Greek GDP shrank by an annual rate of 7.9 pct in the first half of 2020 (-0.5 pct in the first quarter and -15.2 pct in the second quarter), moving in line with forecasts made by the Finance ministry in a Stability Program report submitted to the European Commission in April 30 (-7.9 pct), following measures taken by the government to deal with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, Finance ministry officials said on Thursday.
The sources said that the third quarter of the year was particularly crucial for the Greek economy since it included data from the tourism sector, but added that today’s data did not confirm forecasts made by the European Commission, the IMF, OECD, etc that Greece would record the highest recession rate in the EU in 2020. They noted that according to Eurostat’s flash estimates, not included in today’s statistics, the average rate of GDP decline in the Eurozone was -15 pct and in the EU -14.4 pct in the second quarter of 2020.
