Greece has suffered more than any European country since the 2007–8 global financial crisis. The governments that have held power between 2010 and 2018 have enacted several rounds of tax increases, spending cuts, and reforms. Austerity measures have triggered both local riots and nationwide protests.

The uncertainty and economic decline that has plagued Greece has affected all spheres of society, but education has been particularly hard hit. Public spending has shrunk by 40 percent, and more than one hundred schools, as well as a number of university departments, have closed.

Many Greek youth decide not to study at all or to pursue higher education abroad — more than 427,000 have emigrated since 2008.