Greece considers 1.76 bn for demographic issues in 2026
ATHENS, Nov 26, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on
Wednesday said Athens was looking at allocating 1.76 billion euros ($2
billion) in 2026, along with tax relief measures, to tackle demographic
issues.
Greece has one of the European Union's lowest birthrates, calculated by
births per 1,000 inhabitants, standing at 7.3 -- above only Spain with 6.9
and Italy in last place with 6.7.
Mitsotakis, speaking at a symposium organised by the rightwing daily
Eleftheros Typos, stressed the importance of protecting families and
highlighted the government's tax reforms benefitting families with children.
"For the first time in our country, we have a comprehensive strategy on
demographic issues," he said. "The more children there are, the lower the
taxes."
Demographic issues are not exclusively economic, the premier said, citing
"other reasons that we need to analyse much more deeply if we want to solve"
them.
Asked about using migrants and refugees to address labour market and
demographic issues, Mitsotakis defended his government's "strict" migration
policy.
"We will do everything in our power to prevent anyone from entering our
country illegally," he said. But Greece had nothing to fear from migrants who
arrived regularly, could respond to employment needs and integrate into Greek
society, he added.
He noted that Greece has recently received a limited number of Sudanese
refugees who are set to work in agriculture.
