In the early months of 2021, the world was faced with both promise and peril. On the positive side, the distribution of vaccines for COVID-19 was under way, offering the promise that, sometime later in the year, the negative impact of the virus could abate significantly. On the negative side, the virus continued to threaten economic stability, especially in those parts of the world where it was still prevalent and threatened to be a problem elsewhere if new and virulent strains of the virus were spread widely. Even in places where the outbreak was limited, there was a negative economic impact from social distancing measures to avoid a further outbreak. The challenge for policymakers was to control the current outbreak, protect those who have been disrupted by it, and speed up the distribution of approved vaccines. The speed and success of these three imperatives will determine the path of the global economy in the year ahead.

Top 250 quick statistics

Global economic outlook

Top 10 highlights

Impact of COVID-19 on leading global retailers

Global Powers of Retailing Top

Geographic analysis

Product sector analysis

New entrants

Fastest

Study methodology and data sources

Endnotes

Contacts

Acknowledgments