Some 17,500 more deaths than births in Greece last year

Greece’s population shrank by 17,660 people last year as deaths outpaced births, according to the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT).

There were a total of 94,134 births in Greece last year, which was 6.2 percent down on 2012.

Almost 86 percent of the children were born to Greek mothers, whose average age was 31.5.

There were 376 stillbirths, which was a decrease of 15.7 percent compared to 2012.

However, there was a rise in the infant mortality rate for children under the age of 1 from 2.91 per thousand in 2012 to 3.69 last year.

There were 111,794 deaths last year, which was 4.15 percent lower than in 2012.

The average age for deaths last year was 75.25 years for men and 80.85 years for women.

Both figures were slightly up on 2012.

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