Prime Minister Andy Burnham has claimed the UK is the joint-fastest growing economy in the G7, but IMF forecasts place it third.
Speaking to Good Morning Britain on Monday, Burnham said: “The IMF said recently Britain (is) the fastest growing in the G7, joint.”
He made a similar comment at Prime Minister's Questions last week, stating: “I am not sure that the right honourable lady (Kemi Badenoch) has read last week's report from the International Monetary Fund, because if she had read it she would see its clear conclusion that Britain is the standout nation for deficit reduction and the joint fastest growing country in the G7.”
IMF Forecasts Show UK in Third Place
The IMF's World Economic Outlook forecasts the UK's economy to be the joint second-fastest growing in the G7 this year, not the joint fastest. The rounded “headline” forecasts place the UK level with Germany and behind the US.
However, the unrounded figures from the IMF's data tables place the UK as the third-fastest growing country in the G7, slightly behind Germany.
OECD Data Shows UK Leading in First Half
Separate data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) shows the UK's economic growth in the first half of this year was the fastest in the G7. Rounding the figures places the UK as joint-fastest with the US.
The OECD data shows UK growth was around 0.641% in the first quarter and 0.533% in the second, totalling 1.174% for the first half. The US recorded growth of around 0.617% and 0.550%, totalling 1.168% in the first half.
This makes the UK economy marginally the fastest growing in the G7 for the first half of 2026, with both economies growing by 1.2% when rounded to one decimal place.
