Reference metadata describe statistical concepts and methodologies used for the collection and generation of data. They provide information on data quality and, since they are strongly content-oriented, assist users in interpreting the data. Reference metadata, unlike structural metadata, can be decoupled from the data.
Total usually resident population for the purposes of qualified majority voting in the Council.
3.2. Classification system
Not applicable.
3.3. Coverage - sector
Total usually resident population at national level.
3.4. Statistical concepts and definitions
Usually resident population means all persons having their usual residence in a Member State at the reference time (31 December 2024).
Live birth means the birth of a child who breathes or shows any other evidence of life, such as beating of the heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord or definite movement of voluntary muscles, regardless of gestational age.
Death means the permanent disappearance of all evidence of life at any time after live birth has taken place (post-natal cessation of vital functions without capability of resuscitation).
Immigrant is meant to be a person which establishes his or her usual residence in the territory of a Member State for a period that is, or is expected to be, of at least 12 months, having previously been usually resident in another Member State or a third country.
Emigrant is meant to be a person which, having previously been usually resident in the territory of a Member State, ceases to have his or her usual residence in that Member State for a period that is, or is expected to be, of at least 12 months.
3.5. Statistical unit
Number of persons.
3.6. Statistical population
The total usually resident population at Country level.
According to Regulation (EU) No 1260/2013 on European demographic statistics, article 2(c) and 2(d), ‘Usual residence’ means the place where a person normally spends the daily period of rest, regardless of temporary absences for purposes of recreation, holidays, visits to friends and relatives, business, medical treatment or religious pilgrimage. The following persons alone shall be considered to be usual residents of a specific geographical area:
those who have lived in their place of usual residence for a continuous period of at least 12 months before the reference time; or
those who arrived in their place of usual residence during the 12 months before the reference time with the intention of staying there for at least one year.
3.7. Reference area
Data are available at national level.
3.8. Coverage - Time
The total usually resident population is available in the context of the Regulation (EU) 1260/2013 starting with the reference date 31 December 2013 (published by Eurostat as 1 January 2014).
3.9. Base period
Not applicable.
Counts of statistical units (persons).
The reference date for population data is the end of the reference period (midnight of 31 December 2024).
The reference period for vital events data is the calendar year in which the events occurred. The reference period for migration flow data is the calendar year in which the migration occurred.
6.1. Institutional Mandate - legal acts and other agreements
The legal framework governing the organisation and operation of ELSTAT is as follows:
Greek Statistical Law No 3832/2010, as in force;
Regulation on the Operation and Administration of the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT), 2012 (Government Gazette 2390 B, 28 August2012) and its amendment (Government Gazette 6314 B, 06 November 2023);
Regulation on the Statistical Obligations of the agencies of the Hellenic Statistical System (Government Gazette 4083 Β, 20 December 2016);
Greek Commitment on Confidence in Statistics (Government Gazette 40 A, 29 February 2012);
Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European statistics, as amended by Regulation (EU) 2015/759;
European Statistics Code of Practice (CoP) - revised edition 2017;
REGULATION (EU) 2016/679 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation - GDPR);
Presidential Decree 73/2019 (Government Gazette No 114, Issue Α,04 July 2019): “Organization of the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT)” (Available only in Greek);
Law 4624/2019 (Government Gazette Α΄137 / 29 August 2019) “ Hellenic Data Protection Authority, measures implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 for the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and transposition (into national law) Directive (EU) 2016/680 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 and other provisions " (Available only in Greek).
Population statistics are compiled in the framework of Regulation (EU) No 1260/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 November 2013 on European demographic statistics.
6.2. Institutional Mandate - data sharing
Not applicable.
7.1. Confidentiality - policy
The issues concerning the observance of statistical confidentiality by the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) are arranged by articles 7, 8 and 9 of the Law 3832/2010 as in force, by Articles 8, 10 and 11(2) of the Regulation on Statistical Obligations of the agencies of the Hellenic Statistical System and by Articles 10 and 15 of the Regulation on the Operation and Administration of ELSTAT.
More precisely: ELSTAT disseminates the statistics in compliance with the statistical principles of the European Statistics Code of Practice and in particular with the principle of statistical confidentiality.
Protection of personal data
ELSTAT abides by the commitments and obligations arising from the applicable EU and national legislation on the protection of the individual from the processing of personal data and the relevant decisions, guidelines and regulatory acts of the Hellenic Data Protection Authority.
Pursuant to the Regulation on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data [Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 (General Data Protection Regulation - GDPR)], ELSTAT implements the appropriate technical and organisational measures for ensuring adequate level of security against risks for the personal data it collects and has access to, in the context of carrying out its tasks, in order to meet the requirements of this Regulation and to protect these personal data from any unauthorised access or illegal processing.
The personal data collected by ELSTAT are used exclusively for purposes related to the conduct of surveys and the production of relevant statistics. Only ELSTAT has access to the data. The controller is the person appointed by law pursuant to the relevant provisions concerning the Legal Entities of Public Law and the Independent Authorities. The data are stored in the databases of ELSTAT for as long as required by the relevant legislation.
ELSTAT protects and does not disseminate data it has obtained or it has access to, which enable the direct or indirect identification of the statistical units that have provided them by the disclosure of individual information directly received for statistical purposes or indirectly supplied from administrative or other sources. ELSTAT takes all appropriate preventive measures so as to render impossible the identification of individual statistical units by technical or other means that might reasonably be used by a third party. Statistical data that could potentially enable the identification of the statistical unit are disseminated by ELSTAT if and only if:
these data have been treated, as it is specifically set out in the Regulation on Statistical Obligations of the agencies of the Hellenic Statistical System (ELSS), in such a way that their dissemination does not prejudice statistical confidentiality; or
the statistical unit has given its consent, without any reservations, for the disclosure of data.
The confidential data that are transmitted by ELSS agencies to ELSTAT are used exclusively for statistical purposes and the only persons who have the right to have access to these data are the personnel engaged in this task and appointed by an act of the President of ELSTAT.
ELSTAT may grant researchers conducting statistical analyses for scientific purposes access to data that enable the indirect identification of the statistical units concerned. The access is granted provided the following conditions are satisfied:
an appropriate request together with a detailed research proposal in conformity with current scientific standards have been submitted;
the research proposal indicates in sufficient detail the set of data to be accessed, the methods of analyzing them, and the time needed for the research;
a contract specifying the conditions for access, the obligations of the researchers, the measures for respecting the confidentiality of statistical data and the sanctions in case of breach of these obligations has been signed by the individual researcher, by his/her institution, or by the organization commissioning the research, as the case may be, and by ELSTAT.
Issues referring to the observance of statistical confidentiality are examined by the Statistical Confidentiality Committee (SCC) operating in ELSTAT. The responsibilities of this Committee are to make recommendations to the President of ELSTAT on:
the level of detail at which statistical data can be disseminated, so as the identification, either directly or indirectly, of the surveyed statistical unit is not possible;
the anonymization criteria for the microdata provided to users;
the granting to researchers access to confidential data for scientific purposes.
The staff of ELSTAT, under any employment status, as well as the temporary survey workers who are employed for the collection of statistical data in statistical surveys conducted by ELSTAT, who acquire access by any means to confidential data, are bound by the principle of confidentiality and must use these data exclusively for the statistical purposes of ELSTAT. After the termination of their term of office, they are not allowed to use these data for any purpose.
Violation of data confidentiality and/or statistical confidentiality by any civil servant or employee of ELSTAT constitutes the disciplinary offence of violation of duty and may be punished with the penalty of final dismissal.
ELSTAT, by its decision, may impose a penalty amounting from ten thousand (10,000) up to two hundred thousand (200,000) euros to anyone who violates the confidentiality of data and/or statistical confidentiality. The penalty is always imposed after the hearing of the defense of the person liable for the breach, depending on the gravity and the repercussions of the violation. Any relapse constitutes an aggravating factor for the assessment of the administrative sanction.
Pursuant to the Regulation on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data [Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council, of 27 April 2016 (General Data Protection Regulation - GDPR)], ELSTAT implements the appropriate technical and organisational measures for ensuring adequate level of security against risks for the personal data it collects and has access to, in the context of carrying out its tasks, in order to meet the requirements of this Regulation and to protect these personal data from any unauthorised access or illegal processing.
8.1. Release calendar
Data on Vital events is announced 9 months after the reference year (based on the year event) and data on population and migration is announced 12 months after end of the reference year.
8.2. Release calendar access
Users are informed on data release dates through ELSTAT’s website (Release calendar).
8.3. Release policy - user access
The dissemination is public, users are informed that the data are being released by the website release calendar.
All users have access to statistical data at the same time and there is no press-briefing before the release of the data.
Annual.
10.1. Dissemination format - News release
Usually, the press release regarding Vital Statistics is announced at the end of September, each year, by means of a pdf file and updated time series on excel files.
The press release on migration and population data is disseminated at the end of the year, 12 months after the reference date.
10.2. Dissemination format - Publications
Two digital publications contain among others population data and indices and are published on the website of ELSTAT:
The Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) aims to ensure and further improve the quality of statistics produced and maintain the confidence of users in them. This is achieved through the Quality Policy of ELSTAT which is posted on the website of ELSTAT and is available at the following website (Policies).
11.2. Quality management - assessment
1. Nationals
Type of duration of stay when counting a person with national citizenship as an usual resident with a minimum duration of stay of 12 months according to Art. 2(d) of Reg. 1260/2013.
1. Actual
2. Intended
3. Actual and intended
4. Other. Please specify below:
No
No
Yes
No
2. EEA Citizens
Type of duration of stay when counting a person with EEA citizenship as an usual resident with a minimum duration of stay of 12 months according to Art. 2(d) of Reg. 1260/2013.
1. Actual
2. Intended
3. Actual and intended
4. Other. Please specify below:
No
No
Yes
No
3. NON-EEA Citizens
Type of duration of stay when counting a person with non-EEA foreign citizenship as an usual resident with a minimum duration of stay of 12 months according to Art. 2(d) of Reg. 1260/2013.
1. Actual
2. Intended
3. Actual and intended
4. Other. Please specify below:
No
No
Yes
No
Concepts, definitions and methodology follow European and international standards and guidelines.
12.1. Relevance - User Needs
The usually resident population figures collected from the EU Member States under the Article 4 of the Regulation (EU) 1260/2013 are primarily used for the purposes of the Qualified Majority Voting in the Council of the EU.
According to the Council's Rules of Procedure the population figures to be used are amended every year and published in a Council Decision.
12.2. Relevance - User Satisfaction
Not applicable.
12.3. Completeness
Data transmitted as requested in Art. 4.1 of Reg. 1260/2013.
13.1. Accuracy - overall
Regarding vital events data are administrative and overall accurate. Regarding immigration administrative sources cover two seperate parts of immigration, asylum seekers in general and temporary protection from Ukraine seekers.
Immigration is estimated taking into account GDP annual change and immigration of the year before. Documantation is available. According to the definition, a part of the refugees who have stayed in the country is included.
Similar to immigration, there are not administrative sources for emmigration and therefore the total is estimated by a mathemathical formula.
More details are available in the Annex file.
13.2. Sampling error
Not applicable.
13.3. Non-sampling error
Not applicable.
14.1. Timeliness
For the purposes of qualified majority voting in the Council, Member States shall provide the Commission (Eurostat) with data on the total population at national level at the reference time, in accordance with Article 2 ( c ), within eight months of the end of the reference year.
14.2. Punctuality
ELSTAT transmits data on usualy resident population for the Qualified Majority Voting within the deadline.
15.1. Comparability - geographical
The definition of 'usual residence' for population ensures geographical comparability with other EU members.
15.2. Comparability - over time
Population at the end of 2024 is comparable with population estimates which have been produced based on the 2021 Population Census results, that is 2021, 2022 and 2023.
15.3. Coherence - cross domain
The population figures in the framework of demography domain may differ from those available in other domains such as National Accounts, Labour Force Survey or in the survey on Income and Living Conditions, due to differences in the population coverage.
15.4. Coherence - internal
The concept of usually resident population is applied for all population statistics.
Not applicable.
17.1. Data revision - policy
The general revision policy of ELSTAT is available on the portal of ELSTAT.
Vital data are derived from the civil registries. Immigration data are derived from Census collections, and immigration totals are estimated using an estimation equation based on GDP growth. Emigration is estimated using imigration from Greece official data of Germany. For both immigration and emigration flows, available administrative data on refugees and asylum or temporary protection seekers are used.
18.2. Frequency of data collection
Annual.
18.3. Data collection
Vital data are drawn from Ministry of Interior, records are codified for occupation, undergo quality controls and validated.
18.4. Data validation
Vital data are validated after exhaustive quality checks.
18.5. Data compilation
The compilation methodology and process is presented in the annex.
Total usually resident population for the purposes of qualified majority voting in the Council.
28 August 2025
Usually resident population means all persons having their usual residence in a Member State at the reference time (31 December 2024).
Live birth means the birth of a child who breathes or shows any other evidence of life, such as beating of the heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord or definite movement of voluntary muscles, regardless of gestational age.
Death means the permanent disappearance of all evidence of life at any time after live birth has taken place (post-natal cessation of vital functions without capability of resuscitation).
Immigrant is meant to be a person which establishes his or her usual residence in the territory of a Member State for a period that is, or is expected to be, of at least 12 months, having previously been usually resident in another Member State or a third country.
Emigrant is meant to be a person which, having previously been usually resident in the territory of a Member State, ceases to have his or her usual residence in that Member State for a period that is, or is expected to be, of at least 12 months.
Number of persons.
The total usually resident population at Country level.
According to Regulation (EU) No 1260/2013 on European demographic statistics, article 2(c) and 2(d), ‘Usual residence’ means the place where a person normally spends the daily period of rest, regardless of temporary absences for purposes of recreation, holidays, visits to friends and relatives, business, medical treatment or religious pilgrimage. The following persons alone shall be considered to be usual residents of a specific geographical area:
those who have lived in their place of usual residence for a continuous period of at least 12 months before the reference time; or
those who arrived in their place of usual residence during the 12 months before the reference time with the intention of staying there for at least one year.
Data are available at national level.
The reference date for population data is the end of the reference period (midnight of 31 December 2024).
The reference period for vital events data is the calendar year in which the events occurred. The reference period for migration flow data is the calendar year in which the migration occurred.
Regarding vital events data are administrative and overall accurate. Regarding immigration administrative sources cover two seperate parts of immigration, asylum seekers in general and temporary protection from Ukraine seekers.
Immigration is estimated taking into account GDP annual change and immigration of the year before. Documantation is available. According to the definition, a part of the refugees who have stayed in the country is included.
Similar to immigration, there are not administrative sources for emmigration and therefore the total is estimated by a mathemathical formula.
More details are available in the Annex file.
Counts of statistical units (persons).
The compilation methodology and process is presented in the annex.
Vital data are derived from the civil registries. Immigration data are derived from Census collections, and immigration totals are estimated using an estimation equation based on GDP growth. Emigration is estimated using imigration from Greece official data of Germany. For both immigration and emigration flows, available administrative data on refugees and asylum or temporary protection seekers are used.
Annual.
For the purposes of qualified majority voting in the Council, Member States shall provide the Commission (Eurostat) with data on the total population at national level at the reference time, in accordance with Article 2 ( c ), within eight months of the end of the reference year.
The definition of 'usual residence' for population ensures geographical comparability with other EU members.
Population at the end of 2024 is comparable with population estimates which have been produced based on the 2021 Population Census results, that is 2021, 2022 and 2023.
