Greece’s 4% Inflation Erodes Pay Gains as Disposable Income Sits at 60.8% of EU Average
Updated
Updated · Kathimerini English Edition · Aug 3
Greece’s 4% Inflation Erodes Pay Gains as Disposable Income Sits at 60.8% of EU Average
1 articles · Updated · Kathimerini English Edition · Aug 3
Summary
Hundreds of thousands of Greeks risk another drop in real income in 2026 as expected inflation nears 4%, outpacing net salary increases despite the country’s growth dividend.
Eurostat data suggest the problem is not unusually high inflation alone: Greece’s cumulative 2021-25 consumer-price rise was 21.4%, close to Portugal’s 20.5%, Spain’s 21.9% and below the eurozone’s 22.6%.
The sharper weakness is income: Greece’s 2025 median equivalent disposable income is estimated at 60.8% of the EU average, versus 76.5% in Portugal and 98.6% in Spain.
Even after a 33.8% cumulative rise in median disposable income in 2021-25, Greece still lagged Spain’s 34.2% and Portugal’s 35%, widening its gap with peers.
Athens is now expected to revise up its April inflation forecasts of 3.2% for 2026 and 2.4% for 2027, with support for vulnerable households being weighed in the Thessaloniki package.