Global growth was at its strongest for over 20 years in 2004, and is expected to decline from 5.1 per cent to 4.4 per cent in 2005. Growth stabilised in the first half of 2005, after decelerations in the US in the first half of 2004 and in the European Union in the second half of 2004. Of the major economies, only Japan recorded a significant strengthening in the first half of the year relative to the previous six months, and on a global level this was offset by modest slowdowns in North America. The slowdown in Canada, illustrated in chart 1, reflects a sharp deceleration in export growth, while domestic demand growth outpaced all other major economies in the first half of 2005. World trade growth moderated somewhat from the rapid growth recorded in 2004, with a sharp slowdown in import growth from the Euro Area, accompanied by more modest decelerations in the US, Japan, the UK and Canada.