COVID-19’s impact on the G20

Due to the impact of COVID-19 containment measures on economic activity, the G20 member countries' economies shrunk a total of 6.9% in Q2 2020, which is significantly larger than the 1.6% contraction at the height of the financial crisis in Q1 2009.

The G20 countries' year-on-year GDP plunged 9.1% in Q2 2020, following a 1.7% contraction in Q1 when the World Health Organisation declared COVID-19 a pandemic.

The OECD stated that China is the only G20 country that recorded an 11.5% growth in Q2 2020, while India and the U.K. recorded the most significant drops in GDP of 25.2% and 20.4% respectively. In October, the IMF projected that global output would decline by 4.4% this year, with a 5.2% rebound in 2021.