Share of population living below national poverty lines in Greece
Greece: Share of population living below national poverty lines was 18.8% in 2021. ▼ Falling
Share of population living below national poverty lines in Greece, 2002–2021
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of population.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of population living below national poverty lines in Greece is 18.8%, measured in 2021.
The figure is down 4.1% on the previous year and down 18.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population living below national poverty lines in Greece peaked at 23.1% in 2011 and was at its lowest, 17.7%, in 2019.
Greece ranks 34th of 70 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 20 years of available data.
Share of population living below national poverty lines in Greece, year by year
| Year | % of population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 20.7% | — |
| 2003 | 19.9% | -3.9% |
| 2004 | 19.6% | -1.5% |
| 2005 | 20.5% | +4.6% |
| 2006 | 20.3% | -1.0% |
| 2007 | 20.1% | -1.0% |
| 2008 | 19.7% | -2.0% |
| 2009 | 20.1% | +2.0% |
| 2010 | 21.4% | +6.5% |
| 2011 | 23.1% | +7.9% |
| 2012 | 23.1% | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 22.1% | -4.3% |
| 2014 | 21.4% | -3.2% |
| 2015 | 21.2% | -0.9% |
| 2016 | 20.2% | -4.7% |
| 2017 | 18.5% | -8.4% |
| 2018 | 17.9% | -3.2% |
| 2019 | 17.7% | -1.1% |
| 2020 | 19.6% | +10.7% |
| 2021 | 18.8% | -4.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 20.1% | 19.6% | 20.7% | 8 |
| 2010s | 20.7% | 17.7% | 23.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 19.2% | 18.8% | 19.6% | 2 |
Countries ranked near Greece
More poverty & inequality data for Greece
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 8 surveys (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per person (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Fertility rate vs. share living in extreme poverty 1.33 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 4,053 kg per hectare (2024)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, annual growth rate -2.1 % change on previous year (2024)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 39.78 (2023)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 39.8% (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population living below national poverty lines in Greece?
- Share of population living below national poverty lines in Greece was 18.8% in 2021, according to World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of population living below national poverty lines recorded in Greece?
- The highest recorded value was 23.1% in 2011.
- What is the lowest share of population living below national poverty lines recorded in Greece?
- The lowest recorded value was 17.7% in 2019.
- How does Greece rank for share of population living below national poverty lines?
- Greece ranks 34th out of 70 countries with data for 2021.
- Is share of population living below national poverty lines rising or falling in Greece?
- Over the last ten years it is down 18.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Greece data come from?
- The figures come from World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of population living below national poverty lines. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
National poverty headcount ratio is the percentage of the population living below the national poverty lines. National estimates are based on population-weighted subgroup estimates from household surveys.