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13 Sep 2022 – Gross domestic product (GDP) in the G20 area fell 0.4% quarter-on-quarter in the second quarter of 2022 after rising 0.5% in the first quarter, according to provisional estimates (Figure 1). The contraction in the G20 area contrasts with GDP growth of 0.4% in the OECD area1 in the second quarter of 2022.
The slowdown in the G20 area in Q2 2022 mainly reflected the sharp contraction in China,2 where GDP fell by 2.6% quarter-on-quarter after rising by 1.4% in Q1 2022. This contraction reflected the lockdowns that were put in place to contain COVID-19 outbreaks. GDP also contracted in India (by 1.4%), in South Africa (by 0.7%) and in the United Kingdom and the United States (by 0.1% in both countries). In India, the main reasons for the slowdown were decreases in government spending and net trade (exports minus imports). In South Africa, the economic recovery of the two previous quarters was undermined by severe flooding in a key manufacturing province. Growth also slowed but remained positive in Saudi Arabia (2.2%), Indonesia (1.0%), Mexico (0.9%) and Germany (0.1%).
Despite the contraction in GDP in the G20 area as a whole, Australia, Brazil, Italy, Japan, Korea and Türkiye recorded stronger growth in Q2 2022 than in the previous quarter. Growth in Türkiye (2.1% in Q2 2022 compared with 0.7% in Q1 2022) was supported by a marked increase in private consumption. In France, GDP rose by 0.5% in Q2 2022 following a contraction of 0.2% in the previous quarter, while in Canada growth remained steady at 0.8%.
In the second quarter of 2022, GDP was lower than pre-pandemic (Q4 2019) levels in two G20 countries(Figure 2). In Mexico, GDP had not yet exceeded its Q4 2019 level, remaining 1.1% lower than before the pandemic. In South Africa, the 0.7% fall in GDP in Q2 2022 took the country’s GDP back to 0.5% below its Q4 2019 level.
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1. The OECD GDP growth figure of 0.4% for Q2 2022 is revised from the preliminary estimate of 0.3% (OECD GDP growth release of 29 August 2022). This reflects revisions to some countries’ preliminary GDP releases and a larger country coverage for the zone aggregate.
2. China’s nominal GDP represented 22.8% of G20 GDP in 2020 (see Annex table 1 in the methodological note).
- Methodological note (PDF)
