PARIS / RankWire.AI / – In the second quarter of 2026, economic expansion across OECD nations showed a modest increase, with gross domestic product (GDP) rising by 0.5% compared to the previous quarter. This follows a 0.4% growth rate recorded in the first quarter, based on provisional data published on August 24. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development indicated that out of 30 countries with available data, 27 experienced growth during this period, while three economies saw no change in their GDP.
These latest statistics reveal widespread growth across the OECD, albeit with notable disparities in quarterly performance among member countries. Ireland experienced the highest quarterly increase at 3.9%, closely followed by Israel at 3.6%. Conversely, Austria, Belgium, and Chile recorded no change in their output during the same quarter. The regional results also point to a stronger yearly performance, with OECD GDP being 2.3% higher than in the same period last year, compared to an annual growth rate of 1.7% in the first quarter.
The G7 economies performed somewhat weaker than the broader OECD overall. Their combined GDP growth slowed to 0.3% in the second quarter from 0.4% in the previous quarter. Germany and Italy each grew by 0.2%, while Japan’s expansion was 0.3%. The United Kingdom and the United States both registered quarterly growth of 0.4%. Canada saw an acceleration to 0.8% after having no growth in the prior quarter, and France rebounded from a 0.1% contraction in the first quarter to achieve 0.2% growth.
G7 Growth Decelerates as Canada Speeds Up
The slowdown across five G7 economies stemmed from reduced activity in several key output components. In Japan, private consumption remained stagnant, inventories declined, and investment decreased. The United Kingdom experienced weaker private and government consumption, while in the United States, slower export growth, reductions in inventories, and diminished government spending contributed to the moderation in quarterly expansion. Despite this, the overall OECD growth rate was slightly faster, highlighting differing economic trajectories within these groups.
This divergence was most pronounced in Canada and France. Canada’s economy shifted from zero growth in the first quarter to a robust 0.8% increase in the second, whereas France reversed a 0.1% contraction from the first quarter to grow by 0.2%. Meanwhile, Ireland and Israel outperformed other OECD members with much stronger quarterly gains. The economies that recorded no change in GDP were Austria, Belgium, and Chile.
OECD’s Yearly Growth Accelerates to 2.3%
On an annual basis, the second-quarter data indicated a broader acceleration in growth across the OECD, with GDP increasing by 2.3% compared to the same quarter in 2025, up from 1.7% annual growth in the first quarter. Among G7 countries, the United States demonstrated the strongest year-on-year growth at 2.1%, whereas Japan experienced the weakest at 0.5%. This annual comparison provides a different perspective on economic progress, separate from the quarter-to-quarter changes.
The OECD characterized these second-quarter figures as provisional, encompassing data from 30 member nations for which GDP statistics were available at the time of release. The organization has scheduled its next quarterly GDP update for November 19, 2026. The August figures remain the latest consolidated snapshot of second-quarter growth across the member countries available, showing a slightly quicker overall expansion but slower aggregate growth within the G7 group.