OECD reports record second quarter GDP falls in France, Italy and Turkey

FRANCE / TURKEY. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the G20 economies have suffered "unprecedented falls in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the second quarter of 2020" compared to the first quarter of 2020 due to the implementation of containment measures. The decline reached 6.9% in the zone compared to -1.6% recorded in the first quarter of 2009, at the height of the financial crisis. Only China posted growth (11.5%) while the other G20 countries experienced a collapse from -25.2% (India) to -3.2% (South Korea and Russia).

The three Mediterranean countries of the G20 exceed the 10% drop in their GDP in the second quarter of 2020 compared to the first quarter of 2020. France falls to -13.8%, Italy to -12.8% and Turkey to -11.0%. These figures compare with the average of -10.6% for all OECD countries, -11.4% for the European Union and -11.8 for the euro zone.

 

Compared to the second quarter of 2019, the falls in the second quarter of 2020 are even more significant for the two European countries with -18.9% for France, -17.7% for Italy but less for Turkey with -9.0%.

"Year-on-year GDP in the G20 area fell by minus 9.1% in the second quarter of 2020, after a contraction of minus 1.7% in the previous quarter," the OECD says.