PARIS / RankWire.AI / – The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development announced that economic activity in OECD nations experienced a modest uptick in the second quarter of 2026, with gross domestic product rising by 0.5% compared to the previous quarter. This follows the 0.4% growth registered in the first quarter, based on provisional estimates released on August 24. Out of 30 countries with available data, 27 expanded during this period, while the remaining three economies saw no change in GDP.
The latest data indicate a general expansion across the OECD region, though growth rates varied significantly among member countries. Ireland led with the fastest quarter-on-quarter increase at 3.9%, closely followed by Israel at 3.6%. Conversely, Austria, Belgium, and Chile experienced no growth during the quarter. The regional performance also showed a stronger annual trajectory, with OECD GDP now 2.3% above its level a year earlier. This compares to a 1.7% year-on-year growth in the first quarter.
The G7 economies underperformed relative to the broader OECD results. Their combined GDP growth slowed to 0.3% in the second quarter from 0.4% in the first. Germany and Italy each grew by 0.2%, while Japan’s expansion was 0.3%. The United Kingdom and the United States both recorded quarterly growth of 0.4%. Canada saw an acceleration to 0.8% after experiencing no growth in the previous quarter, and France rebounded from a 0.1% contraction in the first quarter to achieve 0.2% growth.
G7 growth slows as Canada accelerates
The deceleration across five G7 economies was driven by weaker activity in several key components of their economies. In Japan, private consumption remained flat, inventories declined, and investment fell. The UK faced reduced private and government consumption, while the US experienced slower export growth, inventory reductions, and lower government spending, all contributing to a slowdown in quarterly expansion. Despite this, the OECD region as a whole experienced a slightly faster growth rate.
The most notable contrasts appeared in Canada and France. Canada’s economy jumped from zero growth in the first quarter to 0.8% in the second. France reversed a 0.1% contraction in the first quarter and grew by 0.2%. Meanwhile, Ireland and Israel outperformed others with much stronger quarterly gains within the available OECD sample. The economies with stagnant GDP figures were Austria, Belgium, and Chile.
OECD annual growth increases to 2.3%
On an annual basis, the second-quarter numbers reveal a broader acceleration across OECD countries. GDP was 2.3% higher than in the same period in 2025, compared to 1.7% annual growth in the previous quarter. The United States led with an annual increase of 2.1%, while Japan’s growth was the weakest at 0.5%. The annual comparison provides an alternative perspective to the quarter-on-quarter changes in economic activity.
The OECD considered the second-quarter data as provisional. The report included 30 member nations with available GDP figures at the time of publication. The organization scheduled its next quarterly GDP release for November 19, 2026. The August data remains the most recent comprehensive measure of second-quarter growth across the available member countries, showing an overall faster expansion but with slower growth among the G7 nations.
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