California surpasses France as world's 6th-largest economy  

SAN FRANCISCO: California is now the sixth-largest economy in the world, surpassing France, thanks to a robust state economy and strong U.S. dollar.

California was the world's eighth-largest economy in 2014, Irena Asmundson, chief economist of the California Department of Finance, said in a phone interview on Friday. "California did exceptionally well in 2015."

France is the world's seventh-largest economy with a growth domestic product of $2.42 trillion, and India is the eighth-largest with $2.09 trillion, according to the latest International Monetary Fund data.

California is home to diverse strong economies, including Silicon Valley and Hollywood. Manufacturing and agriculture have performed well despite a severe drought, Asmundson said.

The most populous U.S. state has outpaced the rest of the country on job growth, California's finance department said in its June bulletin this week. Gross state product was $2.46 trillion in 2015, with 4.1 percent of growth in real terms, it added.

U.S. gross domestic product grew by 2.4 percent in 2015. Growth slowed to 0.8 percent in the first quarter of 2016.