AFP/Helsinki
Finland has sunk into the deepest recession in the eurozone after official data published yesterday showed that its economy shrank 9.4% on a 12-month basis in the second quarter of this year.
The drop is the biggest annual decline since the fourth quarter of 1991 when the Nordic country’s economy shrank by 8%. The latest figures were far worse than analyst expectations.
Statistics Finland, the official data agency, said the economy shrank by 2.6 in the second quarter, compared to a revised figure of -3 in the first.
Elsewhere in the European Union, only the economies of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania reported larger negative growth figures in the second quarter. Ireland, however, is yet to release its GDP data for the period from April to June.
Data from Eurostat shows the gross domestic product for the whole European Union shrank by 0.2% in the second quarter compared to the first quarter.
The Finnish government forecast in June that growth would shrink 6% this year and unemployment would soar due to a sharp fall in output caused by dwindling demand.
Finland’s traditionally robust, export-driven economy has struggled to overcome dramatic drops in demand from abroad and in consumer confidence at home.