Greece’s population is aging at one of the fastest rates in Europe, with the median age climbing to 47.2 years in 2025, according to a new Eurostat report that underscores a deepening demographic crisis.
The data reveals that the average age of residents in Greece surged by 3.8 years over the last decade, significantly outpacing the European Union average.
As of Jan. 1, 2025, the EU median stood at 44.9 years, meaning half the bloc's population is older than that figure.
"The demographic shift is structural and accelerating," the report notes, highlighting that Greece now has the third-highest share of elderly residents in the bloc.
Nearly one in four people in Greece—23.7% of the population—is now over the age of 65. This trails only Italy, where the figure has reached 24.7%.
Conversely, Greece recorded the EU’s third-lowest proportion of children up to 14 years old, at just 12.8%, a drop from 14.5% a decade ago.
The aging trend is visible across the continent, with the EU average rising by 2.1 years since 2015. However, the shift is most pronounced in Southern and Eastern Europe.
Slovakia and Cyprus saw the sharpest 10-year increases of 4.0 years, followed closely by Italy (+3.9) and Greece (+3.8).
By contrast, Germany and Malta defied the trend, each recording a slight decrease of 0.4 years in their median age.
Demographers warn that the shrinking working-age population—now at 63.5% in Greece—poses mounting challenges for the country’s pension system and labor market as it seeks to sustain economic recovery.