The latter bloc of individuals in the country of approximately 11 million residents includes low-income pensioners, the uninsured, the very elderly, people with disabilities and beneficiaries of bonuses for minors, among others.
The draft budget foresees that GDP growth this year will reach 2.4 percent, slightly up from 2.3 percent previously forecast. The development comes from a downwards revision of 2022’s GDP figures by the country’s statistics authority, EL.STAT, which reported a 5.6-percent growth rate for the specific year, down from 5.9 percent.
Another highlight in the state budget is the first, after 14 years, pay hike for civil servants, with the average pay to reach 1,476 on an annual basis.
The growth forecast for 2024 is also revised slightly downwards, to 2.9 percent from 3.0 percent. The revision is based, in part, on a less pronounced carry-over effect of the growth rate in 4Q 2023, which according to Hellenic Fiscal Council lies between 0.32 and 0.4 percent, significantly less than 1.15 percent posted throughout 2023.
