The national statistics office CBS reports that the Dutch economy shrank 1.7 percent during the first quarter of 2020, the biggest drop since the first quarter of 2009, when GDP fell an even more terrifying 3.6 percent. This time, the collapse is largely a consequence of falling consumption. Household consumption fell dropped 2.7 percent over the first three months of the year compared to the Q4 of 2019. Government consumption also fell by 1.4 percent, while investment decline by 1.1 percent. Imports and exports contracted a full 3 percent. The economy continued to grow in the first two months of 2020, but the global coronavirus outbreak ended that trend.
