Greece; GDP for 2011 found to be lower

The recession in 2011 was in fact even deeper than previously thought, as revised data released on Friday by the Hellenic Statistical Authority (Elstat) showed that the country's economy shrank by 7.1% in real prices on an annual basis. The previous ELSTAT calculation had been for a 6.9% contraction. Greece's gross domestic product came to 206.4 billion euros last year. In 2010, GDP had amounted to 222.2 billion euros. The change, as daily Kathimerini reports, was made in the context of the revision of the GDP figures for the period 2006 to 2011, taking into account the definitive data for economic indices for those years. The greater decline in last year's GDP means the targets for the 2013 draft budget that was tabled in Parliament on Monday will have to be revised. This first draft sees Greece's gross domestic product shrinking to 200.9 billion euros this year and to 193 billion in 2013. Once the revised figures for 2011 are factored in, the estimates will also drop further, rendering the picture of the country's economy even bleaker than before.