Greece is already among the oldest countries EUand by 2100 the median age of its population could rise from 47.2 to 52.6 years.
Such data is contained in the basic scenario EUROPOP2025covering the period from 2025 to 2100.
Median age means that half the population is under a specified age, and the other half is older. In 2025, the figure in Greece was 47.2 years with the average level for the European Union being 44.9 years. By the end of the century, the median age in the EU could reach 51.5 years, and in Greece – 52.6 years.
Greece is already old, but it is not aging the fastest
Calling Greece one of the fastest aging countries in Europe is not entirely accurate. According to Eurostat calculations, from 2025 to 2100 its median age will increase by less than six years – one of the relatively small increases in the EU.
How old is the population projected to be by 2100? ??
More info?https://t.co/GO8eIg56e0 pic.twitter.com/sFNnDLiZW4
— EU_Eurostat (@EU_Eurostat) July 8, 2026
The indicator will grow much faster in Malta, Cyprus, Ireland, Luxembourg, Lithuania and Poland – by more than ten years. The peculiarity of Greece is different: the country begins this period at a very high age level and will remain older than the EU average.
The median age will rise gradually until about the 2070s, then decline slightly before rising again to 52.6 years by the end of the century. Such fluctuations are associated with the way numerous and small generations successively move from one age group to another.
Fewer workers for every senior
Proportion of Greek residents aged 65 years and olderaccording to the baseline scenario, could increase from about 24% in 2025 to almost 35% in 2100.
The aged dependency ratio, which measures the number of people over 65 for every 100 working-age residents, could rise from about 37 to 65.
This means that by the end of the century, there will be fewer than two people of working age per resident over 65 years of age – about one and a half versus almost three today.
However, this indicator reflects the age structure, and not the actual number of workers and retirees. The actual burden on the pension system will also depend on employment, productivity, migration and working life expectancy.
Not a sentence, but a script
Eurostat emphasizes that long-term estimates are not an accurate prediction. They show what will happen if the underlying assumptions about fertility, mortality and migration are maintained.
Still, the direction is already clear: Greece will have to simultaneously maintain its pension system, expand health care for the elderly, and prevent a further decline in its working-age population.
Editorial comment
The problem is not that the Greeks are living longer, but that there are fewer and fewer younger generations. Without an increase in the birth rate, the return of young professionals who left and stable employment, they will again try to compensate for the demographic burden by increasing the retirement age and contributions. The state usually has only one arithmetic, and for some reason the population has to pay for it.
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