2023-10-17 12:27:26
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis warned on Tuesday that the falling birth rate constituted “a national danger” with an expected decline in the population of one million by 2050.
Last year, this Mediterranean country of some 10.5 million inhabitants recorded one birth for every two deaths, Mr. Mitsotakis said at a conference on demography, estimating that “a national danger is in full swing “.
“Our population is one of the oldest in Europe. The number of Greek women aged 20 to 40 has fallen by 150,000 over the last five years,” said the head of the conservative government.
“If we do nothing (…) by 2050 we could (lose) up to 1.4 million people,” said demographer Byron Kotzamanis, author of a recent study on demographic projections, interviewed on public television channel ERT.
The government formed in June now has a ministry responsible for families and is committed to increasing benefits for families with children.
According to the national statistics agency ELSTAT, Greece recorded just under 77,000 births last year, compared to more than 140,000 deaths.
This is the lowest number of births in 90 years and compared to 2021, the drop reaches 10.3%.
According to the OECD, the population in Greece could fall to around 10 million in 2030.
During the years of financial and economic crisis, the country experienced a real drain on its young population, particularly among those with university degrees who left to work abroad.
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