Economy
When Will Your Country Recover from the Pandemic?
What started as a novel virus in China quickly became a sweeping disease that shut down the world and put a 1.5 year halt on the global economy.
But while some countries’ economies are already back to normal, others are lagging far behind.
COVID-19 Recovery Timelines, by OECD Country
This chart using data from the OECD anticipates when countries will economically recover from the global pandemic, based on getting back to pre-pandemic levels of GDP per capita.
Note: The categorization of ‘advanced’ or ‘emerging’ economy was determined by OECD standards.
The Leaders of the Pack
At the top, China and the U.S. are recovering at breakneck speed. In fact, recovering is the wrong word for China, as they reached pre-pandemic GDP per capita levels just after Q2’2020.
On the other end, some countries are looking at years—not months—when it comes to their recovery date. Saudi Arabia isn’t expected to recover until after Q1’2024, and Argentina is estimated to have an even slower recovery, occurring only after Q2’2026.
Country | Recovery | Economy |
---|---|---|
🇧🇪 Belgium | After Q4 2022 | Advanced |
🇸🇪 Sweden | After Q4 2021 | Advanced |
🇸🇰 Slovakia | After Q4 2021 | Advanced |
🇳🇿 New Zealand | After Q4 2021 | Advanced |
🇩🇪 Germany | After Q4 2021 | Advanced |
🇪🇪 Estonia | After Q4 2021 | Advanced |
🇩🇰 Denmark | After Q4 2021 | Advanced |
🇮🇸 Iceland | After Q3 2023 | Advanced |
🇸🇮 Slovenia | After Q3 2022 | Advanced |
🇵🇹 Portugal | After Q3 2022 | Advanced |
🇫🇷 France | After Q3 2022 | Advanced |
🇦🇹 Austria | After Q3 2022 | Advanced |
🇵🇱 Poland | After Q3 2021 | Advanced |
🇳🇴 Norway | After Q3 2021 | Advanced |
🇱🇺 Luxembourg | After Q3 2021 | Advanced |
🇱🇻 Latvia | After Q3 2021 | Advanced |
🇯🇵 Japan | After Q3 2021 | Advanced |
🇫🇮 Finland | After Q3 2021 | Advanced |
🇪🇸 Spain | After Q2 2023 | Advanced |
🇬🇧 United Kingdom | After Q2 2022 | Advanced |
🇳🇱 Netherlands | After Q2 2022 | Advanced |
🇮🇹 Italy | After Q2 2022 | Advanced |
🇬🇷 Greece | After Q2 2022 | Advanced |
🇨🇿 Czech Republic | After Q2 2022 | Advanced |
🇨🇦 Canada | After Q2 2022 | Advanced |
🇺🇸 United States | After Q2 2021 | Advanced |
🇰🇷 South Korea | After Q2 2021 | Advanced |
🇮🇪 Ireland | After Q2 2021 | Advanced |
🇨🇭 Switzerland | After Q1 2022 | Advanced |
🇮🇱 Israel | After Q1 2022 | Advanced |
🇭🇺 Hungary | After Q1 2022 | Advanced |
🇦🇺 Australia | After Q1 2022 | Advanced |
🇱🇹 Lithuania | After Q1 2021 | Advanced |
🇿🇦 South Africa | After Q4 2022 | Emerging |
🇮🇩 Indonesia | After Q4 2021 | Emerging |
🇮🇳 India | After Q4 2021 | Emerging |
🇲🇽 Mexico | After Q3 2023 | Emerging |
🇨🇴 Colombia | After Q3 2022 | Emerging |
🇧🇷 Brazil | After Q3 2022 | Emerging |
🇨🇱 Chile | After Q3 2021 | Emerging |
🇹🇷 Turkey | After Q3 2020 | Emerging |
🇦🇷 Argentina | After Q2 2026 | Emerging |
🇨🇷 Costa Rica | After Q2 2023 | Emerging |
🇷🇺 Russia | After Q2 2021 | Emerging |
🇨🇳 China | After Q2 2020 | Emerging |
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia | After Q1 2024 | Emerging |
Most countries will hit pre-pandemic levels of GDP per capita by the end of 2022. The slowest recovering advanced economies—Iceland and Spain—aren’t expected to bounce back until 2023.
Four emerging economies are speeding ahead, and are predicted to get back on their feet by the end of this year or slightly later (if they haven’t already):
- 🇷🇺 Russia: after Q2’2021
- 🇨🇱 Chile: after Q3’2021
- 🇮🇳 India: after Q4’2021
- 🇮🇩 Indonesia: after Q4’2021
However, no recovery is guaranteed, and many countries will continue face setbacks as waves of COVID-19 variants hit—India, for example, was battling its biggest wave as recently as May 2021.
Trailing Behind
Why are some countries recovering faster than others? One factor seems to be vaccination rates.
Country | Doses Administered per 100 People | Total Doses Administered | Percent of Population Fully Vaccinated |
---|---|---|---|
World | 47 | 3,573,004,544 | – |
🇦🇪 U.A.E. | 166 | 16,194,526 | 69% |
🇲🇹 Malta | 143 | 718,418 | 71% |
🇧🇭 Bahrain | 136 | 2,224,916 | 63% |
🇮🇸 Iceland | 129 | 466,434 | 70% |
🇺🇾 Uruguay | 129 | 4,458,394 | 58% |
🇨🇱 Chile | 128 | 24,248,545 | 60% |
🇦🇼 Aruba | 125 | 133,421 | 59% |
🇶🇦 Qatar | 123 | 3,474,944 | 56% |
🇬🇧 United Kingdom | 122 | 81,438,892 | 53% |
Mongolia | 121 | 3,912,996 | 56% |
Israel | 121 | 10,959,633 | 58% |
Canada | 118 | 44,293,659 | 48% |
Singapore | 113 | 6,440,735 | 42% |
Belgium | 111 | 12,700,513 | 46% |
Curaçao | 108 | 170,857 | 51% |
Denmark | 108 | 6,266,892 | 43% |
Maldives | 106 | 561,748 | 46% |
Netherlands | 105 | 18,273,238 | 43% |
Spain | 105 | 49,585,197 | 49% |
Hungary | 104 | 10,155,466 | 54% |
Portugal | 103 | 10,579,259 | 44% |
Luxembourg | 102 | 633,974 | 41% |
Germany | 102 | 84,989,850 | 45% |
China | 102 | 1,426,347,000 | – |
United States | 101 | 336,054,953 | 48% |
Ireland | 101 | 4,995,719 | 44% |
Austria | 100 | 8,866,474 | 44% |
Italy | 99 | 59,966,908 | 41% |
Switzerland | 95 | 8,133,486 | 42% |
France | 93 | 62,321,355 | 40% |
Sweden | 93 | 9,536,164 | 36% |
Finland | 90 | 4,951,925 | 26% |
Norway | 89 | 4,785,937 | 31% |
Greece | 89 | 9,560,592 | 42% |
Lithuania | 88 | 2,459,605 | 42% |
Czech Republic | 88 | 9,346,397 | 38% |
Poland | 85 | 32,413,199 | 42% |
Dominican Rep. | 84 | 9,066,151 | 34% |
Estonia | 79 | 1,049,416 | 34% |
Serbia | 78 | 5,415,434 | 38% |
Slovenia | 78 | 1,626,072 | 36% |
Cyprus | 76 | 916,819 | 35% |
Turkey | 74 | 61,747,399 | 23% |
Slovakia | 73 | 4,003,639 | 33% |
Mauritius | 71 | 901,530 | 24% |
Croatia | 71 | 2,870,866 | 32% |
Macau | 69 | 434,726 | 27% |
Cuba | 69 | 7,767,601 | 17% |
Latvia | 66 | 1,264,433 | 33% |
Bhutan | 64 | 487,060 | 0.02% |
Saudi Arabia | 63 | 21,556,314 | 9.2% |
Hong Kong | 62 | 4,638,908 | 26% |
Barbados | 59 | 168,955 | 25% |
Argentina | 58 | 26,134,815 | 11% |
Brazil | 57 | 120,726,752 | 16% |
Kuwait | 56 | 2,375,455 | 22% |
Morocco | 56 | 20,584,812 | 26% |
Cambodia | 56 | 9242925 | 24% |
El Salvador | 53 | 3,422,214 | 20% |
Japan | 53 | 66,714,528 | 20% |
Costa Rica | 52 | 2,606,791 | 16% |
French Polynesia | 51 | 141,523 | 24% |
Montenegro | 49 | 304,655 | 23% |
Fiji | 47 | 419,998 | 8% |
Romania | 47 | 9,092,141 | 24% |
Guyana | 46 | 363,442 | 16% |
Colombia | 45 | 22,624,568 | 19% |
Jordan | 45 | 4,498,748 | 18% |
Azerbaijan | 42 | 4,242,727 | 17% |
Panama | 42 | 1,781,542 | 15% |
Mexico | 41 | 52,704,960 | 17% |
Malaysia | 41 | 13,107,681 | 13% |
South Korea | 41 | 21,157,612 | 12% |
New Caledonia | 40 | 115,218 | 19% |
Ecuador | 40 | 6,890,876 | 10% |
Kazakhstan | 39 | 7,303,180 | 14% |
Suriname | 38 | 222,377 | 8% |
Australia | 38 | 9,631,807 | 10% |
Belize | 38 | 147,080 | 10% |
Albania | 37 | 1,052,108 | 16% |
Russia | 35 | 50,383,638 | 14% |
Oman | 35 | 1,728,618 | 6% |
North Macedonia | 34 | 713,114 | 13% |
Samoa | 32 | 62,161 | 4.7% |
Moldova | 31 | 834,527 | 13% |
Grenada | 31 | 35,072 | 13% |
Peru | 31 | 9,954,429 | 12% |
Saint Lucia | 30 | 54,361 | 13% |
Sri Lanka | 29 | 6,431,100 | 7.3% |
India | 29 | 391,340,491 | 6% |
New Zealand | 29 | 1,404,343 | 11% |
Brunei | 28 | 121,241 | 4.3% |
Tonga | 27 | 28,667 | – |
Bulgaria | 27 | 1,896,574 | 12% |
Bolivia | 27 | 3,117,521 | 7% |
Trinidad and Tobago | 27 | 375,924 | 11% |
Bahamas | 25 | 97,992 | 10% |
Lebanon | 25 | 1,693,164 | 9% |
Laos | 24 | 1,708,981 | 9% |
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 23 | 25,509 | – |
Cape Verde | 23 | 124,958 | 3% |
Timor-Leste | 22 | 281,283 | 3% |
Indonesia | 21 | 55,819,781 | 6% |
Equatorial Guinea | 21 | 279,112 | 9% |
West Bank & Gaza | 20 | 958,519 | 9% |
Thailand | 19 | 13,533,717 | 5% |
Taiwan | 19 | 4,603,639 | 1% |
Tunisia | 19 | 2,206,980 | 6% |
São Tomé and Príncipe | 18 | 37,716 | 5% |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | 14 | 470,218 | 5% |
Venezuela | 14 | 4,000,000 | 4% |
Nepal | 13 | 3,730,344 | 4% |
Philippines | 13 | 14,074,514 | 4% |
Botswana | 12 | 284,676 | 5% |
Honduras | 12 | 1,172,830 | 1% |
Paraguay | 12 | 826,642 | 2% |
Belarus | – | – | – |
Zimbabwe | 11 | 1,575,539 | 4% |
Comoros | 11 | 90,880 | – |
Uzbekistan | 11 | 3,541,442 | 4% |
Pakistan | 10 | 2,166,0650 | 2% |
Jamaica | 9.8 | 290,382 | 4% |
Armenia | 8.8 | 260,813 | 2% |
Ukraine | 8.8 | 3,899,890 | 3% |
Iran | 7.9 | 6,530,124 | 3% |
Georgia | 7.8 | 289,399 | 3% |
South Africa | 7.7 | 4,535,222 | 3% |
Guatemala | 6.9 | 1,146,477 | 1% |
Namibia | 6.7 | 166,616 | 1% |
Myanmar | 6.5* | 3,500,000 | – |
Libya | 6.3 | 425,119 | – |
Bangladesh | 6.2 | 10,108,224 | 3% |
Guinea | 6 | 770,688 | 2% |
Algeria | – | – | – |
Eswatini | 5.2 | 60,069 | 2% |
Rwanda | 5.1 | 646,909 | 2% |
Senegal | 5.1 | 823,610 | 2% |
Angola | 4.9 | 1,558,201 | 2% |
Egypt | 4.8 | 4,851,349 | 1% |
Vanuatu | 4.7 | 14,026 | – |
Vietnam | 4.3 | 4,185,623 | 0.3% |
Togo | – | – | – |
Tajikistan | 4.3 | 397,694 | 0.2% |
Ghana | 4.2 | 1,265,306 | 1% |
Mauritania | 4 | 182,642 | 0.3% |
Solomon Islands | 3.8 | 25,628 | 1% |
Ivory Coast | 3.3 | 861,278 | – |
Gabon | 3.3 | 72,351 | 1% |
Republic of the Congo | 3 | 163,742 | – |
Kenya | 2.9 | 1,550,389 | 1% |
Sierra Leone | 2.9 | 225,380 | 0.2% |
Iraq | 2.8 | 1,087,866 | 1% |
Djibouti | 2.8 | 26,796 | – |
Afghanistan | 2.7 | 1,024,168 | 1% |
Kyrgyzstan | 2.7 | 173,700 | 1.% |
Lesotho | 2.7 | 56,322 | 1% |
Nicaragua | – | – | – |
Uganda | 2.4 | 1,079,943 | – |
Malawi | 2.3 | 428,407 | 0.2% |
Nigeria | 2 | 3,938,945 | 1% |
Liberia | 1.9 | 95,423 | 0.2% |
Ethiopia | 1.9 | 2,090,997 | – |
Gambia | 1.9 | 43,557 | 1% |
Niger | 1.8 | 423,335 | 0.3% |
Mozambique | 1.7 | 508,184 | 1% |
Central African Republic | 1.7 | 78,685 | – |
Somalia | 1.6 | 249,790 | 1% |
Sudan | 1.6 | 677,957 | 0.3% |
Zambia | 1.4 | 243,818 | 0.3% |
Guinea-Bissau | 1.3 | 25,012 | 0.1% |
Yemen | 1 | 297,405 | <0.1% |
Mali | 1 | 196,862 | 0.3% |
Syria | 0.8 | 131,221 | 0.1% |
Madagascar | 0.7 | 197,001 | – |
Turkmenistan | – | – | – |
Cameroon | 0.6 | 163,921 | 0.1% |
Papua New Guinea | 0.6 | 51,170 | <0.1% |
South Sudan | 0.5 | 55,915 | <0.1% |
Benin | 0.4 | 52,563 | 0.1% |
Burkina Faso | 0.2 | 33,960 | <0.1% |
Chad | 0.2 | 24,459 | <0.1% |
Congo | 0.1 | 73,764 | <0.1% |
As of July 16th, 2021.
The higher the rate of vaccination, the harder it is for COVID-19 to spread. This gives countries a chance to loosen restrictions, let people get back to work and regular life, and fuel the economy. Additionally, the quicker vaccines are rolled out, the less time there is for variants to mutate.
Another factor is the overall strength of a country’s healthcare infrastructure. More advanced economies often have more ICU capacity, more efficient dissemination of public health information, and, simply, more hospital staff. These traits help better handle the pandemic, with reduced cases, less restrictions, and a speedy recovery.
Finally, the level of government support and fiscal stimulus injected into different economies has determined how swiftly they’ve recovered. Similar to the disparity in vaccine rollouts, there was a significant fiscal stimulus gap, especially during the heat of the pandemic.
Recovering to Normal?
Many experts and government leaders are now advocating for funneling more money into healthcare infrastructure and disease research preventatively. The increased funding now would help stop worldwide shut downs and needless loss of life in future.
Time will tell when we return to “normal” everywhere, however, normal will likely never be the same. Many impacts of the global pandemic will stay with us over the long term.
Economy
The $16 Trillion European Union Economy
This chart shows the contributors to the EU economy through a percentage-wise distribution of country-level GDP.

The $16 Trillion European Union Economy
The European Union has the third-largest economy in the world, accounting for one-sixth of global trade. All together, 27 member countries make up one internal market allowing free movement of goods, services, capital and people.
But how did this sui generis (a class by itself) political entity come into being?
A Brief History of the EU
After the devastating aftermath of the World War II, Western Europe saw a concerted move towards regional peace and security by promoting democracy and protecting human rights.
Crucially, the Schuman Declaration was presented in 1950. The coal and steel industries of Western Europe were integrated under common management, preventing countries from turning on each other and creating weapons of war. Six countries signed on — the eventual founders of the EU.
Here’s a list of all 27 members of the EU and the year they joined.
Country | Year of entry |
---|---|
🇧🇪 Belgium | 1958 |
🇫🇷 France | 1958 |
🇩🇪 Germany | 1958 |
🇮🇹 Italy | 1958 |
🇱🇺 Luxembourg | 1958 |
🇳🇱 Netherlands | 1958 |
🇩🇰 Denmark | 1973 |
🇮🇪 Ireland | 1973 |
🇬🇷 Greece | 1981 |
🇵🇹 Portugal | 1986 |
🇪🇸 Spain | 1986 |
🇦🇹 Austria | 1995 |
🇫🇮 Finland | 1995 |
🇸🇪 Sweden | 1995 |
🇨🇾 Cyprus | 2004 |
🇨🇿 Czechia | 2004 |
🇪🇪 Estonia | 2004 |
🇭🇺 Hungary | 2004 |
🇱🇻 Latvia | 2004 |
🇱🇹 Lithuania | 2004 |
🇲🇹 Malta | 2004 |
🇵🇱 Poland | 2004 |
🇸🇰 Slovakia | 2004 |
🇸🇮 Slovenia | 2004 |
🇧🇬 Bulgaria | 2007 |
🇷🇴 Romania | 2007 |
🇭🇷 Croatia | 2013 |
Greater economic and security cooperation followed over the next four decades, along with the addition of new members. These tighter relationships disincentivized conflict, and Western Europe—after centuries of constant war—has seen unprecedented peace for the last 80 years.
The modern version of the EU can trace its origin to 1993, with the adoption of the name, ‘the European Union,’ the birth of a single market, and the promise to use a single currency—the euro.
Since then the EU has become an economic and political force to reckon with. Its combined gross domestic product (GDP) stood at $16.6 trillion in 2022, after the U.S. ($26 trillion) and China ($19 trillion.)
Front Loading the EU Economy
For the impressive numbers it shows however, the European Union’s economic might is held up by three economic giants, per data from the International Monetary Fund. Put together, the GDPs of Germany ($4 trillion), France ($2.7 trillion) and Italy ($1.9 trillion) make up more than half of the EU’s entire economic output.
These three countries are also the most populous in the EU, and together with Spain and Poland, account for 66% of the total population of the EU.
Here’s a table of all 27 member states and the percentage they contribute to the EU’s gross domestic product.
Rank | Country | GDP (Billion USD) | % of the EU Economy |
---|---|---|---|
1. | 🇩🇪 Germany | 4,031.1 | 24.26% |
2. | 🇫🇷 France | 2,778.1 | 16.72% |
3. | 🇮🇹 Italy | 1,997.0 | 12.02% |
4. | 🇪🇸 Spain | 1,390.0 | 8.37% |
5. | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | 990.6 | 5.96% |
6. | 🇵🇱 Poland | 716.3 | 4.31% |
7. | 🇸🇪 Sweden | 603.9 | 3.64% |
8. | 🇧🇪 Belgium | 589.5 | 3.55% |
9. | 🇮🇪 Ireland | 519.8 | 3.13% |
10. | 🇦🇹 Austria | 468.0 | 2.82% |
11. | 🇩🇰 Denmark | 386.7 | 2.33% |
12. | 🇷🇴 Romania | 299.9 | 1.81% |
13. | 🇨🇿 Czechia | 295.6 | 1.78% |
14. | 🇫🇮 Finland | 281.4 | 1.69% |
15. | 🇵🇹 Portugal | 255.9 | 1.54% |
16. | 🇬🇷 Greece | 222.0 | 1.34% |
17. | 🇭🇺 Hungary | 184.7 | 1.11% |
18. | 🇸🇰 Slovakia | 112.4 | 0.68% |
19. | 🇧🇬 Bulgaria | 85.0 | 0.51% |
20. | 🇱🇺 Luxembourg | 82.2 | 0.49% |
21. | 🇭🇷 Croatia | 69.4 | 0.42% |
22. | 🇱🇹 Lithuania | 68.0 | 0.41% |
23. | 🇸🇮 Slovenia | 62.2 | 0.37% |
24. | 🇱🇻 Latvia | 40.6 | 0.24% |
25. | 🇪🇪 Estonia | 39.1 | 0.24% |
26. | 🇨🇾 Cyprus | 26.7 | 0.16% |
27. | 🇲🇹 Malta | 17.2 | 0.10% |
Total | 16,613.1 | 100% |
The top-heaviness continues. By adding Spain ($1.3 trillion) and the Netherlands ($990 billion), the top five make up nearly 70% of the EU’s GDP. That goes up to 85% when the top 10 countries are included.
That means less than half of the 27 member states make up $14 trillion of the $16 trillion EU economy.
Older Members, Larger Share
Aside from the most populous members having bigger economies, another pattern emerges, with the time the country has spent in the EU.
Five of the six founders of the EU—Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium—are in the top 10 biggest economies of the EU. Ireland and Denmark, the next entrants into the union (1973) are ranked 9th and 11th respectively. The bottom 10 countries all joined the EU post-2004.
The UK—which joined the bloc in 1973 and formally left in 2020—would have been the third-largest economy in the region at $3.4 trillion.
Sectoral Analysis of the EU
The EU has four primary sectors of economic output: services, industry, construction, and agriculture (including fishing and forestry.) Below is an analysis of some of these sectors and the countries which contribute the most to it. All figures are from Eurostat.
Services and Tourism
The EU economy relies heavily on the services sector, accounting for more than 70% of the value added to the economy in 2020. It also is the sector with the highest share of employment in the EU, at 73%.
In Luxembourg, which has a large financial services sector, 87% of the country’s gross domestic product came from the services sector.
Tourism economies like Malta and Cyprus also had an above 80% share of services in their GDP.
Industry
Meanwhile 20% of the EU’s gross domestic product came from industry, with Ireland’s economy having the most share (40%) in its GDP. Czechia, Slovenia and Poland also had a significant share of industry output.
Mining coal and lignite in the EU saw a brief rebound in output in 2021, though levels continued to be subdued.
Rank | Sector | % of the EU Economy |
---|---|---|
1. | Services | 72.4% |
2. | Industry | 20.1% |
3. | Construction | 5.6% |
4. | Agriculture, forestry and fishing | 1.8% |
Agriculture
Less than 2% of the EU’s economy relies on agriculture, forestry and fishing. Romania, Latvia, and Greece feature as contributors to this sector, however the share in total output in each country is less than 5%. Bulgaria has the highest employment (16%) in this sector compared to other EU members.
Energy
The EU imports nearly 60% of its energy requirements. Until the end of 2021, Russia was the biggest exporter of petroleum and natural gas to the region. After the war in Ukraine that share has steadily decreased from nearly 25% to 15% for petroleum liquids and from nearly 40% to 15% for natural gas, per Eurostat.
Headwinds, High Seas
The IMF has a gloomy outlook for Europe heading into 2023. War in Ukraine, spiraling energy costs, high inflation, and stagnant wage growth means that EU leaders are facing “severe trade-offs and tough policy decisions.”
Reforms—to relieve supply constraints in the labor and energy markets—are key to increasing growth and relieving price pressures, according to the international body. The IMF projects that the EU will grow 0.7% in 2023.
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