Eurozone (EA16) GDP fell by 2.5% and EU27 GDP by 2.4% during the first quarter of 2009, compared with the previous quarter, according to second estimates from Eurostat, the EU statistics office. In the fourth quarter of 2008, growth rates were -1.8% in both zones.
The Eurozone has had output falls for four consecutive quarters. The first quarter decline was the biggest since figures began in 1995, but is generally viewed as the greatest slump since the end of World War II.
Germany, the Eurozone's biggest economy, saw output decline by a quarterly 3.8% as demand for its cars and factory machinery collapsed.
Europe like Japan, has been severely hit by the plunge in world trade.
German exports fell 28.7% in the year to April.
In comparison with the same quarter of the previous year, seasonally adjusted GDP declined in the first quarter of 2009 by 4.9% in the Eurozone and by 4.7% in the EU27, after -1.7% and -1.6% respectively in the previous quarter.
In the first quarter of 2009, all Member States for which seasonally adjusted GDP data are available registered a negative growth rate compared with the previous quarter, except Poland (+0.4%) and Cyprus (0.0%).
Variation in components of GDP
In the first quarter of 2009, household2 final consumption expenditure declined by 0.5% in the Eurozone and by 0.6% in the EU27 (after -0.4% and -0.7% respectively in the previous quarter). Investments fell by 4.1% in the Eurozone and by 4.5% in the EU27 (after -4.1% and -3.4%). Exports fell by 8.8% in the Eurozone and by 8.3% in the EU27 (after -7.3% and -6.6%). Imports decreased by 7.6% in the Eurozone and by 7.8% in the EU27 (after -5.2% and -5.4%).
US GDP down by 1.4%, Japanese GDP down by 3.8%
Among the main partners of the EU, GDP decreased by 1.4% in the US in the first quarter of 2009 (-1.6% in the previous quarter). In Japan GDP fell by 3.8% in the first quarter of 2009 (-3.6% in the previous quarter).
Compared with the first quarter of 2008, GDP declined by 2.5% in the US (-0.8% in the previous quarter) and decreased by 8.4% in Japan (-4.4% in the previous quarter).
The Eurozone (EA16) consists of Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia and Finland.
The EU27 includes Belgium (BE), Bulgaria (BG), the Czech Republic (CZ), Denmark (DK), Germany (DE), Estonia (EE), Ireland (IE), Greece (EL), Spain (ES), France (FR), Italy (IT), Cyprus (CY), Latvia (LV), Lithuania (LT), Luxembourg (LU), Hungary (HU), Malta (MT), the Netherlands (NL), Austria (AT), Poland (PL), Portugal (PT), Romania (RO), Slovenia (SI), Slovakia (SK), Finland (FI), Sweden (SE) and the United Kingdom (UK).
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