Greece’s stock market has been reclassified as a developed market by MSCI, marking a milestone in the country’s recovery from the sovereign debt crisis that once threatened the stability of the eurozone, as highlighted by Bloomberg.

According to an MSCI announcement, the reclassification will take effect during the index review in May 2027, rather than August 2026. The provider had launched a consultation in January, noting that a majority of international market participants supported the proposed upgrade.

With this move, Greece returns to the ranks of developed equity markets more than a decade after its 2013 downgrade at the height of the debt crisis. Bloomberg underscores the unprecedented nature of that earlier reclassification for an advanced economy, recalling that just two years later, capital controls forced the Athens Stock Exchange to shut down for five weeks as the country teetered on the brink of exiting the eurozone.

The MSCI decision effectively seals a long recovery process, underpinned by successive bailout programs, years of fiscal adjustment, and the country’s eventual return to investment-grade status. “This shows the Greek crisis is now behind us and that Greece, with Europe’s support, has achieved an impressive recovery,” said Rajeev De Mello, a global macro portfolio manager at Gama Asset Management. He added that while the move is positive, investors had already begun treating Greece as a developed market.

A String of Upgrades
Following the reclassification, Greece will be incorporated into the Developed Europe framework used to construct MSCI Greece indices.

The move comes on the heels of similar upgrades by FTSE Russell and S&P Global Ratings last year, and is expected to expand funding opportunities for Greek companies. MSCI indices are tracked by funds totaling approximately $18.3 trillion in assets, and inclusion in developed market benchmarks is generally seen as a long-term positive—particularly for larger, more liquid stocks.

Greece’s return to developed market status reinforces broader signs of economic recovery. In 2023, the country regained investment-grade status for its sovereign debt after more than a decade in “junk” territory.