Greece Faces Continued Decline in Birth Rates Over Coming Decades

(MENAFN) Greece is expected to register fewer than 1.4 million births between 2027 and 2046, compared with approximately 1.8 million during the preceding two decades, according to demographic projections published Monday.

The forecast assumes that the country will experience no positive net migration and takes into account falling fertility rates and a declining number of women in their childbearing years.

The research was conducted by Byron Kotzamanis, a demography professor at the University of Thessaly who also heads the Institute of Demographic Research and Studies.

The study estimates that Greece will record approximately 65,000 births in 2026, a significant drop from the annual average of around 150,000 recorded between 1951 and 1980.

Births during the 2021–2030 period are also expected to remain below 700,000, compared with 920,000 in the previous decade, marking a reduction of approximately 25%.

The research further highlights a generational decline in family size. Women born in 1930 had an average of nearly 2.3 children, while the figure fell to fewer than 1.5 among women born in 1985.

Kotzamanis linked part of the difference between Greece's fertility rates and those of Western and Northern European countries to variations in family assistance policies, gender equality and the availability of conditions that enable parents to balance employment with raising children.

Although certain demographic pressures may ease, the projections indicate that the country's birth numbers are likely to keep falling.

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