Births in Rhodope fall below 600 for the first time as deaths exceed 1,200
Births in Rhodope (Rodopi), northeastern Greece, fell below 600 for the first time in 2025, with 585 live births recorded compared with 1,267 deaths, according to data from the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) reported by Paratiritis News.
Births declined by 5% compared with 2024, while deaths fell by 10.1%. The figures resulted in 682 more deaths than births in the regional unit, highlighting the scale of its negative natural population change.
The trend is also evident across the wider Eastern Macedonia and Thrace Region, where 3,377 births and 7,202 deaths were recorded in 2025.
BIRTHS DECLINE ACROSS EASTERN MACEDONIA AND THRACE
Across Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, births fell by 5.4% compared with 2024, while deaths decreased by 8.3%.
Xanthi (İskeçe) was a notable exception in terms of the gap between births and deaths. Although deaths still outnumbered births there, the difference was approximately half that recorded in other areas of the region, according to the report.
GREECE RECORDS FEWER BIRTHS IN 2025
Nationwide, Greece recorded 65,618 live births in 2025, down 4.2% from 68,467 in 2024. The total comprised 33,633 boys and 31,985 girls.
Deaths also declined, reaching 121,841 in 2025, a 4% decrease from the 126,916 recorded the previous year. Despite this reduction, deaths nationally remained substantially higher than births.
The number of stillbirths fell by 7%, from 454 in 2024 to 422 in 2025.
MARRIAGES AND CIVIL PARTNERSHIPS INCREASE
ELSTAT’s figures also showed a modest rise in marriages. Greece recorded 36,810 marriages in 2025, an increase of 0.4% from 36,649 in 2024. These included 20,868 religious ceremonies and 15,942 civil marriages.
Civil partnership agreements rose more sharply, increasing by 14.8% to 16,627, compared with 14,486 in 2024.
DIVORCES ALSO RISE
Divorces increased by 2.1% in 2025, reaching 15,853 compared with 15,532 the previous year.
Of the divorces recorded, 13,127 were by mutual consent, accounting for 82.8%, while 1,926 were contested. The type was not specified for the remaining 800 cases.
More than two-thirds of divorces—10,722, or 67.6%—involved marriages that had lasted at least 10 years. The ratio of divorces to every 100 marriages rose to 43.1 in 2025, from 42.4 in 2024.
Source: Paratiritis News, citing data from the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT).
