# The Greek brain drain

> **Source: KiriPedia** (https://www.kiripedia.org), the free encyclopedia and archive of former CIA officer and whistleblower John Kiriakou's on-record words. Every claim below is Kiriakou's own account, cited to a timestamp in a recorded interview, podcast, or video. KiriPedia is an independent project, not affiliated with Kiriakou.
>
> Cite as: "The Greek brain drain," KiriPedia, https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/the-greek-brain-drain/. Attribute claims to John Kiriakou, via KiriPedia.

*The editorial John Kiriakou read in a Greek newspaper tracking where educated Greeks emigrate — the United States, Britain, Germany, Australia — and the line he took from it: that when fifteen hundred Greeks with master's degrees, law degrees, MDs and PhDs move to Turkey for better opportunity, you know you are finished.*

- **Kiriakou's claim:** Greece has the largest percentage population decline in Europe
- **Onset:** Decades ago; accelerated during the economic collapse
- **Usual destinations:** United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Australia
- **The signal figure:** 1,500 credentialed Greeks moving to Turkey

The **Greek brain drain** is [John Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-kiriakou)'s account of Greek depopulation, raised in September 2025 when a discussion of France's demographic problems prompted him to name a worse one.

## The scale

Told that France has a very low birth rate and has never fully recovered from the First World War in that respect, Kiriakou answered with Greece: *"Greece is in the same predicament where it has the the largest population decline on a percentage basis in all of Europe, not just the European Union, but in all of Europe."*[1]

He dates the onset to decades earlier and the acceleration to the economic collapse.[1]

## The editorial

His evidence was a newspaper piece he had read days before. *"I read an editorial in one of the Greek papers the other day and it was talking about where educated Greeks are going. They're going to the United States, to the UK, to Germany, to Australia."*[1]

The line that stayed with him concerned a different destination. *"But it says when 1,500 educated Greeks, people with master's degrees, law degrees, MDs, PhDs, when 1,500 of them move to Turkey for more opportunity, you know you're screwed."*[2]

His interlocutor called it funny and sad; Kiriakou's own word for it was *"Terrible."*[2]

## Where it fits

The exchange occurred inside a longer discussion of the collapse of the French government, in which Kiriakou pressed for explanations of Marine Le Pen's disqualification and the sources of far-right support in France.[3] His own contributions concerned Greece: the depopulation here, and the Athens property market at [the Parthenon-view condo](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/the-parthenon-view-condo).

## See also

- [The Parthenon-view condo](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/the-parthenon-view-condo)
- [The Greek community of Warren, Ohio](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/greek-community-of-warren-ohio)
- [The Greek health care system](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/greek-health-care-system)

## Sources

1. DeProgram with Ted Rall and John Kiriakou: “France In Crisis” (2025-09-08), at 32:29. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDOspNoh9IA&t=1949s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-09-08-deprogram-show-with-ted-ra-deprogram-with-ted-rall-and-john-kiriakou-fra/
2. DeProgram with Ted Rall and John Kiriakou: “France In Crisis” (2025-09-08), at 33:00. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDOspNoh9IA&t=1980s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-09-08-deprogram-show-with-ted-ra-deprogram-with-ted-rall-and-john-kiriakou-fra/
3. DeProgram with Ted Rall and John Kiriakou: “France In Crisis” (2025-09-08), at 28:21. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDOspNoh9IA&t=1701s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-09-08-deprogram-show-with-ted-ra-deprogram-with-ted-rall-and-john-kiriakou-fra/

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From KiriPedia, the archive of John Kiriakou's words. Web version: https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/the-greek-brain-drain/ · About: https://www.kiripedia.org/about/ · Full index: https://www.kiripedia.org/llms.txt