Despite the improvement in key economic indicators over the past decade, a large share of Greek households continues to experience financial pressure, according to the new IOBE study, “The Multiple Dimensions of Inequality in Greece.”
The study notes that the Greek economy has moved away from the deepest points of the crisis: unemployment fell from 24.9% in 2015 to 8.8% in 2025, employment increased, and the Gini index, which measures income inequality, declined from 34.2% to 31.6%. However, this improvement has not translated equally into everyday life. Around 68% of households say they struggle to make ends meet, compared with an average of 19% in the European Union.
The study by the Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research is a secondary analysis of other surveys and aggregated statistics.
IOBE points out that inequality is no longer reflected only in income levels, but also in access to basic goods and services: housing, healthcare, education, work, and long-term care. Notably, households with income below 60% of the median income spend around 60% of their available resources on housing needs, while the rise in rents after 2018 has disproportionately burdened low-income tenants.
Similar inequalities are recorded in healthcare and education. In healthcare, 32% of people in the lowest income quartile report unmet medical care needs, compared with 10% in the highest quartile, while chronic illnesses affect 30% of people in the lowest income groups, compared with 18% in the highest. The high dependence on private healthcare spending shifts a significant part of the cost directly onto households.
In education, although the share of adults with higher education increased from 26.5% to 32.6%, social mobility still depends heavily on family background. According to the study, only around 12% of children from lower educational backgrounds reach the highest levels of education.
Source: ΙΟΒΕ
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