OECD: Quality of life in Greece below European average

Greece ranks below average in terms of quality of life, according to OECD data. Large-scale unemployment, ever-worsening housing problems and low levels of education for children and young people continue to rank low in OECD analysis.

Greece is above average in terms of health due to high life expectancy compared to other countries. But in terms of income, employment, education, environmental quality, social relations, civic engagement in politics and life satisfaction, it is below average. In fact, it affects many indicators. Please note that the OECD estimates are based on objective characteristics and countries are considered using the same criteria.

Goods are expensive and citizens are poor

Although money cannot buy happiness, it is a means of achieving a higher standard of living for the average citizen. In Greece, the average household net adjusted disposable income per capita is US$20,791 per year, well below the OECD average of US$30,490 per year.

Household net wealth is the total value of a household's financial and non-financial assets, such as cash or shares in bank accounts, primary home, other real estate, vehicles, jewelry, and other non-financial assets (such as consumer durables, except those listed).

In Greece, average household net wealth is estimated at $148,323, well below the OECD average of $323,960. When you take into account the property prices of those who own their own homes, it is clear that people have lost a huge amount of their wealth. The statistics below do not take into account asterism, which appears to be on the rise in Greece. In Athens, more than 20,000 people suffer from it.

Housing problem

Housing conditions are one of the most important aspects of people's lives. For Aristotle's social animals, the nest of each creature is important. Housing should provide a place to sleep and relax, a home where a person feels safe, has personal space and can start a family.

Housing costs take up a significant portion of the household budget and are the largest expense for many individuals and families when you add items such as rent, gas, electricity, water, furniture and renovations.

In Greece, households spend on average 22% of their gross adjusted disposable income on home maintenance, above the OECD average of 20%. The percentage may seem strange, but we always talk about averages when it comes to home ownership. In Greece, there is an average of 1.2 rooms per person, which is less than the OECD average of 1.7 rooms.

Lack of job security and low wages

In terms of employment, around 56% of people aged 15 to 64 in Greece have a paid job, below the OECD employment average of 66%. About 65% of men have paid work, compared to 47% of women. Wages and other monetary benefits associated with employment are an important aspect of job quality. Greeks earn on average $27,207 a year, much less than the OECD average of $49,165.

Another important factor determining the quality of employment is job security, expressed in the expected loss of earnings in the event of unemployment. This includes the likelihood of losing your job, how long you will be unemployed, and how much financial assistance you can expect from the government.

Workers who face a high risk of unemployment are more vulnerable, especially in countries with smaller social safety nets. In Greece, the expected loss of earnings in the event of unemployment is 21.7%, much higher than the average of 7% and negative among OECD countries, followed by Spain at around 16%. Disappointing figures compared with less than 2% in Germany and Iceland.

Low quality of education

In Greece, 76% of adults aged 25-64 have completed upper secondary education, lower than the OECD average of 79%. However, this rate differs between men and women: 75% of men successfully completed upper secondary education, compared to 78% of women.

In terms of the quality of the education system, the OECD's Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) scores the average student at 453 in reading, mathematics and science – lower than the OECD average of 488. On average in Greece, girls are 18 points ahead of boys, much higher than the OECD average of 5 points. This suggests that families raise boys very differently than girls. However, the country's citizens can expect 19.2 years of schooling between the ages of 5 and 39, more than the OECD average of 18 years.

Average life expectancy, high levels of environmental pollution, poor quality of drinking water and air

In terms of health, life expectancy at birth in Greece is around 82 years, a year above the OECD average of 81 years. Life expectancy for women is 84 years, while for men it is 79 years.

Levels of PM2.5 in the atmosphere – tiny particles of air pollutants small enough to enter the lungs and cause lung damage – are 14.5 micrograms per cubic meter, slightly higher than the OECD average of 14 micrograms per cubic meter.

In Greece, 67% of citizens say they are satisfied with the quality of their water, lower than the OECD average of 84%. At the same time, every third resident of the country is not satisfied with the quality of water.

Declining level of political participation and its consequences

In the public sphere, Greece has a modest sense of community and levels of civic participation. 78% of people think they know someone they can rely on in an emergency, lower than the OECD average of 91%.

Voter turnout – a measure of citizens' participation in the political process – was 58% in recent elections, below the OECD average of 69%. Social and economic status may influence voting rates; Voter turnout for the high-income 20% is estimated at 59%, and for the low-income 20% it is estimated at 58%. When asked to rate their overall life satisfaction on a scale of 0 to 10, Greeks rated it at 5.8 on average, lower than the OECD average of 6.7.

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