Japan GDP Growth Rate

Last Release

Sep 30, 2023

Actual

-0.5

Units In

1.5

Frequency

Quarterly

Next Release

N/A

Time to Release

N/A

Highest	Lowest	Average	Date Range	Source
5.4 Sep 2020	-7.9 Jun 2020	0.43 %	1980-2023	N/A

Japan's industrialized, free market economy is the fourth biggest in the world. Japan has the largest electronics industry and the third largest automobile industry in the world. Japan’s economy is well-known by its efficiency and competitiveness in exports oriented sectors, but productivity is lower in areas such as agriculture, distribution, and services.

Latest Updates

The Japanese economy shrank 0.5% qoq in Q3 of 2023, worse than market forecasts of a 0.1% decline and after a 1.1% growth in Q2, a flash figure showed. This was the first GDP contraction since Q4 of 2022, amid elevated cost pressure and mounting global headwinds. Private consumption, which accounts for more than half of the economy, unexpectedly was sluggish, missing estimates of a 0.2% rise and coming after a 0.9% fall in Q2. Meantime, capital expenditure unexpectedly fell for the second straight quarter, compared with consensus of a 0.3% growth and down at a much steeper rate (-0.6% vs -0.1% in Q2); while public investment declined for the first time in three quarters (-0.5% vs 0.3%). Net trade was also a drag on the GDP, in line with forecasts, as exports (0.5% vs 3.9% in Q2) rose less than imports (1.0% vs -3.8%). Meantime, government spending picked up 0.3% after showing no growth previously.