OECD Projects South Korea's Growth Rate at 3.3% This Year... Revised Down to 3.1% Next Year

9th, OECD Interim Economic Outlook
"Korean Economy Expected to Recover to Pre-COVID Crisis Level Within This Year"

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Sehee] The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has revised upward its forecast for South Korea's economic growth rate this year, reflecting COVID-19 containment measures and government policy efforts.

On the 9th (local time), the OECD revised its 2021 forecast for South Korea's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate to 3.3% in its interim economic outlook. This is an increase of 0.5 percentage points from the 2.8% forecast presented in December. Among the Group of Twenty (G20) countries, South Korea ranked third, following China and Turkey.

The OECD evaluated that "efficient quarantine measures and government policy efforts contributed to minimizing the impact of COVID-19."

The growth rate for 2022 was adjusted downward by 0.3 percentage points to 3.1%, compared to 3.4% in December. Countries expected to recover to pre-crisis levels within this year include Turkey, the United States, South Korea, Australia, China, India, and Indonesia.

The OECD stated, "South Korea is expected to minimize economic fluctuations compared to other countries due to relatively low COVID-19 damage and a rapid recovery trend," and "It is expected to restore its economic scale to pre-crisis levels within this year."

The OECD predicts the global economy will grow by 5.6% this year, an upward revision of 1.4 percentage points from 4.2% in December. The OECD forecasted that "the global economy will expand mainly in major countries due to the expansion of vaccination and additional fiscal stimulus in some countries."

This year, the U.S. growth rate was raised from 3.2% in December to 6.5%, and Japan's was also revised upward from 2.3% in December to 2.7%. China's growth rate was adjusted downward by 0.2 percentage points from 8.0% to 7.8%. The growth rates for next year are projected at 4.0% for the U.S., 1.8% for Japan, and 4.9% for China.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.