Greece’s demographic outlook keeps worsening, according to the latest figures from ELSTAT and Eurostat, which show the country aging faster than the vast majority of EU member states. The 65-and-over population has now grown to nearly double the number of children aged 14 and under.
According to ELSTAT’s quarterly “Greece in Numbers” report, the aging index rose steadily between 2020 and 2024, reaching 182 people aged 65 and over for every 100 children in the most recent year measured. At the same time, births fell from 84,764 in 2020 to 68,467 in 2024, while the fertility rate stayed stuck at 1.2, down from 1.4 in 2020 and far below the 2.1 threshold needed to maintain population levels across generations.
While rising life expectancy is undeniably a triumph of modern medicine, combined with a shortage of new births it puts growing pressure on healthcare and elder care systems. At the same time, prolonged low birth rates are gradually emptying classrooms and creating long-term shortages of both skilled and unskilled labor.
The natural population balance, meaning births minus deaths, has deepened every year, from negative 46,261 in 2020 to negative 58,449 in 2024. The structure of the Greek family is also shifting dramatically, with single-person households rising 32 percent over the 2011-2021 decade. Households of three or more members, by contrast, fell by as much as 14.8 percent.
Based on recent Eurostat data, Greece now ranks as the fourth-oldest country in the European Union, with a median age of 47.2 years, up eight years over the past two decades. The most concerning factor isn’t the raw number itself, but the speed of the change.
According to experts, this rapid aging trend, which strains the country’s productive base, calls for comprehensive policies to address it effectively. These would include stronger housing support and other incentives for young couples, backing for motherhood and women’s employment, and building a more sustainable environment for both work and family life.
Population by Region
Population distribution across Greece remains deeply uneven. Attica alone accounts for 36.4 percent of the total population, 3,814,064 residents out of 10,482,487 nationwide, per the 2021 census, followed by Central Macedonia with 17.1 percent (1,795,669 residents).
The remaining regions trail far behind: Thessaly at 6.6 percent, Western Greece at 6.2 percent, Crete at 6.0 percent, Eastern Macedonia and Thrace at 5.4 percent, the Peloponnese at 5.1 percent, and Central Greece at 4.8 percent, while Epirus and the South Aegean each hold around 3.1 percent.
The least populated regions are the North Aegean (1.9 percent) and Western Macedonia (2.4 percent). Between 2011 and 2021, most mainland regions saw significant population loss, led by Western Macedonia (-10.3 percent) and Eastern Macedonia-Thrace (-7.6 percent). The South Aegean (+6.1 percent) and Crete (+0.2 percent) were among the few regions to gain population, likely thanks to tourism and economic momentum.
Population by Gender and Marital Status
Nationally, women outnumber men: 5,356,510 women compared with 5,125,977 men in 2021, or 51.1 percent versus 48.9 percent. That ratio isn’t even across the country, though.
In some regions, like Central Greece and the Peloponnese, the male share slightly exceeds 50 percent, while in urban centers like Attica the female majority is more pronounced. The gap widens sharply with age. In the 80-plus age group, women (351,588) outnumber men (231,746) by nearly 51 percent, reflecting women’s longer life expectancy.
Looking at marital status among Greece’s 10,482,487 residents in 2021, married people make up the largest group at 4,786,889 (45.7 percent), followed by single people at 4,224,101 (40.3 percent). Widowed individuals total 834,299 (8.0 percent) and divorced individuals 484,237 (4.6 percent), while a small but growing group of 39,984 people report being in a registered civil partnership.
The breakdown differs notably by gender. Among men, single (2,324,198) and married (2,402,858) individuals are almost evenly split, and widowers make up just 2.5 percent of men (128,794 people). Among women, by contrast, widows number 705,505, more than five times the number of widowers.
Life Expectancy at Birth
Despite its rapidly aging population, Greece shows relatively strong life expectancy figures, according to Eurostat data for 2022-2024.
Life expectancy at birth for men reached 79.4 years in 2024, up from 78.2 in 2022, slightly above the EU-27 average of 78.9 years. For women, it reached 84.4 years, also marginally above the European average of 84.1 years.
The EU countries with the highest longevity in 2024 include Spain (81.4 years for men, 86.5 for women), Italy (81.6 and 85.7 respectively), and France (80.2 and 85.8). Several Eastern European countries trail well behind Greece, including Bulgaria (72.2 and 79.5) and Romania (72.8 and 80.3).
