Greece Is Finally Out Of Recession After Six Bitter And Horrible Years

After falling into recession as the financial crisis hit, Greece's economy has finally registered some growth. The economy expanded by 1.7% in Q3, compared to the same quarter last year.

It's been a long, long haul, and one of (if not the) longest recession in economic history. Eurostat just released figures showing the recession actually ended in the first quarter of this year (Greece does not usually publish quarterly GDP numbers), but the data is all new.

It's no real cause for celebration: unemployment is still running at an eye-watering 26.6%, the economy is more than a quarter smaller than it was when the recession began, and there are no significant prospects for rapid growth on the horizon. In all likelihood, returning to pre-crisis GDP levels will take decades.

But for the history of the euro crisis, which was so focused on the possibility that Greece would have to exit the currency union, this is a big milestone.