 percent, and India’s nominal GDP this year was expected to reach $4.186 trillion (about 5,726 trillion won), slightly ahead of India.

If Dr. Birmani’s expectations go as expected, India will become the world’s fourth-largest economy by GDP this year after the United States, China, and Germany.

Last year, the IMF predicted that India’s economy would rise to the third place in the world, beating Japan this year and Germany in 2028.

India, which became the world’s largest population beyond China in 2023, has grown rapidly over the past decade with an annual economic growth rate of 7%, except during the COVID-19 pandemic.

It rose to the 10th largest economy in the world in 2014 and overtook Britain, which had previously been colonized, to become the 5th largest in the world in 2022.

However, India’s per capita income (PCI) is expected to be only $2,880 as of 2025, and it is expected to remain in middle and low-income countries based on the World Bank (WB).

Japan, net foreign assets increased by 12.9%…It’s the second place in 34 years, behind Germany

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The view of downtown Tokyo, Japan. [AFP Yonhap News]

Last year, Japan’s net foreign assets reached an all-time high for the sixth consecutive year. However, it was found that it lost the world’s No. 1 ranking to Germany and became No. 2 in 34 years.

As of the end of last year, Japan’s Ministry of Finance announced that the external net asset value of the Japanese government, companies, and individuals minus external liabilities held by foreign investors in Japan was 533.5 trillion yen (about 5,124 trillion won), up 12.9% year-on-year.

This is the first time Japan’s net foreign assets have exceeded 500 trillion yen. Japan’s external assets increased 11.4% last year, and its external debt also increased 10.4%.

Germany’s net external assets were 569.6512 trillion yen (about 5,475 trillion won), and China’s net external assets, the world’s third-largest, were 516.289 trillion yen (about 4,962 trillion won).

Germany’s net external assets are reported to have increased significantly as the trade surplus continues.

Japan’s Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato said at a press conference on the same day, “Considering that Japan’s net foreign assets are steadily increasing, we do not recognize that Japan’s position has changed significantly just by ranking.”