Workforce Migration Report 2026: Greece

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The Acropolis of Athens at night, with Lycabettus hill behind
Workforce Migration Report 2026
Greece
12,046
First residence permits for work issued in 2025

Contents

In brief

Rooftops of Nafplio

The country

  1. 3

    10.4 million people, fewer every year since 2015

  2. 4

    More deaths than births, and an older population

 Athens at dusk

Where the market is now

  1. 5

    Permits rose to 22,290 in 2024 and fell to 12,046 in 2025

  2. 6

    Greece issues 2.0 permits per 1,000, less than half the EU rate

  3. 7

    The Philippines lead the 2025 permits

  4. 8

    The Philippines, India and Nepal rose

  5. 9

    The cabinet caps 2026 at 94,240 posts for work from abroad

 Tower cranes

The outlook

  1. 10

    About 12,000 permits in 2026, between 7,440 and 18,300

  2. 11

    Each origin keeps its 2025 share of permits to 2035

  3. 11

    What could change this

 The waterfront of Thessaloniki

Method and sources

  1. 12

    How to read this report

  2. 12

    Sources, photographs and flags

Cover: The Acropolis of Athens at night, with Lycabettus hill behind. Photograph by Filippos Zikopoulos, Pexels.

Greece issues few first residence permits for work for its size: 12,046 in 2025, 46.0 percent fewer than in 2024 but almost four times the 3,133 of 2019. Permits to citizens of Albania and Pakistan fell after their peak of 2024, while those to citizens of the Philippines, India and Nepal rose. The rate is 2.0 per 1,000 residents aged 20 to 64, against 4.9 across the EU. Agencies may hire from abroad since February 2026, and Eurostat projects 799,000 fewer people aged 20 to 64 by 2041. Our estimate for 2026 is about 12,000, between 7,440 and 18,300; for 2027 the range is too wide for a yearly number, and the direction is rising. In 2031 the working age scenario gives 23,100 a year and the count held flat 12,000.

Observed

First residence permits for work issued in 2025, down 46.0 percent on 2024

12,046
Our estimate

Permits in 2026, 7,440 to 18,300

12,000
Scenario, not a forecast

Permits a year in 2031, working age scenario; held flat 12,000

23,100
Projection of the source

Fewer people aged 20 to 64 in 2041 than in 2026, on Eurostat's 2025 projection

799,000

10.4 million people, fewer every year since 2015

Greece has 10.4 million people, 451,455 fewer than in 2015. Deaths have outnumbered births in every year since 2019, and in 2024 and 2025 arrivals made up most of the gap. The economy grew faster than the EU's in 2025, yet output per head is 57 percent of the EU average, and Eurostat projects 13.3 percent fewer people aged 20 to 64 in 2041 than in 2026.

Meteora at sunset

People living in Greece on 1 January 2026

10,366,586

4.2 percent fewer than in 2015. People aged 65 and over were 23.7 percent of the population in 2025.

GDP in 2025, billion euro at current prices

248.4

At current prices and exchange rates.

GDP per head in 2025

23,570euro

57 percent of the EU average of 41,700 euro. Counting lower prices at home, 68 percent.

Real growth in 2025

2.1%

Against 1.4 percent across the EU. Over 2021 to 2025 the economy grew 22.1 percent in all, the EU 13.7 percent (our estimate from the yearly rates).

People aged 20 to 64 in work, 2025

71.0%

Against 76.1 percent across the EU.

New law, higher wage floor

6 February 2026Law 5275/2026 lets temporary work agencies employ people from abroad.
1 April 2026The monthly minimum wage rises from 880 to 920 euro.

Sources: Eurostat, demo_gind (population, updated 21 July 2026), nama_10_gdp and nama_10_pc (GDP, updated 21 September 2026), tec00114 (price adjusted GDP per head), tec00115 (growth), lfsi_emp_a (employment), demo_pjanbroad (age). All retrieved 27 September 2026. Figures for 2025 GDP, GDP per head and growth are provisional. Key dates: Government Gazette A 17 of 6 February 2026; Ministerial Decision 8934/27.3.2026, Government Gazette B 1759; Ministry of Labour.

More deaths than births, and an older population

Deaths outnumber births every year, and since 2024 arrivals fill most of the gap

In 2025, 120,825 people died and 65,439 were born. Net migration added 49,637, so the population fell by 5,749.

Births minus deathsNet migration
−50,0000+50,0002019202020212022202320242025Births minus deathsNet migrationChange in the populationMoved inMoved out−41,202+18,580−22,622129,459111,603−46,283−10,964−57,24784,22195,439−58,577−35,140−93,71757,12092,775−64,000+4,241−59,75995,37491,137−55,920+29,816−26,104116,59186,775−57,564+54,135−3,429132,14978,014−55,386+49,637−5,749

Source: Eurostat, demo_gind (updated 21 July 2026), migr_imm1ctz and migr_emi1ctz (moves of a year or more), retrieved 27 September 2026. Net migration includes Eurostat's statistical adjustment. Moves not yet published are left blank.

About 9.64 million people by 2041 on Eurostat's projection

Observed to 2026, then Eurostat's 2025 projection in the lighter line.

9.0 million9.5 million10.0 million10.5 million11.0 millionEurostat's projection10.82 million in 201510.37 million in 20269.64 million in 20419.94 million, more migration9.34 million, less migration201520202026203120362041

Source: Eurostat, demo_gind (observed, updated 21 July 2026) and proj_25np (EUROPOP2025 baseline and migration tests, updated 11 June 2026), retrieved 27 September 2026.

The share aged 65 and over rises to 31%

0 to 1415 to 6465 and over
2025, observed12.8%63.5%23.7%2041, Eurostat's projection10.4%58.2%31.4%

Source: Eurostat, demo_pjanbroad (2025) and proj_25np (2041), retrieved 27 September 2026.

248.4 billion euro in 2025

Billion euro at current prices of 2025IMF forecast
200225250275300248.4 in 2025274.0 in 203120171.5%20192.3%20218.7%20232.1%20252.1%20271.7%20291.6%20311.6%

Real growth under each year: observed to 2025 (Eurostat, tec00115), the IMF forecast after. Sources: Eurostat, nama_10_gdp (2025 provisional); IMF, World Economic Outlook April 2026; Werklist calculation: the other years are the 2025 value moved by the real growth rates; retrieved 27 September 2026.

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What this report answers

  • How many first residence permits for work has Greece issued each year since 2019?

    12,046 in 2025, 46.0% fewer than the 22,290 of 2024 but almost four times the 3,133 of 2019. Programmes for people already in Greece lifted 2023 and 2024.

  • Which countries do the new hires come from, and which are growing?

    The Philippines lead with 3,158 permits in 2025, twice the 2024 count, ahead of Albania with 2,029 and India with 1,889. Permits for the Philippines, India and Nepal rose again, while Albania and Pakistan fell back after a regularisation.

  • How does Greece compare with its neighbours per resident?

    2.0 first residence permits for work for every 1,000 residents aged 20 to 64 in 2025, less than half the EU's 4.9, against 3.8 in Spain and 1.7 in Italy. Seasonal work enters on a visa and is outside this count.

  • Which rules apply to employers who hire from abroad?

    A yearly ceiling of posts, 94,240 for 2026. The employer applies online with a full time contract of at least six months at no less than the minimum wage of 920 euro, and since February 2026 temporary work agencies may employ people from abroad.

  • How is the working age population changing?

    Eurostat projects 5,997,931 people aged 20 to 64 in 2026 and 5,198,735 in 2041: about 799,000 fewer, a fall of 13.3 percent.

  • How many first residence permits for work do we expect Greece to issue in 2026, and what comes after?

    About 12,000 in 2026, between 7,440 and 18,300. For 2027 the range is too wide for a yearly number; the direction is rising. In 2031 the working age scenario, not a forecast, gives 23,100 a year; the count held flat, a stated assumption, stays at 12,000.

The full report answers each question with its figures, charts and sources. Request the full report