A day after Greek voters soundly rejected the lastest offer the European Union made for additional loans in return for greater austerity, world markets largely shrugged off the news. Markets in the US and Europe were down just 1 or 2 percent Monday. Here are five key numbers about Greece’s current financial crisis.
$67
The amount of money Greeks are allowed to withdraw from ATMs every day since the banks were closed last Monday. In practice, the amount is more like $55, since the banks are out of 20 euro notes. And the ATM limits haven’t helped Greek pensioners, many of whom don’t have bank cards. On Wednesday, some banks opened briefly and allowed pensioners to withdraw $134 for the week.
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$3.9 billion
This is the next big payment coming up for Greece: the amount Greece owes the European Central Bank. The payment is due in late July. This is not to be confused with the $1.9 billion Greece owes the International Monetary Fund, which was due last week and not paid. That’s the bill that triggered the current crisis. The IMF, a polite bunch, declined to say that Greece has defaulted on its payment; it lists the country as in “arrears.”
25.6 percent
Greece’s unemployment rate is the worst in the European Union. Greece has been in a deep recession for most of a decade, and some say it’s been made worse by the austerity measures imposed by creditors. Spain, the next worst, is at 22.7 percent. By comparison, the US unemployment rate is at 5.5 percent; Europe as a whole is at 9.6 percent.
174.5 percent
Greece’s debt as a percentage of the country’s gross domestic product. Think of a household that owes almost twice what it takes in as an annual salary. Italy is the next-worst country in Europe at 134.1 percent. For Europe as a whole, the number is 92 percent; the US is at 71.2 percent.
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Bennie DiNardo can be reached at bennie.dinardo@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @bdinardo.