Limitations: what the index does NOT say

• A single median is not your price

  material

  The index uses one national median per year. In practice prices vary a lot: central Athens, a tourist island, a provincial town and a neighbourhood shop can differ by 1.5 EUR on the same day.

  What we do: Every year carries an uncertainty range, and a separate city map shows visitor-reported prices.

• The wrap is not the same product across the series

  material

  The 1977 wrap had 37-40 g of meat and no fries inside. Today's has roughly 88-120 g plus fries. A raw price-to-price comparison would compare different goods.

  What we do: The headline index is expressed in "classic gyros", rescaled to a fixed 88 g baseline. The era price stays visible next to it everywhere.

• 1976-1985: regulated prices, not a free market

  material

  Prices in this period come from official price orders (maximum allowed prices). They are not free-market prices and often sit below what was actually charged.

  What we do: We apply an explicit +20% uplift and a wide ±35% band, and mark those years with a separate shaded zone on the chart.

• Minimum wage is not average wage

  notable

  The index tracks the statutory minimum wage of a single employee with no seniority increments. It does not represent average pay, freelancers, part-time work, undeclared work or benefits.

  What we do: The wage calculator lets you enter your own net pay and see your personal index.

• Most years are derived, not measured

  notable

  Documented prices exist for a handful of years (1977, 1998, 2002, 2011, 2019-2026). Everything in between is derived using official inflation. That is a reasoned estimate, not an observation.

  What we do: Every year carries an A-D confidence grade and the table shows where each number came from.

• Classic-equivalent rescaling rests on an assumption

  notable

  We assume meat accounts for 70% of a wrap's cost. If the real share is 60% or 80%, older-year index values shift noticeably.

  What we do: The calculations page includes a sensitivity analysis: move the assumption and watch the result change.

• We do not measure quality, taste or sourcing

  minor

  A 4.10 EUR wrap with fresh pork and a 4.10 EUR wrap with reconstituted frozen meat count identically in the index.

  What we do: We only record measurable attributes (grams, composition), not ingredient quality.

• Counter price only, no delivery

  minor

  The reference basket is the in-store price. Delivery prices (and platform fees) are markedly higher today and are excluded from the series.

  What we do: Observations record the sales channel and are explicitly normalised to counter prices.

• Visitor reports are not a statistical sample

  minor

  Prices submitted by visitors are a self-selected sample, sometimes recalled decades after the fact.

  What we do: They appear as a separate comparison layer with median and trimmed mean, and only feed the model above a sample threshold.

The rule: a figure that cannot survive scrutiny does not deserve to be published. That is why every year carries a range, a confidence grade and a source, and why the correction form below exists.