Germany overtakes Japan as third-biggest economy

Stagnant progress: People commuting to work in Tokyo. Japan’s economy shrank an adjusted 0.1% quarter-on-quarter in the last three months of 2023. — AFP

TOKYO: Once forecast to become the world’s biggest economy, Japan slipped below Germany last year to fourth place, official data shows, although India is projected to leapfrog both later this decade.

Despite growing 1.9%, Japan’s nominal 2023 gross domestic product (GDP) in dollar terms was US$4.2 trillion, government data showed, compared with US$4.5 trillion for Germany, according to figures released there last month.