In Greece, the core middle class amounts to some 3.9 million people, who are responsible for 38% of total consumption. However, only 2 million Greeks lead the country’s consumer spending, since they are behind 44% of the consumption of goods and services. This is a group consisting of the upper echelons of the middle class and high incomes.

The figures stem from questions Kathimerini asked to the World Data Lab, an international economic forecasting organization that uses data science and modeling techniques, combining sources such as the World Bank, the UN and the IMF.

In 2026, the average daily per capita expenditure in Greece is expected to be $54, with a forecast for total domestic consumer expenditure of around $203 billion in the same year. Expenditure is this year forecast to rise 8% from 2025. However, in 2027 it is estimated that the growth rate will decrease to 3.8% and is projected to be in the region of 4% annually over the next 10 years.

Meanwhile, according to calculations by World Data Lab, the average purchasing power increased from $18,700 per person in 2015 to $22,500 in 2025. However, as the Bank of Greece governor said a few weeks ago, despite the increase in purchasing power – that came to 26.5% between 2019 and 2024 – nominal disposable income in 2024 remained 9.3% lower than in 2009, and real disposable income lagged even further, by 20.5%.

Against this backdrop, the consumption-based inequality ratio in the economy – measured on a scale between the richest 10% and the poorest 50% – fell from 6.4 in 2015 to 5.2 in 2025, recording a remarkable improvement of around 20% over the decade. 

Among the factors that have led to that are the strong growth in employment amid the Greek economy’s recovery from the crisis, the minimum wage increases, targeted social transfers – such as the minimum guaranteed income – which had a redistributive impact, as well as income tax relief that affected the distribution of disposable income.

However, the fact that the richest 10% currently spends five times more than the poorest 50% of the population ranks Greece as the country with the 5th highest inequality in the European Union.