Guide to Greece Introduction Background: Greece achieved its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1829. During the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, it gradually added neighboring islands and territories, most with Greek-speaking populations. In World War II, Greece was first invaded by Italy (1940) and subsequently occupied by Germany (1941-44); fighting endured in a protracted civil war between royalist supporters of the king and communist rebels. Following the latter's defeat in 1949, Greece was able to join NATO in 1952. A military dictatorship, which in 1967 suspended many political liberties and forced the king to flee the country, lasted seven years. The 1974 democratic elections and a referendum created a parliamentary republic and abolished the monarchy. Greece joined the European Community or EC in 1981 (which became the EU in 1992); it became the 12th member of the euro zone in 2001.
Geography Location: Southern Europe, bordering the Aegean Sea, Ionian Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea, between Albania and Turkey
Geographic coordinates: 39 00 N, 22 00 E
Map references: Europe
Area: total
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Alabama
Land boundaries: total
Coastline: 13,676 km
Maritime claims: territorial sea
Climate: temperate; mild, wet winters; hot, dry summers
Terrain: mostly mountains with ranges extending into the sea as peninsulas or chains of islands
Elevation extremes: lowest point
Natural resources: lignite, petroleum, iron ore, bauxite, lead, zinc, nickel, magnesite, marble, salt, hydropower potential
Land use: arable land
Irrigated land: 14,220 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: severe earthquakes
Environment - current issues: air pollution; water pollution
Environment - international agreements: party to
Geography - note: strategic location dominating the Aegean Sea and southern approach to Turkish Straits; a peninsular country, possessing an archipelago of about 2,000 islands
People Population: 10,668,354 (July 2005 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years
Median age: total
Population growth rate: 0.19% (2005 est.)
Birth rate: 9.72 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Death rate: 10.15 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Net migration rate: 2.34 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth
Infant mortality rate: total
Life expectancy at birth: total population
Total fertility rate: 1.33 children born/woman (2005 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.2% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 9,100 (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: less than 100 (2003 est.)
Nationality: noun
Ethnic groups: Greek 98%, other 2% note
Religions: Greek Orthodox 98%, Muslim 1.3%, other 0.7%
Languages: Greek 99% (official), English, French
Literacy: definition
People - note: women, men, and children are trafficked to and within Greece for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labor
Government Country name: conventional long form
Government type: parliamentary republic; monarchy rejected by referendum 8 December 1974
Capital: Athens
Administrative divisions: 51 prefectures (nomoi, singular - nomos) and 1 autonomous region*; Agion Oros* (Mt. Athos), Achaia, Aitolia kai Akarmania, Argolis, Arkadia, Arta, Attiki, Chalkidiki, Chanion, Chios, Dodekanisos, Drama, Evros, Evrytania, Evvoia, Florina, Fokidos, Fthiotis, Grevena, Ileia, Imathia, Ioannina, Irakleion, Karditsa, Kastoria, Kavala, Kefallinia, Kerkyra, Kilkis, Korinthia, Kozani, Kyklades, Lakonia, Larisa, Lasithi, Lefkas, Lesvos, Magnisia, Messinia, Pella, Pieria, Preveza, Rethynnis, Rodopi, Samos, Serrai, Thesprotia, Thessaloniki, Trikala, Voiotia, Xanthi, Zakynthos
Independence: 1829 (from the Ottoman Empire)
National holiday: Independence Day, 25 March (1821)
Constitution: 11 June 1975; amended March 1986 and April 2001
Legal system: based on codified Roman law; judiciary divided into civil, criminal, and administrative courts
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Executive branch: chief of state
Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament or Vouli ton Ellinon (300 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections
Judicial branch: Supreme Judicial Court; Special Supreme Tribunal; all judges appointed for life by the president after consultation with a judicial council
Political parties and leaders: Coalition of the Left and Progress (Synaspismos) [Alekos ALAVANOS]; Communist Party of Greece or KKE [Aleka PAPARIGA]; New Democracy or ND (conservative) [Konstandinos KARAMANLIS]; Panhellenic Socialist Movement or PASOK [Yiorgos PAPANDREOU]; Popular Orthodox Rally [Yeoryios KARATZAFERIS]
Political pressure groups and leaders: General Confederation of Greek Workers or GSEE [Khristos POLYZOGOPOLOS]; Federation of Greek Industries or SEV [Odysseas KYRIAKOPOULOS]; Civil Servants Confederation or ADEDY [Spyros PAPASPYROS]
International organization participation: Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, EU, FAO, G- 6, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNOMIG, UPU, WCO, WEU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission
Flag description: nine equal horizontal stripes of blue alternating with white; there is a blue square in the upper hoist-side corner bearing a white cross; the cross symbolizes Greek Orthodoxy, the established religion of the country
Economy Economy - overview: Greece has a capitalist economy with the public sector accounting for about 40% of GDP and with per capita GDP 70% of the leading euro-zone economies. Tourism provides 15% of GDP. Immigrants make up nearly one-fifth of the work force, mainly in menial jobs. Greece is a major beneficiary of EU aid, equal to about 3.3% of annual GDP. The Greek economy grew by about 4.0% for the past two years, largely because of an investment boom and infrastructure upgrades for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. Despite strong growth, Greece has failed to meet the EU's Growth and Stability Pact budget deficit criteria of 3% of GDP since 2000; public debt, inflation, and unemployment are also above the eurozone average. Further restructuring of the economy will need to include privatizing of several state enterprises, undertaking pension and other reforms, and minimizing bureaucratic inefficiencies.
GDP (purchasing power parity): $226.4 billion (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 3.7% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $21,300 (2004 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture
Labor force: 4.4 million (2004 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 12%, industry 20%, services 68% (2004 est.)
Unemployment rate: 10% (2004 est.)
Population below poverty line: NA
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%
Distribution of family income - Gini index: 35.4 (1998)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.9% (2004 est.)
Investment (gross fixed): 27% of GDP (2004 est.)
Budget: revenues
Public debt: 112% of GDP (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products: wheat, corn, barley, sugar beets, olives, tomatoes, wine, tobacco, potatoes; beef, dairy products
Industries: tourism; food and tobacco processing, textiles; chemicals, metal products; mining, petroleum
Industrial production growth rate: 4.1% (2004 est.)
Electricity - production: 47.22 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel
Electricity - consumption: 47.42 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports: 1.1 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports: 4.6 billion kWh (2002)
Oil - production: 5,992 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption: 405,700 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports: 84,720 bbl/day (2001)
Oil - imports: 468,300 bbl/day (2001)
Oil - proved reserves: 4.5 million bbl (1 January 2002)
Natural gas - production: 35 million cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - consumption: 2.021 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - exports: 0 cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - imports: 2.018 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves: 254.9 million cu m (1 January 2002)
Current account balance: $-8 billion (2004 est.)
Exports: $15.5 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Exports - commodities: food and beverages, manufactured goods, petroleum products, chemicals, textiles
Exports - partners: Germany 13.2%, Italy 10.3%, UK 7.5%, Bulgaria 6.3%, US 5.3%, Cyprus 4.6%, Turkey 4.5%, France 4.2% (2004)
Imports: $54.28 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities: machinery, transport equipment, fuels, chemicals
Imports - partners: Germany 13.3%, Italy 12.8%, France 6.4%, Netherlands 5.5%, Russia 5.5%, US 4.4%, UK 4.2%, South Korea 4.1% (2004)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $7.3 billion (2004 est.)
Debt - external: $67.23 billion (2004 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: $8 billion from EU (2000-06)
Currency (code): euro (EUR) note
Currency code: EUR
Exchange rates: euros per US dollar - 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Telephones - main lines in use: 5,205,100 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 8,936,200 (2003)
Telephone system: general assessment
Radio broadcast stations: AM 26, FM 88, shortwave 4 (1998)
Radios: 5.02 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 36 (plus 1,341 low-power repeaters); also two stations in the US Armed Forces Radio and Television Service (1995)
Televisions: 2.54 million (1997)
Internet country code: .gr
Internet hosts: 208,977 (2004)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 27 (2000)
Internet users: 1,718,400 (2003)
Transportation Railways: total
Highways: total
Waterways: 6 km note
Pipelines: gas 1,166 km; oil 94 km (2004)
Ports and harbors: Agioitheodoroi, Aspropyrgos, Irakleion, Pachi, Peiraiefs, Thessaloniki
Merchant marine: total
Airports: 80 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total
Airports - with unpaved runways: total
Heliports: 7 (2004 est.)
Military Military branches: Hellenic Army, Hellenic Navy, Hellenic Air Force (Polemiki Aeroporia, EPA)
Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age for compulsory military service; during wartime the law allows for recruitment after reaching January of the year of inductee's 18th birthday, thus including 17 year olds; 17 years of age for volunteers; conscript service obligation - 12 months for the Army and Air Force, 15 months for Navy (2005)
Manpower available for military service: males age 18-49
Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49
Manpower reaching military service age annually: males
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $5.89 billion (2004)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 4.3% (2003)
Transnational Issues Disputes - international: Greece and Turkey continue discussions to resolve their complex maritime, air, territorial, and boundary disputes in the Aegean Sea; Cyprus question with Turkey; Greece rejects the use of the name Macedonia or Republic of Macedonia
Illicit drugs: a gateway to Europe for traffickers smuggling cannabis and heroin from the Middle East and Southwest Asia to the West and precursor chemicals to the East; some South American cocaine transits or is consumed in Greece; money laundering related to drug trafficking and organized crime
Last updated: 20 October, 2005
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