ATHENS – Cafes are full, supermarket sales are up, confidence is rising but a near decade-long economic and austerity crisis left an indelible mark, with a survey finding 68.3 percent of Greeks are living close to or below the poverty line.

The results came from the poll done by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) that was published in the Hellenic Federation of Enterprises (SEV) that also showed 12.9 percent of people are trying to make ends meet below that level.

Some 55.4 percent said they feel vulnerable and could fall below the poverty line if they miss out on three months salary, said the survey, reported Kathimerini, the overall findings revealing that the proportion of Greeks struggling to survive one of the OECD’s highest, behind only Latvia.

SEVE said Greece is among the European Union countries with the greatest inequalities in incomes, made worse by austerity measures imposed by successive governments that hammered workers, pensioners and the poor while the rich, oligarchs, politicians, the privileged and Parliament workers largely escaped with near impunity, some even prospering.