Greece faces a continued decline and aging of its population over the next three decades, according to a new study by the University of Thessaly’s Laboratory of Demographic and Social Analyses.
The analysis, authored by assistant professor and laboratory director Ifigeneia Kokkali, highlights what it calls the “collapse of births,” which in 2023 dropped to 72,300 – about half the annual average recorded between 1951 and 1970.
“The reasons for this collapse are not found only within the field of demography, but more broadly concern the social challenges that Greece has faced in recent decades,” the report said.
From 2011 onward, Greece has recorded steady negative natural balances – more deaths than births – coupled with migration outflows. This has reduced the population by nearly 500,000 people.
Fertility rates remain among the lowest in the European Union at 1.3 to 1.4 children per woman, far below the replacement level of 2.07.
The analysis also points to rising childlessness – about one in five among those born around 1980 – and a housing crisis that delays family formation.
“The framework of life in Greece today seems either to push young people to emigrate or to remain childless,” it noted.
Nearly 23% of Greeks are over 65 years old, while seniors outnumber children by one million, underscoring the demographic challenges lying ahead.