PARIS / RankWire.AI / – Economic growth across OECD countries picked up slightly in the second quarter of 2026, with gross domestic product rising 0.5% from the previous quarter. Growth had reached 0.4% in the first quarter, according to provisional estimates released on August 24. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development said 27 of 30 countries with available data expanded during the quarter. GDP was unchanged in the remaining three economies.
The latest figures show broad expansion across the OECD area, although growth rates varied sharply between members. Ireland posted the fastest quarter-on-quarter increase at 3.9%, while Israel followed at 3.6%. Austria, Belgium and Chile recorded no change in output during the quarter. The regional result also marked a stronger annual performance, with OECD GDP standing 2.3% above its level a year earlier. That compares with annual growth of 1.7% in the first quarter.
Performance among the G7 economies was weaker than the wider OECD result. Combined G7 GDP growth slowed to 0.3% in the second quarter from 0.4% in the first. Germany and Italy each grew 0.2%, while Japan expanded 0.3%. The United Kingdom and the United States each recorded 0.4% quarterly growth. Canada accelerated to 0.8% after no growth in the previous quarter, while France returned to 0.2% growth after a 0.1% contraction.
G7 growth slows as Canada accelerates
The slowdown across five G7 economies reflected weaker activity in several major components of output. In Japan, private consumption was flat, inventories fell and investment declined. The United Kingdom saw weaker private consumption and lower government consumption. In the United States, weaker export growth, inventory reductions and lower government consumption slowed the quarterly expansion. Combined G7 growth therefore eased even as the broader OECD area recorded a slightly faster pace.
The contrast was sharpest in Canada and France. Canada’s economy moved from zero growth in the first quarter to 0.8% growth in the second. France reversed a 0.1% first-quarter contraction and expanded 0.2%. Elsewhere, Ireland and Israel recorded much stronger quarterly gains than other countries in the available OECD sample. The three economies with flat GDP were Austria, Belgium and Chile.
Annual OECD growth strengthens to 2.3%
On a year-on-year basis, the second-quarter figures showed a broader acceleration across the OECD area. GDP was 2.3% higher than in the same quarter of 2025, compared with 1.7% annual growth in the first quarter. Among G7 economies, the United States posted the strongest annual rate at 2.1%. Japan recorded the weakest year-on-year expansion in the group at 0.5%. The annual comparison offers a separate measure from quarter-on-quarter changes in economic output.
The OECD classified the second-quarter estimates as provisional. The release included 30 member countries for which second-quarter GDP data were available at publication time. The organization scheduled its next quarterly GDP growth release for November 19, 2026. The August figures remain its latest consolidated measure of second-quarter growth across the available member economies, showing faster overall expansion alongside slower aggregate growth among the G7 countries.