Schools close and island life is under threat as Greece reckons with low birth rates

"The school day is just getting started, and 4-year-old Vasiliki Vourgou, a little girl with dark eyes and hair pulled back in a shiny ponytail with a hot pink scrunchie, is alone. Most days, there are two pupils in this small classroom on the Greek island of Lemnos, with big windows and a view of the school's front courtyard. But one student is sick, so today it's just Vasiliki, going through the morning routine with her teacher."

"Lemnos, in the northern Aegean, is home to roughly 16,000 people spread across a few dozen small villages. Vasiliki's school, in the small village of Thanos, is one of many in Greece that's facing declining student numbers, as younger people move away and those who stay have fewer children. Vasiliki's father, Stelios Vourgos, works long hours as a shepherd, but he can't imagine raising Vasiliki and her baby brother anywhere else."

Global declines in family size and youth out-migration are reducing student populations and altering community life. On Lemnos, many small village schools have only one or two preschool children, and some classrooms are empty when pupils are sick. Young people leaving islands and rural areas, combined with lower birth rates among those who remain, risk school closures. Local parents value island life for upbringing and employment, yet fear that shuttered schools would undermine community viability and encourage further departures. Reduced class sizes limit socialization opportunities for children and complicate efforts to maintain educational resources.

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