Greece is among the countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development that have managed to increase real wages over the past five years, despite the strong inflationary shock that followed the energy crisis.
According to the organization’s data from the recent employment report (Employment Outlook 2026), the real average wage in Greece increased by a cumulative 4.7% from the first quarter of 2021 to the first quarter of 2026, a performance that significantly exceeds the average of OECD countries, where the corresponding increase is between 0% and 1%.
However, the picture deteriorates if the comparison is made over a longer period – from 2010 to the present – as according to earlier OECD data, for the period 2010-2024, Greece had recorded a cumulative loss of real wages of 21%, one of the largest among the organization’s countries. The 4.7% increase in the last five years limits some of these losses, but does not eliminate them.
It should be noted that the figures reflect the evolution of the real salary, in other words, the nominal salary after removing the effect of inflation.
