STAT/09/28
5 March 2009
First estimates for the fourth quarter of
2008
Euro area and EU27 GDP down by 1.5%
-1.3% in both zones
compared with the fourth quarter of 2007
GDP fell by 1.5% in both the euro area1 (EA15) and the EU271 during the fourth quarter of 2008, compared with the previous quarter, according to first estimates released by Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities. In the third quarter of 2008, growth rates were -0.2% in the euro area and -0.3% in the EU27.
Compared with the fourth quarter of 2007, seasonally adjusted GDP declined by 1.3% in both the euro area and in the EU27, after +0.6% and +0.7% respectively for the previous quarter.
Variation in components of GDP
During the fourth quarter of 2008, household2 final consumption expenditure declined by 0.9% in the euro area and by 0.8% in the EU27 (after +0.1% in both zones in the previous quarter). Investments fell by 2.7% in the euro area and by 2.5% in the EU27 (after -0.6% and -1.0%). Exports decreased by 7.3% in the euro area and by 6.8% in the EU27 (after 0.0% in both zones). Imports dropped by 5.5% in both the euro area and the EU27 (after +1.4% and +1.0%).
US and Japanese GDP declined
In the United States GDP decreased by 1.6% during the fourth quarter of 2008 after -0.1% in the third quarter. In Japan GDP fell by 3.3% in the fourth quarter of 2008, after -0.6% in the previous quarter.
Compared with the fourth quarter of 2007, GDP declined by 0.8% in the United States (after +0.7% in the previous quarter) and by 4.6% in Japan (after -0.2%).
In 2008 GDP grew by 0.8% in the euro area and by 0.9% in the EU27
Over the whole year 2008, GDP grew by 0.8% in the euro area and by 0.9% in the EU27, compared to +2.6% and +2.9% respectively for 2007.
Over the whole year 2008, GDP grew by 1.1% in the US (+2.0% in 2007)
and fell by 0.7% in Japan (+2.4% in 2007).
- The euro area (EA15) consisted of 15 Member States up to 31 December 2008: Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia and Finland. From 1 January 2009 the euro area (EA16) also includes Slovakia.
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).
As part of Eurostat's guidelines for the dissemination of data when the EU or euro area is enlarged, the aggregate data series commented on refer to the official composition of the euro area in the most recent quarter for which data are available. Thus News Releases with data for quarters up to 2008Q4 comment on EA15 series, while Releases with data for 2009Q1 onwards will comment on EA16 series.
- NPISH (Non-profit institutions serving households) included.
Summary quality information:
European quarterly national accounts are compiled in accordance with the European System of Accounts 1995 (ESA95). The first regular estimates of 2008 Q4 GDP growth presented in this release are based on Member States’ data as available, covering 97% of euro area GDP (97% of EU27 GDP). These data are seasonally adjusted (and in most cases also corrected for working days) according to national adjustment procedures. Seasonally adjusted European aggregates are calculated from seasonally adjusted Member States’ data (indirect seasonal adjustment).
A flash estimation of GDP growth was published in News Release 19/2009 issued on 13 February 2009. This was based on a more limited data set than the one used for the present News Release and, additionally, on flash estimates for some Member States, which have now been revised. The published GDP growth rates for the fourth quarter of 2008 compared with the previous quarter which had been estimated at -1.5% for the euro area and at -1.5% for the EU27 remain unchanged in the present release. Compared with the fourth quarter of 2007, GDP growth that had been estimated at -1.2% in the euro area and -1.1% in the EU27, is revised down to -1.3% in both zones.
With the first regular estimates, euro area and EU27 figures are subject to revision for all quarters for variables in this release. Other variables will be updated with the first release of quarterly employment, scheduled for 16 March 2009. Figures presented in this release may be further revised with the second regular estimate, scheduled for 7 April 2009. This second regular estimate will incorporate additional country data. European legislation requires all EU Member States to send quarterly national accounts (main aggregates) within 70 days after the end of the quarter at the latest, which is between Eurostat's first and second regular quarterly releases.
More data on European quarterly national accounts are available on Eurostat’s website (“Data” / “Economy and Finance” / “National Accounts”). Also there, additional general information on European national accounts is given in the metadata files linked to the data tables.
|
Issued by: Eurostat Press Office
Tim ALLEN Tel: +352-4301 33 444 mailto:eurostat-pressoffice@ec.europa.eu Eurostat news releases on the Internet: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat |
For further information on data:
Jukka JALAVA Tomas DUCHON Tel: +352-4301-38 435 +352-4301-32 383 |
Selected Principal European Economic Indicators: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/euroindicators
Quarterly growth rates of GDP in volume
(based on
seasonally adjusted* data)
|
|
Percentage change compared with the previous
quarter
|
Percentage change compared with the same quarter of the
previous year
|
||||||
|
|
2008
|
2008
|
||||||
|
|
Q1
|
Q2
|
Q3
|
Q4
|
Q1
|
Q2
|
Q3
|
Q4
|
|
EA15
|
0.7
|
-0.3
|
-0.2
|
-1.5
|
2.1
|
1.4
|
0.6
|
-1.3
|
|
EU27
|
0.5
|
-0.1
|
-0.3
|
-1.5
|
2.4
|
1.7
|
0.7
|
-1.3
|
|
EA16
|
0.7
|
-0.2
|
-0.2
|
-1.5
|
2.2
|
1.5
|
0.6
|
-1.3
|
|
Member States
|
||||||||
|
Belgium
|
0.4
|
0.3
|
0.1
|
-1.3
|
1.9
|
1.9
|
1.2
|
-0.5
|
|
Bulgaria**
|
:
|
:
|
:
|
:
|
7.0
|
7.1
|
6.8
|
3.6
|
|
Czech Republic
|
1.0
|
1.0
|
0.9
|
-0.6
|
4.9
|
4.6
|
4.2
|
1.0
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Denmark
|
-1.5
|
0.4
|
-0.8
|
-2.0
|
-0.7
|
0.8
|
-1.7
|
-3.8
|
|
Germany
|
1.5
|
-0.5
|
-0.5
|
-2.1
|
2.8
|
2.0
|
0.8
|
-1.6
|
|
Estonia**
|
-1.2
|
-1.5
|
-0.9
|
-4.2
|
0.2
|
-1.1
|
-3.5
|
-9.4
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ireland
|
-0.3
|
-0.6
|
1.2
|
:
|
-1.2
|
-0.7
|
0.1
|
:
|
|
Greece
|
0.8
|
1.1
|
0.5
|
0.3
|
3.1
|
3.5
|
2.9
|
2.6
|
|
Spain
|
0.4
|
0.1
|
-0.3
|
-1.0
|
2.7
|
1.8
|
0.9
|
-0.7
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
France
|
0.4
|
-0.3
|
0.1
|
-1.2
|
2.1
|
1.2
|
0.6
|
-1.0
|
|
Italy
|
0.4
|
-0.6
|
-0.6
|
-1.8
|
0.3
|
-0.4
|
-1.1
|
-2.6
|
|
Cyprus
|
1.0
|
0.8
|
0.6
|
0.6
|
4.1
|
4.0
|
3.5
|
3.0
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Latvia**
|
-7.4
|
1.3
|
1.1
|
:
|
0.5
|
-1.9
|
-5.2
|
-10.5
|
|
Lithuania
|
0.2
|
0.2
|
-0.3
|
-1.3
|
7.0
|
4.7
|
2.1
|
-1.1
|
|
Luxembourg
|
-0.8
|
1.5
|
-1.4
|
:
|
0.9
|
2.4
|
0.0
|
:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Hungary
|
0.5
|
0.0
|
-0.5
|
-1.0
|
1.4
|
1.5
|
0.5
|
-1.0
|
|
Malta
|
0.2
|
1.0
|
0.1
|
:
|
3.1
|
3.6
|
2.5
|
:
|
|
Netherlands**
|
0.5
|
-0.1
|
-0.3
|
-0.9
|
3.6
|
3.3
|
1.9
|
-0.6
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Austria
|
0.5
|
0.2
|
0.0
|
-0.2
|
2.5
|
2.1
|
1.4
|
0.5
|
|
Poland
|
0.9
|
1.0
|
0.8
|
0.3
|
6.1
|
5.5
|
4.9
|
3.1
|
|
Portugal
|
-0.3
|
0.3
|
-0.1
|
-2.0
|
0.9
|
0.6
|
0.5
|
-2.1
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Romania**
|
:
|
:
|
:
|
:
|
8.2
|
9.3
|
9.1
|
2.9
|
|
Slovenia
|
1.9
|
0.5
|
0.7
|
:
|
5.9
|
4.7
|
3.5
|
:
|
|
Slovakia**
|
-3.3
|
1.9
|
1.9
|
2.1
|
9.3
|
7.9
|
6.6
|
2.7
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Finland
|
-0.3
|
0.1
|
-0.3
|
-1.3
|
2.6
|
1.9
|
1.0
|
-1.8
|
|
Sweden
|
-0.6
|
-0.5
|
-1.0
|
-2.4
|
2.0
|
0.8
|
-0.5
|
-4.4
|
|
United Kingdom
|
0.4
|
0.0
|
-0.7
|
-1.5
|
2.6
|
1.7
|
0.2
|
-1.9
|
|
EFTA countries
|
||||||||
|
Iceland
|
-1.6
|
4.7
|
-3.4
|
:
|
3.2
|
4.7
|
-0.8
|
:
|
|
Norway
|
0.0
|
0.1
|
-0.7
|
1.3
|
3.5
|
2.9
|
0.8
|
0.8
|
|
Switzerland
|
0.1
|
0.1
|
-0.1
|
-0.3
|
3.1
|
2.3
|
1.3
|
-0.1
|
|
Main economic partners
|
||||||||
|
United States
|
0.2
|
0.7
|
-0.1
|
-1.6
|
2.5
|
2.1
|
0.7
|
-0.8
|
|
Japan
|
0.2
|
-0.9
|
-0.6
|
-3.3
|
1.4
|
0.6
|
-0.2
|
-4.6
|
: Data not available
* The seasonal adjustment includes a working-day correction for the following Member States: Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, Estonia, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Slovenia, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
** Percentage change compared to the same quarter of the previous year
calculated from non-seasonally adjusted data
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