Rural Depopulation in Greece: Trends, Processes, and Interpretations

Apostolos G. Papadopoulos () and Pavlos Baltas
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Apostolos G. Papadopoulos: Institute of Social Research, National Centre for Social Research (EKKE) and Department of Geography, Harokopio University, 176 76 Athens, Greece
Pavlos Baltas: Institute of Social Research, National Centre for Social Research (EKKE), 105 52 Athens, Greece

Geographies, 2023, vol. 4, issue 1, 1-20

Abstract: Depopulation is caused by low fertility rates and out-migration, and it applies to countries, regions and smaller areas. Rural depopulation is defined as a sharp population decline that falls well below an adequate population size and indicates that an area has lost its demographic reproductive capacity. This paper discusses the socioeconomic and territorial aspects of rural depopulation, attempting to do justice to the spatial dimensions of the phenomenon. Greece exhibits all the symptoms of demographic transition, leading to labour shortages, declining economic productivity, and increasing demands on the health and welfare system. The study on rural depopulation in Greece focuses on the changes and dynamics observed at the municipal and regional levels. A typology has been developed to identify rural communities in Greece. The main source of demographic data for our study is the Greek censuses (1991, 2001, 2011, and 2021). Demographic and socioeconomic trends in Greece are interlinked and show different regional and local dynamics. Rural depopulation is closely related to the study of (international and internal) migration, even though the latter does not provide a permanent solution to depopulation. An empirical analysis has shown that there is a need to revitalise rural areas through socioeconomic improvements, infrastructure investments, and policies that directly impact rural communities.

Keywords: rural depopulation; socio-spatial changes; population decline; rural–urban divide; Greece (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q15 Q5 Q53 Q54 Q56 Q57 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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