Greece's abandoned factories show how painful the country's seven-year depression has been
Greece fell into recession as the financial crisis spread around the world in 2008 — but until 2010, the country's growth figures weren't spectacularly worse than many other countries.
By the beginning of 2011, the economy was shrinking by nearly 10% year-on-year. The decline, which only ended in 2014, left Greece's economy about a quarter smaller, similar to the US decline during the Great Depression.
The country has been hammered by the crisis. Many young people have left, Greece has seen worse deflation than any other country in Europe, and unemployment is still well above 20%.
Some of the shuttered and crumbling factories pictured here have actually been out of business for much longer, and have been left to the elements for decades.
Unemployment is eye-wateringly high at over 20%. Some parts of the country are even more severely effected — the worst-hit regions have unemployment levels closer to half of the active adult population.
But since 2010 manufacturing has been hammered particularly hard. Greece's industry now produces about the same amount as it did in the last 1970s, erasing a generation of progress.
Some economists believe that Greece would be better off leaving the eurozone, and that the currency is adding to the country's depression — others say this would do nothing to address Greece's structural problems.
After gaining access to the eurozone, Greece admitted that its public finance figures had been fudged to make them look more favourable, allowing the country to get in.
In 2009 and 2010 it was revealed again that the country's deficit figures were wildly incorrect, making government spending look much more affordable than it actually was.
Greece entered a bailout programme that year which entailed huge spending reductions, much sharper than anything practiced by the world's large advanced economies, prolonging the severe recession.
According to Greek consultancy Macropolis, only a 11% of the bailout money has gone on typical public spending — much more has gone towards debt payments.
During the euro crisis period, protests and riots were common, and neo-fascist movements like Golden Dawn thrived with a xenophobic and anti-austerity message.
In 2012, Greece had to sign up to a second bailout package with similarly severe terms — interest rates on Greek debt were astronomically high, and going it alone would have meant defaulting and exiting the eurozone.
Though the risk of "Grexit" has been less severe since the cooling of the euro crisis in 2012, the country's social conditions have remained dramatically worse, with high unemployment and only slow progress in reforming.
Early this year the country elected SYRIZA, a radical left-wing coalition, as the largest party in the parliament. The new government is now opposed to austerity measures and wants to find an alternative to a painful third bailout.
According to the latest business surveys, the pressure on Greek industry hasn't stopped. Output is now at its lowest levels in 22 months, firmly back in recession territory.
The government is now rapidly running out of money, growth figures show that Greece is back in a technical recession, and negotiations for more bailout cash are still hitting roadblocks
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