THE Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the G20 area shrank 3.3 per cent year-on-year in 2020 as a whole due to the COVID-19 pandemic's economic fallout, said the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on Monday.

"The growth of GDP in the G20 area slowed to 2.1 per cent in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2020, down from the large rebound of 7.8 per cent in the previous quarter that followed the unprecedented falls in the first half of the year due to COVID-19 containment measures," said the Paris-based international body.

Among the G20 economies, India continued to record the highest growth of 7.9 per cent in Q4, following a growth of 23.7 per cent in the previous quarter of July-September 2020.

In most other economies, GDP growth, although lower than in the third quarter, remained positive in October-December 2020, said the multilateral organisation.

Mexico (3.3 per cent), Brazil (3.2 per cent), Australia (3.1 per cent), Indonesia (2.9 per cent), Japan and Saudi Arabia (2.8 per cent in both countries), China (2.6 per cent), Canada (2.3 per cent), Turkey (1.7 per cent), South Africa (1.5 per cent), Korea (1.2 per cent), United Kingdom and United States (1.0 per cent in both countries) and Germany (0.3 per cent) remained in the positive.

On the other hand, GDP contracted in Italy and France by minus 1.9 per cent and minus 1.4 per cent, respectively, in the last quarter.

For 2020 as a whole, GDP fell by 3.3 per cent in the G20 area, with only China and Turkey recording growth of 2.3 per cent and 1.8 per cent, respectively, while the UK experienced the largest fall of 9.9 per cent.