Greek citizen’s disposable income fell below the catastrophic 2015 economic year, recording a 2.7 billion euro contraction, according to data released by the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT).
The numbers reflect the government’s “conscious choice” to over-tax the medium income households in Greece.
The figures show a decline of 2.7 billion euros (or 2.3%) in households’ disposable income in 2016 compared to 2015, as in 2016 it stood at 114 billion euros from 116.7 billion EUR a year ago.
As a result of this development, consumer spending declined by € 1.3 billion or by 1% from € 123 billion in 2015 to € 121.7 billion in 2016.
The households (and non-profit institutions serving households) also recorded a downward trend, as there was a -6.8% rate in 2016 compared with -5.4% in 2015.
In 2016, a € 1.3 billion deficit in the external balance of goods and services was recorded, compared to a surplus of € 0.1 billion recorded in 2015.

The annual non-financial accounts of institutional sectors provide a comprehensive description of the Greek economy, based on the analysis of the economic behaviour of the institutional sectors that comprise it (households and non-profit institutions serving households, non-financial corporations, financial corporations, general government ), as well as the relations of the national economy with the rest of the world (foreign).