Greece's Financial Woes Are Far From Over

Debt stands at 176 percent of GDP. No one knows how Greece will pay

High school teachers shout slogans during an anti-government rally in Athens on Sept. 25, the second day of a 48-hour strike by public-sector workersPhotograph by Yorgos Karahalis/Reuters

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By Carol Matlack

September 26, 2013 at 9:42 PM UTC

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This article is part of the September 30, 2013 issue of businessweek.

There were glimmers of hope in Athens in late September as international lenders arrived for a new round of talks on Greece’s debt crisis. The government said it would post a small budget surplus this year, with the economy set to contract a less-than-expected 3.8 percent. Tourism is up, Greeks are depositing money in banks again, and a poll released on Sept. 25 showed support for the governing coalition holding steady.

Could this be the turning point? Six years of recession and the austerity measures demanded by Greece’s creditors have shrunk its economy by 25 percent and pushed unemployment to more than 27 percent. It seems the country has suffered enough.