greece facts and information

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Ba c k g r o u n d: Greece achieved independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1829. During the second half of the 19th century and the firsthalf 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 warbetween supporters of the king and Communist rebels. Following the latter's defeat in 1949, Greece joined NATO in 1952. A militarydictatorship, which in 1967 suspended many political liberties and forced the king to flee the country, lasted seven years. The 1974democratic elections and a referendum created a parliamentary republic and abolished the monarchy. In 1981 Greece joined the EC (nowthe EU); it became the 12th member of the euro zone in 2001.

Co m m o n Na m e : Greece Local Of f ic ia l Name: Ellas or Ellada

Ab b r e v ia t e d Na m e: Hellenic Republic Of f ic ia l Name: Elliniki Dhimokratia

Of f ic ia l Sc r ip t Nam e: Greece Loca l Comm on Nam e: Greece

For m e r Na m e: Kingdom of Greece Ter r i t o ry o f : NA

Head o f S ta te: President Karolos PAPOULIAS

Go v e r n m e n t Ty p e: parliamentary republic

I n d e p en d e n c e: 1829 (from the Ottoman Empire)

Const i t u t ion : 1975 June 11; amended 1986 March and 2001 April

Nat iona l Ho l iday : Independence Day, 25 March

I n te rn a t iona l Organ iza t ion Par t ic ipa t ion : 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, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO,NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIF, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, SECI, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD,UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIS, UNOMIG, UPU, WCO, WEU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC

Ad m in i s t r a t i v e D i v i si o n s: 51 prefectures (nomoi, singular - nomos) and 1 autonomous region*; Achaia, Agion Oros* (Mt. Athos), Aitoliakai Akarnania, 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

Dependent Areas: NA

Legal System : based on codified Roman law; judiciary divided into civil, criminal, and administrative courts; accepts compulsory ICJjurisdiction, with reservations

Su f f r a g e: 18 years

Execut iv e , Leg is la t ive and Jud ic ia l Branches: Executive Branch: chief of state: President Karolos PAPOULIAS (since 12 March 2005)head of government: Prime Minister Konstandinos (Kostas) KARAMANLIS (since 7 March 2004) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the presidenton the recommendation of the prime minister elections: president elected by parliament for a five-year term (eligible for a second term);election last held 8 February 2005 (next to be held by February 2010); according to the Greek Constitution, presidents may only serve twoterms; president appoints leader of the party securing plurality of vote in election to become prime minister and form a governmentelection results: Karolos PAPOULIAS elected president; number of parlimentary votes, 279 out of 300 Legislative Branch: unicameralParliament or Vouli ton Ellinon (300 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: elections lastheld 7 March 2004 (next to be held by March 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - ND 45.4%, PASOK 40.6%, KKE 5.9%,Synaspismos 3.3%; seats by party - ND 165, PASOK 117, KKE 12, Synaspismos 6 Judicial Branch: Supreme Judicial Court; SpecialSupreme Tribunal; all judges appointed for life by the president after consultation with a judicial council

Par t y Leaders: Coalition of the Left and Progress (Synaspismos) [Alekos ALAVANOS]; Communist Party of Greece or KKE [AlekaPAPARIGA]; New Democracy or ND (conservative) [Konstandinos KARAMANLIS]; Panhellenic Socialist Movement or PASOK [YiorgosPAPANDREOU]; Popular Orthodox Rally or LAOS [Yeoryios KARATZAFERIS]

I n t e r n a t i o n a l D is p u t e s: Greece and Turkey continue discussions to resolve their complex maritime, air, territorial, and boundarydisputes in the Aegean Sea; Cyprus question with Turkey; Greece rejects the use of the name Macedonia or Republic of Macedonia

I l l i ci t D r u g s: a gateway to Europe for traffickers smuggling cannabis and heroin from the Middle East and Southwest Asia to the West andprecursor chemicals to the East; some South American cocaine transits or is consumed in Greece; money laundering related to drugtrafficking and organized crime

GREEK GEOGRAPHY

Locat ion of Greece: Southern Europe, bordering the Aegean Sea, Ionian Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea, between Albania and Turkey

ce Facts and Information http://www.phrasebase.com/english/countries/g

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Cont inen t: Europe Land Area To ta l: 131,940 sq km

Region : Eastern Europe Land Area Land : 130,800 sq km

Capit o l Ci ty : Athens Land Ar ea Water : 1,140 sq km

Current: +2

Lat i t ude : 039 00 N Border Boundary Land : 1,228 km

L o n g i t u d e: 022 00 E Border Boundar y Coas t l ine: 13,676 km

Arab le Land : 20.45 % Pastures: 0.00 %

Crops: 8.59 % Woodlands and Fores ts: 0.00

Highes t Eleva t ion : 2,917 m Locat ion : Mount Olympus

Lowest Eleva t ion : 0 m Locat ion : Mediterranean Sea

Larges t C i t y in Greece: Athens Athens Larges t C i t y Popu la t ion : 3,112,000

Threa tened Spec ies: 66

En v i r o n m e n t a l I s s u e s: air pollution; water pollution

En v i r o n m e n t a l Ag r e e m e n t s: party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Antarctic-EnvironmentalProtocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol,

Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone LayerProtection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent OrganicPollutants, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds

I r r i g a t e d La n d : 14,530

Border ing Count r ies: Albania 282 km, Bulgaria 494 km, Turkey 206 km, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 246 km

Natura l Resources: lignite, petroleum, iron ore, bauxite, lead, zinc, nickel, magnesite, marble, salt, hydropower potential

Geograp h ica l Ter ra in : mostly mountains with ranges extending into the sea as peninsulas or chains of islands

Comp ara t ive Area o f Greece: slightly smaller than Alabama

Greece ' s Geograph y : strategic location dominating the Aegean Sea and southern approach to Turkish Straits; a peninsular country,possessing an archipelago of about 2,000 islands

GREEK CLI MATE

Click Her e for detailed information about the weather conditions in Greece.

General Cl imate: temperate; mild, wet winters; hot, dry summers

Natura l Hazards: severe earthquakes

GREEK ECONOMY

Economic Overv iew : Greece has a capitalist economy with the public sector accounting for about 40% of GDP and with per capita GDP atleast 75% 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 about4.0% for the between 2003 and 2005, largely because of an investment boom and infrastructure upgrades for the 2004 Athens OlympicGames. Economic growth slowed to about 3% in 2005. Greece has not met the EU's Growth and Stability Pact budget deficit criteria of 3%of GDP since 2000. Public debt, inflation, and unemployment are above the euro-zone average. To overcome these challenges, the GreekGovernment is expected to continue cutting government spending, reducing the size of the public sector, and reforming the labor and

pension systems.

GD P: 238 200 000 000 USD Cur renc : euro


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GDP per Capi t a: $22,300 USD Currency Code: EUR

GDP Growt h Rate: 3.70 % One $USD Equals: %fincurrencyequals% EUR

Cur r ency Exchange Rate H is to ry : euros per US dollar - 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001)

GDP o f Agr icu l t u re : 5.40 % GDP of I n d u s t r y : 21.30 %

GDP of Serv ices: 73.30 %

I n f l a t i o n Ra t e: 3.50 % Popu la t ion in Pover t y : 0.00 %

Un e m p lo y m e n t Rat e: 9.90 % Tour ism : 12,164,000.00 visitors each year

Co n s u m p t i o n b y l o w e s t 1 0 % : 3.00 % Budget Revenu e in USD: $94,130,000,000 USD

Co n s u m p t i o n b y u p p e r 1 0 % : 28.30 % Budget Expend i t u res in USD: $103,400,000,000 USD

Elec t r ic i t y Produc t ion : 54,560,000,000 kWh Elec t r ic i t y Expor t s: 2,100,000,000 kWh

Elec t r ic i t y Consump t ion : 53,500,000,000 kWh Ele c t r i ci t y I m p o r t s : 4,200,000,000 kWh

Electricity Production by Source:

Foss i l Fue l Elec t r ic i t y Produc t ion : 91.53% Nuc lear E lec t r ic i t y Produc t ion : 0.00%

Hydro E lect r ic i t y Produ c t ion : 6.60% Other E lec t r ic i t y Produc t ion : 1.87%

Oi l Produc t ion : 5,805 barrels per day Natura l Gas Produc t ion : 2,018,000,000 cu m

Oi l Consum pt ion : 435,700 barrels per day Natura l Gas Consum pt ion : 991,100,000 cu m

Oil Expor ts: 84,720 barrels per day Natura l Gas Expor t s: 0 cu m

Oi l I m p o r t s: 468,300 barrels per day Na t u r a l Ga s I m p o r t s: 2,018,000,000 cu m

Proven Oi l Reserves: 4,500,000 barrels Proven Natu ra l Gas Reserves : 991,100,000 cu m

Extern a l Debt : $75,180,000,000 USD Rece ived in economic a id : $8,000,000,000 USD

Donated in economic a id : $0 USD

Agr icu l t u ra l Produc ts: wheat, corn, barley, sugar beets, olives, tomatoes, wine, tobacco, potatoes; beef, dairy products

Pr im a r y I n d u s t r i e s: tourism, food and tobacco processing, textiles, chemicals, metal products; mining, petroleum

I n d u s t r i a l Gr o w t h Ra t e: -0.30 %

I m p o r t A m o u n t i n U S D: $48,200,000,000 USD - machinery, transport equipment, fuels, chemicals

I m p o r t Pa r t n e r s: Germany 12.7%, Italy 12.4%, Russia 7.8%, France 5.7%, Netherlands 5.5%, Saudi Arabia 4.1%

Ex p o r t Am o u n t i n USD: $12,500,000,000 USD - food and beverages, manufactured goods, petroleum products, chemicals, textiles

Expor t Par tn ers: EU 44% (Germany 12%, Italy 9%, UK 6%), US 5%

GI N I I n d e x : 35.10%

Labor Force Num ber o f Peop le: 4,720,000

Labor Force by Occupat ions: industry 20%, agriculture 12%, services 68%

GREEK COMMUNI CATI ONS

Radio Broadcas t S ta t ions: 118 Num ber o f Peop le w i th Rad ios: 5,020,000

Te lev is ion Br oadcas t S ta t ions : 36 Num ber o f Peop le w i th Te lev is ions : 2,540,000


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2,147,483,647

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I n t e r n e t Se r v i c e Pr o v id e r s: 414,724 I n t e r n e t Us er s: 3,800,000

I n t e r n e t Cou n t r y Co d e: .gr Ne ws p a p e r s: 153

Two Le t te r Count ry Code: GR Weight s and Measures:

Phone Count r y Code: 30 Elec t r ic i t y Vo l tage: 220 Volts

Te lephon e Sys tem s: general assessment: adequate, modern networks reach all areas; good mobile telephone and international servicedomestic: microwave radio relay trunk system; extensive open-wire connections; submarine cable to offshore islands international:country code - 30; tropospheric scatter; 8 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), 1Eutelsat, and 1 Inmarsat (Indian Ocean region)

GREEK TRANSPORTATI ON

H i g h w a y s: 106,920 km Railw ays: 2,571 km

Gas And Oi l Pipel in es: 1,260 km W a t e r w a y s: 6 km

A i r p o r t s: 66 Hel ipor t s : 8

Motor Veh ic les: 375 per 1,000 people CO2 Emission s: 100,449,000 Metric Tons of CO2 per year

Per cap i ta CO2 emiss ions : 7.60 Metric Tons of CO2 per year

Merchant Mar ines: total: 817 ships (1000 GRT or over) 31,895,832 GRT/54,341,584 DWT by type: bulk carrier 270, cargo 61, chemicaltanker 47, container 47, liquefied gas 5, passenger 11, passenger/cargo 114, petroleum tanker 244, roll on/roll off 17, specialized tanker 1

foreign-owned: 24 (Belgium 12, Cyprus 1, Hong Kong 1, UK 9, US 1) registered in other countries: 2,363 (Bahamas 232, Barbados 11,Belgium 4, Belize 2, Bermuda 2, Cambodia 8, Cayman Islands 21, Comoros 10, Cyprus 337, Denmark 5, Dominica 5, Egypt 6, Georgia 8,Gibraltar 7, Honduras 3, Hong Kong 27, Isle of Man 45, Italy 6, Jamaica 6, North Korea 1, Lebanon 3, Liberia 267, Malta 495, MarshallIslands 199, Norway 1, Panama 524, Philippines 5, Portugal 4, Russia 1, Saint Kitts and Nevis 1, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 82, SaoTome and Principe 1, Singapore 9, Slovakia 4, UAE 2, UK 7, Uruguay 1, US 1, Venezuela 3, unknown 7)

Por t s and Harbors: Agioitheodoroi, Aspropyrgos, Irakleion, Pachi, Piraeus, Thessaloniki

GREEK PEOPLE

Popu la t ion: 10,688,058 people type - nationality Bi r th Rate: 9.68 births per 1,000 people

Popu la t ion Dens i t y : 83.00 people per sq km Death Rate: 10.24 deaths per 1,000 people

Popu la t ion Growt h : 0.18% per year Fer t i l i t y Rate per Wom en : 1.34 babies born per woman

Popu la t ion Ma le 0 -1 4 : 790,291 Popu la t ion Female 0 -1 4 : 742,902

Popu la t ion Ma le 15- 64 : 3,562,251 Popu la t ion Female 15-6 4 : 3,566,097

Popu la t ion Ma le 65+ : 891,620 Popu la t ion Female 65+ : 1,134,897

Popu la t ion 0 -14 : 14.30% L i te racy Rate: 97.50%

Pop u la t i o n 1 5 - 6 4 : 66.70% L i te racy ra te o f Ma les: 98.60%

Popu la t ion 65+ : 19.00% L i te racy ra te o f Females : 96.50%

Popu la t ion tha t i s Ma le: 48.50 % Popu la t ion tha t i s Female: 51.50%

L i fe expec tancy a t b i r t h in years: 79.24 years I n f a n t m o r t a l i t y r a t e - b ab y d e a t h s p e r 1 0 0 0 b i r t h s: 6.25 Babies die per1,000 births

L i fe expec tancy a t b i r t h f o r Ma les: 76.72 years L i fe expec tancy a t b i r t h f o r Females: 81.91 years

Rat e o f A I DS / H I V i n f e c t i o n: 0.20% Nu m b e r o f p e o p le li v i n g w i t h A I DS o r H I V: 9,100

Nu m b e r o f p e o p le wh o d ie d o f A I DS: 0

Disease Risk :


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Diseases:

Net M igra t ion Rate per 1 ,000 peop le : 2.34

Nat iona l i t y : GREEK

Ethn ic Groups: Greek 98%, other 2% note: the Greek Government states there are no ethnic divisions in Greece

Pr im a r y L a n g u a g e: Greek

Other Langu ages: Greek 99% (official), English, French

Pr imary Re l ig ion : Greek Orthodox

Other Re l ig ions: Greek Orthodox 98%, Muslim 1.3%, other 0.7%

GREEK MI LI TARY

Branches : Hellenic Army (Ellinikos Stratos, ES), Hellenic Navy (Ellinikos Polemiko Navtiko, EPN), Hellenic Air Force (Ellinikos PolemikiAeroporia, EPA)

Manpow er Fi t t o Serve : 18 years

M a n p o we r Av a i la b le: 4,902,806 People

Manpow er Fi t t o Serve : 4,019,207 People

Amoun t o f Manpow er Ava i lab le each Year: 113,970 People per year

Expend i tu res : $6,120,000,000 USD per year

Expend i tu res as a Percen tage o f GDP: 4.30


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