Primary school enrollment in Greece has fallen to its lowest point in over a decade, according to new figures from Eurostat. The country counted 566,659 pupils in primary schools in 2024, the lowest total in Eurostat’s data going back to 2013.
The decline has been steady rather than sudden. Enrollment climbed through the middle of the last decade, reaching a high of 649,246 pupils in 2017. Since then, the number of children in Greek primary schools has dropped every year, falling by nearly 83,000 pupils, or about 13 percent, in seven years.
Compared with 2014 figures, primary school enrollment in Greece declined by roughly 10 percent over the decade.
Primary school enrollment trends across Greece and the EU
Greece’s shrinking classrooms stand in contrast to broader trends across the European Union. Eurostat reported that the bloc as a whole had 23.2 million primary school pupils in 2024, a figure that has grown nearly 3 percent since 2014 even though it slipped slightly from 2023.
In 2024, 23.2 million pupils were in primary education in the EU.📚🧑🏫
Largest number of pupils in:
🇫🇷France (4.1 million)
🇩🇪Germany (3.3 million)
🇪🇸Spain (2.8 million)Lowest in:
🇲🇹Malta (27 537)
🇱🇺Luxembourg (43 020)
🇨🇾Cyprus (60 596)👉https://t.co/yhLNzlmDri#ILD2026 pic.twitter.com/ny1TAJx7gD
— EU_Eurostat (@EU_Eurostat) September 8, 2026
France had the largest primary school population in the EU last year at 4.1 million, followed by Germany, Spain and Italy. Malta, Luxembourg and Cyprus reported the smallest numbers.
Eurostat noted that enrollment totals reflect more than birth rates alone. Population size, the age structure of a country and rules about when children must start school all shape how many pupils show up in the data each year.
Among EU countries with comparable figures, 15 saw enrollment rise since 2014 while 11, including Greece, saw it fall. Luxembourg and Slovenia posted the largest gains, while Poland, Croatia and Portugal recorded the steepest declines.
Greece reports Europe’s lowest pupil-teacher ratio
One area where Greece stands out is classroom staffing. The country reported 7.4 pupils per teacher in 2024, the lowest ratio in the European Union alongside Luxembourg’s 8.2. Those were the only two EU countries with a ratio below 10.
The EU average, known as the “pupil-teacher ratio,” stood at 13.3 last year, down from 14.2 in 2014, a decline Eurostat linked to enrollment falling faster than the number of teachers in many member states.
Bulgaria and Slovenia posted the sharpest declines in that ratio over the decade, while Austria’s held steady at 12 pupils per teacher throughout the period, and Lithuania’s ratio rose more than most, climbing from 10.2 to 13.7.
See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!
