After gaining independence from its colonial master, the United Kingdom, India surpassed the UK as the world’s fifth-largest economy. Due to tremendous economic growth, economists and business executives predicted that India would continue to strive in the coming years. Minister of State for External Affairs and Culture Meenakshi Lekhi stated, “Before 2014, we were one of the fragile five economies. It is a huge feat to become the 5th largest economy and surpass an economy like Britain from that position.” However, despite surpassing the UK’s economic size, India’s per capita income remains extremely low, ranking at 122 out of 190 countries.

As news of the above broke, many expressed their opinions. To gather such, Real Research, an online survey app, launched a survey on India overtaking UK as world’s 5th largest economy.

Highlights:

  • 53.18% are well aware that India overtook the UK economy at 5th rank
  • 66.16% are aware that India’s GDP’s expanded to 13.5% in Q2
  • 36.25% highly agree that India’s economic growth rate seems fast and uneven, given no change in employment rates or levels of income

Survey on India Overtaking UK as World’s 5th Largest Economy

Since a decade ago, India was ranked the 11th largest economy, and the UK the 5th largest in the world. Since India’s gross domestic product (GDP) expanded to 13.5% in Q2, making it the 5th largest economy, and the UK went down to the 11th largest.

The survey revealed that 53.18% are well aware that India overtakes UK economy at 5th rank, 24% are aware but not in detail, while 22.8% are unaware of this.

India-overtaking-the-UK-economy
Figure 1: Public awareness of India overtaking the UK economy

Accordingly, the survey on India’s economic growth asks about respondents’ awareness of India gaining the title of the 5th largest economy due to GDP’s exponential growth in Q2. All 66.16% replied that they were aware of this, whereas 33.84% were unaware.

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Reasons for India’s GDP Growth Rate

Numerous global economies face crippling challenges such as inflation, heavy unemployment rates, fall in GDP, economic slowdowns, increasing debt burden, etc. In contrast, India saw the fastest surge in GDP. The survey asks respondents about possible causes for this.

Respondents say it’s possibly due to the growth in the travel and tourism sector (32.84%), the services sector (11.03%), and increased demand for consumer goods and services (10.08%). Others think it’s reduced imports (8.09%), the boom in the manufacturing sector (7.88%), and growing industrial activity (7.72%).

reasons-for-Indias-GDP-growth-rate
Figure 2: Respondents choose reasons for India’s GDP growth rate

Some experts argued that GDP growth has been uneven since there has been no change in employment rates or income levels. The survey on India’s economic growth reveals that 36.25% of respondents highly agree with this statement, and 19.67% also agree. Meanwhile, 11.72% highly disagree, and 11.52% disagree with it.

Consequently, economists suggest that fast growth could indicate a possible slowdown to come in the future, likely to weaken global growth momentum. India’s economic growth survey asks if India will likely face an economic downturn despite the rapid growth in GDP. Responses reveal that 34.73% feel it is highly likely to happen, and 18.94% also confirm the likelihood.

Meanwhile, 12.28% believe it is unlikely to occur, and 11.8% also think it will be highly unlikely.

Read Also: 52.47% Believe That the Digital Rupee Will Help India’s Economy

The Downside of Current Economic Situation in India 2022 and Its Future

Further on, the survey continues to ask respondents what could be the downside of India’s economic growth. 31.68% of respondents feel a rise in inflation due to rising demands, 13.11% expect an increase in pollution due to growing consumer demands, and 11.89% think there will be congestion.

The-downside-of-Indian-uneven-economic-growth
Figure 3: The downside of Indian uneven economic growth

Furthermore, 11.79% assume the gap between rich and poor increases, and 8.97% believe another downside will be unemployment.

Lastly, the survey reveals how respondents see India’s economic growth in the foreseeable future. In response, 38.72% anticipate a further hike in economic growth, while 22.33% predict a stagnant growth rate. On the other hand, 21.11% foresee a recession, and 17.2% expect a downturn in growth rate.

Methodology

Survey TitleSurvey on India Overtaking UK As World’s 5th Largest Economy
DurationSeptember 17 – September 24, 2022
Number of Participants30,000
DemographicsMales and females, aged 21 to 99
Participating Countries Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Benin, Bolivia,… Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, China, China (Hong Kong) China (Macao), China (Taiwan), Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Greanada, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Ivory Coast, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Libya, Lithuania, Malaysia, Maldives, Maluritania, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar [Burma], Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Zimbabwe.