Greece’s Fertility Crisis: PM Mitsotakis Enhance Child Benefits

Photo by Dimitris Kiriakakis on Unsplash

Quick Take: Greece is starting taking a significant step to address its fertility crisis, with the population having declined by 3.5% in the last decade.

What’s Happening: Starting April, Greece will increase child benefits as part of an initiative impacting an estimated 300,000 families. The measure applies to children born since January 1, 2023.

Migration Impact: Migration has mitigated some economic damage caused by population decline in Europe. However Greece’s aging rate exceeds the EU average. By 2030, Greece is projected to surpass Italy and have the highest proportion of elderly in Europe. This trend poses challenges as decades long austerity promised to save the pension system. The falling fertility and emigration accelerated by said austerity. This leads to fewer workers contributing to more beneficiaries.

By The Numbers:

• Benefits for a single child are set to rise from 2,000 to 2,400 euros. For families with two or more children, the amount goes up to 3,500 euros.

• Greece’s fertility rate plummeted from 1.5 children per woman in 2012 to 1.3 in 2019 during a severe economic crisis. To maintain its population of over 10.4 million, Greece needs a rate of 2.1.

• A 2022 census revealed a 3.5% population drop since 2011, exacerbated by around 450,000 Greeks under 40 emigrating during the economic downturn, which saw a spike in youth unemployment.

• The crisis has led to a significant part of Greek women born in the 1970s remaining childless. A trend not seen since WWII, according to the Wittgenstein Center for Demography and Global Human Capital.

Political Spotlight: This move aligns with Conservative Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’s focus on reversing population decline, despite his assault on Greek unions and wages. A priority following his June re-election for a second term.

Funding the Future: The government plans to spend 90 million euros ($98 million) over two years on more family support.

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