by Calculated Risk on 1/13/2010 03:25:00 PM

From The Times: Britain's recession the steepest for 88 years

Britain's economy fell last year at the sharpest rate since 1921, despite hopes that it finally emerged from recession in the last three months of the year, according to a respected economics forecaster.

The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) said today that its latest estimate showed that GDP rose by a modest 0.3 per cent in the final three months of 2009 compared with the third quarter.

That means that, for the year as a whole, the economy contracted by 4.8 per cent, a bigger fall than in any year of the Great Depression and the biggest contraction for 88 years.

Wow. The largest one year decline since 1921. Of course, during the Depression, there were a number of bad years in a row.

And from Statistischen Bundesamtes Deutschland: Germany experiencing serious recession in 2009 (ht Uwe)

Click on graph for larger image in new window.

The German economy shrank in 2009 for the first time in six years. With –5.0%, the decline in the price-adjusted gross domestic product (GDP) was larger than ever since World War II. This is shown by first calculations of the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). The economic slump occurred mainly in the winter half-year of 2008/2009. Over the year, there were signs that the economic development would slightly stabilise on the new, lower level.