Here, you can find key stylized facts and trends regarding the Greek intangible economy for the period 1995–2020, along with comparisons to other European economies. This descriptive analysis is based on publicly available data from the EUKLEMS & INTANProd database. 

You can find a brief report:

•   In English.

•   In Greek.

"The Intangible Economy in Greece" published in the Greek press (TO VIMA, special issue of Oikonomikos Tachydromos: "How Investments Will Increase – Obstacles, Proposals, and Prospects", 22 June 2025)

Key Trends and Stylized facts for the Intangible Economy in Greece

1. The evolution of the tangible and intangible investments before and after the Greek Great Depression

1. • Before the 2009–10 Greek economic crisis, both tangible and intangible investments were growing, but tangible investments outpaced intangible ones.

   • After the crisis, intangible investments rebounded faster than tangible investments, which stagnated.

   • Intangible investment in Greece consistently rises but at a slow pace.

   • Tangible investment dropped sharply after the crisis, whereas intangible investment partially recovered and outperformed tangible assets in the recovery phase.

2.  Greece intangible economy’s position relative to other European Economies

1. • Greece is an EU intangible laggard: Its intangible investment relative to gross value added (GVA) is persistently lower than other European countries, and the gap is widening, especially compared to Core and Nordic EU members.

   • Greece consistently ranks below average in intangible intensity (intangible investment as a share of GVA), regardless of the reference group.

   • Tangible investment was relatively high in Greece before the crisis but collapsed after, while intangible investment proved more resilient.

   • The gap is smaller compared to Periphery and Eastern European countries, but Greece still lags behind.

3. Decomposition of Intangible Intangible investment in Greece

1. • In 2020, organizational capital represented the largest intangible asset (27% of total intangible investment).

   • Followed by R&D (24%), industrial design (16.6%), software and databases (14%), and branding (12%).

   • The smallest categories are entertainment, artistic/literary originals, and new financial products.

   • The fastest-growing intangible asset is software and databases, which have seen a rapid increase of around 800% since 1995, followed by R&D with an approximately 600% growth. 

   • Growth in most intangible asset types, such as organizational capital, industrial design, and branding, slowed down after the crisis.

Also, the figure below (adapted from Dimakopoulou et al., 2025) illustrates the cyclical dynamics of the intangible sector relative to the tangible sector in Greece and other Periphery countries. It presents three key indicators: gross value added, the ratio of intangible to tangible investment, and the ratio of hours worked.

Bust periods—defined as years in which gross value-added falls below trend—are shaded in light grey. A distinct countercyclical pattern is observed: during downturns, both investment and labor increasingly shift toward intangible-intensive activities. This indicates that the intangible sector exhibits greater resilience compared to the tangible sector during recessions.