OECD area GDP growth slows to 1.6% in 2023

By Tuba Ongun

The GDP in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) area increased 1.6% in 2023, slowing from 2.9% in 2022, according to data released on Wednesday.

Among the 27 OECD countries for which data is available, 10 recorded an economic contraction last year, with Estonia shrinking the most by 3% year-on-year.

Only Costa Rica (5.1% vs 4.6%), the US (2.5% vs 1.9%) and Japan (1.9% vs 1.0%) posted higher growth in 2023 than the previous year, the Paris-based organization said in a statement.

- 4th quarter data

In the fourth quarter of 2023, the OECD area GDP growth came in at 0.4% quarter-on-quarter.

Among the Group of Seven (G-7) countries, GDP rose by 0.4% in October-December, following a 0.5% hike in July-September.

The GDP shrank in the UK by 0.3% and Japan by 0.1% for two quarters in a row, and Germany by 0.3%.

Growth eased in the US to 0.8% in three months to December from 1.2% in the prior period.

France recorded zero growth for the second consecutive quarter while the Canadian economy grew 0.3% in the final quarter following a contraction in the third quarter.

Among other OECD countries, Costa Rica and Norway recorded the strongest GDP growth in October-December with 1.8% and 1.5%, respectively, while GDP contracted most in Ireland by 0.7%.

On an annual basis, the GDP in the OECD area rose 1.7% in the fourth quarter of last year.