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Greece has, according to the International Monetary Fund, an estimated average per capita income of $30,661 for the year 2008, comparable to that of Germany, France or Italy. According to Eurostat data, Greek PPS GDP per capita stood at 95 per cent of the EU average in 2008. Greece ranks 18th in the 2006 HDI, 22nd on The Economist's 2005 worldwide quality-of-life index.

The Greek labor force totals 4.9 million, and it is the second most industrious between OECD countries, after South Korea. The Groningen Growth & Development Centre has published a poll revealing that between 1995 and 2005, Greece was the country with the largest work/hour ratio among European nations; Greeks worked an average of 1,900 hours per year, followed by the Spanish (average of 1,800 hours/year).

History

The evolution of the Greek economy during the 19th century (a period that transformed a large part of the world due to the Industrial revolution) has been little researched. Recent research examines the gradual development of industry and further development of shipping in a predominantly agricultural economy, calculating an average rate of per capita GDP growth between 1833 and 1911 that was only slightly lower than that of Western European nations. Other studies support this view, providing comparative measures of standard of living. The per capita income (in purchasing power terms) of Greece was 65% that of France in 1850, 56% in 1890, 62% in 1938, 75% in 1980 and 90% in 2007 , while it stood at 96.4% in 2008 according to CIA Factbook (September 2009 data).

In 2004, Eurostat, the statistical arm of the European Commission, after an audit performed by the New Democracy government, revealed that the budgetary statistics on the basis of which Greece joined the European monetary union (budget deficit was one of four key criteria for entry), had been massively underreported by the previous Greek government (mostly by not recording a large share of military expenses). However, even according to the revised budget deficit numbers calculated according to the methodology in force at the time of Greece's application for entry into the Eurozone, the criteria for entry had been met.

Although remaining above the euro area average, economic growth will turn negative in 2009 for the first time since 1993. Indicative of the 'trend' of over-loaning in recent years is the fact that the ratio exceeded deposits for lending in the first half of the 100 units, suggesting that the allocations are now more than deposits.

Maritime industry

The shipping industry is a key element of Greek economic activity dating back to ancient times. Today, shipping is one of the country's most important industries. It accounts for 4.5% of GDP, employs about 160,000 people (4% of the workforce), and represents 1/3 of the country's trade deficit.

During the 1960s, the size of the Greek fleet nearly doubled, primarily through the investment undertaken by the shipping magnates Onassis and Niarchos. The basis of the modern Greek maritime industry was formed after World War II when Greek shipping businessmen were able to amass surplus ships sold to them by the United States Government through the Ship Sales Act of the 1940s. According to the BTS, the Greek-owned maritime fleet is today the largest in the world, with 3,079 vessels accounting for 18% of the world's fleet capacity (making it the largest of any other country) with a total dwt of 141,931 thousand (142 million dwt). In terms of ship categories, Greece ranks first in both tankers and dry bulk carriers, fourth in the number of containers, and fourth in other ships. However, today's fleet roster is smaller than an all-time high of 5,000 ships in the late 70's.

Tourism

According to a survey conducted in China in 2005, Greece was voted as the Chinese people's number one choice as a tourist destination, and 6,088,287 tourists visited only the city of Athens, the capital city. In November 2006, Austria, like China, announced that Greece was the favourite destination.

References

1. World Economic Outlook Database-October 2008 "IMF World Economic Outlook, October 2007". {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
2. "GDP per capita in PPS" (PDF). Eurostat. Retrieved 2009-06-25.
3. "Country Fact Sheets: Greece". UNDP. hdr.undp.org. Retrieved 2007-04-08.
4. "The Economist Intelligence Unit's quality-of-life index (2005)" (PDF). The Economist. www.economist.com. Retrieved 2007-04-08.
5. Posted by internetakias. "Οι Ελληνες 2οι πιο σκληρά εργαζόμενοι στον κόσμο!". Internetakias.gr. Retrieved 2009-03-22.
6. e-go.gr , Pegasus Interactive (2008-10-06). "v4.ethnos.gr - Oι αργίες των Eλλήνων - ειδησεις, κοινωνια, ειδικες δημοσιευσεις". Ethnos.gr. Retrieved 2009-01-06.
7. K. Kostis and S. Petmezas (ed.), I anaptixi tis Ellinikis oikonomias ton 19o aiona (Development of the Greek economy in the 19th century), Alexandria publications, Athens (2006)
8. Paul Bairoch, Europe's GNP 1800-1975, J. of European Economic History, 5, pp. 273-340 (1976)
9. Angus Maddison, Monitoring the World Economy 1820-1992, OECD (1995)
10. Eurostat, including updated data since 1980 and data released in April, 2008
11. "REPORT BY EUROSTAT ON THE REVISION OF THE GREEK GOVERNMENT DEFICIT AND DEBT FIGURES" (pdf). 2004-11-22.
12. "Finmin says fiscal data saga has ended in wake of EU report". 2004-12-08.
13. European Commission, Economic Forecast – Spring 2009, 65
14. "Ζούμε με δανεικά" (in Greek). 2007-10-16.
15. ^ Polemis, Spyros M. "The History of Greek Shipping". www.greece.org. Retrieved 2007-04-09.
16. "Greek shipping is modernized to remain a global leader and expand its contribution to the Greek economy". National Bank of Greece. www.nbg.gr. 2006-05-11. Retrieved 2007-04-08.
17. ^ Engber, Daniel (2005-08-17). "So Many Greek Shipping Magnates..." Slate. Washington Post/slate.msn.com. Retrieved 2007-04-09.
18. ^ "Top 20 Ranking of World Merchant Fleet by Country of Owner as of 1 January 2001a". Bureau of Transportation Statistics. www.bts.gov. 2001. Retrieved 2007-04-08.
19. "View Single Post - Thank you China! With love from Greece!". SkyscraperCity. Retrieved 2009-03-22.

• Economy of Greece
• European Union member economies
• OECD member economies