GDP at just 64% of EU average
Greece’s per capita gross domestic product last year amounted to just 64% of the European Union average, measured in terms of purchasing power parities, putting the country in 26th position among the EU 27, above Bulgaria and below Croatia, according to Eurostat.
Greek GDP per capita, which in 2009 had amounted to 95% of the EU average, has been in steady decline (with the exception of 2013), and last year, amid the pandemic, it lost another two percentage points, given the local economy’s reliance on tourism.
On the other hand, Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) figures out on Tuesday showed a reduction in the share of the population at risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2019 to 28.9% (or about 3 million people) from 30% in 2018. This also marks a steady decline that began from 2014, when the rate had stood at 36%.
The risk is proportionately greater for working-age foreigners in Greece, as the share of non-Greeks aged between 18-64 years threatened by poverty or social exclusion comes to 54%, against 30% of Greeks in the same age group.
Also in 2019, the population’s richest fifth earned 5.2 times more than the poorest fifth.
