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Italy

Antje Binder, Hilke Fischer / hwApril 22, 2013

National debt, youth unemployment - the economic crisis has drastically worsened the situation in many countries. There are lots of statistics on the issue, but here we consider them from a different perspective.

https://p.dw.com/p/189be
Image: DW/A. Binder
Economic growth in Italy
Image: DW/A.Binder

Sadly, 2009 was a black year in most eurozone countries. But economic output crashed in Italy like in no other country hit by the crisis. Italy's economic growth had already been under the EU average for a decade.

Youth unemployment in Italy
rojekt Plan B englischImage: DW/A.Binder

The crisis hit Italy's youth especially hard. There's no work for more than a third of 15-to-24-year-olds. Many young people are leaving the country, for example to Germany. Those who are staying are often deciding not to have children: The country has the lowest birth rate in the EU.

National debt in Italy
Image: DW/A.Binder

At 2 trillion euros ($2.6 trillion), Italy's national debt was as high as Germany's. But the economic output of the southern European country is far smaller. Based on GDP, Italy's national debt is alarmingly high. Without loans from the European Central Bank, the country would be insolvent.