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Guide
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 with Greek-speaking
populations. Following the defeat of communist rebels in 1949, Greece
joined NATO in 1952. A military dictatorship, which in 1967 suspended
many political liberties and forced the king to flee the country, lasted
seven years. Democratic elections in 1974 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). |
| 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 |
| Area: |
total: 131,940
sq km
land: 130,800 sq km
water: 1,140 sq km |
| Area
- comparative: |
slightly smaller than Alabama |
| Land
boundaries: |
total: 1,210 km
border countries: Albania 282 km, Bulgaria 494 km, Turkey
206 km, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 228 km |
| Maritime
claims: |
continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
territorial sea: 6 NM |
| 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:
Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Olympus 2,917 m |
| Natural
resources: |
bauxite, lignite, magnesite,
petroleum, marble, hydropower potential |
| Land
use: |
arable land: 19%
permanent crops: 8%
permanent pastures: 41%
forests and woodland: 20%
other: 12% (1993 est.) |
| Irrigated
land: |
13,140 sq km (1993 est.) |
| Natural
hazards: |
severe earthquakes |
| Environment
- current issues: |
air pollution; water
pollution |
| Environment
- international agreements: |
party to: Air
Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94,
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources,
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species,
Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine
Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic
Pollutants, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty,
Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
| 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 |
| Population: |
10,623,835 (July 2001 est.) |
| Age
structure: |
0-14 years:
14.98% (male 820,219; female 771,466)
15-64 years: 67.3% (male 3,580,535; female 3,569,755)
65 years and over: 17.72% (male 834,234; female 1,047,626)
(2001 est.) |
| Population
growth rate: |
0.21% (2001 est.) |
| Birth
rate: |
9.83 births/1,000 population
(2001 est.) |
| Death
rate: |
9.73 deaths/1,000 population
(2001 est.) |
| Net
migration rate: |
1.96 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2001 est.) |
| Sex
ratio: |
at birth: 1.07
male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female
total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
| Infant
mortality rate: |
6.38 deaths/1,000 live births
(2001 est.) |
| Life
expectancy at birth: |
total population:
78.59 years
male: 76.03 years
female: 81.32 years (2001 est.) |
| Total
fertility rate: |
1.33 children born/woman
(2001 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- adult prevalence rate: |
0.16% (1999 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- people living with HIV/AIDS: |
8,000 (1999 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- deaths: |
less than 100 (1999 est.) |
| Nationality: |
noun: Greek(s)
adjective: Greek |
| Ethnic
groups: |
Greek 98%, other 2%
note: the Greek Government states there are no ethnic
divisions in Greece |
| Religions: |
Greek Orthodox 98%, Muslim
1.3%, other 0.7% |
| Languages: |
Greek 99% (official),
English, French |
| Literacy: |
definition: age
15 and over can read and write
total population: 95%
male: 98%
female: 93% (1991 est.) |
| Country
name: |
conventional long form:
Hellenic Republic
conventional short form: Greece
local long form: Elliniki Dhimokratia
local short form: Ellas or Ellada
former: Kingdom of Greece |
| Government
type: |
parliamentary republic;
monarchy rejected by referendum 8 December 1974 |
| Administrative
divisions: |
51 prefectures (nomoi,
singular - nomos)and 1 autonomous region*; Ayion Oros* (Mt. Athos),
Aitolia kai Akarnania, Akhaia, Argolis, Arkadhia, Arta, Attiki,
Dhodhekanisos, Drama, Evritania, Evros, Evvoia, Florina, Fokis, Fthiotis,
Grevena, Ilia, Imathia, Ioannina, Irakleion, Kardhitsa, Kastoria, Kavala,
Kefallinia, Kerkyra, Khalkidhiki, Khania, Khios, Kikladhes, Kilkis,
Korinthia, Kozani, Lakonia, Larisa, Lasithi, Lesvos, Levkas, Magnisia,
Messinia, Pella, Pieria, Preveza, Rethimni, Rodhopi, Samos, Serrai,
Thesprotia, Thessaloniki, Trikala, Voiotia, Xanthi, Zakinthos |
| Independence: |
1829 (from the Ottoman
Empire) |
| National
holiday: |
Independence Day, 25 March
(1821) |
| Constitution: |
11 June 1975; amended March
1986 |
| 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:
President Konstandinos (Kostis) STEPHANOPOULOS (since 10 March 1995)
head of government: Prime Minister Konstandinos SIMITIS
(since 19 January 1996)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the
recommendation of the prime minister
elections: president elected by Parliament for a five-year
term; election last held 8 February 2000 (next to be held by NA March
2005); prime minister appointed by the president
election results: Konstandinos STEPHANOPOULOS reelected
president; percent of Parliament vote - 90% |
| Legislative
branch: |
unicameral Parliament or
Vouli ton Ellinon (300 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote
to serve four-year terms)
elections: elections last held 9 April 2000 (next to be
held by NA April 2004)
election results: percent of vote by party - PASOK 43.8%,
ND 42.7%, KKE 5.5%, Coalition of the Left and Progress 3.2%; seats by
party - PASOK 158, ND 125, KKE 11, Coalition of the Left and Progress 6 |
| 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) [Nikolaos KONSTANDOPOULOS]; Communist Party of
Greece or KKE [Aleka PAPARIGA]; New Democracy or ND (conservative) [Konstandinos
KARAMANLIS]; Panhellenic Socialist Movement or PASOK [Konstandinos
SIMITIS] |
| Political
pressure groups and leaders: |
NA |
| International
organization participation: |
Australia Group, BIS, BSEC,
CCC, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EIB, EMU, EU, FAO, G- 6, IAEA, IBRD,
ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO,
Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, NAM (guest),
NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNOMIG, UPU, WEU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO,
WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC |
| Diplomatic
representation in the US: |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Alexandros PHILON
chancery: 2221 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC
20008
telephone: [1] (202) 939-5800
FAX: [1] (202) 939-5824
consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New
York, and San Francisco
consulate(s): Atlanta, Houston, and New Orleans |
| Diplomatic
representation from the US: |
chief of mission:
Ambassador R. Nicholas BURNS
embassy: 91 Vasilissis Sophias Boulevard, 10160 Athens
mailing address: PSC 108, APO AE 09842-0108
telephone: [30] (1) 721-2951
FAX: [30] (1) 645-6282
consulate(s) general: Thessaloniki |
| 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
- overview: |
Greece has a mixed capitalist
economy with the public sector accounting for about half of GDP. Tourism
is a key industry, providing a large portion of GDP and foreign exchange
earnings. Greece is a major beneficiary of EU aid, equal to about 4% of
GDP. The economy has improved steadily over the last few years, as the
government has tightened policy in the run-up to Greece's entry into the
EU's Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) on 1 January 2001. In particular,
Greece has cut its budget deficit to below 1% of GDP and tightened
monetary policy, with the result that inflation fell from 20% in 1990 to
3.1% in 2000. Major challenges remaining include the reduction of
unemployment and further restructuring of the economy, including the
privatization of some leading state enterprises. Growth, 3.8% in 2000,
may fall off to 3%-3.5% in 2001. |
| GDP: |
purchasing power parity -
$181.9 billion (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- real growth rate: |
3.8% (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- per capita: |
purchasing power parity -
$17,200 (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- composition by sector: |
agriculture:
8.3%
industry: 27.3%
services: 64.4% (1998) |
| Population
below poverty line: |
NA% |
| Household
income or consumption by percentage share: |
lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 25.3% (1993 est.) |
| Inflation
rate (consumer prices): |
3.1% (2000 est.) |
| Labor
force: |
4.32 million (1999 est.) |
| Labor
force - by occupation: |
industry 21%, agriculture
20%, services 59% (2000 est.) |
| Unemployment
rate: |
11.3% (2000 est.) |
| Budget: |
revenues: $45
billion
expenditures: $47.6 billion, including capital expenditures
of $NA (1998 est.) |
| Industries: |
tourism; food and tobacco
processing, textiles; chemicals, metal products; mining, petroleum |
| Industrial
production growth rate: |
7% (2000 est.) |
| Electricity
- production: |
46.432 billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- production by source: |
fossil fuel:
89.6%
hydro: 9.72%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0.68% (1999) |
| Electricity
- consumption: |
43.343 billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- exports: |
1.65 billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- imports: |
1.811 billion kWh (1999) |
| Agriculture
- products: |
wheat, corn, barley, sugar
beets, olives, tomatoes, wine, tobacco, potatoes; beef, dairy products |
| Exports: |
$15.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
| Exports
- commodities: |
manufactured goods, food and
beverages, petroleum products |
| Exports
- partners: |
EU 49% (Germany 15%, Italy
13%, UK 6%), US 6% (1999) |
| Imports: |
$33.9 billion (c.i.f., 2000) |
| Imports
- commodities: |
manufactured goods,
foodstuffs, fuels, chemicals |
| Imports
- partners: |
EU 66% (Italy 15%, Germany
15%, France 9%, UK 6%) (1999) |
| Debt
- external: |
$57 billion (2000 est.) |
| Economic
aid - recipient: |
$5.4 billion from EU (1997
est.) |
| Currency: |
drachma (GRD); euro (EUR)
note: on 1 January 1999, the EU introduced the euro as a
common currency that is now being used by financial institutions in
Greece (which entered the European Monetary Union on 1 January 2001) at
a fixed rate of 340.750 drachmae per euro and will replace the local
currency for all transactions in 2002 |
| Exchange
rates: |
drachmae per US dollar -
380.21 (December 2000), 365.40 (2000), 305.65 (1999), 295.53 (1998),
273.06 (1997), 240.71 (1996) |
| Fiscal
year: |
calendar year |
| Telephones
- main lines in use: |
5.431 million (1997) |
| Telephones
- mobile cellular: |
937,700 (1997) |
| Telephone
system: |
general assessment:
adequate, modern networks reach all areas; good mobile telephone and
international service
domestic: microwave radio relay trunk system; extensive
open wire connections; submarine cable to offshore islands
international: tropospheric scatter; 8 submarine cables;
satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian
Ocean), 1 Eutelsat, and 1 Inmarsat (Indian Ocean region) |
| 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
Service Providers (ISPs): |
27 (2000) |
| Internet
users: |
1.33 million (1999) |
| Railways: |
total: 2,548 km
standard gauge: 1,565 km 1.435-m gauge (36 km electrified;
23 km double track)
narrow gauge: 961 km 1.000-m gauge; 22 km 0.750-m gauge (a
rack-type railway for steep grades) |
| Highways: |
total: 117,000
km
paved: 107,406 km (including 470 km of expressways)
unpaved: 9,594 km (1996) |
| Waterways: |
80 km
note: system consists of three coastal canals including the
Corinth Canal (6 km) which crosses the Isthmus of Corinth connecting the
Gulf of Corinth with the Saronic Gulf and shortens the sea voyage from
the Adriatic to Peiraiefs (Piraeus) by 325 km; there are also three
unconnected rivers |
| Pipelines: |
crude oil 26 km; petroleum
products 547 km |
| Ports
and harbors: |
Alexandroupolis, Elefsis,
Irakleion (Crete), Kavala, Kerkyra, Chalkis, Igoumenitsa, Lavrion,
Patrai, Peiraiefs (Piraeus), Thessaloniki, Volos |
| Merchant
marine: |
total: 780 ships
(1,000 GRT or over) totaling 25,564,988 GRT/44,761,916 DWT
ships by type: bulk 272, cargo 55, chemical tanker 22,
combination bulk 5, combination ore/oil 6, container 51, liquefied gas
5, multi-functional large-load carrier 1, passenger 14, passenger/cargo
2, petroleum tanker 255, refrigerated cargo 3, roll on/roll off 20,
short-sea passenger 63, specialized tanker 5, vehicle carrier 1
note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as
a flag of convenience: South Korea 1, UK 4 (2000 est.) |
| Airports
- with paved runways: |
total: 65
over 3,047 m: 6
2,438 to 3,047 m: 15
1,524 to 2,437 m: 19
914 to 1,523 m: 16
under 914 m: 9 (2000 est.) |
| Airports
- with unpaved runways: |
total: 16
over 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 4
under 914 m: 10 (2000 est.) |
| Military
branches: |
Hellenic Army, Hellenic Navy,
Hellenic Air Force, National Guard, Police |
| Military
manpower - military age: |
21 years of age |
| Military
manpower - availability: |
males age 15-49:
2,673,539 (2001 est.) |
| Military
manpower - fit for military service: |
males age 15-49:
2,040,227 (2001 est.) |
| Military
manpower - reaching military age annually: |
males: 77,976
(2001 est.) |
| Military
expenditures - dollar figure: |
$6.12 billion (FY99/00 est.) |
| Military
expenditures - percent of GDP: |
4.91% (FY99/00 est.) |
| Disputes
- international: |
complex maritime, air, and
territorial disputes with Turkey in Aegean Sea; Cyprus question with
Turkey; dispute with The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia over its
name |
| 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 |
|
