Demographics of Greece

Last update on April 15, 2025

Demographics in Greece has become a crucial issue shaping the country’s economic, social, and political landscape. Demographic data, and much of it is negative, is heavily influencing government policy, the business strategies of companies in Hellas, and is impacting how social services are planned far into the future.

One of the simple explanations for the demographic decline is that as Greece was integrated into the EU, the population growth numbers began to change to reflect the overall European numbers, which is to say, fewer and fewer children being born with life expectancies becoming longer for everyone else.

MEDIA REPORTS

The mammoth population decline expected in Greece by 2070

April 13, 2025: Story at Protothema [English]

European population continues to shrink, and the worst stats are in Greece, Italy

March 11, 2025: Story at Protothema [English]

The €20 billion plan to boost demographics in Greece

October 2, 2024: Story at Yahoo News - UK Telegraph [English]

Greece's demographic decline no longer a "future" problem

October 8, 2024: Story at Parapolitika [Greek]

The "Greek panic" over falling birthrates

October 4, 2024: Story at UK Daily Express [English]

Fighting population "time bomb" in Greece

September 17, 2024: Story at Newsweek [English]

Demographic pressure leading to changes in retirement ages

August 19, 2024: Story at To Vima [Greek]

The coming demographic effect on pensions

July 19, 2024: Story at Ta Nea [Greek]

The shock report from Bank of Greece on employment, demographics and the sheer lack of young people

July 7, 2024: Story at Capital [Greek]

Pensions and demographics

May 9, 2024: Story at IN GR [Greek]

Former PM Karamanlis speaks on the difficult demographics of Greece, and the need for no illusions about Turkey

March 30, 2024: Story at Naftemporiki [Greek]

MEDIA REPORTS 2023

Demographics across Europe: Greece is aging

December 23, 2023: Story at Iefimerida [Greek]

Demographics in Greece continues slide

October 2, 2023: Story at Naftemporiki [Greek]

Demographics and adjusting the pension systems

May 11, 2023: Story at OT Financial Post [Greek]

ELSTAT counts Greece population at 10,432,481 people

Story at OT Financial Post [Greek]

MEDIA REPORTS 2022

The coming major shifts in worldwide demographics

November 17, 2022: Story at OT Financial Post [Greek]

Alarming demographic data for Greece

October 19, 2022: story at IN GR [Greek]

Demographics predict "third world takeover"

July 11, 2022:Story at OT Financial Post [Greek]

Pandemic speeding up demographic decline

July 11, 2022:Story at Imerisia [Greek]

Estimating Greece's Demographic Future

Find more statistics at Statista

Mitsotakis to speak on "Demographics, the great challenge"

June 6, 2022: Story at Imerisia [Greek]

Demographics: Greece drops 400K people since 2011

July 10, 2022: Data at OT Financial Post [Greek]

Demographics a "ticking time bomb"

June 30, 2022: Story at AA [English]

Mitsotakis to speak on "Demographics, the great challenge"

June 8, 2022: Story at Imerisia [Greek]

MEDIA REPORTS 2021 & OLDER

Estimated population 10.72 million (2020) people (new data coming in December 2022 from The Hellenic Statistical Authority web site)

Feb 2021: The demographic crisis

Story at Protothema [English]

July 2020: Demographic pressures continue as birth rates decline

Story at Cyclades 24 [Greek]

February 4, 2020: Shrinking demographics prompts benefit to promote childbirth

Story at UK Guardian [English] and at Newsweek [English]

June 17, 2019: European life expectancy expected to expand

Demographics at Ethnos [Greek]

Population decrease on the horizon

Another report on the negative numbers for future Greece demographics

Oct 18, 2018: Story at Greek Reporter

The "big Headwind" for Greece are Demographics

August 23, 2018 Story at Wall Street Journal [English]

Dismal Demographics of Greece - NY Times

Dec 9, 2013:

Dismal Demographics of Greece - NY Times

"The Greeks are in a struggle for survival. And the odds are piling up against us ...Deaths are outnumbering births, people are leaving the country, and the population is aging so fast that in a few decades Greece may be unable to produce enough wealth to take care of its people..."

The analysis at the NY Times shows that the chief problem is that the aged population is now outnumbering working age people in many villages, and the problem is only due to get worse.

Article by Nikos Konstandaras focuses on how younger adults are choosing to only have one child (if any). Joining the EU has turned out to be a two-edged sword on more than just loan money and bank-book balances, as Greece has quickly shifted into the declining birth-rate norm of Europe.

However, Konstandaras does hold out two aces in the Greek back pocket: a loyal diaspora that funnels wealth back home, and a hoped for immigration reform that allows an offset of incoming foreign immigrants.

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