Greece is undergoing a deep and intensifying demographic change.
Falling birth numbers are particularly pronounced outside the main urban centres, alongside population ageing and rising deaths, according to new figures from the Institute for Demographic Research and Studies.
Average annual births fell from approximately 148,000 in 1979–1980 to just 67,000 in 2024–2025.
The average age at childbirth rose by almost six years, from 26.2 to 32.2.
The downward trend began in the late 1970s and, apart from 2003–2009, has continued.
Strong regional differences
Between 2009 and 2024, births nationwide fell by 42%, from 117,440 to 68,310.
In six mainland prefectures — Thesprotia, Grevena, Fthiotida, Kozani, Evrytania and Florina — the decline exceeded 50%.
Several island areas recorded considerably smaller falls. In the Cyclades and Zakynthos, the reduction was below 15%.
Declining fertility across generations has been important. Women born in the late 1950s had around two children on average, compared with fewer than 1.5 for women born around 1985.
The annual fertility indicator fell from around 2,200 children per 1,000 women in 1979–1980 to 1,240 in 2024–2025.
Deaths increasingly outnumber births
The natural population balance — births minus deaths — is now consistently negative, the study says.
Births exceeded deaths by 638,000 during 1971–1980. That surplus fell to 276,000 in the following decade and just 22,000 during 1991–2000.
By contrast, 2011–2020 recorded 267,000 more deaths than births. In the five years from 2021 to 2025 alone, the gap reached 290,000.
In 2024, Greece recorded 184 deaths for every 100 births, compared with 92 in 2009.
In some regional units, the ratio reached 376 deaths per 100 births.
Only five of the 74 regional units — Thira, Mykonos, Kos, Naxos and Rethymno — recorded more births than deaths.
Why the differences arise
The analysis links the large regional disparities to three principal factors: different fertility trends, population ageing and migration.
Areas retaining or attracting younger residents show smaller losses. Those losing a large share of their young population face both fewer births and more deaths.
The demographic challenge is therefore developing differently across Greece. Population contraction is most severe where low fertility, ageing and population loss coincide.
