Birth rate in Greece fell by 4.2% in a year

The number of births in Greece in 2025 decreased by 4.2%reported Greek Statistical Service (ELSTAT). Within a year, people were born in the country 65,594 childrenwhat’s on 2873 less than in 2024.

For a country where the demographic crisis has long ceased to be a forecast and has become an everyday reality, this is another alarming signal.

According to ELSTATin 2025 it was registered in Greece 65,594 live births: 33,620 boys And 31,974 girls. A year earlier, in 2024, this figure was 68,467 births: 35,216 boys And 33,251 girls.

Thus, the decrease was 2873 birthsor 4.2%. On paper, this looks like dry statistics. In reality, these are thousands of families who either postponed the birth of a child or completely abandoned it. The economy, housing, instability, expensive living – all this ultimately also becomes demographics. Just without fancy government presentations.

The number of stillbirths in 2025 was 420what’s on 7.5% less than in 2024, when it was registered 454 such cases.

When was the fall most noticeable?

The most noticeable decrease in the number of births in 2025 compared to 2024 was recorded in November And January. In November the figure fell by 10.4%in January – on 10.0%.

A slight increase was noted only in certain months. The highest positive indicators occurred in September And May: the number of births increased by 3.0% And 2.9%.

But these local spikes do not change the overall picture. The trend remains obvious: fewer and fewer children are being born in Greece, and the age of motherhood is shifting upward.

Fewer births among women aged 25–39

A comparison of data for 2025 and 2015 shows that the largest decline in absolute numbers was recorded among women aged 30–34 years old. In this group, the number of births decreased by 12,356.

Serious declines have also been observed in other key age groups:

• in women 25–29 years old – on 7922 births less;
• in women 35–39 years old – on 4597 births less.

It is these age groups that have traditionally formed the bulk of the birth rate. Their decline does not indicate a random fluctuation, but a profound change in the behavior of families and young adults. People start families later, have children later, or don’t have them at all. The state usually reacts to this as if demographics are being corrected with press releases and one-time benefits.

Giving birth later: increase among mothers over 40

Against the background of a general decline in the birth rate, an increase was recorded among women in older age groups. Compared to 2015, the number of births to mothers aged 40–44 years old increased by 1031and in women 45–49 years old – on 445.

When compared with 2005, the picture becomes even more expressive. The sharpest decline in absolute numbers occurred among women 25–29 years old: on 20,775 births less.

This is followed by:

• women 30–34 years old – on 13,983 births less;
• women 20–24 years old – on 10,177 births less.

At the same time, an increase is observed among older mothers. Compared to 2005, the number of births to women 40–44 years old increased by 2955and in women 45–49 years old – on 852.

Greece is not just losing births – it is changing the very structure of motherhood. The birth of children is increasingly being postponed to a later age, when the family already has more financial and medical risks, and the country has less time to correct its demographic hole.

And here the question is not only about statistics. If young people do not see affordable housing, stable work, normal salaries and confidence in the future, they will not have children just because the state once remembered “family policy.” Demographics is not a slogan. This is the sum total of how people live every day.

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