Greece has enough money to pay pensions, workers' salaries and bondholders through mid-November, the country's finance minister said on Tuesday.

The statement came as world stock markets slumped on fears of an imminent Greek debt default, which could bring down European banks and trigger another global recession.

The Athens Stock Exchange general index tumbled by 6.3 per cent, while the main Europe markets fell almost three per cent.

Jonah Hull reports from Athens, Greece's capital, on how ordinary Greeks are feeling much of the economic pain of the debt crisis.