The population of Greece is ageing, according to a report by the European Statistical Service published in Brussels yesterday. In 2004 people over 65 constituted 26.4% of the population. In 2030 they will have reached 39.1%.
At the same time, population growth in Greece to 2030 will be the result of immigration rather than the birth/death ratio. According to Eurostas projections, whereas in 2004 the total population was 11,041,000 of whom 1,971,000 were over 65, in 2030 the total population will be 11,316,000 of whom 2,780,000 will be over 65.
Generally speaking, in the same period there will be population growth in Crete, the Ionian Islands, Central Macedonia, Western Greece, Attica, the Peloponnese and the South Aegean. Elsewhere, and especially in the North Aegean, there will be a drop.
However, there will be natural growth in only two regions of Greece: Crete and the islands of the South Aegean. In all the rest there will be a natural fall in the population (i.e. there will be more deaths than births per year), counterbalanced to a certain extent by foreign immigration.
Between 2004 and 2030, births per year will average 0.88% of the total population while deaths will average 1.14%, meaning that there will be a natural fall of 0.26%. The number of foreign immigrants will rise by 0.35% of the total population, resulting in an overall rise in population from 2004 to 2030.