Economic growth across the OECD picked up slightly in the second quarter of 2026, even as momentum weakened in five of the seven largest advanced economies.
Gross domestic product rose by 0.5% across the OECD area from the previous quarter, compared with growth of 0.4% in the first three months of the year, according to provisional figures from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
GDP measures the value of goods and services produced in an economy. Of the 30 OECD countries for which second-quarter data were available, 27 recorded growth. Output was unchanged in Austria, Belgium and Chile.
Five G7 economies lose momentum
The picture was weaker among the G7. Combined growth in the group slowed to 0.3% from 0.4% in the first quarter.
Germany’s quarterly growth rate fell from 0.4% to 0.2%, while Italy slowed from 0.3% to 0.2%. Japan eased from 0.5% to 0.3%, and both the United Kingdom and the United States slowed by 0.2 percentage points, to 0.4%.
The OECD attributed Japan’s slowdown mainly to flat household consumption, lower inventories and weaker investment. In the United States, slower export growth, lower inventories and a fall in government consumption weighed on activity.
Weaker household and government consumption restrained UK growth. As we reported in our earlier coverage of the UK figures, services and business investment advanced during the quarter, but the improvement was uneven.
Canada provided the clearest G7 counterpoint, with growth accelerating from zero to 0.8%. France returned to growth of 0.2% after its economy contracted by 0.1% in the first quarter.
Ireland and Israel lead the quarterly table
Outside the G7, Ireland recorded the strongest quarterly expansion among countries with available data, at 3.9%. Israel followed with growth of 3.6%.
Quarterly figures for smaller economies can be volatile, so those rates do not necessarily indicate a lasting change in their underlying pace of growth.
Compared with the same period a year earlier, OECD GDP was 2.3% higher in the second quarter, up from annual growth of 1.7% in the first. The United States recorded the strongest annual rate among G7 countries, at 2.1%, while Japan had the weakest, at 0.5%.
The figures point to broader growth across the OECD but softer momentum at the centre of the advanced-economy group. The OECD is due to publish its next quarterly GDP update on 19 November 2026.
