Greece ranked second from the bottom among EU27 member states in 2023 in terms of the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita index, expressed in purchasing power units, according to data published by Eurostat.
Bulgaria (64 units) was the only EU country that fared worse than Greece (67 units), among all EU countries (an average of 100), taking the last position in GDP per capita.
Luxembourg and Ireland were on the opposite end of the spectrum recording the highest levels (140% and 112% above the EU average, respectively), far above the Netherlands (30% above the EU average), Denmark (+28%), and Austria (+23%).
In terms of GDP per capita expressed in purchasing power units among EU countries, in 2023, there were notable disparities, as Bulgaria recorded the lowest performance, 36% below the EU average, followed only by Greece (-33% from the EU average) and Latvia (-29%).
Salaries and Profits
Notably, real wages in Greece were down by 0.2%, close to the European average, but corporate profits increased by 5.9%, with the third-fastest rate in the EU-27, according to a report from the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) Institute, based on the annual macroeconomic data of the Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs of the European Commission (AMECO Database).
In addition, it should be noted that in 2022, Greeks lost over 9.2% of the real value of their wages due to rising inflation. During the same year, profits of Greek companies increased by almost 7%, one of the highest rates in the EU.
