Major change is expected this year, and reports suggest, India will take the lead. By the looks of it, India is all set to surpass the UK and France to become the world's fifth-largest economy. A report by Centre for Business and Economic Research (CEBR) published in December last year predicted that India is in the race to become the world's fifth-largest economy in dollar terms. The CEBR's World Economic League Table gave a positive view of the global economy, boosted by cheap energy and technology prices.
CEBR deputy chairman Douglas McWilliams said, “Despite temporary setbacks... India's economy has still caught up with that of France and the UK and in 2018 will have overtaken them both to become the world's fifth largest economy in dollar terms.” He said India's growth had been slowed by restrictions on high-value banknotes and a new sales tax. It added that while Britain looks set to lag behind France, Brexit's effects on its economy will be less than feared.
It also said that China will most likely overtake the US as the world's No. 1 economy in 2032. “Because the impact of President Trump on trade has been less severe than expected, the USA will retain its global crown a year longer than we anticipated in the last report.” While there is some time before China passes the EU, with the UK leaving the union, there are chances of it happening sometime in the middle 2020s.
