Overview
- In the IMF’s April 2026 World Economic Outlook, India is listed as the sixth-largest economy for 2025 with nominal GDP of about $3.92 trillion, behind the UK and Japan.
- India’s ranking fell after the rupee weakened against the dollar, with IMF figures showing a move from roughly 84.6 per US$ in 2024 to about 88.5 in 2025, which shrank the dollar value of output.
- A February 2026 change to India’s GDP base year to 2022–23 lowered nominal estimates by about 2.8% to 3.8% versus the old series, which also trimmed the country’s dollar-measured size.
- Despite the slip in dollar rankings, the IMF projects real growth near 6.5% for 2026, leaving India as the fastest-growing major economy even as higher oil costs and West Asia tensions pressure the currency.
- The IMF now projects India to move back to fourth place by 2027 and to reach third around 2031, with the timing sensitive to exchange rates and other external shocks because rankings are calculated in US dollars.