Crisis over for Baltic States

TALLINN - With the publication of data indicating an astonishing 3.5% growth in the Estonian economy in Q2, all three Baltic states have now shown positive economic growth following an economic crisis that lasted more than 2 years.

"According to Statistics Estonia, by flash estimates, the gross domestic product (GDP) of Estonia increased by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter of 2010 compared to the same quarter in the previous year. The GDP grew last in the 4th quarter of 2007," Estonia's national statistics agency said in a press release yesterday.

All three Baltic states have now posted positive economic growth, with numerous leading economists and politicians saying the data marks an end to the economic crisis.

Lithuania was the first to produce the data and hail the end to the crisis - marking 1.1% year-on-year growth - with prime minister Andius Kubilius saying at the end of last month that the data shows the hard times is coming to a close.

This confirms that we are going in the right direction and that the Lithuanian economy is exiting the crisis," the prime minister told Bloomberg news agency.

Earlier this week the Latvian prime minister made similar comments after seeing the second consecutive quarter of economic growth - albeit extremely low growth of just a fraction of a percent.