California becomes world's 4th-largest economic superpower

Name: California: Worlds 4th largest economy
Uploaded: 2025-04-24T20:16:25-07:00
Description: The State of California seems to be setting the pace when it comes to economic growth. New figures show the state is now the 4th largest growing economy in the world, surpassing Japan.

OAKLAND, Calif. - If the state of California was its own country, it would be the fourth-largest economic superpower, according to the International Monetary Fund and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Gov. Gavin Newsom released the official results and sent a warning about why it could all be fleeting.

Most nations, including some bigger economies, will envy what so relatively few people have done and continue to do.

"California has not just a strong economy, but a major global presence," said Sean Randolph.

Randolph serves as director of the Bay Area Council Economic Institute.

By the numbers:

California's $1.4 trillion economy is fourth only behind the entire United States, China, and Germany and has now overtaken Japan, a nation with almost three times California's population.

"We achieved that because Japan's economy is actually shrinking," said Randolph.

India, the world's most populated country, is behind California's economy, even though its population of 1.4 billion is 37 times that of the Golden State's.

"They have a long way to go still to really achieve the kind of the environment for investment and regulation that they're gonna need to grow faster," said Randolph.

Newsom says at 6% annual growth, California's economy is growing at a faster rate than the world's top three economies, especially those of China and Germany, possibly eventually overtaking the latter.

But to do that, California must streamline and speed up processes for growth.

"It makes it hard to build anything. It makes it hard to build factories," said Randolph.

One example: California captured very little from the CHIPS Act that funds domestic microchip production because of its high cost and the pace to build it in the state.

"We need to find a way to build more housing and reduce the cost of living and the cost of doing business here," said Randolph.

California: Worlds 4th largest economy

The State of California seems to be setting the pace when it comes to economic growth. New figures show the state is now the 4th largest growing economy in the world, surpassing Japan.

The tariff effect

However, Newsom says the one thing that stands in the way of all this can be distilled down to one word:

"Tariffs, literally gutting the economy of the state and creating so much uncertainty. It's going to take years and years. To wreck the economy, now the fourth-largest economy in the world, California," said Newsom.

This story was reported out of Oakland, Calif.

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