More than one in four Greeks cannot afford to take part in leisure activities on a regular basis, the highest rate in the European Union, according to new data from Eurostat.
The EU statistics agency found that 27.3% of people in Greece could not pay for a regular leisure activity in 2025, more than double the EU average of 12.1%. It is the second year in a row that Greece has ranked worst in the bloc.
Behind the numbers is a squeeze on both time and money. Greeks work longer than anyone else in the EU, yet they take home some of the smallest incomes once living costs are counted.
Employed people in Greece worked an average of 39.6 hours a week in 2025, compared with 35.9 hours across the EU, Eurostat figures show. Nearly 12% of Greek workers regularly put in what the agency classifies as long hours in their main job. That is close to twice the EU rate of 6.2%.
New labor laws stretch Greek workdays as unions push back
Recent labor laws have added to the debate. In July 2024, Greece allowed some businesses that operate around the clock to move to a six-day work week. In October 2025, lawmakers approved a bill that lets private employers extend the workday to 13 hours on up to 37 days a year.
In 2025, 12.1% of people in the EU could not afford to participate regularly in a leisure activity. 🏋️⚽️
➡️This share ranged from 3.9% in 🇭🇷Croatia to 27.3% in 🇬🇷Greece.
Read more in Key figures on European living conditions – 2026 edition
👉 https://t.co/UaK8OOqMeE pic.twitter.com/pz0hNknqj9— EU_Eurostat (@EU_Eurostat) October 7, 2026
The government said the changes make the job market more flexible, while unions said they weaken workers’ rights in a country where wages are already low.
Those long hours do not translate into higher living standards. After adjusting for price differences, the typical person in Greece had a disposable income worth about 60% of the EU median in 2025. Only Hungary and Romania ranked lower.
Why so many Greeks still cannot afford leisure activities
Housing then takes a large bite. Last year, 26.4% of people in Greece lived in households that spent more than 40% of their disposable income on housing, the highest rate in the EU.
That leaves little room for anything beyond the basics. In 2025, 35% of people in Greece said their household was making ends meet “with great difficulty,” compared with 6.4% across the EU.
The leisure gap has barely narrowed. In 2022, 29.5% of Greeks could not afford leisure activities, a figure that eased to 26.9% before rising again last year. Romania now ranks second at 23.3%, while rates in Spain and Italy stand at 13.4% and 10.7%.
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