Population Distribution
| Total population |
10,607,051 |
| Population growth rate |
-0.31% |
| Birth rate |
8.40 births per 1,000 population |
| Life expectancy |
|
| Overall |
80.18 years |
| Men |
77.59 years |
| Women |
82.93 years |
| Age structure |
|
| 0-14 years |
13.72% |
| 15-64 years |
65.14% |
| 65 years and above |
21.14% |
| Median age |
43.80 years |
| Gender ratio |
0.96 M / F |
| Population density |
80.38 residents per km˛ |
| Urbanization |
60.80% |
| Cities |
|
| (Z 2011, all A) Athína (Athens) 3,168,036,
Thessaloníki 806,396, Pátra (Patras) 195,265, Iráklio (Heraklion)
157,452, Lárisa 144,651, Vólos 130,094, Acharnés 100,732, Chaniá 88,525,
Ioánnina 85,803, Chalkída 74,564 |
| Ethnicities |
|
| officially 100% Greek ; Minorities of Slavs, Aromanians,
Turks, Pomaks (Slavic-speaking Muslims), Roma, Armenians - proportion of
foreigners 2015: 7.6% |
| Religions |
|
| Greek Orthodox 98%, Muslims 1.3%, others 0.7% |
| Human Development Index (HDI) |
0.872 |
| HDI ranking |
32 |
People in Greece
Almost eleven million people live in Greece. Most of
them are Greek, 93 percent. The largest minority are the
Turks, of whom around 60,000 live in Greece. Other
minorities are Romanians, Bulgarians, Albanians,
North Macedonians and Armenians.
Two thirds of the Greeks live in a city. Athens and
Thessaloniki are the largest cities in the country. The
average age is 44.2 years (in Germany 46.8 years). Life
expectancy for women is 85 years and for men 80 years.
People have always immigrated to Greece. As a country
with a lot of coastline, it attracted many seafarers who
landed on the coasts and brought more people with them.
Conversely, many Greeks, from the coasts, looked for
distant countries to settle there. Greece is on the one
hand a country of immigration because many people came
to the country, but also a country of emigration because
many also left it.
Languages in Greece
What do they speak in Greece?
Greek, that's logical, you might say Right! 97 out of
100 Greeks speak the Greek language, although this is
modern Greek. This differs from ancient Greek that the
"ancient Greeks" spoke 2000 years ago. The differences
between the two languages are big, but a lot can be
derived from ancient Greek.
So if you want to read the original texts of the great
Greek philosophers such as Aristotle, then you have to
learn ancient Greek. If you want to travel through
Greece, then you will be better off with Modern Greek.
The difference is something like the difference between
Latin and Italian. A lot can be deduced from this, but
unfortunately those who have learned Latin do not speak
Italian perfectly.
There are also dialects of Modern Greek. In the north of
the country people speak a little differently than in
Crete, for example. Other languages are also spoken by
the minorities in the country. These include Turkish or
Albanian. Many - especially young Greeks - also speak
English.
How do you write Modern Greek?
Modern Greek (just like ancient Greek) is written in
Greek letters. A sentence in Greek looks like this, for
example: Σ'αυτό το μαγαζί ψωνίζω συχνά. So if you want
to learn Greek, you have to learn the Greek alphabet
too! Incidentally, the sentence means "I often shop in
this shop."
Fortunately, street signs and signposts in Greece are
mostly written in Greek and Latin letters. Tourists can
also read where they are.
Religions in Greece
The Greeks of today no longer believe in the old
gods, as you may know them from the ancient Greek
legends. Most of them belong to Orthodox Christianity,
which is also written into the Greek constitution as the
state religion. Your church is the Greek Orthodox
Church. 97 out of 100 Greeks belong to it. Other
religions are strongly in the minority. So there are few
Catholics, Protestants and Muslims. Most Muslims are
Turks or Roma, sometimes immigrants from Albania or
Pakistan. Many refugees who seek refuge in Greece are
also of Muslim faith.
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