In Greece, the impact of an aging population is becoming increasingly evident. Nearly 6 in 10 people aged 65 and over report long-term illnesses, a figure that rises to 73% among those over 75 and 85% for people over 85. More than half of seniors face multiple chronic health conditions.
Projections show that by 2050, one in three Greeks will be over 65, and 13% will be older than 80, placing the country among the oldest in the OECD.
A recent paper in The Lancet, co-authored by Greek and international health policy experts, highlights the growing pressure on healthcare systems worldwide from aging, chronic disease, and limited resources. In Greece, these challenges have converged with additional strains – climate change, migration, epidemics, and geopolitical instability – exposing structural weaknesses in the health system.
The authors underline key issues: health-sector underfunding (8.6% of GDP in 2022 versus an OECD average of 12%), weak primary care, misaligned medical workforce, and insufficient use of purchasing power by EOPYY, the national health insurance fund. Hospitals remain overloaded, while unhealthy behaviors add pressure: 25% of Greeks smoke regularly, and 41% of children aged 5–9 are overweight. At the same time, migration and extreme weather events further increase healthcare demand.
To strengthen resilience, the paper recommends expanding primary care with multidisciplinary teams, boosting public health capacity, improving monitoring and accountability, and ensuring fairer funding. Depoliticizing health governance is also seen as crucial.
