There are more Greeks returning to their homeland as of 2023 than there are leaving, Deputy Premier Kostis Hatzidakis said at the “inForum Brain Retain & Regain” conference on Monday.
The event was organized by news site in.gr at the Parliament Library, the former Public Tobacco Factory.
Citing official data, Hatzidakis said, “Overall, of the 600,000 Greeks who left during the crisis, 400,000 have returned. In addition, in 2023, the inflow-outflow balance of Greek citizens was positive for the first time since 2008: 47,200 of our fellow-patriots returned, against 32,800 who left.”
Hatzidakis continued, “This is not accidental. It relates to more specific measures the government has taken, such as special tax incentives with a 50% tax cut for 7 years for those returning, the efforts of the Labor Ministry in cooperation with the business community in Greece, even more specialized measures for doctors. But basically, it is related to the fact that the conditions are changing. We are no longer in a Greece of crisis. We have not become a paradise, but things have definitely changed. There is a lot that needs to be done, but there are opportunities that lead to us having more Greeks return to Greece than ones who leave.”
