Greece to spend 20 bln euros on lifting low birth rate

Greece, which saw its lowest number of births in 2022, plans to spend 20 billion euros ($22 billion) through 2035 on incentives to halt the decline, including cash benefits and tax breaks, its family ministry said.

Greece currently spends around 1 billion euros a year on pro-child measures but, like other European countries, to little effect.

At 1.3, Greece's fertility rate is among the continent's lowest and well below the 2.5 needed for population growth. Economic forecasts indicate its workforce is set to fall by 50% by 2100, with its output shrinking by 31% over the same period.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has called the country's demographic crisis a drain on pensions and "a national threat."

"The statistics and forecasting models are ominous but we must all make an extra effort to overcome," Family and Social Cohesion Minister Sofia...