Demographics of Greece
Encyclopedia
This article is about the demographic
features of the population
of Greece
, including population density
, ethnicity
, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
The Demographics of Greece refer to the demography
of the population that inhabits the Greek peninsula. As of January 2008, the population of Greece
is estimated at 11,262,000 by Eurostat
.
was inhabited as early as the Paleolithic
period. Prior to the 2nd millennium BC
, the Greek peninsula was inhabited by various pre-Hellenic peoples, the most notable of which were the Pelasgians
. The Greek language
ultimately dominated the peninsula and Greece's mosaic of small city-states became culturally similar. The population estimates on the Greeks during the 4th century BC, is approximately 3.5 million on the Greek peninsula and 4 to 6.5 million in the rest of the entire Mediterranean Basin
, including all colonies such as those in Magna Graecia
, Asia Minor
and the shores of the Black Sea
.
During the history of the Byzantine Empire
, the Greek peninsula was occasionally invaded by the foreign peoples like Goths
, Avars
, Slavs
, Normans
, Franks
and other Romance
-speaking peoples who had betrayed the Crusades
. The only group, however, that planned to establish permanent settlements in the region were the Slavs. They supposedly settled in isolated valleys of the Peloponnese
and Thessaly
, establishing segregated communities that were referred by the Byzantines as Sclaveni
. Traces of Slavic culture in Greece are very rare and by the 9th century, the Sclaveni in Greece were largely eliminated. However, some Slavic communities managed to survive in rural Macedonia
. At the same time a large Sephardi Jewish
emigrant community from the Iberian peninsula
established itself in Thessaloniki
, while there were population movements of Arvanites
and Vlachs
, who established communities in several parts of the Greek peninsula. The Byzantine Empire ultimately fell to Ottoman Turks
in the 15th century and as a result Ottoman colonies were established in the Balkans
, notably in Macedonia, the Peloponnese and Crete
. Many Greeks either fled to other Europe
an nations or to geographically isolated areas (i.e. mountains and heavily forested territories) in order to escape foreign rule. For those reasons, the population decreased in the plains, while increasing on the mountains. The population transfer
s with Bulgaria
and Turkey
that took place in the early 20th century, added in total some two million Greeks from to the demography of the Greek Kingdom
.
estimations as of January 2008 gave the number of 11,214,992 inhabitants in the Greek peninsula.
. The population of each region according to the 2001 census:
, the Greek population shows a rapid increase of the percentage of the elderly people. Greece's population census of 1961 found that 10.9% of the total population was above the age of 65, while the percentage of this group age increased to 16.7% in 2001. On the contrary, the percentage of the population of the ages 0–14 had a total decrease of 10.2% between 1961 and 2001.
s were:
, directly west of Turkey. A spokesman for the European Union
's border control agency said that the Greek-Albanian border is "one of Europe's worst-affected external land borders." Migrants across the Evros
region bordering Turkey face land-mines. Principal illegal immigrants include Albanians, Pakistanis, Kurds, Afghans, Iraqis and Somalis.
The official language of Greece is Greek
, spoken by 93% of the total population as their primary language, and by almost all as a second language at least. Additionally, there are a number of linguistic minority groups that are bilingual in a variety of non-Greek languages, and most of these groups identify ethnically as Greeks
. The most common of all these dialects, the groups that speak them and the regions where they are considered native are:
is free and compulsory for children between the ages of 5 and 15. English
study is compulsory from third grade through high school. University education, including books, is also free, contingent upon the student's ability to meet stiff entrance requirements. A high percentage of the student population seeks higher education. More than 100,000 students are registered at Greek universities, and 15% of the population currently holds a university degree. Admission in a university is determined by state-administered exams, the candidate's grade-point average from high school, and his/her priority choices of major. About one in four candidates gains admission to Greek universities.
Greek law does not currently offer official recognition to the graduates of private universities that operate in the country, except for those that offer a degree valid in another European Union
country, which is automatically recognized by reciprocity. As a result, a large and growing number of students are pursuing higher education abroad. The Greek Government
decides through an evaluation procedure whether to recognize degrees from specific foreign universities as qualification for public sector hiring. Other students attend private, post-secondary educational institutions in Greece that are not recognized by the Greek Government. At the moment extensive public talk is made for the reform of the Constitution
in order to recognize private higher education in Greece as equal with public and to place common regulations for both.
The number of Greek students studying at Europe
an institutions is increasing along with EU support for educational exchange. In addition, nearly 5,000 Greeks are studying in the United States
, about half of whom are in graduate school. Greek per capita student representation in the US (one every 2,200) is among the highest in Europe.
, Eastern Orthodox Christianity
is recognized as the "prevailing religion" in Greece. During the centuries of Ottoman domination
, besides its spiritual mandate, the Orthodox Church
, based in Constantinople
(present-day Istanbul
), also functioned as an official representative of the Christian
population of the empire. The Church is often credited with the preservation of the Greek language
, values, and national identity during Ottoman times. The Church was also an important rallying point in the war for independence, although this latter position is somewhat controversial as the official Church in Constantinople initially condemned the breakout of armed struggle against the Empire. The Church of Greece
was established shortly after the formation of a Greek national state. Its authority to this day extends only to the areas included in the independent Greek state before the Balkan Wars
of 1912-1913. There is a Muslim minority
concentrated in Thrace
and officially protected by the Treaty of Lausanne
. Besides Pomaks
(Muslim
Bulgarian
speakers) and Roma, it consists mainly of ethnic Turks
, who speak Turkish
and receive instruction in Turkish at special government-funded schools. There are also a number of Jews in Greece, most of whom live in Thessaloniki
. There are also some Greeks who adhere to a reconstruction of the ancient Greek religion. A place of worship has been recognized as such by court.
Demographics
Demographics are the most recent statistical characteristics of a population. These types of data are used widely in sociology , public policy, and marketing. Commonly examined demographics include gender, race, age, disabilities, mobility, home ownership, employment status, and even location...
features of the population
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
of Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, including population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
, ethnicity
Ethnic group
An ethnic group is a group of people whose members identify with each other, through a common heritage, often consisting of a common language, a common culture and/or an ideology that stresses common ancestry or endogamy...
, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
The Demographics of Greece refer to the demography
Demography
Demography is the statistical study of human population. It can be a very general science that can be applied to any kind of dynamic human population, that is, one that changes over time or space...
of the population that inhabits the Greek peninsula. As of January 2008, the population of Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
is estimated at 11,262,000 by Eurostat
Eurostat
Eurostat is a Directorate-General of the European Commission located in Luxembourg. Its main responsibilities are to provide the European Union with statistical information at European level and to promote the integration of statistical methods across the Member States of the European Union,...
.
Historical overview
GreeceGreece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
was inhabited as early as the Paleolithic
Paleolithic
The Paleolithic Age, Era or Period, is a prehistoric period of human history distinguished by the development of the most primitive stone tools discovered , and covers roughly 99% of human technological prehistory...
period. Prior to the 2nd millennium BC
2nd millennium BC
The 2nd millennium BC marks the transition from the Middle to the Late Bronze Age.Its first half is dominated by the Middle Kingdom of Egypt and Babylonia. The alphabet develops. Indo-Iranian migration onto the Iranian plateau and onto the Indian subcontinent propagates the use of the chariot...
, the Greek peninsula was inhabited by various pre-Hellenic peoples, the most notable of which were the Pelasgians
Pelasgians
The name Pelasgians was used by some ancient Greek writers to refer to populations that were either the ancestors of the Greeks or who preceded the Greeks in Greece, "a hold-all term for any ancient, primitive and presumably indigenous people in the Greek world." In general, "Pelasgian" has come...
. The Greek language
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
ultimately dominated the peninsula and Greece's mosaic of small city-states became culturally similar. The population estimates on the Greeks during the 4th century BC, is approximately 3.5 million on the Greek peninsula and 4 to 6.5 million in the rest of the entire Mediterranean Basin
Mediterranean Basin
In biogeography, the Mediterranean Basin refers to the lands around the Mediterranean Sea that have a Mediterranean climate, with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers, which supports characteristic Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub vegetation...
, including all colonies such as those in Magna Graecia
Magna Graecia
Magna Græcia is the name of the coastal areas of Southern Italy on the Tarentine Gulf that were extensively colonized by Greek settlers; particularly the Achaean colonies of Tarentum, Crotone, and Sybaris, but also, more loosely, the cities of Cumae and Neapolis to the north...
, Asia Minor
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
and the shores of the Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
.
During the history of the Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
, the Greek peninsula was occasionally invaded by the foreign peoples like Goths
Goths
The Goths were an East Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin whose two branches, the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths, played an important role in the fall of the Roman Empire and the emergence of Medieval Europe....
, Avars
Eurasian Avars
The Eurasian Avars or Ancient Avars were a highly organized nomadic confederacy of mixed origins. They were ruled by a khagan, who was surrounded by a tight-knit entourage of nomad warriors, an organization characteristic of Turko-Mongol groups...
, Slavs
Slavic peoples
The Slavic people are an Indo-European panethnicity living in Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, North Asia and Central Asia. The term Slavic represents a broad ethno-linguistic group of people, who speak languages belonging to the Slavic language family and share, to varying degrees, certain...
, Normans
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
, Franks
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
and other Romance
Romance languages
The Romance languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family, more precisely of the Italic languages subfamily, comprising all the languages that descend from Vulgar Latin, the language of ancient Rome...
-speaking peoples who had betrayed the Crusades
Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...
. The only group, however, that planned to establish permanent settlements in the region were the Slavs. They supposedly settled in isolated valleys of the Peloponnese
Peloponnese
The Peloponnese, Peloponnesos or Peloponnesus , is a large peninsula , located in a region of southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth...
and Thessaly
Thessaly
Thessaly is a traditional geographical region and an administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thessaly was known as Aeolia, and appears thus in Homer's Odyssey....
, establishing segregated communities that were referred by the Byzantines as Sclaveni
Sclaveni (military)
The name Sklaveni was generally used to describe all Slavic peoples that the Byzantine Empire came into contact with. The Sklaveni are the basis of the nation-building of the South Slavs....
. Traces of Slavic culture in Greece are very rare and by the 9th century, the Sclaveni in Greece were largely eliminated. However, some Slavic communities managed to survive in rural Macedonia
Macedonia (region)
Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of the Balkan peninsula in southeastern Europe. Its boundaries have changed considerably over time, but nowadays the region is considered to include parts of five Balkan countries: Greece, the Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, Albania, Serbia, as...
. At the same time a large Sephardi Jewish
Sephardi Jews
Sephardi Jews is a general term referring to the descendants of the Jews who lived in the Iberian Peninsula before their expulsion in the Spanish Inquisition. It can also refer to those who use a Sephardic style of liturgy or would otherwise define themselves in terms of the Jewish customs and...
emigrant community from the Iberian peninsula
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
established itself in Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
, while there were population movements of Arvanites
Arvanites
Arvanites are a population group in Greece who traditionally speak Arvanitika, a dialect of the Albanian language. They settled in Greece during the late Middle Ages and were the dominant population element of some regions of the Peloponnese and Attica until the 19th century...
and Vlachs
Vlachs
Vlach is a blanket term covering several modern Latin peoples descending from the Latinised population in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe. English variations on the name include: Walla, Wlachs, Wallachs, Vlahs, Olahs or Ulahs...
, who established communities in several parts of the Greek peninsula. The Byzantine Empire ultimately fell to Ottoman Turks
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
in the 15th century and as a result Ottoman colonies were established in the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
, notably in Macedonia, the Peloponnese and Crete
Crete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
. Many Greeks either fled to other Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an nations or to geographically isolated areas (i.e. mountains and heavily forested territories) in order to escape foreign rule. For those reasons, the population decreased in the plains, while increasing on the mountains. The population transfer
Population transfer
Population transfer is the movement of a large group of people from one region to another by state policy or international authority, most frequently on the basis of ethnicity or religion...
s with Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
and Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
that took place in the early 20th century, added in total some two million Greeks from to the demography of the Greek Kingdom
Kingdom of Greece
The Kingdom of Greece was a state established in 1832 in the Convention of London by the Great Powers...
.
Population
According to the 2001 census the population of Greece was 10,964,020. EurostatEurostat
Eurostat is a Directorate-General of the European Commission located in Luxembourg. Its main responsibilities are to provide the European Union with statistical information at European level and to promote the integration of statistical methods across the Member States of the European Union,...
estimations as of January 2008 gave the number of 11,214,992 inhabitants in the Greek peninsula.
| Census | Population | Change |
| 1971 | 8,768,372 | - |
| 1981 | 9,739,589 | 11.1% |
| 1991 | 10,259,900 | 5.3% |
| 2001 | 10,964,020 | 6.9% |
| 2011 | 11,329,618 | 3.3% |
By region
Greece is divided into nine geographic regionsRegions of Greece
The traditional geographic divisions of Greece were also the official administrative subdivisions of Greece until the 1987 administrative reform )...
. The population of each region according to the 2001 census:
| Region Regions of Greece The traditional geographic divisions of Greece were also the official administrative subdivisions of Greece until the 1987 administrative reform )... |
Population |
|---|---|
| Aegean Islands Aegean Islands The Aegean Islands are the group of islands in the Aegean Sea, with mainland Greece to the west and north and Turkey to the east; the island of Crete delimits the sea to the south, those of Rhodes, Karpathos and Kasos to the southeast... |
508,807 |
| Central Greece Central Greece Continental Greece or Central Greece , colloquially known as Roúmeli , is a geographical region of Greece. Its territory is divided into the administrative regions of Central Greece, Attica, and part of West Greece... |
4,591,568 |
| Crete Crete Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits... |
601,131 |
| Epirus Epirus (periphery) Epirus , formally the Epirus Region , is a geographical and administrative region in northwestern Greece. It borders the regions of West Macedonia and Thessaly to the east, West Greece to the south, the Ionian Sea and the Ionian Islands to the west and the country of Albania to the north. The... |
353,820 |
| Ionian Islands Ionian Islands The Ionian Islands are a group of islands in Greece. They are traditionally called the Heptanese, i.e... |
212,984 |
| Macedonia Macedonia (Greece) Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of Greece in Southern Europe. Macedonia is the largest and second most populous Greek region... |
2,424,765 |
| Peloponnese Peloponnese The Peloponnese, Peloponnesos or Peloponnesus , is a large peninsula , located in a region of southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth... |
1,155,019 |
| Thessaly Thessaly Thessaly is a traditional geographical region and an administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thessaly was known as Aeolia, and appears thus in Homer's Odyssey.... |
753,888 |
| Thrace Western Thrace Western Thrace or simply Thrace is a geographic and historical region of Greece, located between the Nestos and Evros rivers in the northeast of the country. Together with the regions of Macedonia and Epirus, it is often referred to informally as northern Greece... |
362,038 |
| Total | 10,964,020 |
Age structure
Being part of the phenomenon of the aging of EuropeAging of Europe
The Ageing of Europe, also known as the greying of Europe, is a demographic phenomenon in Europe characterized by a decrease in fertility, a decrease in mortality rate, and a higher life expectancy among Europeans.-Overall trends:...
, the Greek population shows a rapid increase of the percentage of the elderly people. Greece's population census of 1961 found that 10.9% of the total population was above the age of 65, while the percentage of this group age increased to 16.7% in 2001. On the contrary, the percentage of the population of the ages 0–14 had a total decrease of 10.2% between 1961 and 2001.
| Age group | 1971 | 1981 | 1991 | 2001 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | % | Population | % | Population | % | Population | % | |
| 0–14 | 2,223,904 | 25.4 | 2,307,297 | 23.7 | 1,974,867 | 19.2 | 1,664,085 | 15.2 |
| 15–64 | 5,587,352 | 63.7 | 6,192,751 | 63.6 | 6,880,681 | 67.1 | 7,468,395 | 68.1 |
| 65+ | 957,116 | 10.9 | 1,239,541 | 12.7 | 1,404,352 | 13.7 | 1,831,540 | 16.7 |
| Total | 8,768,372 | 9,739,589 | 10,259,900 | 10,964,020 | ||||
Vital statistics
| Average population (x 1000) | Live births | Deaths | Natural change | Crude birth rate (per 1000) | Crude death rate (per 1000) | Natural change (per 1000) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1921 | 5 050 | 107 000 | 69 000 | 38 000 | 21.2 | 13.7 | 7.5 |
| 1922 | 5 097 | 110 000 | 82 000 | 18 000 | 21.6 | 16.1 | 3.5 |
| 1923 | 6 010 | 113 926 | 102 042 | 11 884 | 19.0 | 17.0 | 2.0 |
| 1924 | 6 000 | 117 014 | 93 320 | 23 694 | 19.5 | 15.6 | 3.9 |
| 1925 | 5 958 | 156 367 | 88 633 | 67 734 | 26.2 | 14.9 | 11.4 |
| 1926 | 6 042 | 181 278 | 84 136 | 97 142 | 30.0 | 13.9 | 16.1 |
| 1927 | 6 127 | 176 527 | 100 020 | 76 507 | 28.8 | 16.3 | 12.5 |
| 1928 | 6 210 | 189 250 | 105 665 | 83 585 | 30.5 | 17.0 | 13.5 |
| 1929 | 6 286 | 181 870 | 115 561 | 66 309 | 28.9 | 18.4 | 10.5 |
| 1930 | 6 367 | 199 565 | 103 811 | 95 754 | 31.3 | 16.3 | 15.0 |
| 1931 | 6 463 | 199 243 | 114 369 | 84 874 | 30.8 | 17.7 | 13.1 |
| 1932 | 6 544 | 185 523 | 117 593 | 67 930 | 28.4 | 18.0 | 10.4 |
| 1933 | 6 625 | 189 583 | 111 447 | 78 136 | 28.6 | 16.8 | 11.8 |
| 1934 | 6 727 | 208 929 | 100 651 | 108 278 | 31.1 | 15.0 | 16.1 |
| 1935 | 6 837 | 192 511 | 101 416 | 91 095 | 28.2 | 14.8 | 13.3 |
| 1936 | 6 936 | 193 343 | 105 005 | 88 338 | 27.9 | 15.1 | 12.7 |
| 1937 | 7 029 | 183 878 | 105 674 | 78 204 | 26.2 | 15.0 | 11.1 |
| 1938 | 7 122 | 184 509 | 93 766 | 90 743 | 25.9 | 13.2 | 12.7 |
| 1939 | 7 222 | 178 852 | 100 459 | 78 393 | 24.8 | 13.9 | 10.9 |
| 1940 | 7 319 | 179 480 | 93 830 | 85 670 | 24.5 | 12.8 | 11.7 |
| 1941 | 7 370 | 134 760 | 125 710 | 9 050 | 18.3 | 17.1 | 1.2 |
| 1942 | 7 350 | 132 640 | 191 030 | -58 390 | 18.0 | 26.0 | -7.9 |
| 1943 | 7 280 | 122 170 | 111 320 | 10 850 | 16.8 | 15.3 | 1.5 |
| 1944 | 7 300 | 145 530 | 110 810 | 34 720 | 19.9 | 15.2 | 4.8 |
| 1945 | 7 310 | 183 470 | 85 540 | 97 930 | 25.1 | 11.7 | 13.4 |
| 1946 | 7 430 | 209 360 | 73 500 | 135 860 | 28.2 | 9.9 | 18.3 |
| 1947 | 7 520 | 206 400 | 70 340 | 136 060 | 27.4 | 9.4 | 18.1 |
| 1948 | 7 500 | 210 000 | 96 000 | 114 000 | 28.0 | 12.8 | 15.2 |
| 1949 | 7 480 | 139 108 | 59 450 | 79 658 | 18.6 | 7.9 | 10.6 |
| 1950 | 7 554 | 151 314 | 53 755 | 97 559 | 20.0 | 7.1 | 12.9 |
| 1951 | 7 646 | 155 422 | 57 508 | 97 914 | 20.3 | 7.5 | 12.8 |
| 1952 | 7 733 | 149 637 | 53 377 | 96 260 | 19.4 | 6.9 | 12.4 |
| 1953 | 7 817 | 143 765 | 56 680 | 87 085 | 18.4 | 7.3 | 11.1 |
| 1954 | 7 893 | 151 892 | 55 625 | 96 267 | 19.2 | 7.0 | 12.2 |
| 1955 | 7 966 | 154 263 | 54 781 | 99 482 | 19.4 | 6.9 | 12.5 |
| 1956 | 8 031 | 156 187 | 59 460 | 96 727 | 19.4 | 7.4 | 12.0 |
| 1957 | 8 096 | 155 192 | 61 664 | 93 528 | 19.2 | 7.6 | 11.6 |
| 1958 | 8 173 | 155 359 | 58 160 | 97 199 | 19.0 | 7.1 | 11.9 |
| 1959 | 8 258 | 160 199 | 60 852 | 99 347 | 19.4 | 7.4 | 12.0 |
| 1960 | 8 334 | 157 239 | 60 563 | 96 676 | 18.9 | 7.3 | 11.6 |
| 1961 | 8 398 | 150 716 | 63 955 | 86 761 | 17.9 | 7.6 | 10.3 |
| 1962 | 8 448 | 152 158 | 66 554 | 85 604 | 18.0 | 7.9 | 10.1 |
| 1963 | 8 480 | 148 249 | 66 813 | 81 436 | 17.5 | 7.9 | 9.6 |
| 1964 | 8 510 | 153 109 | 69 429 | 83 680 | 18.0 | 8.1 | 9.8 |
| 1965 | 8 551 | 151 448 | 67 269 | 84 179 | 17.7 | 7.8 | 9.8 |
| 1966 | 8 614 | 154 613 | 67 912 | 86 701 | 17.9 | 7.9 | 10.1 |
| 1967 | 8 686 | 162 839 | 71 975 | 90 864 | 18.7 | 8.3 | 10.4 |
| 1968 | 8 741 | 160 338 | 73 309 | 87 029 | 18.3 | 8.4 | 10.0 |
| 1969 | 8 773 | 154 077 | 71 825 | 82 252 | 17.6 | 8.2 | 9.4 |
| 1970 | 8 793 | 144 928 | 74 009 | 70 919 | 16.5 | 8.4 | 8.1 |
| 1971 | 8 831 | 141 126 | 73 819 | 67 307 | 16.0 | 8.4 | 7.6 |
| 1972 | 8 889 | 140 891 | 76 859 | 64 032 | 15.9 | 8.6 | 7.2 |
| 1973 | 8 929 | 137 526 | 77 648 | 59 878 | 15.4 | 8.7 | 6.7 |
| 1974 | 8 962 | 144 069 | 76 303 | 67 766 | 16.1 | 8.5 | 7.6 |
| 1975 | 9 047 | 142 273 | 80 077 | 62 196 | 15.7 | 8.9 | 6.9 |
| 1976 | 9 167 | 146 566 | 81 818 | 64 748 | 16.0 | 8.9 | 7.1 |
| 1977 | 9 269 | 143 739 | 83 750 | 59 989 | 15.4 | 9.0 | 6.4 |
| 1978 | 9 395 | 146 588 | 81 615 | 64 973 | 15.5 | 8.7 | 6.9 |
| 1979 | 9 534 | 147 965 | 82 338 | 65 627 | 15.5 | 8.6 | 6.9 |
| 1980 | 9 643 | 148 134 | 87 282 | 60 852 | 15.4 | 9.1 | 6.3 |
| 1981 | 9 729 | 140 953 | 86 261 | 54 692 | 14.5 | 8.9 | 5.6 |
| 1982 | 9 790 | 137 275 | 86 345 | 50 930 | 14.0 | 8.8 | 5.2 |
| 1983 | 9 847 | 132 608 | 90 586 | 42 022 | 13.5 | 9.2 | 4.3 |
| 1984 | 9 896 | 125 724 | 88 397 | 37 327 | 12.7 | 8.9 | 3.8 |
| 1985 | 9 934 | 116 481 | 92 886 | 23 595 | 11.7 | 9.4 | 2.4 |
| 1986 | 9 967 | 112 250 | 91 469 | 20 781 | 11.3 | 9.2 | 2.1 |
| 1987 | 10 001 | 105 899 | 95 232 | 10 667 | 10.6 | 9.5 | 1.1 |
| 1988 | 10 037 | 107 668 | 93 031 | 14 637 | 10.7 | 9.3 | 1.5 |
| 1989 | 10 090 | 101 149 | 92 717 | 8 432 | 10.0 | 9.2 | 0.8 |
| 1990 | 10 161 | 102 229 | 94 152 | 8 077 | 10.1 | 9.3 | 0.8 |
| 1991 | 10 257 | 102 620 | 95 498 | 7 122 | 10.0 | 9.3 | 0.7 |
| 1992 | 10 370 | 104 081 | 98 231 | 5 850 | 10.0 | 9.5 | 0.6 |
| 1993 | 10 466 | 101 799 | 97 419 | 4 380 | 9.7 | 9.3 | 0.4 |
| 1994 | 10 553 | 103 763 | 97 807 | 5 956 | 9.8 | 9.3 | 0.6 |
| 1995 | 10 635 | 101 495 | 100 158 | 1 337 | 9.5 | 9.4 | 0.1 |
| 1996 | 10 710 | 100 718 | 100 740 | - 22 | 9.4 | 9.4 | -0.0 |
| 1997 | 10 777 | 102 038 | 99 738 | 2 300 | 9.5 | 9.3 | 0.2 |
| 1998 | 10 835 | 100 894 | 102 668 | -1 774 | 9.3 | 9.5 | -0.2 |
| 1999 | 10 883 | 100 643 | 103 304 | -2 661 | 9.2 | 9.5 | -0.2 |
| 2000 | 10 918 | 103 267 | 105 219 | -1 952 | 9.5 | 9.6 | -0.2 |
| 2001 | 10 950 | 102 282 | 102 559 | - 277 | 9.3 | 9.4 | -0.0 |
| 2002 | 10 988 | 103 838 | 103 915 | - 77 | 9.5 | 9.5 | -0.0 |
| 2003 | 11 024 | 104 420 | 105 529 | -1 109 | 9.5 | 9.6 | -0.1 |
| 2004 | 11 062 | 105 655 | 104 942 | 713 | 9.6 | 9.5 | 0.1 |
| 2005 | 11 104 | 107 545 | 105 091 | 2 454 | 9.7 | 9.5 | 0.2 |
| 2006 | 11 148 | 112 042 | 105 476 | 6 566 | 10.1 | 9.5 | 0.6 |
| 2007 | 11 193 | 111 926 | 109 895 | 2 031 | 10.0 | 9.8 | 0.2 |
| 2008 | 11 237 | 118 302 | 107 979 | 10 323 | 10.5 | 9.6 | 0.9 |
| 2009 | 11 278 | 117 933 | 108 316 | 9 617 | 10.5 | 9.6 | 0.9 |
| 2010 | 9.5 | 10.5 | -1.0 |
Immigration
Greece has received a large number of immigrants since the early 1990s. The 2001 census revealed that 797,091 foreigners lived permanently in the country and comprised 6.95% of the total population, while their number in 1990 was 142,367. The majority of them come from the neighbouring countries. As of 2006, the number of foreigners in an estimated total of 11,148,533 people was 695,979 or 6.24%. The main ethnic groupEthnic group
An ethnic group is a group of people whose members identify with each other, through a common heritage, often consisting of a common language, a common culture and/or an ideology that stresses common ancestry or endogamy...
s were:
| Ethnic group Ethnic group An ethnic group is a group of people whose members identify with each other, through a common heritage, often consisting of a common language, a common culture and/or an ideology that stresses common ancestry or endogamy... |
Population | % |
|---|---|---|
| Greeks Greeks The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world.... |
10,452,554 | 93.76 |
| Albanians Albanians Albanians are a nation and ethnic group native to Albania and neighbouring countries. They speak the Albanian language. More than half of all Albanians live in Albania and Kosovo... |
481,663 | 4.32 |
| Bulgarians Bulgarians The Bulgarians are a South Slavic nation and ethnic group native to Bulgaria and neighbouring regions. Emigration has resulted in immigrant communities in a number of other countries.-History and ethnogenesis:... |
43,981 | 0.39 |
| Romanians Romanians The Romanians are an ethnic group native to Romania, who speak Romanian; they are the majority inhabitants of Romania.... |
25,375 | 0.23 |
| Ukrainians Ukrainians Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens... |
19,785 | 0.18 |
| Pakistani | 15,830 | 0.14 |
| Russians Russians The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries.... |
13,635 | 0.12 |
| Georgians Georgians The Georgians are an ethnic group that have originated in Georgia, where they constitute a majority of the population. Large Georgian communities are also present throughout Russia, European Union, United States, and South America.... |
13,254 | 0.12 |
| India India India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world... ns |
10,043 | 0.09 |
| Other | 72,413 | 0.65 |
Illegal immigration
Greece received many undocumented immigrants during the 2000s. Migrants make use of the many islands in the Aegean SeaAegean Sea
The Aegean Sea[p] is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosporus...
, directly west of Turkey. A spokesman for the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
's border control agency said that the Greek-Albanian border is "one of Europe's worst-affected external land borders." Migrants across the Evros
Evros
Evros is:* the Greek name of the Maritsa river running through Bulgaria and forming the land border between Turkey and Greece* Evros , an administrative division in northern Greece...
region bordering Turkey face land-mines. Principal illegal immigrants include Albanians, Pakistanis, Kurds, Afghans, Iraqis and Somalis.
Languages
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
, spoken by 93% of the total population as their primary language, and by almost all as a second language at least. Additionally, there are a number of linguistic minority groups that are bilingual in a variety of non-Greek languages, and most of these groups identify ethnically as Greeks
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
. The most common of all these dialects, the groups that speak them and the regions where they are considered native are:
| Dialect | Spoken by | Estimated population | Region |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greek dialects Varieties of Modern Greek The linguistic varieties of Modern Greek can be classified along two principal dimensions. First, there is a long tradition of sociolectal variation between the natural, popular spoken language on the one hand and archaizing, learned written forms on the other. Second, there is regional variation... |
|||
| Cretan Cretan Greek Cretan Greek is a dialect of the Greek language, spoken by more than half a million people in Crete and many thousands in the diaspora.... |
Cretans | 600,000 | Crete Crete Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits... |
| Maniot | Maniots Maniots The Maniots or Maniates are the Greek inhabitants of the Mani Peninsula located in the southern Peloponnese in the Greek prefecture of Laconia and prefecture of Messinia. They were also formerly known as Mainotes and the peninsula as Maina. The Maniots are the direct descendants of the Spartans... |
25,000 | Mani Mani Peninsula The Mani Peninsula , also long known as Maina or Maïna, is a geographical and cultural region in Greece. Mani is the central peninsula of the three which extend southwards from the Peloponnese in southern Greece. To the east is the Laconian Gulf, to the west the Messenian Gulf... (southern Peloponnese Peloponnese The Peloponnese, Peloponnesos or Peloponnesus , is a large peninsula , located in a region of southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth... ) |
| Pontic | Pontians Pontic Greeks The Pontians are an ethnic group traditionally living in the Pontus region, the shores of Turkey's Black Sea... |
200,000 | Macedonia Macedonia (Greece) Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of Greece in Southern Europe. Macedonia is the largest and second most populous Greek region... |
| Sarakatsanika | Sarakatsani Sarakatsani The Sarakatsani are a group of Greek transhumant shepherds inhabiting chiefly Greece, with a smaller presence in neighbouring Bulgaria, southern Albania and the Republic of Macedonia. Historically centered around the Pindus mountains, they have been currently urbanised to a significant degree... |
80,000 | Central Greece Central Greece Continental Greece or Central Greece , colloquially known as Roúmeli , is a geographical region of Greece. Its territory is divided into the administrative regions of Central Greece, Attica, and part of West Greece... , Thessaly Thessaly Thessaly is a traditional geographical region and an administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thessaly was known as Aeolia, and appears thus in Homer's Odyssey.... , Epirus Epirus (periphery) Epirus , formally the Epirus Region , is a geographical and administrative region in northwestern Greece. It borders the regions of West Macedonia and Thessaly to the east, West Greece to the south, the Ionian Sea and the Ionian Islands to the west and the country of Albania to the north. The... |
| Tsakonian Tsakonian language Tsakonian, Tsaconian, Tzakonian or Tsakonic is a Hellenic language, spoken in the Tsakonian region of the Peloponnese, Greece.... |
Tsakonians Tsakonians Tsakonians ; are a native Greek population group, speakers of the Tsakonian dialect, or more broadly, inhabitants of Tsakonia in the eastern Peloponnese and followers of certain Tsakonian cultural traditions, such as the Tsakonian dance.... |
1,200 | Tsakonia Tsakonia Tsakonia or the Tsakonian region describes the area of the eastern Peloponnese where the Tsakonian language is presently spoken... (eastern Peloponnese Peloponnese The Peloponnese, Peloponnesos or Peloponnesus , is a large peninsula , located in a region of southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth... ) |
| Other languages | |||
| Bulgarian/Macedonian Slavic | Slavic-speakers of Greek Macedonia | 10,000-250,000 | Macedonia Macedonia (Greece) Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of Greece in Southern Europe. Macedonia is the largest and second most populous Greek region... |
| Bulgarian Bulgarian language Bulgarian is an Indo-European language, a member of the Slavic linguistic group.Bulgarian, along with the closely related Macedonian language, demonstrates several linguistic characteristics that set it apart from all other Slavic languages such as the elimination of case declension, the... |
Pomaks Pomaks Pomaks is a term used for a Slavic Muslim population native to some parts of Bulgaria, Turkey, Greece, the Republic of Macedonia, Albania and Kosovo. The Pomaks speak Bulgarian as their native language, also referred to in Greece and Turkey as Pomak language, and some are fluent in Turkish,... |
35,000 | Thrace Western Thrace Western Thrace or simply Thrace is a geographic and historical region of Greece, located between the Nestos and Evros rivers in the northeast of the country. Together with the regions of Macedonia and Epirus, it is often referred to informally as northern Greece... |
| Turkish Turkish language Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,... |
Turks of Western Thrace Turks of Western Thrace Turks of Western Thrace are ethnic Turks who live in Western Thrace, in the north-eastern part of Greece.According to the Greek census of 1991, there were approximately 50,000 Turks in Western Thrace, out of the approximately 98,000 strong Muslim minority of Greece... |
128,380 | Thrace Western Thrace Western Thrace or simply Thrace is a geographic and historical region of Greece, located between the Nestos and Evros rivers in the northeast of the country. Together with the regions of Macedonia and Epirus, it is often referred to informally as northern Greece... |
| Aromanian Aromanian language Aromanian , also known as Macedo-Romanian, Arumanian or Vlach is an Eastern Romance language spoken in Southeastern Europe... , Megleno-Romanian Megleno-Romanian language Megleno-Romanian is a Romance language, similar to Aromanian and Romanian, or a dialect of the Romanian language... |
Aromanians Aromanians Aromanians are a Latin people native throughout the southern Balkans, especially in northern Greece, Albania, the Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, and as an emigrant community in Serbia and Romania . An older term is Macedo-Romanians... |
40,000–200,000 | Epirus Epirus (periphery) Epirus , formally the Epirus Region , is a geographical and administrative region in northwestern Greece. It borders the regions of West Macedonia and Thessaly to the east, West Greece to the south, the Ionian Sea and the Ionian Islands to the west and the country of Albania to the north. The... , Thessaly Thessaly Thessaly is a traditional geographical region and an administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thessaly was known as Aeolia, and appears thus in Homer's Odyssey.... , West Macedonia West Macedonia West Macedonia is one of the thirteen regions of Greece, consisting of the western part of Greek Macedonia. It is divided into the regional units of Florina, Grevena, Kastoria, and Kozani.-Geography:... |
| Romani Romani language Romani or Romany, Gypsy or Gipsy is any of several languages of the Romani people. They are Indic, sometimes classified in the "Central" or "Northwestern" zone, and sometimes treated as a branch of their own.... |
Roma | 40,000–160,000 | mainly in Thrace Western Thrace Western Thrace or simply Thrace is a geographic and historical region of Greece, located between the Nestos and Evros rivers in the northeast of the country. Together with the regions of Macedonia and Epirus, it is often referred to informally as northern Greece... |
| Arvanitika Arvanitika Arvanitika also known Arvanitic is the variety of Albanian traditionally spoken by the Arvanites, a population group in Greece... |
Arvanites Arvanites Arvanites are a population group in Greece who traditionally speak Arvanitika, a dialect of the Albanian language. They settled in Greece during the late Middle Ages and were the dominant population element of some regions of the Peloponnese and Attica until the 19th century... |
30,000–140,000 | Attica Attica Attica is a historical region of Greece, containing Athens, the current capital of Greece. The historical region is centered on the Attic peninsula, which projects into the Aegean Sea... , southern Euboea Euboea Euboea is the second largest Greek island in area and population, after Crete. The narrow Euripus Strait separates it from Boeotia in mainland Greece. In general outline it is a long and narrow, seahorse-shaped island; it is about long, and varies in breadth from to... , Boeotia Boeotia Boeotia, also spelled Beotia and Bœotia , is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Greece. It was also a region of ancient Greece. Its capital is Livadeia, the second largest city being Thebes.-Geography:... , Peloponnese Peloponnese The Peloponnese, Peloponnesos or Peloponnesus , is a large peninsula , located in a region of southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth... |
Education
Greek educationEducation in Greece
The Greek educational system is mainly divided into three levels, namely primary, secondary and tertiary, with an additional post-secondary level providing vocational training. Primary education is divided into kindergarten lasting one or two years, and primary school spanning six years...
is free and compulsory for children between the ages of 5 and 15. English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
study is compulsory from third grade through high school. University education, including books, is also free, contingent upon the student's ability to meet stiff entrance requirements. A high percentage of the student population seeks higher education. More than 100,000 students are registered at Greek universities, and 15% of the population currently holds a university degree. Admission in a university is determined by state-administered exams, the candidate's grade-point average from high school, and his/her priority choices of major. About one in four candidates gains admission to Greek universities.
Greek law does not currently offer official recognition to the graduates of private universities that operate in the country, except for those that offer a degree valid in another European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
country, which is automatically recognized by reciprocity. As a result, a large and growing number of students are pursuing higher education abroad. The Greek Government
Cabinet of Greece
The cabinet of Greece , officially called the Ministerial Council , constitutes the Government of Greece. It is the collective decision-making body of the Hellenic Republic, composed of the Prime Minister and the Ministers...
decides through an evaluation procedure whether to recognize degrees from specific foreign universities as qualification for public sector hiring. Other students attend private, post-secondary educational institutions in Greece that are not recognized by the Greek Government. At the moment extensive public talk is made for the reform of the Constitution
Constitution of Greece
The Constitution of Greece , was created by the Fifth Revisional Parliament of the Hellenes and entered into force in 1975. It has been revised three times since, most significantly in 1986, and also in 2001 and in 2008. The Constitutional history of Greece goes back to the Greek War of...
in order to recognize private higher education in Greece as equal with public and to place common regulations for both.
The number of Greek students studying at Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an institutions is increasing along with EU support for educational exchange. In addition, nearly 5,000 Greeks are studying in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, about half of whom are in graduate school. Greek per capita student representation in the US (one every 2,200) is among the highest in Europe.
Religion
According to the Greek constitutionConstitution of Greece
The Constitution of Greece , was created by the Fifth Revisional Parliament of the Hellenes and entered into force in 1975. It has been revised three times since, most significantly in 1986, and also in 2001 and in 2008. The Constitutional history of Greece goes back to the Greek War of...
, Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
is recognized as the "prevailing religion" in Greece. During the centuries of Ottoman domination
Ottoman Greece
Most of Greece gradually became part of the Ottoman Empire from the 15th century until its declaration of independence in 1821, a historical period also known as Tourkokratia ....
, besides its spiritual mandate, the Orthodox Church
Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople , part of the wider Orthodox Church, is one of the fourteen autocephalous churches within the communion of Orthodox Christianity...
, based in Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
(present-day Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
), also functioned as an official representative of the Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
population of the empire. The Church is often credited with the preservation of the Greek language
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
, values, and national identity during Ottoman times. The Church was also an important rallying point in the war for independence, although this latter position is somewhat controversial as the official Church in Constantinople initially condemned the breakout of armed struggle against the Empire. The Church of Greece
Church of Greece
The Church of Greece , part of the wider Greek Orthodox Church, is one of the autocephalous churches which make up the communion of Orthodox Christianity...
was established shortly after the formation of a Greek national state. Its authority to this day extends only to the areas included in the independent Greek state before the Balkan Wars
Balkan Wars
The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe in 1912 and 1913.By the early 20th century, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia, the countries of the Balkan League, had achieved their independence from the Ottoman Empire, but large parts of their ethnic...
of 1912-1913. There is a Muslim minority
Muslim minority of Greece
The Muslim minority of Greece is the only explicitly recognized minority in Greece. It numbers 97,604 people or 0.91% of the total population, according to the 1991 census , and 140,000 people or 1.24% of the total population, according to the United States Department of State.The Muslim minority...
concentrated in Thrace
Western Thrace
Western Thrace or simply Thrace is a geographic and historical region of Greece, located between the Nestos and Evros rivers in the northeast of the country. Together with the regions of Macedonia and Epirus, it is often referred to informally as northern Greece...
and officially protected by the Treaty of Lausanne
Treaty of Lausanne
The Treaty of Lausanne was a peace treaty signed in Lausanne, Switzerland on 24 July 1923, that settled the Anatolian and East Thracian parts of the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire. The treaty of Lausanne was ratified by the Greek government on 11 February 1924, by the Turkish government on 31...
. Besides Pomaks
Pomaks
Pomaks is a term used for a Slavic Muslim population native to some parts of Bulgaria, Turkey, Greece, the Republic of Macedonia, Albania and Kosovo. The Pomaks speak Bulgarian as their native language, also referred to in Greece and Turkey as Pomak language, and some are fluent in Turkish,...
(Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
Bulgarian
Bulgarian language
Bulgarian is an Indo-European language, a member of the Slavic linguistic group.Bulgarian, along with the closely related Macedonian language, demonstrates several linguistic characteristics that set it apart from all other Slavic languages such as the elimination of case declension, the...
speakers) and Roma, it consists mainly of ethnic Turks
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
, who speak Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
and receive instruction in Turkish at special government-funded schools. There are also a number of Jews in Greece, most of whom live in Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
. There are also some Greeks who adhere to a reconstruction of the ancient Greek religion. A place of worship has been recognized as such by court.
See also
- Demographic history of GreeceDemographic history of GreeceAgriculture came to Europe from Asia via the Balkans, which was one of the first areas in Europe to experience the neolithic transformation. As early as 5000 BC the areas mesolithic population had been transformed to a peasant society of 250,000 people, which in turn grew to 2,000,000 people by the...
- Turks of Western ThraceTurks of Western ThraceTurks of Western Thrace are ethnic Turks who live in Western Thrace, in the north-eastern part of Greece.According to the Greek census of 1991, there were approximately 50,000 Turks in Western Thrace, out of the approximately 98,000 strong Muslim minority of Greece...
- Minorities in GreeceMinorities in GreeceIndigenous minorities in Greece are small in size compared to regional standards. The country is largely ethnically homogeneous. This is mainly due to the population exchanges between Greece and neighboring Turkey and Bulgaria , which removed most Muslims and those Christian Slavs who did not...
- Aging of EuropeAging of EuropeThe Ageing of Europe, also known as the greying of Europe, is a demographic phenomenon in Europe characterized by a decrease in fertility, a decrease in mortality rate, and a higher life expectancy among Europeans.-Overall trends:...
- Albanians in GreeceAlbanians in GreeceAfter the fall of communism throughout Eastern Europe in the late 1980s and early 1990s, a large number of economic refugees and immigrants from Greece's neighboring countries, Albania, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Romania, as well as from more distant countries such as Russia, Ukraine,...