This Is The Terrible State Of Greece's Austerity Economy, And Now Things May Get Even Worse

This Is The Sad State Of Greece's Economy, And Now Things May Get Worse
ATHENS, GREECE - JANUARY 21: A homeless man sleeps in a doorway on the streets of Athens ahead of this weekend general election on January 21, 2015 in Athens, Greece. According to the latest opinion polls, the left-wing Syriza party are poised to defeat Prime Minister Antonis Samaras' conservative New Democracy party in the election, which will take place on Sunday. European leaders fear that Greece could abandon the Euro, write off some of its national debt and put an end to the country's austerity by renogotiating the terms of its bailout if the radical Syriza party comes to power. Greece's potential withdrawal from the eurozone has become known as the 'Grexit'. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)
ATHENS, GREECE - JANUARY 21: A homeless man sleeps in a doorway on the streets of Athens ahead of this weekend general election on January 21, 2015 in Athens, Greece. According to the latest opinion polls, the left-wing Syriza party are poised to defeat Prime Minister Antonis Samaras' conservative New Democracy party in the election, which will take place on Sunday. European leaders fear that Greece could abandon the Euro, write off some of its national debt and put an end to the country's austerity by renogotiating the terms of its bailout if the radical Syriza party comes to power. Greece's potential withdrawal from the eurozone has become known as the 'Grexit'. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

Greece's grueling austerity program lies at the heart of disagreements between the country's left-wing government and international creditors over bailout funds.

The so-called troika of the IMF, European Central Bank and European Commission is pushing the Greek government to implement budget reforms in exchange for extending more funds. But Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' Syriza party won Greek elections in January after pledging to roll back such austerity measures, which have taken a heavy toll on the country's economy and social safety net.

Greece now faces another bruising period of financial chaos and uncertainty, after long years of economic crisis in the wake of the 2008 financial crash and European debt crisis. Last month, the Greek economy fell back into recession yet again.

As Greece heads toward another crisis, this is what the country has already been through in recent years:

greece jobs

The Greek economy has been battered by years of recession. The country's gross domestic product dropped nearly 30 percent, from $354 billion in 2008 to $242 billion in 2013, according to the World Bank data.

greece wages

The economic downturn caused a huge retraction in employment. Entrepreneurship group Endeavor Greece estimates that Greece lost 1 million jobs in six years, primarily in construction, manufacturing and retail. As CNBC points out, this is a staggering number in a country whose entire population is just 11 million.

greece unemployed

Greece now has the highest unemployment rate in the European Union. The latest figures from the EU statistics agency put the rate at 25.6 percent, more than double the average eurozone unemployment rate of 11.1 percent.

These staggering levels of joblessness developed in just a few years. In 2008, before the recession hit, Greece's unemployment rate was 7.8 percent.

greece unemployed youth

Greece also has the second-highest youth unemployment rate in the European Union, just under that of Spain. Latest EU statistics show 49.7 percent of Greeks ages 15 to 24 are unemployed. In 2008, the figure was 21.9 percent.

greek london

The dire economic situation has created a massive brain drain, with many young, educated Greeks seeking employment abroad. Over 200,000 people have left Greece -- mainly for the UK and Germany -- over the past five years, according to Endeavor Greece.

“Greece doesn’t allow you to progress,” 34-year-old Greek aesthetician Carmella Kontou told The Guardian. “You can’t even begin to think of having a family or achieving things that elsewhere in Europe would be considered totally natural.”

greece minimum wage

As part of the bailout deal, the Greek government in 2012 slashed the minimum wage by around 20 percent and froze public sector salaries.

Greece is the only European country where the minimum wage has decreased since 2008, according to the EU statistics agency. Syriza campaigned for election on a pledge to bring the monthly wage back up to pre-austerity levels, around 750 euros ($835), but had to postpone the move under pressure from international creditors.

greece pensioner

As Greece tried to dramatically cut down its public sector, tens of thousands of Greeks took up offers of early retirement, adding more pressure to Greece's overwhelmed pension system.

Greece was already struggling to pay pensions to its large older population -- some 20 percent of Greece is over 65 years old. Meanwhile, Greece's pension funds lost billions of euros when the country restructured its debt in 2012. Some pensions have been cut down by as much as 48 percent, the New York Times reported.

greece homeless

As the economic crisis pushed people out of jobs, some also lost their homes. One Greek minister called them the "new homeless" -- people who sleep on the streets because of financial ruin rather than social problems, the Daily Beast reported. One nonprofit estimated that homelessness in Greece increased by 25 percent in 2009.

Before You Go

Athens' Badass Street Art

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot