Births fall by more than half in 6 Greek regions over 15 years

Births fell by more than half in six mainland Greek regions between 2009 and 2024, according to a demographic study reported by Greek newspaper To Vima on Wednesday.

Nationwide, births fell by about 42%, from around 117,440 in 2009 to 68,310 in 2024.

The six regions where births more than halved were Thesprotia, Grevena, Phthiotis, Kozani, Evrytania and Florina.

The study, by demographer Byron Kotzamanis at the Institute for Demographic Research and Studies, also traced a decline in births spanning more than four decades.

Annual births fell from an average of about 148,000 in 1979-80 to roughly 67,000 in 2024-25, while the average age of women giving birth rose from 26.2 to 32.2.

Births have been declining since the late 1970s, apart from a modest increase between 2003 and 2009. The study linked that rise largely to immigration after 1990.

It also found that women were having fewer children across successive generations.

Those born in the late 1950s had an average of two children, compared with fewer than 1.5 among those born around 1985.

The total fertility rate fell from 2.2 children per woman in 1979-80 to 1.24 in 2024-25.

The decline in births was less pronounced on some islands. Six island regional units recorded decreases of less than 30% between 2009 and 2024, with declines below 15% in the Cyclades and Zakynthos.

The study also highlighted wide differences in the balance between births and deaths.

Only five of Greece’s 74 regional units recorded more births than deaths in 2024: Thira, Mykonos, Kos, Naxos and Rethymno.

By contrast, Serres, Evrytania and Grevena recorded at least 3.5 deaths for every birth.