Revised official estimate: economy contracted 1.2 percent in 2012

The Czech economy contracted by 1.2 percent last year, according to a revised official estimate released on Monday. Gross domestic product declined by 1.7 percent year-on-year in the final quarter of last year, and analysts believe there was a further contraction in the first quarter of this year. The country is currently going through the longest recession on record and the forecast for the whole of 2013 is for continued decline or at best stagnation.