This is a tale of the small village of Skafi, which is located some 500 km north of Athens. A man of German origin, who identifies himself only as Yiorgos, waters his garden in his home, carries wood and walks through the village, but without any one accompanying him. Yiorgos is the sole inhabitant of the isolated village.
There was a time when Skafi had a population of about 45 families, but today it is populated by Yiorgos alone in the winter and about a dozen elderly Greeks who come in the summer.
According to a census carried out earlier this year, population in Greece has shrunk by over 1 per cent over the last 10 years. However, as per official U.N. population projections, the world's population is projected to reach 7 billion on Oct. 31, 2011, Reuters reported.
A German man from Hamburg, who identifies himself only as Yiorgos, carries wood in the village of Skafi some 500 kms north of Athens, September 27, 2011. Skafi once had a population of about 45 families but today it is populated by Yiorgos alone in the winter and about a dozen elderly Greeks who come in the summer. Greece's population has shrunk by more than 1 percent over the last 10 years, according to a census carried out earlier this year, thereby bucking the trend of the last few decades. The world's population is projected to reach 7 billion on 31 October, according to official U.N. population projections, presenting what the United Nations Population Fund called both a challenge and an opportunity.REUTERS/Yannis BehrakisA German man from Hamburg, who identifies himself only as Yiorgos, carries hay for his sheep in his home in the village of Skafi some 500 kms north of Athens, September 27, 2011.REUTERS/Yannis BehrakisA German man from Hamburg, who identifies himself only as Yiorgos, waters his garden in his home in the village of Skafi some 500 kms north of Athens, September 27, 2011.REUTERS/Yannis BehrakisA German man from Hamburg, who identifies himself only as Yiorgos, harvests beans in his home in the village of Skafi some 500 kms north of Athens, September 27, 2011.REUTERS/Yannis BehrakisA German man from Hamburg, who identifies himself only as Yiorgos, smokes a cigarette in his home in the village of Skafi some 500 kms north of Athens, September 27, 2011.REUTERS/Yannis BehrakisA German man from Hamburg, who identifies himself only as Yiorgos, smokes a cigarette in his home in the village of Skafi some 500 kms north of Athens, September 27, 2011.REUTERS/Yannis BehrakisA German man from Hamburg, who identifies himself only as Yiorgos, walks through the village of Skafi some 500 kms north of Athens, September 27, 2011.REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis
