Greece’s birth rate falls sharply as population decline deepens
Greece is experiencing a sharp and sustained decline in births, with the number of annual births falling from an average of 148,000 in 1979-80 to just 67,000 in 2024-25, according to a demographic study.
The figures are included in a study by Byron Kotzamanis, retired professor of demography at the University of Thessaly and director of the Institute of Demographic Research and Studies.
The study shows that Greece’s demographic profile has changed significantly since 1950, with both fertility rates and the number of births declining steadily.
The decline in births, which began in the late 1970s, is largely attributed to a fall in the number of children women have over their lifetimes.
Women born in the late 1950s had an average of around two children, while women born around 1985 are expected to have fewer than 1.5 children on average.
A modest increase in births was recorded between 2003 and 2009, largely linked to the arrival of foreign nationals in Greece after 1990. However, the longer-term downward trend resumed afterward.
Motherhood is also occurring later
The study highlights a significant increase in the average age at which women have children.
The average age rose from 26.2 years in 1979-80 to 32.2 years in 2024-25, an increase of almost six years.
Annual fertility rates have also fallen sharply, from 2,200 births per 1,000 women in 1979-80 to 1,240 in 2024-25.
The decline in births has coincided with a growing gap between births and deaths, resulting in a sustained natural population decline.
Greece recorded 638,000 more births than deaths during the 1971-80 period. The surplus fell to 276,000 in the following decade and to just 22,000 during the 1991-2000 period.
The balance then turned decisively negative. Between 2011 and 2020, Greece recorded 267,000 more deaths than births.
The trend intensified in the most recent period. Between 2021 and 2025, deaths exceeded births by approximately 290,000, highlighting the scale of the country’s demographic challenge.
Source:AMNA
