OECD Quarterly National Accounts - Fourth Quarter 2008

GDP in the OECD area fell by a record 1.5% in the fourth quarter of 2008

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18/02/2009 - Gross domestic product (GDP) in the OECD area fell by 1.5% in the fourth quarter of 2008, the largest fall since OECD records began in 1960, according to preliminary estimates.

In the United States GDP fell by 1.0% in the fourth quarter of 2008, following a 0.1% decrease in the previous quarter. Japan's GDP declined by 3.3%, following a 0.6% decrease in the previous quarter. GDP in the euro area was down 1.5%, following a 0.2% fall in the previous quarter. etc.

Link to quarterly GDP volume growth rates for all OECD countries and geographic groupings, as well as historical data.

The next issue of this press release is scheduled for the third week of May 2009.

For further information, journalists are invited to contact the OECD's Media Relations Division on (33) 1 45 24 97 00 or news.contact@oecd.org; others should contact the Statistics Directorate on stat.contact@oecd.org.

Link to previous news releases