The Statistics Office in Athens (ELSTAT) reported Tuesday that Greece's economy shrank by 7 percent in the fourth quarter of last year, compared with the figures available for the same period in 2010.

The official estimates came just one day before a deadline laid down by the eurozone for Greece to meet a series of conditions for a second debt bailout.

"Available, non-seasonally adjusted data indicate that in the final months of 2011 GDP decreased by around 7 percent quarter-on-quarter," ELSTAT said in a statement.

The Greek economy remains in recession for a fifth year. It was initially expected to contract by just 5.5 percent throughout 2011 and by 2.8 percent in the current year. But calculations for 2011 were revised, owing to the impact of wage cuts and tax increases.

Unfavorable side effects

Economic pundits agree that the steep decline in growth is first and foremost a result of austerity measures taken by the government.

ELSTAT had earlier reported about a concurrent rise in unemployment, with 20.9 percent of Greeks out of a job last November. It meant that for the first time in the country's history more than 1 million people were jobless.

Despite the poor state of the economy, Greece on Tuesday was able to raise 1.3 billion euros ($1.72 billion) in a sale of three-month treasury bills. Return for investors dipped to 4.61 percent.

"Total bids reached 2.7 billion euros, and the amount finally accepted was 1.3 billion," the Debt Management Agency (PDMA) said in a statement. The issue had an original target of 1 billion euros.

hg/cmk (AFP, dpa)