Analytics, Economics, EU – Baltic States, GDP

International Internet Magazine. Baltic States news & analytics Wednesday, 01.05.2024, 13:00

Latvia registers EU's steepest GDP fall in Q1

Nina Kolyako, BC, Riga, 03.06.2009.Print version
Latvia recorded the European Union's steepest decrease in gross domestic product in the first quarter of 2009 – 18.6%, compared to the first three months of 2008, according to the latest data from the EU statistical office Eurostat.

Estonia registered a 15.6% GDP contraction year-on-year, followed by Lithuania – 11.8%, Germany – 6.9%, Romania and Sweden – 6.4%, Italy – 5.9%, and Slovakia – 5.4%. The EU's average GDP decreased 4.5%, and the euro area GDP shrank 4.8%.

 

According to the Eurostat data, GDP decreased in eighteen EU countries and only increased in Poland, 1.9%, and Cyprus, 1.6%. The smallest GDP contractions were reported by Austria – 2.9%, Spain and Belgium – 3% each.

 

Eurostat report is based on seasonally adjusted data. The Latvian Central Statistical Bureau previously informed that Latvia's GDP fell 18% in the first quarter year-on-year.

 

When compared to the fourth quarter of 2008, Latvia's GDP fell 11.2%, which was also the biggest GDP drop among all the EU member states. Slovakia's GDP decreased as much, Lithuania registered the second steepest plunge with 10.5% GDP decrease and Estonia's GDP contracted 6.5%.

 

The EU's average GDP contracted 2.4%, and the euro area's – 2.5%.

 

Bloomberg/LETA points out in the first three months of 2009, Europe's economy contracted at the fastest pace in 13 years. Consumer spending reduced 0.5%, exports volume shrank 8.1%, imports – 7.2% and enterprises cut down investments by 4.2% in the first quarter this year.






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