New Delhi: A new comparison of real GDP relative to trend between 2019 and 2025 shows a striking shift in the global economic landscape: India has emerged as the strongest performer among major economies, while China continues to drift further below its pre-pandemic growth path. The United States has broadly returned to trend, Europe remains slightly below it, and Russia shows a slow but modest improvement.
The chart tracks each country’s real GDP as a percentage deviation from its projected pre-COVID trend. In essence, it measures not just recovery from the pandemic shock, but whether an economy has caught up with or fallen behind where it should have been without the disruption.
India’s Dramatic Fall — and Even More Dramatic Rise
Add Zee News as a Preferred Source
India experienced one of the deepest economic contractions in 2020, plunging nearly –27 percent below its trend, the worst drop among the major economies shown. Yet, over the next five years, India engineered the most impressive turnaround.
By late 2022, India had closed the gap with its trend line. Through 2023 and 2024, the economy continued expanding faster than its estimated pre-pandemic trajectory. By 2025 Q3, India sits roughly +6 percent to +7 percent above trend, making it the only large economy significantly outperforming its expected growth path. The data indicates sustained momentum rather than a temporary bounce—suggesting a structural shift in the country’s growth profile.
United States: Recovery Back to Baseline, but No Overperformance
The United States dropped to around –11 percent below trend during the 2020 collapse. Unlike India, the U.S. recovery was steadier and more predictable. By 2022, the country returned close to its pre-COVID trajectory, oscillating around the zero line. From 2023 through 2025, the U.S. economy stays roughly at trend, neither outperforming nor lagging significantly.
This stability puts the U.S. in a better position than Europe or China, but distinctly behind India’s upward trajectory.
China: Persistent Structural Slowdown
China’s line in the chart shows a different story. After an initial drop in 2020, China recovered less strongly than the U.S. or India. Starting around 2022, China’s GDP begins drifting steadily downward relative to its trend, widening the gap each year. By 2025 Q3, China is roughly –7 percent to –8 percent below trend.
This downward slope reflects the broader concerns economists have raised: weak domestic demand, property-sector stress, demographic decline, and cooling export growth.
Euro Area and Russia: Stuck Below Trend
Europe fell sharply in 2020 (about –15 percent below trend), then recovered slowly. By 2025, the Euro Area remains –2 percent to –4 percent below trend, reflecting sluggish growth, energy disruptions, and policy fragmentation.
Russia, after falling to around –12 percent, shows a modest climb and stabilizes near –2 percent to –3 percent below trend by 2025. Despite sanctions and geopolitical stress, the data suggests the Russian economy hasn’t collapsed as deeply as many initially anticipated—but it remains structurally weaker than before.
The Global Picture
The chart reveals one clear conclusion:
India is the only major economy that not only recovered lost ground but surged ahead of its pre-pandemic trajectory, while China is the only major economy consistently moving further away from it.
This divergence is reshaping global economic rankings—and may influence geopolitical and financial priorities for years to come.
Stay informed on all the , real-time updates, and follow all the important headlines in and on Zee News.