Feb. 2 (UPI) -- The economy of the eurozone shrank by almost 7% during all of 2020, according to a quarterly filing on Tuesday -- a dramatic reflection of the COVID-19 impact in Europe.
According to the preliminary figures, the economy contracted by 6.8% for the year in the eurozone, which is comprised of 19 members of the European Union that use the euro currency.
The report showed a decline of 0.7% in the fourth quarter, which officials said was driven by a resurgence in coronavirus cases in the bloc over the final three months of 2020, particularly in France and Germany.
Before the surge in cases, the eurozone saw 12.4% economic growth in the third quarter.
A new coronavirus variant, first identified in Britain, played a significant role in the uptick in cases.
Tuesday's figures show that the economy of the larger, 27-member European Union contracted by 6.4% in 2020.
Eight countries showed small gains in the fourth quarter, led by Lithuania (1.2%) and Latvia (1.1%). Germany's economy grew very slightly and France's contracted 1.3%.
France and Germany imposed new lockdown orders last fall when COVID-19 cases began to rise again.
