India has officially overtaken Japan to become the fourth-largest economy in the world, with its nominal GDP now standing at $4 trillion, according to International Monetary Fund (IMF) data cited by NITI Aayog CEO BVR Subrahmanyam. The announcement was made during a press conference following the 10th NITI Aayog Governing Council Meeting focused on the Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat 2047 initiative.
“We are the fourth largest economy as I speak. We are a USD 4 trillion economy, and this is not my data. This is IMF data. India today is larger than Japan,” said Subrahmanyam. He further noted that if India maintains its current growth trajectory, it is poised to surpass Germany and become the world’s third-largest economy within the next two to three years.
As per the April edition of the IMF’s World Economic Outlook report, India’s nominal GDP for fiscal year 2026 is projected to reach approximately $4.187 trillion, marginally higher than Japan’s estimated $4.186 trillion for the same period. This milestone moves India from fifth to fourth place in the global economic rankings.
The Top 10 Economies in the World in 2025 (Nominal GDP, in USD Billion) as per IMF World Economic Outlook, April 2025 are:
- United States – $30,507.22 billion
- China – $19,231.71 billion
- Germany – $4,744.80 billion
- India – $4,187.02 billion
- Japan – $4,186.43 billion
- United Kingdom – $3,839.18 billion
- France – $3,211.29 billion
- Italy – $2,422.86 billion
- Canada – $2,225.34 billion
- Brazil – $2,125.96 billion
India’s growth momentum continues to outpace global and regional averages. The IMF forecasts India’s GDP to grow by 6.2% in 2025 and 6.3% in 2026, compared to the global average of 2.8% and 3.0% respectively during those years.
Subrahmanyam also emphasized the role of India’s demographic dividend in driving future growth. “India is at a takeoff stage where it can grow very rapidly, as has been done by many countries in the past. Given this, and the demographic dividend that India is blessed with for the next 20 to 25 years, the Prime Minister has urged all states to prepare vision documents at their level,” he said.
The latest figures signal India’s growing influence in the global economy and reinforce its position as the fastest-growing major economy in the world.
