The Demographics of Greece refer to the demography of the population that inhabits the Greek peninsula, a region where the Greek language has been continuously spoken for over 3500 years. The 2001 census of Greece reported a population of 10,964,020 people. Map of countries by population Population growth showing projections for later this century Demography is the statistical study of human populations. ... Greek ( IPA: or simply IPA: — Hellenic) has a documented history of 3,500 years, the longest of any single language in the Indo-European language family. ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 2001 Gregorian calendar). ...

Historical Overview

See main article: Demographic history of Greece Population censuses in Greece take place the first year of every decade. ...

Greece was inhabited as early as the Paleolithic period and by 3000 BC had become home, in the Cycladic Islands, to a culture whose art remains among the most evocative in world history, the Cycladic civilization . The Minoans were challenged and eventually supplanted by the Mycenaeans of the Greek mainland, who spoke a dialect of ancient Greek, the Mycenaean. // The Paleolithic is a prehistoric era distinguished by the development of stone tools. ... (31st century BC - 30th century BC - 29th century BC - other centuries) (4th millennium BC - 3rd millennium BC - 2nd millennium BC) Events 2925 - 2776 BC - First Dynasty wars in Egypt 2900 BC - Beginning of the Early Dynastic Period I in Mesopotamia. ... The Cyclades (Greek Κυκλάδες) are a Greek island group in the Aegean Sea, south-east of the mainland of Greece; and an administrative prefecture of Greece. ... Cycladic civilization (also known as Cycladic culture or The Cycladic period) is an Early Bronze Age culture of the Cyclades in the Aegean Sea, spanning the period from approximately 3000 BC-2000 BC. // Cycladic marble figurine of the Keros Culture type The significant Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age Cycladic... The Minoan civilization was a bronze age civilization which arose on Crete, an island in the Aegean Sea. ... Mycenaean Greece, the last phase of the Bronze Age in ancient Greece, is the historical setting of the epics of Homer and much other Greek mythology. ... Mycenaean is the most ancient attested form of the Greek language, spoken on the Greek mainland and on Crete in the 16th to 11th centuries BC, before the Dorian invasion. ...

Prior to the second millennium BC, the Greek peninsula was inhabited by various pre-Hellenic peoples (notably the Pelasgians). After the invasion of the Greek peoples, the local populations were displaced or assimilated and the ancient Greek civilization was formed. The Greek language dominated the peninsula, and Greece's mosaic of small city-states became culturally similar. The population estimates on the Greeks during the 5th century BC, is approximately 3 million on the Greek peninsula and 6 million in the entire Mediterranean basin (including all colonies). After Alexander the Great's conquests, Greek culture and colonization was expanded in the Hellenistic Kingdoms of the East. After the Roman occupation of Greece, the Greek culture was favoured by the Romans and it continued to dominate on the Eastern part of the Empire and in Rome. After the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD by Constantine the Great, the Eastern Roman Empire developed independently from the West. It continued the use of Greek until it totally displaced Latin from the administration, and the empire became ethnically unified via the official adaptation of Christianity. The most common term used by scholars to refer to that medieval state is 'Byzantine'. During the long history of the Byzantine Greek state, the Greek peninsula was occasionally invaded by the following peoples: Goths, Avars, Slavs, Normans, Franks and other Romance language speaking people who had betrayed the Crusades. The only group however which planned to established permanent settlements in the region were the Slavs. They settled in isolated valleys of Peloponnese and Thessaly, establishing communities that were referred by the Byzantines as "Sclavinias". By the 9th century AD, Sclavinias in Greece were largely eliminated. The populations in central and southern Greece were the subject of population exchanges, army recruitments and Hellenizations, but some Slavic communities managed to survive in rural Macedonia. At the same time a large Jewish emigrant community from Spain established itself in Thessaloniki. The Byzantine Empire ultimately fell to Ottoman Turks in 15th century. Ottoman colonies were established in the Balkans, notable in Macedonia, Peloponnese and Crete. The Christian subjects of the Sultan had very restricted rights, and during that period many religious conversions took place. For those reasons, the population of the region decreased, yet it remained largely ethnically similar, as the Christians didn't have the right to use any means of transportation. The only notable event however, was the gradual settlement and resettlement of Arvanites and Vlachs in isolated communities throughout the Greek peninsula. Ancestors of these survive until today, linguistically assimilated though. The 2nd millennium BC marks the transition from the Middle to the Late Bronze Age. ... Ancient Greek writers used the name Pelasgians (Ancient Greek: Πελασγοί - Pelasgoí, s. ... For other uses, see Greek (disambiguation). ... Ancient Greece is a period in Greek history that lasted for around nine hundred years. ... Greek ( IPA: or simply IPA: — Hellenic) has a documented history of 3,500 years, the longest of any single language in the Indo-European language family. ... The 5th century BC started the first day of 500 BC and ended the last day of 401 BC. // The Parthenon of Athens seen from the hill of the Pnyx to the west. ... The Mediterranean Basin refers to the lands around and surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea. ... For the film of the same name, see Alexander the Great (1956 film). ... The term Hellenistic (derived from HéllÄ“n, the Greeks traditional self-described ethnic name) was established by the German historian Johann Gustav Droysen to refer to the spreading of Greek culture over the non-Greek people that were conquered by Alexander the Great. ... For other uses, see Roman Empire (disambiguation). ... Nickname: Motto: SPQR: Senatus Populusque Romanus Location of the city of Rome (yellow) within the Province of Rome (red) and region of Lazio (grey) Coordinates: Region Lazio Province Province of Rome Founded 21 April 753 BC Government  - Mayor Walter Veltroni Area  - City 1,285 km²  (580 sq mi)  - Urban 5... This article is about the city before the Fall of Constantinople (1453). ... Events By Place Roman Empire May 11 - Constantine I refounds Byzantium, renames it New Rome, and moves the capital of the Roman Empire there from Rome. ... For other uses, see Constantine I (disambiguation). ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Byzantine Empire. ... Latin was the language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Christianity is... “Byzantine” redirects here. ... Byzantine Greeks or Byzantines, is a conventional term used by modern historians to refer to the medieval Greek or Hellenized citizens of the Byzantine Empire, centered mainly in Constantinople, southern Balkans, the Greek islands, the coasts of Asia Minor (modern Turkey) and the large urban centres of Near East and... This article is about the Germanic tribes. ... Late Avar period Map showing the location of Avar Khaganate, c. ... The Slavic peoples are the most numerous ethnic and linguistic body of peoples in Europe. ... Norman conquests in red. ... This article is about the Frankish people and society. ... This article is about the medieval crusades. ... Greece and the Peloponnese The Peloponnese or Peloponnesus (Greek: Πελοπόννησος Peloponnesos; see also List of Greek place names) is a large peninsula in southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth. ... Map showing Thessaly periphery in Greece Thessaly (Θεσσαλια; modern Greek Thessalía; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is one of the 13 peripheries of Greece, and is further sub-divided into 4 prefectures. ... (8th century - 9th century - 10th century _ other centuries) Events Beowulf might have been written down in this century, though it could also have been in the 8th century Viking attacks on Europe begin Oseberg ship burial The Magyars arrive in what is now Hungary, forcing the Serbs and Bulgars... The word Jew ( Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity and often a combination... Thessaloniki or Salonica (Greek: Θεσσαλονίκη) is Greeces second-largest city and the capital of the greek province of Macedonia. ... “Byzantine” redirects here. ... “Ottoman” redirects here. ... (14th century - 15th century - 16th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 15th century was that century which lasted from 1401 to 1500. ... For other uses, see Crete (disambiguation). ... Arvanites (Greek: Αρβανίτες, see also below about names) are a population group in Greece who traditionally speak Arvanitika, a form of Albanian. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

The population exchanges with Bulgaria and Turkey that took place in the early 20th century, added in total some 2 million Greeks from Asia Minor, Constantinople, Bulgaria, Albania and Yugoslavia to the demography of the Greek Kingdom. Population transfer is a term referring to a policy by which a state forces the movement of a large group of people out of a region, invariably on the basis of ethnicity or religion. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999... Anatolia (Greek: ανατολη anatole, rising of the sun or East; compare Orient and Levant, by popular etymology Turkish Anadolu to ana mother and dolu filled), also called by the Latin name of Asia Minor, is a region of Southwest Asia which corresponds today to... This article is about the city before the Fall of Constantinople (1453). ... Yugoslavia (Jugoslavija in the Latin alphabet, Југославија in Cyrillic; English: South Slavia, or literary The Land of South Slavs) describes three political entities that existed one at a time on the Balkan Peninsula in Europe, during most of the 20th century. ...

Education

Population of Greece from 1961 to 2003.

Greek education is free and compulsory for children between the ages of 5 and 15. English language study is compulsory from 3rd grade through high school. University education, including books, is also free, contingent upon the student's ability to meet stiff entrance requirements. Image File history File links Greece_demography. ... Image File history File links Greece_demography. ...

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 EU 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 European 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 U.S. (one every 2,200) is among the highest in Europe (the highest is probably Cyprus, with 1 person in 752 currently studying in the US^[2]).

Religion

See also: Religious minorities in Greece

According to the Greek constitution, Eastern Orthodox Christianity is recognized as the dominant ("επικρατούσα") 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 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 Greek Orthodox Church was established shortly after the formation of a Greek national state. Its authority to this day extends only to the areas included in the embryonic Greek state of 1833. There is a Muslim minority concentrated in Thrace, and officially protected by the treaty of Lausanne. Most of its members are Pomaks (Muslim Slavic Speakers) and Roma in addition to a Turkish ethnic comunity which receives 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.^[3][4] A place of worship has been recognized as such by court.^[5] Map of Greece. ... Eastern Orthodoxy (also called Greek Orthodoxy and Russian Orthodoxy) is a Christian tradition which represents the majority of Eastern Christianity. ... The Church of Greece is one of the fifteenth autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches which make up the Eastern Orthodox Communion. ... Map of the Greek Prefectures according to the 1991 census with the minority highlighted. ... The Pomaks (помаци pomaci) or Muslim Bulgarians (българи мюсюлмани bălgari mjusjulmani), also known locally as Ahryani, are an Islamized Slavic speaking people of the Rhodope region. ... There have been organized Jewish communities in Greece for more than two thousand years. ... Thessaloniki or Salonica (Greek: Θεσσαλονίκη) is Greeces second-largest city and the capital of the greek province of Macedonia. ... Neopaganism or Neo-Paganism is any of a heterogeneous group of new religious movements, particularly those influenced by ancient, primarily pre-Christian and sometimes pre-Judaic religions. ... Greek religion encompasses the collection of beliefs and rituals practiced in Ancient Greece in form of cult practices, thus the practical counterpart of Greek mythology. ...

Statistics

Population
10,964,020 (2001 Census)
11,170,957 (July 2007 est. [2])

Age structure
0-14 years: 14.3% (male 789,637; female 742,535)
15-64 years: 66.7% (male 3,565,237; female 3,570,630)
65 years and over: 19% (male 895,384; female 1,142,867) (2007 est.)

Median age
total: 41.2 years
male: 40 years
female: 42.3 years (2007 est.)

Population growth rate
0.163% (2007 est.)

Birth rate
9.62 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)

Death rate
10.33 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)

Net migration rate
2.34 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)

Sex ratio
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.063 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.998 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.783 male(s)/female
total population: 0.962 male(s)/female (2007 est.)

Infant mortality rate
5.34 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
total population: 79.38 years
male: 76.85 years
female: 82.06 years (2007 est.)

Total fertility rate
1.35 children born/woman (2007 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate
0.2% (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS
9,100 (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths
less than 100 (2003 est.)

Nationality
noun: Greek(s)
adjective: Greek

Ethnic groups
Greek 99%, other 1%
(note: the Greek Government states there are no ethnic divisions in Greece)

Religions
Greek Orthodox 98%, Muslim 0.95%, other (mainly Roman Catholics, Jews etc.) 1.05%

Languages
Greek 99% (official), other 1% (incl. English, French, German, etc.)

Literacy
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.5%
male: 98.6%
female: 96.5% (2003 est.)

See also

• Demographic history of Greece
• Minorities in Greece

Population censuses in Greece take place the first year of every decade. ... Map of Greece. ...

References

• CIA World Factbook

Notes

1. ^ World Gazetteer, Greece
2. ^ http://www.mof.gov.cy/mof/cystat/statistics.nsf/All/A5D3857FC02FBADCC225707A002A20BC/$file/EDUCATION_0405.pdf?OpenElement
3. ^ Ancient Greek gods' new believers. Retrieved February 10, 2007, from BBC News
4. ^ YSEE in the media (See Video 2)
5. ^ Greek gods prepare for comeback. Retrieved Friday May 5, 2006, from Guardian [1]

External links

• Languages of Greece according to the Rosetta Project