Recession? Unemployment? Poverty? Over-taxation? Padlocks in businesses? Braindrain? It’s all there. In an article posted on Wall Street Journal. Pure and official statistics.
The Numbers: Greece in Crisis
Greece is reeling from the effects of the biggest economic crisis in its recent history. Here are some statistics underscoring the severity of the crisis now reaching into all aspects of Greek life.
25%
The Greek economy has shrunk since its peak in mid-2008.
25.8%
Percentage of Greeks who remain out of work, according to the national statistics agency. This means that 1.2 million people are unemployed, according to the October figures.
3rd
The position Greece is ranked among its European partners for the percentage of population at risk of poverty and social exclusion, according to Eurostat.
23.1%
Percentage of Greeks living at risk of poverty in 2013, according to Eurostat figures.
33.5% or €77 Billion ($89.38 Billion)
The amount of nonperforming loans—those for which debtors have failed to make payments for more than 90 days, according to Greece’s central bank governor.
€70 billion
The approximate value of outflows from Greek banks over the past five years, according to central bank figures.
83.9%
Percentage the Greek stock market has fallen since 2008.
1 in 4
Closures of small and medium-sized enterprises since 2008, according to the Hellenic Confederation of SMEs, or GSEVEE, amounting to some 230,000 in total.
9 times
How much more self-employed professionals had to pay in 2014 in types of taxes, according to the Parliamentary Budget Office.
7 times
How much more in tax Greek employees and pensioners had to pay in 2014 compared with 2009, according to the Parliamentary Budget Office.
23%
Percentage Greeks pay as value-added tax on most goods. The average VAT paid in the eurozone is 21.5%, and in the European Union 20.5%, according to the Parliamentary Budget Office.
100,000
The number of Greek scientists now working abroad, according to the Economics Department of the University of Macedonia. (WallStreetJournal)
PS You know what? We are people behind these numbers. People and families and destinies. We are voters.