Global growth has slowed in the past two years and is forecast to remain sluggish in 2013. Some of the biggest risks facing the world economy — the breakup of the euro currency, huge tax increases and government spending cuts in the United States, and a sharp slowdown in China — were avoided last year. But two of the biggest economies — the euro alliance and Japan — will likely remain in recession this year.
Leading U.S. economist Barry Eichengreen warns that the debt crisis that has shaken Europe to its core could easily erupt again this year unless European leaders move faster to solve their problems.
Only six of 29 large countries expanded at a pace above 3 percent in 2012, and growth slowed in five of those six countries compared with the previous year.
Here are the changes in gross domestic product, the broadest measure of economic output, for 29 leading economies for the past three years:
| GDP, annual percent change * | |||
| 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | |
| China | 8.1 | 9.7 | - |
| Indonesia | 6.2 | 6.6 | 6 |
| Russia | 3.4 | 5.3 | 4 |
| Mexico | 3.3 | 4.4 | 5 |
| India | 3.2 | 7.5 | 9.5 |
| Australia | 3.1 | 2.9 | 2.8 |
| United States | 2.6 | 1.6 | 2.8 |
| South Africa | 2.6 | 3.2 | 3.6 |
| Turkey | 2.1 | 8.7 | 6.6 |
| Poland | 1.9 | 4.1 | 4.6 |
| Norway | 1.5 | 4.2 | -1.3 |
| Canada | 1.5 | 2.9 | 3.6 |
| South Korea | 1.5 | 3.7 | 4.5 |
| Switzerland | 1.3 | 1.5 | 3 |
| Brazil | 1 | 2.3 | 7.1 |
| Germany | 0.9 | 2.7 | 4.6 |
| Argentina | 0.8 | 9.5 | 9.7 |
| Austria | 0.7 | 2.1 | 2.9 |
| Sweden | 0.7 | 4 | 7.4 |
| Japan | 0.5 | -0.5 | 5.8 |
| France | 0 | 1.5 | 1.9 |
| United Kingdom | 0 | 0.7 | 2.4 |
| Belgium | -0.3 | 1.4 | 2.5 |
| Denmark | -0.4 | -0.3 | 3.1 |
| Finland | -1.1 | 3.1 | 2.8 |
| Netherlands | -1.3 | 1.1 | 1.7 |
| Spain | -1.6 | 0.6 | 0 |
| Italy | -2.4 | 0.4 | 1.9 |
| Greece | NA | NA | -4.1 |
| Source: OECD |
