In this article, we will take a look at the fastest growing economy in the world this year. If you want to learn more about economies that could be doing better based on their growth rates, then you can take a look at the 20 Countries with the Highest Annual GDP Growth in the World.
If there’s one thing that can be said for certain it’s that the global economy has been in a constant state of flux since the coronavirus disrupted the global way of living in 2020. This has had its impact on economic growth, with estimates suggesting that if the virus hadn’t struck, then the US economy would have added $14 trillion to its output or GDP.
Globally, the virus had a strong impact on economies, as it reshaped how countries interact with each other. Among several economic indicators related to a country’s health, one is its current account balance. This is the difference between a nation’s imports and exports. Struggling countries, or those which consume rather than produce, often have large current account deficits which leaves them vulnerable to external financing shocks.
According to estimates from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), due to the virus, global current account balances as a percentage of GDP in 2019 grew from 2.9% to 3.2% in 2020. This reflected an incoming surge in prices in some countries as they scuttled to raise capital to finance consumption. The effects of the pandemic, coupled with the global disruption of the energy industry after the Russian invasion of Ukraine have led to a reshaped global economic environment in 2024. One country benefited from the invasion and you might find out which one it is later on.
The turmoil and turbulence have not paused global economic growth in 2024. In fact, GDP growth has been the center of attention in the world’s largest economy, the United States. The US economy, much to the surprise of nearly everyone involved, has managed to avoid a recession for the past five quarters. The latest figures show that America’s economy grew by 1.6% in the first quarter, for another surprising set of results that undershot estimates of 2.4%. This performance came at a time when interest rates in the US were at a 23 year high and they also demonstrated the impact of these rates in the form of a growth drop.
Globally, one country that has been quite interesting when it comes to GDP growth in 2023 is India. According to the IMF, whose 2023 economic growth estimates of 3% were nearly on the dot, India was the eighth fastest growing economy in the world in 2023. Its GDP growth in 2023 stood at 7.8%, and while the rank isn’t surprising, what happened during the previous years, is.
This is because when we take a look at different national economic growth rates in 2022, 2021, 2020, and 2019, then during these years, India ranked 34th, 33rd, 127th, and 71st, respectively. It’s quite a bit of a jump to suddenly start ranking in the top ten fastest growing economies in 2024 at a time when several well heeled economies the likes of Japan and Germany have been struggling.
Taking a look to see what lies ahead of us this year, the OECD was out with some cautiously optimistic figures in its economic outlook report issued in May 2024. It expects the global GDP to stay flat in growth terms and grow by 3.1% in 2024. Despite its recent lackluster showing in the first quarter, America’s economy can grow by 2.6% in 2024 but slow down to 1.8% in 2025, believes the body. On the inflationary front, there’s good news all around as the OECD’s data shows that inflation in the US, Eurozone, and Japan will hover around the 2% mark in 2025. Future projections in this data set also show that high interest rates and a slowdown can affect the US standing in the list of the world’s fastest growing economies in 2025.
This is because while the OECD’s 2024 economic growth projections make America the 11th fastest growing country, the 2025 growth figure can change this to the 34th position. Of course, given the ongoing boom in artificial intelligence and initiatives like the CHIPS and Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, the US economy might very well surprise everyone just as it did for the last year or so.
Finally, before we get to our coverage of the fastest growing economies in 2024, it’s important to see what the global interest rate outlook is. High rates lead to slow growth, and on this front, Bloomberg had some estimates in April 2024. Bloomberg Economics’ “aggregate measure of borrowing costs” in advanced economies is set to drop by just 100 basis points this year, which is much slower than the 435 basis points of hikes since the start of policy tightening in mid 2021. However, global chief economist Tom Orlik was optimistic, as he commented that while 2024 was initially feared to experience slow growth, “looking more like a year of resilient growth, persistent price pressure, and policy normalization that starts later and proceeds at a more measured pace.“
With this context, let’s take a look at the fastest growing economies in the world in 2024. For a reverse ranking, you should check out the 15 Fastest Declining Economies in the World in 2024.
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Our Methodology
To compile our list of the 24 fastest growing economies in the world in 2024, we used the IMF’s GDP growth data from 2019 to 2023, averaged it, and then picked out the top ranking countries. Insider Monkey is a financial news website focusing on hedge funds. The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).
24. Egypt
Average GDP Growth: 4.58
Egypt is an African country that relies on foreign financial institutions to fund its economic growth. The country has struggled since the pandemic due to the collapse of international travel. Compared to its 3.8% GDP growth in 2023, the IMF expects that Egypt’s economic growth will slow down to 3% in 2024. The higher average figure is mostly due to 2022’s growth, which saw the Egyptian economy surge by 6.7%.
23. Uganda
Average GDP Growth: 4.62%
The Ugandan economy grew by 4.6% in 2023. It is one of the smaller economies in the world, which was worth $52 billion in nominal terms in 2023. Uganda relies on agricultural exports to earn foreign exchange, and like several developing or underdeveloped nations, the country also has vast amounts of untapped oil reserves that could prove beneficial to its growth.
22. Turkiye
Average GDP Growth: 4.82%
Turkiye is a European and Asian country that is one of the most prosperous countries in the world. While Turkey is not a developed country, it is a member of both the G20 and the OECD. It also boasts a vibrant industry, and is known for the engineering and construction sectors. Turkiye’s economy grew by 4.5% last year, and its growth of 11.2% was quite notable in 2021. Back then, an extremely lax monetary policy fueled Turkish economic growth, only for it to cool down to 5.5% in the following year.
21. Togo
Average GDP Growth: 4.82%
As opposed to Turkiye, which has a high average due to the 2021 reading, Togolese economic growth has been quite balanced over the past five years. From 2019 to 2023, the country’s economy grew by 4.9%, 2%, 6%, 5.8%, and 5.4%, which led to a nice average of 4.82%. Slow and steady make Togo one of the fastest growing economies in the world in 2024.
20. Niger
Average GDP Growth: 4.86%
Niger is a sizeable landlocked West African country. It is one of the poorest and most underdeveloped countries in the world. These are also evident in its economy, which is worth $17 billion and lends Niger a GDP per capita of $630.
19. China
Average GDP Growth: 4.86%
Any economic growth list would be incomplete without China, the world’s second largest economy and manufacturing hub. Chinese economic growth is powered by its companies that export their products all over the world. Recently, the economy has sputtered due to the real estate industry reaching critical mass and leading to problems such as entire apartment blocks lying empty due to a lack of buyers.
18. Malta
Average GDP Growth: 5.02%
Malta is a small island European nation with a $20 billion GDP and a hefty GDP per capita of $38,715. Some key sectors of its economy are logistics, minerals, and tourism. After shrinking by 8.2% in 2020, the economy grew by 12.5% in the following year, leading to a relatively high GDP growth percentage.
17. Guinea
Average GDP Growth: 5.12%
Guinea is a West African country that is one of the most underdeveloped nations in the world. Its nominal GDP per capita is just $1,542 and the $23 billion economy is also one of the smallest. Guinea relies primarily on natural resources to earn its foreign exchange. Its two most important exports are gold and aluminum ore. Naturally, this also means that the Guinean economy is dependent on global economic well being as demand for aluminum is high when the economy is robust.
16. Macau
Average GDP Growth: 5.14%
While Macau is technically not a country, it still reports economic data separately from China. This data shows that the Macauan economy only grew in 2021 and 2023. The 2021 growth figure was 23.5% while the economy soared by a whopping 80.5% in 2023. Together, these two overcome negative growth in the remaining three years. A key reason behind Macau’s growth is the tourism industry and the region being a casino hub. Both these sectors were able to fully stretch their wings in 2023, and as a result, Macau prospered.
15. Tanzania
Ave1rage GDP Growth: 5.18%
Tanzania is an East African nation. It has achieved economic growth during all past five years. The economy is worth $84 billion, but a GDP per capita of $1,326 is one of the lowest in the world. Tanzania relies on agriculture to fund its economic growth, through crops such as maize and sweet potatoes.
14. Vietnam
Average GDP Growth: 5.2%
Vietnam is a Southeast Asian country with one of the biggest economies in the world. Its economy was worth $465 billion in 2023. Vietnam is one of the largest oil producers in Southeast Asia. Additionally, a key presence of firms such as Samsung has also led to speculation that it might be a great replacement for China in case Western firms are looking for alternative manufacturing partners.
13. Uzbekistan
Average GDP Growth: 5.42%
Uzbekistan is a Central Asian country with a GDP of $104 billion in nominal terms. It has high living standards but also some inequality in wealth concentration. Due to its geography, Uzbekistan can benefit from a vibrant mining industry and produce valuable materials like gas, gold, and uranium. The Asian Development Bank expects the Uzbekistani economy to slow down to 5.5% in 2025 because of strained consumer budgets due to inflation.
12. Democratic Republic of the Congo
Average GDP Growth: 5.42%
The DRC is one of the largest countries in Africa in terms of area. However, it has low levels of human development. A large population also means that the DRC’s $67 billion economy leads to a GDP per capita of a mere $675. Congo produces key industrial metals like cobalt and copper, which are essential to the electric vehicle supply chain. However, political conflict and war have continued to hamper its economic growth.
11. Aremnia
Average GDP Growth: 5.48%
Armenia is an Asian country with a $25 billion economy. It is one of the smallest countries in the world in terms of population as only 3.1 million people live within its borders. The Armenian economy grew by 5.52% in 2023, and for 2024, the IMF expects growth to sit at 6%.
10. Côte d’Ivoire
Average GDP Growth: 5.52%
Côte d’Ivoire is a West African nation that relies on agriculture and mining for its economic growth. It has a $79 billion economy which grew by 6.2% in 2023.
9. Georgia
Average GDP Growth: 5.64%
Georgia is a European and Asian country. It has high levels of human development and the economy was worth $30 billion in 2023. Georgia’s economy grew by 10.6% and 11% in 2021 and 2022, respectively. A key reason behind the boom was Western sanctions against Russia that cut off its access to the global economic system. As a result, money flew into Georgia and the economy boomed.
8. Benin
Average GDP Growth: 6%
Despite being one of the smallest countries in the world and having a $19 billion economy, Benin is one of the ten fastest growing economies in the world. Its economy primarily relies on agriculture, metals, and minerals for export earnings. The Economist Intelligence Unit expects that Benin’s economy can grow faster at an average rate of 6.4% in 2024-2025.
7. Maldives
Average GDP Growth: 6.08%
The land of beaches, Maldives is also one of the ten smallest countries in the world by area. Its economic growth is largely due to the pent up tourism demand from the pandemic releasing. However, high borrowing costs could hamper future economic growth, worries the World Bank.
6. Bangladesh
Average GDP Growth: 6.26%
Bangladesh is one of the leading exporters of textiles and garments. It has managed to become one of the fastest growing economies in the world despite having achieved independence in 1971. Despite the strong growth, Bangladesh has high levels of income inequality, which is a serious matter since Bangladesh is also the eighth most populous nation in the world.
5. Rwanda
Average GDP Growth: 6.42%
Rwanda is a Central African country with a small $13 billion economy. It has low levels of human development and an economy that is funded by agriculture. Its economy grew by 6.9% in 2023, and the World Bank believes that average growth from 2024 to 2026 will be 7.2%.
4. Ireland
Average GDP Growth: 6.64%
Ireland is one of the most developed countries in the world. Its economy, and particularly the sizeable GDP per capita, has also been at the center of global scrutiny for years. This is because Ireland has been a place where corporations have been able to reduce their tax bills. This leads to more money flowing into the country than its outputs are responsible for. Consequently, Ireland’s latest GDP per capita is $106,059.
3. Ethiopia
Average GDP Growth: 7%
Ethiopia is another poor and underdeveloped nation. It has a GDP of $205 billion, and a GDP per capita of $1,910. Throughout the 20th century, Ethiopia has been plagued by war and conflict which have hampered its economic growth. The 21st century saw Ethiopia turn a leaf and post 10%+ economic growth rates in the early 2000s. However, these have also led to high inflation and balance of payments complications.
2. Tajikistan
Average GDP Growth: 7.5%
Tajikistan is a Central Asian country. It is one of the smallest and least populous nations in the world. Tajikistan’s GDP grew by 8.3% in 2023 according to estimates by the IMF and World Bank. A variety of factors were responsible; such as precious metals exports and agricultural expansion.
1. Guyana
Average GDP Growth: 32.86%
Guyana is an unsurprising part of our list of the fastest growing economies in 2024. This is because it is at the center of some of the hottest developments in the global crude oil industry. The Guayanan economy is worth 16.3 billion, which lends it a GDP per capita of $20,564. So why is its economy growing in double digit percentages?
Well, US mega oil giant Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) is at the center of Guayana’s fortune. It discovered a block of oil estimated to have at least ten billion barrels offshore in 2015. Production started in 2019 and led to Guaya’s GDP growth jumping from 4% in 2019 to a whopping 43.5% in 2020. Production touched 650,000 barrels this year, and it has also led to conflicts with Guyana’s neighbor Venezuela.
As if this weren’t enough, BMI expects Guyana’s economic growth to sit at a stunning 115% over the next five years according to a September 2023 report. The IMF’s 2024 GDP growth projection for Guyana is 33.9%, However, some quarters have already started to worry about the Dutch Diseases taking hold of Guyana and geopolitical tensions threatening smooth oil production.
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