Jim Cornelius › G7 Economics

G7 Economic Performance

Comparing the world's largest democracies since 2016 — across growth, employment, prices, debt, and trade

All charts use 2016 as the baseline year. This lets you compare how much each G7 economy has grown (or not) relative to a common starting point, stripping out the different sizes of these economies. The 2016 baseline also captures the period just before the populist wave of 2016–17 (Brexit vote, Trump election), making it a useful reference point for the political economy of the following decade.

Indicators

📈
Real GDP Growth
Cumulative economic output since 2016. Indexed to 100 at the baseline, so the numbers directly show percentage growth. Captures the COVID crash and recovery arc for each country.
Growth
👤
GDP per Capita
Output divided by population — a better measure of living standards than headline GDP. Immigration-driven economies like Canada look very different here versus total GDP.
Growth
💼
Unemployment Rate
Standardised unemployment rates from OECD. Shows the labour market shock of COVID and how quickly each economy rebuilt employment — and who never really recovered.
Labour Market
🔥
Consumer Price Inflation
Annual CPI inflation. The post-pandemic inflation surge of 2021–23 was unprecedented in the G7 for 40 years — but its shape and persistence differed sharply by country.
Prices
🏛️
Government Debt (% of GDP)
General government gross debt as a share of GDP. COVID stimulus pushed debt ratios to post-war highs across the G7. Japan, the US and Italy carry by far the heaviest loads.
Fiscal
⚖️
Current Account Balance
The external balance (trade + investment income) as a share of GDP. Germany's chronic surplus and the US's chronic deficit are among the most persistent imbalances in global economics.
External Balance

Countries Covered

🇺🇸 United States 🇩🇪 Germany 🇬🇧 United Kingdom 🇫🇷 France 🇯🇵 Japan 🇮🇹 Italy 🇨🇦 Canada
Data note: GDP and financial series are from the IMF World Economic Outlook database. Unemployment rates use OECD standardised definitions. 2025 figures are IMF April 2025 projections. All values are in constant prices (real terms) unless otherwise noted.