Greece’s population has been dropping since 2011, which was the first year when a negative birthrate was recorded since 1944.

Obstetrician/gynaecologist Stefanos Chandakas, the founder and CEO of HOPEgenesis, a Greek non-profit organisation that addresses the issue of low birth rates in Greece, discussed the latest population trends at an event held at the American College of Greece in Athens on Monday.

There were 88,553 births and 124,501 deaths in Greece in 2017, and the population is currently at 10,451,862 people according to UN figures.

“Greece’s population is expected to reach 8 million people by 2050, based on conservative estimates,” Mr Chandakas said, pointing out that Greece’s fertility rates, indicating the number of children each woman bears at reproductive age rose from 1.31 in 2004 to 1.15 in 2008-2009 and dropped to 1.35 in 2017. The average age that women give birth rose from 28.8 years in 2008 to 30.3 years in 2016.

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The trends will be felt significantly as the population ages and 36 per cent of Greece’s population will be over 65 tears by 2050, up from 6 per cent in 1970 and 18.20 per cent at the current times. The demographics will impact the active labour force, insurance networks and will threaten the viability of the pension system.

Mr Chandakas  said Greece still ranks low in adopting supportive maternity, family and fertility policies, and stressed that the main objective should be creating a favourable environment to support young couples of childbearing age.