According to a recent analysis by the Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research (IOBE), the country remains among the EU’s underperformers when it comes to capital investment—particularly in the industrial and service sectors.
While Greece maintained fixed investment levels broadly in line with the EU average between 1995 and 2009, this trend reversed sharply after 2010. The shift is largely attributed to a dramatic contraction in construction activity and a prolonged stagnation in other key sectors of the economy. The report highlights that, although investment has picked up in recent years, the country still faces a considerable gap compared to its European peers.
From 2021 to 2024, Greece recorded an average annual growth rate of 12% in fixed investment. As a share of GDP, investment reached 15% in 2024—up from 11% in 2019—but still significantly below the EU average of 21% to 22%. Much of Greece’s pre-crisis investment strength had come from construction, which alone accounted for about 15% of GDP in the mid-2000s, including a 9% share from new housing. These figures were well above the EU27 averages at the time. In contrast, non-construction investments lagged behind, accounting for just 8% of GDP, compared to the EU average of around 10%.
Construction and housing traditionally made up more than half of Greece’s total fixed investments up until 2013. However, their share fell sharply during the debt crisis, dropping to roughly one-third by 2020. In the past two years, this trend has slightly reversed, with construction now making up 37% of total fixed investments. Meanwhile, investment in machinery and transport equipment has seen a stronger rebound. By 2024, it had climbed to 7.3% of GDP, up from a low of 3.3% in 2013 and approaching the pre-crisis peak of 8% in 2008.
The report also examines sector-specific investment trends, using 2023 as the most recent year with full data. It finds that the public sector led in terms of investment intensity, measured against gross value added, followed by industry, professional services, and finally sectors like trade, transport, and tourism. When benchmarked against EU averages, Greece continues to show a pronounced investment shortfall in both industry and services. Only in public services has the country managed to close the gap, now outperforming many EU counterparts in annual investment performance.
