Italy's gross domestic product (GDP) dropped by 12.8 percent in the second quarter of 2020 compared to the previous quarter, the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) said on Monday.

The drop was slightly higher than the 12.4 percent estimated by the statistical office at the end of July, as the Italian economy – the eurozone's third largest – was coping with the impact of the coronavirus crisis.

Compared to the same period of last year, the national output in the second quarter fell by 17.7 percent.

Both figures were the steepest recorded since 1995, according to ISTAT.

"The complete estimate of the quarterly income accounts confirms the exceptional extent of the GDP contraction in the second quarter, due to the economic effects of the COVID-19 health emergency and of the measures adopted," the agency said in its bulletin.

Domestic demand was the main driver of the GDP fall, it explained, "with a particularly negative contribution from private consumption and significant negative contributions from investments and changes in stocks."

Foreign demand also contributed negatively to the national output in the second quarter of 2020, "due to the more significant decrease in exports than that in imports."

In terms of figures, data showed final consumption expenditure in the Q2 dropped by 8.7 percent, gross fixed capital formation by 14.9 percent, imports by 20.5 percent and exports by 26.4 percent, respectively, against the previous quarter.

Compared to the second quarter of last year, the same GDP components fell by 13.7 percent, 21.6 percent, 26.8 percent, and 33.1 percent, respectively.

The statistical office also revised down its previous GDP estimate in the first quarter of 2020 to 5.4 percent from 5.3 percent on a quarterly basis.

The government officially forecast GDP would fall by eight percent this year, overall. 

(Cover: Venice, the capital of northern Italy's Veneto region, June 13, 2020. /CFP)