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Lowest Real GDP Growth*

Lowest Real GDP Growth*

Latvia

As of the third quarter of 2008, only seven countries worldwide had reported declines in GDP growth, according to Bloomberg. At the top: Latvia, previously the fastest-growing country in Europe, with GDP growth exceeding 10% in 2007. Latvia is poised for a bust in 2008 thanks in part to a housing bubble—house prices have contracted by more than a quarter over the last three months. The Baltic country also saw the collapse of its second-biggest bank, Parex Banka.

*Year-over-year for Q3 2008, as reported by Bloomberg on Dec. 8