
DIRECTORY 2025 | 57
GREECE PAGES
kets still reeling from the turmoil of the Great Recession,
Greece spiraled into a public debt crisis resulting from a
combination of a high budget deficit and a high public debt
to GDP ratio, hereto forth underreported, leading to a reas-
sessment of Greek public finances. International markets
reacted negatively by raising the spreads of Greek bonds,
impeding Greece’s ability to refinance its debt through in-
ternational lending.
The 2010s marked one of the most tumultuous periods
of Greece’s modern economic history, with considerable
downturn and political turmoil, as the country navigated the
introduction and impact of multiple successive tax increas-
es and spending cuts, large scale reforms and a series of
bailouts to help the country address the crisis. In April 2010,
confronted with sizeable financing needs and unable to ac-
cess international capital markets, Greece asked for inter-
national financial assistance, going on to receive three bail-
out packages (officially known as the Economic Adjustment
Programs for Greece and referred to, in Greece, simply as
“the memorandums”) from the Eurogroup, the European
Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund in 2010,
2012, and 2015, which aimed to restore the country’s finan-
cial and economic stability, modernize the state, re-engi-
neer the economy, and address longstanding problems
and deficiencies.
The programs, which were accompanied by a total
of fourteen austerity packages passed by the Greek gov-
ernment between 2010 and 2017, aimed to secure fiscal
sustainability, safeguard the stability of the financial sys-
tem, and boost competitiveness, growth and jobs through
structural reforms focused on vital areas such as reve-
nue administration, taxation, public financial management,
privatization, public administration, healthcare, pensions,
social welfare, education, and the fight against corruption.
Key components of the efforts included moves to stream-
line the public sector and modernize public administration,
encourage private sector involvement, improve the busi-
ness environment, attract private capital, and increase
employment across demographics. Greece returned to
financial markets on April 10, 2014, and successfully exited
the bailouts on August 20, 2018.
Economic recovery continued through 2019 and was
expected to further strengthen, with growth forecasted to
2.2%, or 1% higher than the average of the euro area for
2019 and expected to increase to 2.4% for 2020, mainly
supported by the positive labor market momentum which
led directly to higher disposable income and consumption.
Employment was expected to continue growing through
2020, and the primary surplus was expected to reach
around 4%, corresponding to a headline surplus of about
1.6% of GDP, compared with a deficit of 0.8% of GDP pro-
jected for the euro area. The year saw a strong tourism
season, with services exports boosted, while goods exports
also remained resilient despite the lower growth in the
euro area, which is the main export area of Greek prod-
ucts. Meanwhile, inflation remained low, and investment
rebounded to 7.8% following an earlier decline in 2018 and
was expected to further increase in 2020.
THE 2020S
The COVID-19 pandemic, which spread rapidly across
the globe in early 2020, took a heavy toll on Greece’s nation-
al economy, leading to a contraction of 9% in 2020 (which
would subsequently be succeeded by growth in both 2021
and 2022). The country’s dependence on tourism (which
contributes approximately a fifth to the nation’s GDP), the
successive crises in its recent past, the large public debt,
and the private debt overhang all posed considerable chal-
lenges during the pandemic era and contributed to the in-
terruption of the impressive economic recovery that Greece
had achieved in the previous years.
Measures were introduced to support businesses to
retain their workforce, including about €500 million to
subsidize 100,000 full-time jobs and incentives for hiring
from the pool of longterm unemployed, and to limit exits,
including tax relief schemes and instant liquidity mea-
sures, while the Hellenic Development Bank provided
public guarantees for newly issued loans, up to 80% of the
loan amount. Furthermore, a Greek aid scheme of repay-
able advances was introduced in order to further improve
the financial liquidity of companies. As the pandemic
continued into 2021, the government focused its policies
on moderating the economic costs of the crisis by means
of reducing supply disruptions, maintaining demand for
face to face services, and continuing to enforce health and
safety measures that would help ensure the country’s
status as the tourism destination of choice. This period
also saw significant efforts to step up and speed up the
country’s digital transformation, including moves to boost
adoption, enhance infrastructure and support the acquisi-
tion of digital skills.
Since 2022, having overcome its historic economic
crisis and the impact of the global pandemic, Greece has
managed to successfully rebound, seeing significant de-
velopments in key sectors including energy, logistics and
tech. Throughout 2023, Greece continued to attract key
investments from global heavyweights, establishing itself
as a leading regional player and one of the strongest and
more promising economies in Southeast Europe and the
Eastern Mediterranean. Thanks to its strategic geograph-
ic location, natural resources, and highly capable labor
force, Greece is ideally positioned to serve as a hub for
business and trade and is rife with lucrative investment
opportunities for visionary entrepreneurs and global or-
ganizations seeking to tap into its considerable potential.