Greek population diminished in 2018, data shows

The total number of deaths in Greece in 2018 outpaced the number of births for an eighth consecutive year, official data showed Tuesday, underscoring the nation's losing battle to raise its birth rate.

In 2018 the population registered a net loss of 33,857 people from a year earlier as there were 86,440 births (45,686 boys and 42,867 girls) and 120,297 deaths, data compiled by the Hellenic Statistical Authority showed.

The number of births fell to its lowest since records started in 1932, when 185,523 births were recorded. The demographic reversal has been ongoing since 2011.

The southern Aegean islands and Crete were the only parts of the country where births exceeded deaths last year.
Greece's population has been getting older and shrinking in recent years due to low birth rates and an increase in the emigration of young people due to the brutal...