A recession is defined as two consecutive quarters where the GDP of a nation falls. By this definition, the Greek economy fell back into recession in Q1 2017. The Greek economy was estimated to have contracted by 0.1% in Q1, according to data from Eurostat, following on from a relatively sharp contraction in Q4 2016 when it shrank by 1.2%. If confirmed when the full data becomes available, this would mark Greece’s first recession since 2012.

Greece was in the first wave of nations to adopt the Euro in 1999 although it subsequently became clear that the nation had fudged the conversion criteria for joining the currency. This was a major reason behind the Greek sovereign debt crisis which blew up hard on the heels of the Global Financial Crisis.

The Greek GDP was worth €242 billion in 2008, but it had contracted each year since until 2015 to stand at €175.7 billion before staging modest growth last year to increase to €175.9 billion, its first expansion in eight years. By comparison, the German economy contracted only in 2009 as a result of the Global Financial crisis. In 2008, German GDP stood at €2.56 trillion, slipping to €2.46 trillion in 2009. It has expanded each year since and was worth €3.13 trillion last year, according to Eurostat.

Despite rumbling domestic protests about austerity measures, Greece is expected to be cleared to receive a tranche of funding from its third bailout at a meeting of Eurozone finance ministers next week. Eurostat predicts that the Greek economy will return to growth, posting a full year expansion of 2.6%.

In the Eurozone (which, of course, includes Greece) annual growth for 2016 came in at 1.7%.