Despite recent progress in the Greek economy, such as increased exports and foreign direct investments, there is still a significant gap separating Greece from corresponding performances in the European Union, according to a bulletin by the Reforms Observatory of the Center for Planning and Economic Research (KEPE).
The bulletin highlights that Greece has made positive strides in terms of exports. Goods and services exports have increased from 19% of GDP in 2009 to 44.9% of GDP in 2023. However, this increase was not enough to match that of the EU-27, which saw an even greater percentage increase from 36.3% to 52.7 % of GDP.
Furthermore, Greece has lagged behind even further when it comes to exports of goods specifically. Exports increased from 8.5% of GDP in 2009 to 22.6% of GDP in 2023, compared to the EU-27’s higher percentage increase from 26.9% to 37.1% of GDP.
Gross fixed capital formation in Greece also started at a similar level as the EU-27 but experienced a rapid decline before starting to increase again recently, reaching 13.9% of GDP in 2023 compared to the EU-27’s slight increase to 22.2% of GDP over the same period.
Foreign direct investment inflows have also shown fluctuation over the years but have been increasing steadily since they dropped significantly following the economic crisis in Greece. In 2010 they were at €5 billion and reached €8 billion by late last year (€5 billion) before dropping again earlier this year ($€4 billion). However, despite these improvements, Greece still faces an investment deficit, highlighting the need for further advancements in attracting productive FDI.
In summary, while progress has been made since the economic crisis with regards to exports and FDI inflows, there is still room for improvement when it comes to goods exports and attracting productive FDI inflows which can help bridge some gaps between Greece and its corresponding performances within the European Union
