Putin: Russia has surpassed Germany
According to a report on the website of today's Russian television station on August 22nd, Russian President Putin cited a recent report released by the World Bank on August 22nd, stating that despite Western sanctions against Russia and predictions that the Russian economy will collapse, Russia has surpassed Germany and other countries to become one of the top five economies in the world based on purchasing power parity.
According to estimates released by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund based on official data from various countries, Russia's gross domestic product calculated at purchasing power parity reached $5.51 trillion at the end of last year. Their report indicates that this number is 38% higher than the official estimate of $3.993 trillion.
On July 29th, Russian President Putin attended a press conference after the Second Russia Africa Summit in St. Petersburg.
The data also shows that, calculated at purchasing power parity, Russia's economy is larger than Germany's, with a GDP of $5 trillion.
In his speech to the Strategic Development and National Project Committee, Putin pointed out that the background for achieving these progress is "to be frank, people have made pessimistic predictions, and such predictions can sometimes still be heard from some experts, mainly Western experts.".
He said that this indicates that the size of the Russian economy, calculated at purchasing power parity, has exceeded Germany's assessment "very clearly".
The IMF and World Bank have recently raised their forecasts for the Russian economy, stating that despite sanctions, Russia's GDP will continue to grow supported by strong trade and industrial production, as well as higher than expected energy income.
The Russian government maintains an optimistic outlook on the economy. Russian Prime Minister Mishusky predicts that by 2024, Russia will surpass developed countries in terms of economic growth rate.