India drops to 7th spot in Global GDP Rankings of 2018, France march ahead

New Delhi, Aug 02: From fifth position, India has slipped to the seventh spot in the global GDP rankings of 2018. The UK and France have raced ahead and taken the fifth and the sixth spots respectively, according to the data compiled by the World Bank.

As per the data, in 2017, India was the fifth-largest economy while France stood at number seven. However, the US remains the top economy with a GDP of $20.5 trillion in 2018.

While China was the second-largest economy with $13.6 trillion, Japan stood third with $5 trillion.

India with its GDP at $2.7 trillion in 2018, trailed behind the UK and France which were at $2.8 trillion.

In 2017, India's economic size stood at $2.65 trillion, UK at $2.64 trillion and France at $2.5 trillion. Economists said India slipped mainly because of the currency fluctuations and a slowdown in growth.

"In 2017, the rupee appreciated against the dollar, and in 2018 it depreciated against the dollar. So, it is largely due to currency fluctuation and the growth slowdown," chief economist at India Ratings and Research Devendra Pant told a leading daily. He added that the ranking could still change if growth picked up.

However, India is still the fastest-growing major economy in the world even as its growth is estimated to slow to 7% in the current fiscal year that ends in March.

The economic survey for 2018-19 has said that the country needs to sustain a real GDP growth rate of 8% to achieve the goal.