Korea Regains 10th Place in Global GDP Despite COVID-19...Possibility of First-Time 9th Place

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] Despite the shock of COVID-19, South Korea's economy is expected to perform well last year and reclaim the 10th place in the world. Depending on the actual figures, there is also a possibility of ranking 9th for the first time in history, surpassing Canada, which shows a narrow difference.

According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on the 15th, based on last year's forecast, South Korea's nominal Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is expected to reach $1.624 trillion, surpassing Russia ($1.403 trillion), ranked 11th, Brazil ($1.394 trillion), ranked 12th, and Australia ($1.333 trillion), ranked 13th, to achieve 10th place globally. This is a two-rank rise from 2019 (12th place) and marks the reclaiming of the 10th place in the world after two years since 2018.

Nominal GDP is an indicator showing how much goods and services a country has produced, aggregated based on market prices (current year prices). This data is estimated using OECD forecasts (March interim and December economic outlook), actual growth rates, deflators, and exchange rates (dollar to local currency).

There is also a possibility of ranking 9th for the first time. Currently, South Korea's forecasted nominal GDP is slightly ahead of Canada ($1.620 trillion), so depending on actual figures, there is room to rise to 9th place.

This result is interpreted as the effect of South Korea's relatively strong performance despite the COVID-19 shock last year. South Korea's economic growth rate last year (-1.0%) ranked 3rd among the Group of Twenty (G20) countries, following China (2.3%) and Turkey (1.8%). Among advanced countries within the G20 member states, it was the most favorable performance.

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