According to the 2021 census, 643,450 people lived in the Athens municipality, making it the largest city in Greece. The second-most populated municipality, Thessaloniki, had approximately 319,050 inhabitants.

Population in the largest city (% of urban population) in Greece was reported at 37.5 % in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Greece - Population in the largest city - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.

Greece GR: Population in Largest City data was reported at 3,157,451.000 Person in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 3,159,302.000 Person for 2016. Greece GR: Population in Largest City data is updated yearly, averaging 3,062,740.500 Person from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 3,187,197.000 Person in 2001 and a record low of 1,813,686.000 Person in 1960. Greece GR: Population in Largest City data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Greece – Table GR.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Population in largest city is the urban population living in the country's largest metropolitan area.; ; United Nations, World Urbanization Prospects.; ;

Population in largest city in Greece was reported at 3154591 in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Greece - Population in largest city - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.

Greece GR: Population in Largest City: as % of Urban Population data was reported at 37.274 % in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 37.402 % for 2016. Greece GR: Population in Largest City: as % of Urban Population data is updated yearly, averaging 41.153 % from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 45.213 % in 1975 and a record low of 37.226 % in 2011. Greece GR: Population in Largest City: as % of Urban Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Greece – Table GR.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Population in largest city is the percentage of a country's urban population living in that country's largest metropolitan area.; ; United Nations, World Urbanization Prospects.; Weighted average;

Around 3.15 million people lived in the Athens metropolitan area, making it the largest metropolitan area in Greece in 2021. The second-most populated metropolitan area, Thessaloniki, had approximately 802,390 inhabitants. At the municipality level, Athens was the largest city in the country with 643,452 residents.

Prior to 1829, the area of modern day Greece was largely under the control of the Ottoman Empire. In 1821, the Greeks declared their independence from the Ottomans, and achieved it within 8 years through the Greek War of Independence. The Independent Kingdom of Greece was established in 1829 and made up the southern half of present-day, mainland Greece, along with some Mediterranean islands. Over the next century, Greece's borders would expand and readjust drastically, through a number of conflicts and diplomatic agreements; therefore the population of Greece within those political borders** was much lower than the population in what would be today's borders. As there were large communities of ethnic Greeks living in neighboring countries during this time, particularly in Turkey, and the data presented here does not show the full extent of the First World War, Spanish Flu Pandemic and Greko-Turkish War on these Greek populations. While it is difficult to separate the fatalities from each of these events, it is estimated that between 500,000 and 900,000 ethnic Greeks died at the hands of the Ottomans between the years 1914 and 1923, and approximately 150,000 died due to the 1918 flu pandemic. These years also saw the exchange of up to one million Orthodox Christians from Turkey to Greece, and several hundred thousand Muslims from Greece to Turkey; this exchange is one reason why Greece's total population did not change drastically, despite the genocide, displacement and demographic upheaval of the 1910s and 1920s. Greece in WWII A new Hellenic Republic was established in 1924, which saw a decade of peace and modernization in Greece, however this was short lived. The Greek monarchy was reintroduced in 1935, and the prime minister, Ioannis Metaxas, headed a totalitarian government that remained in place until the Second World War. Metaxas tried to maintain Greek neutrality as the war began, however Italy's invasion of the Balkans made this impossible, and the Italian army tried invading Greece via Albania in 1940. The outnumbered and lesser-equipped Greek forces were able to hold off the Italian invasion and then push them backwards into Albania, marking the first Allied victory in the war. Following a series of Italian failures, Greece was eventually overrun when Hitler launched a German and Bulgarian invasion in April 1941, taking Athens within three weeks. Germany's involvement in Greece meant that Hitler's planned invasion of the Soviet Union was delayed, and Hitler cited this as the reason for it's failure (although most historians disagree with this). Over the course of the war approximately eight to eleven percent of the Greek population died due to fighting, extermination, starvation and disease; including over eighty percent of Greece's Jewish population in the Holocaust. Following the liberation of Greece in 1944, the country was then plunged into a civil war (the first major conflict of the Cold War), which lasted until 1949, and saw the British and American-supported government fight with Greek communists for control of the country. The government eventually defeated the Soviet-supported communist forces, and established American influence in the Aegean and Balkans throughout the Cold War. Post-war Greece From the 1950s until the 1970s, the Marshall Plan, industrialization and an emerging Tourism sector helped the Greek economy to boom, with one of the strongest growth rates in the world. Apart from the military coup, which ruled from 1967 to 1974, Greece remained relatively peaceful, prosperous and stable throughout the second half of the twentieth century. The population reached 11.2 million in the early 2000s, before going into decline for the past fifteen years. This decline came about due to a negative net migration rate and slowing birth rate, ultimately facilitated by the global financial crisis of 2007 and 2008; many Greeks left the country in search of work elsewhere, and the economic troubles have impacted the financial incentives that were previously available for families with many children. While the financial crisis was a global event, Greece was arguably the hardest-hit nation during the crisis, and suffered the longest recession of any advanced economy. The financial crisis has had a consequential impact on the Greek population, which has dropped by 800,000 in 15 years, and the average age has increased significantly, as thousands of young people migrate in search of employment.

This horizontal bar chart displays land area (km²) by capital city using the aggregation sum in Greece. The data is about countries per year.

In 2023, the share of urban population in Greece remained nearly unchanged at around 80.67 percent. Nevertheless, 2023 still represents a peak in the share in Greece with 80.67 percent. The urban population refers to the share of the total population living in urban centers. Each country has their own definition of what constitutes an urban center (based on population size, area, or space between dwellings, among others), therefore international comparisons may be inconsistent.Find more key insights for the share of urban population in countries like Italy and Malta.

This horizontal bar chart displays self-employed workers (% of total employment) by capital city using the aggregation average in Greece. The data is filtered where the date is 2021. The data is about countries per year.

GR：最大城市人口在12-01-2017达3,157,451.000人，相较于12-01-2016的3,159,302.000人有所下降。GR：最大城市人口数据按年更新，12-01-1960至12-01-2017期间平均值为3,062,740.500人，共58份观测结果。该数据的历史最高值出现于12-01-2001，达3,187,197.000人，而历史最低值则出现于12-01-1960，为1,813,686.000人。CEIC提供的GR：最大城市人口数据处于定期更新的状态，数据来源于World Bank，数据归类于全球数据库的希腊 – Table GR.World Bank.WDI：人口和城市化进程统计。

This horizontal bar chart displays proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments (%) by capital city using the aggregation average in Greece. The data is about countries per year.

GR：最大城市人口占城市总人口的百分比在12-01-2017达37.274%，相较于12-01-2016的37.402%有所下降。GR：最大城市人口占城市总人口的百分比数据按年更新，12-01-1960至12-01-2017期间平均值为41.153%，共58份观测结果。该数据的历史最高值出现于12-01-1975，达45.213%，而历史最低值则出现于12-01-2011，为37.226%。CEIC提供的GR：最大城市人口占城市总人口的百分比数据处于定期更新的状态，数据来源于World Bank，数据归类于全球数据库的希腊 – 表 GR.世行.WDI：人口和城市化进程统计。

The Urban Atlas is providing pan-European comparable land use and land cover data for Large Urban Zones with more than 100.000 inhabitants as defined by the Urban Audit. Urban Atlas' mission is to provide high-resolution hotspot mapping of changes in urban spaces and indicators for users such as city governments, the European Environment Agency (EEA) and European Commission departments.

Monaco is the country with the highest median age in the world. The population has a median age of around 57 years, which is around six years more than in Japan and Saint Pierre and Miquelon – the other countries that make up the top three. Southern European countries make up a large part of the top 20, with Italy, Slovenia, Greece, San Marino, Andorra, and Croatia all making the list. Low infant mortality means higher life expectancy Monaco and Japan also have the lowest infant mortality rates in the world, which contributes to the calculation of a higher life expectancy because fewer people are dying in the first years of life. Indeed, many of the nations with a high median age also feature on the list of countries with the highest average life expectancy, such as San Marino, Japan, Italy, and Lichtenstein. Demographics of islands and small countries Many smaller countries and island nations have populations with a high median age, such as Guernsey and the Isle of Man, which are both island territories within the British Isles. An explanation for this could be that younger people leave to seek work or education opportunities, while others choose to relocate there for retirement.