Greece’s resident population decreased by 0.5% in 2023 compared to the previous year, the country’s statistics authority (EL.STAT) announced on Friday, confirming an increasingly acute demographic crisis recorded over the past few decades.
EL.STAT recorded 10,413,982 residents in the country as of Jan. 1, 2023, down from 10,461,627 a year earlier. As with similar such figures, the number of women was higher than men, 5,323,391 to 5,090,591.
The “natural” population decrease is easily evident when looking at the number of live births versus deaths over the year, 75,921 compared to139,921 deaths on Greek territory. Conversely, net migration showed a positive balance of 16,355 individuals.
The 0-14 age group accounts for only 13.4% of the total population, whereas a whopping 63.7% of the population is between 15-64. Persons aged 65 and older comprise 22.9% to the population in Greece.
Immigration data cited by EL.STAT also includes persons living in Greece on Jan. 1, 2023 who have applied for international or temporary protection.
