Greece’s economy is expected to exit recession only by 2014, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) says in announcing a new bailout loan for the heavily indebted country.
The IMF projected the Greek economy would shrink about 4.8 per cent this year, followed by zero growth in 2013 and a return to growth, at an annual rate of 2.5 per cent, in 2014.
The global lender estimated that Greece’s gross domestic product (GDP), a measure of economic activity, fell 6.9 per cent in 2011.
The new numbers marked significant downward revisions from the IMF’s prior GDP estimates in December: a contraction of 6.0 per cent in 2011, followed by a 3.0 per cent contraction in 2012 and growth, albeit a mere 0.3 per cent, in 2013.
The IMF approved a new 28-billion-euro ($A35.04 billion) loan for Greece on Thursday, part of the European Union’s huge new bailout plan for the debt-riddled country.