The Greek economy continues to grow faster than the eurozone, with consumption and investment serving as key growth drivers. At the same time, inflationary pressures and the rising cost of living are reshaping the priorities of Greek households.
Speaking to Euro2day.gr on the sidelines of the Mastercard Innovation Forum 2026, Natalia Lechmanova, Mastercard’s Senior Vice-President and Chief Economist for Europe, analyses the dynamics of the Greek economy, changes in consumer behaviour and the impact of the new energy crisis on Greeks’ purchasing power, drawing on data from the Mastercard Economics Institute.
Greece continues to record higher economic growth than many other European economies. What are the main factors driving this momentum, and which sectors do you expect to play the biggest role in sustaining growth in the years ahead?
The performance of the Greek economy is truly impressive. What I find particularly interesting, though, is that we are no longer talking simply about an economy recovering from a crisis. We are talking about an economy that is changing.
Since the pandemic, Greece has been growing at almost twice the rate of the eurozone, driven by two main factors: strong household consumption and investment.
Tourism, of course, remains one of the most important pillars of the Greek economy. But look a little further and a very interesting picture emerges. Construction is seeing strong activity, thanks to increased investment, while higher-productivity sectors such as technology, professional services and financial services are becoming increasingly important. At the same time, we are seeing a high rate of new business formation, which suggests that the Greek economy is becoming more dynamic.
And this, in my view, is where Greece’s great opportunity lies. The country is gradually developing a more diversified economy, with more sources of growth. The challenge in the years ahead is to sustain this momentum by continuing to attract investment and strengthening sectors that can deliver greater added value.
Ultimately, Greece’s success will not be judged solely by whether it continues to grow faster than the rest of Europe. It will depend on how far that growth makes the Greek economy more competitive and, above all, how it translates into a better standard of living for Greeks.
Despite persistent cost-of-living pressures, consumer spending remains a key driver of economic activity. What do Mastercard’s data tell us about Greek consumers today? Which sectors are gaining ground, and where are households cutting back?
At the Mastercard Economics Institute, we track how consumers are adapting their choices and allocating their available budgets across different spending categories. Higher fuel prices are putting further pressure on household finances, while food price inflation, although it has started to ease, continues to have a significant impact on the cost of everyday life.
Against this backdrop, looking beyond essential needs reveals an interesting picture. Spending on experiences, such as dining out, attending events or other leisure activities, remains relatively resilient. We see the same pattern in lower-value purchases such as cosmetics, beauty and wellness products, and pet care.
By contrast, consumers are more cautious about higher-value purchases. They are more hesitant when it comes to making a significant outlay, such as buying furniture or household appliances. Air travel, meanwhile, is taking a smaller share of consumer budgets. Here, too, we are seeing a shift: Greeks, like many other Europeans, are travelling more within Europe and less to more distant destinations than they were a year ago.
What is interesting is that, to the extent their finances allow, consumers are trying to preserve elements of their lifestyle by adjusting their spending. Take a simple example. A meal out can be tailored to a household’s available budget. Buying a new sofa, however, is a much bigger financial decision, which consumers may choose to postpone or may have to put off.
For businesses, this is an important development. To understand consumers today, it is not enough to look at how much they spend overall or how optimistic they are about the economy. We need to understand how their priorities are taking shape, which needs they are trying to meet and what choices they make within the limits of their available budget. Those choices are what give us the most meaningful insight into consumer behaviour today.
The energy crisis has had a major impact on prices across Europe. How has it affected inflation and consumers’ purchasing power in Greece? Are there signs that pressures are easing, or will price rises continue to affect household spending in the period ahead?
The new energy crisis is putting additional pressure on household budgets, but the situation is different from that in 2022. Energy prices are not at the same high levels, while businesses have less scope to pass on the additional costs to consumers because this time the economy is not benefiting from the sharp rise in demand that followed the post-pandemic reopening.
At the same time, labour-market pressures are more limited today, and supply chains, although still facing problems, are operating much more smoothly than during the pandemic, when China’s zero-COVID policy caused significant disruption to global trade. This means the impact on overall inflation is more limited than during the previous crisis. As a result, the need for interest rate rises and other restrictive monetary policy measures was smaller than during the previous energy crisis.
In Greece today, however, prices are rising faster than wages, putting pressure on consumers’ real incomes. In previous years, particularly since 2023, wages had risen more than inflation. That improvement in purchasing power is now acting as a “cushion” against the latest pressures. Combined with falling unemployment and the continued creation of new jobs, it has supported consumer spending.
This does not mean, of course, that households are protected from the new pressures. Higher energy costs continue to put upward pressure on inflation and interest rates, influencing consumer choices and testing households’ resilience.
Looking ahead, what do you see as the biggest opportunities and challenges for the Greek economy? What will be crucial for Greece to sustain its growth momentum and further narrow the gap with other European economies?
I believe productivity is Greece’s next major challenge. The country has made remarkable progress in recent years, thanks to a strong recovery in investment, supported in part by funding from NextGenerationEU, which comes to an end at the end of this year. The question is whether private investment will be able to fill the gap, particularly in a higher-interest-rate environment. If it does, we expect further business creation, higher incomes and more jobs for Greeks, helping to drive a virtuous cycle of faster growth and rising prosperity.