Two decades after Greece basked in the euphoria of the 2004 Athens Olympics and its surprise Euro 2004 soccer triumph, Greek households today have less real disposable income than they did then, despite the country’s exit from austerity programs in 2018 and a recent period of rising wages and falling unemployment.
According to Eurostat data, per-capita real gross disposable household income in Greece is now 5.2% lower than in 2004. It also remains below 2010 levels, the year Greece entered its first international bailout. In 2024, the index stood at 96.21% of its 2010 value, rising just 1.85% from 2023.
The measure reflects the amount households have available for spending and saving after taxes and social contributions, adjusted for inflation. It also includes the value of services such as education and healthcare provided free by public or non-profit institutions.
While households across the European Union posted an average increase of 22% in real per-capita income between 2004 and 2024, Greece and Italy were the only member states to record declines. Romania saw the largest gains, up 134%, followed by Lithuania (95%), Poland (91%) and Malta (90%). The smallest increases were in Spain (11%), Austria (14%), Belgium (15%) and Luxembourg (17%).
Economists say the Covid-19 shock and the subsequent surge in inflation eroded much of the income growth achieved after Greece exited its bailout programs. Public discontent over the cost of living has been reflected consistently in opinion polls, with government support measures widely viewed as insufficient.
Eurostat figures also show Greece recording the highest rate of so-called “subjective poverty” in the EU – a gauge of how citizens perceive their own financial situation. In 2024, 66.8% of Greeks said they were struggling economically, compared with an EU average of 17.4%.