Between 2000 and 2008, Japan’s economy grew by about 1.3% annually, a rate below the OECD average (about 2% per year). As a result of the global economic slowdown of 2008, the Japanese economy contracted sharply, and w'as dragged into the deepest recession since the Second World War (Section 2). Similarly, the OECD Europe aggregate does not include Estonia and Slovenia. In 2009, Japan’s GDP per capita in purchasing power parity was USD 29 800 and the OECD average was USD 30 500.