GDP declined by 2.5% in both the euro area (EA16) and the EU27 during the first quarter of 2009, compared with the previous quarter, according to flash estimates published by Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities. In the fourth quarter of 2008, growth rates were -1.6% in the euro area and -1.5% in the EU27.

Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, seasonally adjusted GDP decreased by 4.6% in the euro area and by 4.4% in the EU27 in the first quarter of 2009, after -1.4% in both zones in the previous quarter.

During the first quarter of 2009, US GDP decreased by 1.6% compared with the previous quarter, after -1.6% in the fourth quarter of 2008. US GDP decreased by 2.6% compared with the same quarter of the previous year (-0.8% in the previous quarter).