

In a 2008 paper Georgios Kouretas from Athens University's department of economics and finance said Greece's economy was built on "excessive budget deficits" over three decades. There is little ongoing debate over the broad causes of the Greek national debt crisis. World Bank data puts the extent of Greece's economic contraction into perspective.Īccording to the World Bank, in 2008 Greece was the 28th largest economy in the world, approximately a third of the size of the Australian economy.īy 2014 Greece was only the 44th largest economy in the world, and less than a sixth the size of the Australian economy. Therefore, since the onset of the Global Financial Crisis Greece's economy has contracted by over 26 per cent. In 2014 Eurostat reported that Greek GDP was only 179 billion euros. From 2008 to 2014 Greece's economic decline has been swift and severe. In 2008 Greece's economy was valued at 242 billion euros. The World Bank defines GDP as the value of all goods and services produced in an economy in one year.Īnalysis of Greece's GDP reveals that the country has been in economic crisis since 2009.ĭata from Eurostat, the statistical reporting body of the EU, shows that Greek GDP peaked in 2008 and has declined consistently each year since. Gross domestic product (GDP) is a measure of an economy's size. In June Mr Tsipras rejected the terms of a 12 billion euro financial assistance package, and said the agreement had asked the Greek people to "abandon dignity".ĪBC Fact Check examines recent developments in the Greek Debt crisis that led EU members to agree on a third Greek bailout worth up to 86 billion euros. The announcement follows years of turmoil for the Greek economy and its people. Greece's debt woes have been a longstanding problem, but the situation escalated over the European summer, as the country looked likely to default on its loans.īut after a record 17 hour Euro Summit meeting which brought Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras together with leaders of other European Union (EU) states, the president of the European Council, Donald Tusk, announced an agreement had been reached on a third Greek bailout to avoid default.
