CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia’s economy has suffered its sharpest quarterly drop since the Great Depression because of the pandemic, with data released on Wednesday confirming the country is experiencing its first recession in 28 years.

The latest national accounts showed the economy shrank 7% in the June, the biggest contraction since records began in 1959.

Its nearest rival was a 2% fall in June 1974, an economists estimate a sharper fall in the early 1930s when Australian became one of the world’s hardest countries by the Great Depression.

Combined with a smaller 0.3% drop in the March quarter, the definition of a technical recession -- two consecutive quarters of contraction — has been fulfilled.