The latest data from food and grocery research firm IGD predicts that Tesco will grow at a faster pace than French retailer Carrefour, with forecasts suggesting a growth rate of 11% for Tesco between 2007 and 2012, compared to 7% for Carrefour.
International expansion in markets such as China, the US and India will contribute to Tesco's annual turnover reaching $157.1bn by 2012. Carrefour is also expecting strong growth overseas and its turnover is predicted to reach $157bn in 2012.
Wal-Mart still remains dominant among the three retail chains. IGD predicts its turnover will grow 27% by 2012 to $476.2bn annually.
The company is currently bucking the global trend and continues to post the highest earnings among US retailers.
Joanne Denney-Finch, IGD's chief executive, said: "The next few years are likely to be challenging for the leading global retailers, yet all are well placed to achieve further growth, particularly internationally.
"Scale alone will not determine who will win in today's global trading environment. Global retailers must also show increased simplicity, greater efficiency, flexibility and strong brand positioning to succeed."
In 2007, Tesco sat behind Carrefour in global rankings, followed by German chain Metro.
Last week, Tesco posted its worst underlying UK sales growth in over 16 years, just 2%, as it encountered growing competition from Asda, Morrisons and Aldi, spurred by bargain-hunting consumers.