Greece is facing a troubling paradox: official growth continues, but citizens are feeling poorer. New data from the European Central Bank show that food prices in the country have jumped by 30% between late 2019 and August 2025.
While this rise is slightly below the Eurozone average of 35%, the comparison is misleading. Greece starts from a much lower income base, which makes the burden on households disproportionately heavy.
The strain becomes clearer when looking at how national wealth is distributed. Figures from the Centre of Planning and Economic Research reveal that labor’s share of Greece’s GDP has fallen from 39% in 2019 to 35% in 2024. Across the European Union, the average stands at around 47%. Greek workers therefore capture almost twelve percentage points less of national income than the European norm—a gap that leaves households increasingly exposed to the rising cost of living.
Despite government promises of "growth for all", the reality is that labor is steadily losing ground to profits and operating surpluses. The ECB notes that food makes up around 20% of the Consumer Price Index in the Eurozone—twice the weight of energy. In Greece, where low-income households spend more than 30% of their budget on food, the 30% price increase has had a particularly severe impact. Although the minimum wage has risen by about 20% since 2019, the increase has failed to keep up with the cost of basic goods.
Policy responses have done little to ease the pressure. Market oversight remains weak, with structural problems in the agri-food supply chain compounded by high indirect taxes and limited support for domestic producers. At the same time, the government has not adjusted income tax brackets for inflation or significantly lowered social security contributions, meaning that wage increases are eroded by higher costs. Instead, temporary subsidies and handouts have offered short-lived relief while distorting the market.
