The Greek established Blue Economy sectors employ about 446 000 people and generate around €6.5 billion in GVA. In 2021, the Blue Economy employed roughly 11.4% of the national workforce, an increase from 6.8% recorded in 2020 and almost back to pre-Covid levels (14.6% in 2019). Greek Blue Economy contributed to 4.1% of the national GVA in 2021, an increase from 2.3% recorded in 2020 but still lagging behind the value recorded in 2019 (5.5%).
The Greek Blue Economy is mainly driven by Coastal tourism activities in terms of employment, with 83% of blue workers employed in this sector in 2021. The share has increased since 2020 (70%) and is similar to the value recorded pre-Covid (in 2019, 85%). Persons employed in the sector Marine living resources amount to 8% of the Blue Economy workforce, whilst the other sectors make a very marginal contribution to the workforce.
In terms of GVA, Coastal tourism contributes the most to the Blue Economy GVA (67%), an increase from 2020 (26%) and in line with pre-Covid values. The second largest contribution to the Greek Blue Economy is provided by Maritime transport activities (14%).
In the EU, Greece is the 5th and 2nd largest contributor in terms of GVA and employment for Coastal tourism in 2021. Greece is also an important contributor to the employment within Marine living resources and Maritime transport (ranked 6th in EU), and to the GVA within Marine non-living resources (7th in the EU) and Maritime transport (8th in EU).
In 2021, the busiest Greek container ports in terms of the gross weight of goods handled were the Port of Piraeus (ranked 19th in the EU for the year), the Port of Agioi Theodoroi (40th), and the Port of Thessaloniki (65th).
Regarding passengers embarking and disembarking in ports, the port of Piraeus is the first ranked in Greece and the 3rd busiest in the EU in 2021. Other busy passenger ports are Paloukia Salaminas and Perama (4th).
The Hellenic Centre for Marine Research is a governmental research organisation that includes three institutes of research: the Institute of Marine Biology Biotechnology and Aquaculture, the Institute of Marine Biological Resources and Inland Waters, and the Institute of Oceanography. These institutes carry out research on many relevant topics for the blue economy.
For more national level data, please visit the Dashboards section within the EU Blue Economy Observatory, where you can also find information about Educational and Employment opportunities in the Blue Economy sectors.