What are the Key Facts of Greece?

Where is Greece?

Greece is a Southern European country that is located between Turkey and Albania. It borders the Mediterranean Sea, the Ionian Sea, and the Aegean Sea. Check this out –  Map of Greece and Other 25 Related Greek Maps for more maps and info about Greece.

What is the Geography of Greece?

Greece is spread across a total area of 131,957 sq. km (50,949 sq. mi), out of which 130,647 sq. km (50,443 sq. mi) is island area and 1,310 sq. km (506 sq. mi) is water area. It has a 1,110 km (690 mi) long land boundary, which is shared with 4 countries: Bulgaria (472 km or 293 mi), Macedonia (234 km or 144 mi), Albania (212 km or 132 mi), and Turkey (192 km or 119 mi). The country has a 13,676 km (8,498 mi) long toothy-edged coastline that has been indented deeply by dozens of gulfs.

Greece occupies the southernmost portion of the Balkan Peninsula. The mainland of Greece and it’s around 1,500 islands extend from the European continent southward to the Mediterranean, Ionian, Cretan, Aegean, and Thracian seas. The two largest islands of this country are Evia and Crete. There are six major island groups of Greece and they are Sporades, Northeast Aegean, Ionian, Dodecanese, Cyclades, and Argo-Saronic.

Most of the terrain in the country includes hills as well as rugged mountains, making Greece one of the most mountainous nations among the European countries. While the western part of Greece is dominated by the Pindus Mountains, the southern stretch along Albania and Macedonia is dominated by the Dinaric Alps range. The mountains here generally have more than 2,500 m (8,202 ft) in elevation.

A wide array of rivers, lakes, and wetlands punctuate the mountains here. Some of the major rivers in Hellas are Maritsa, Evros, Struma, Aliacmon, Vardar, Haliacmon, Pinios, Acheloos, etc. The lakes that are worth mentioning include Plastira, Vegoritis, Pamvotida, Doxa, Kerkini, Vegoritida, Prespa, Volvi, Kournas, Melissani, Trichonis, and many more.

Mount Olympus is the highest elevation in Greece. It has 52 peaks but its highest peak is Mytikas at 2,917 m (9,570 ft). The lowest elevation point in the country is 0 m (0 ft). The mean elevation of Greece is 498 m (1,634 ft). Other major mountains of the Hellenic Republic are Óros Smólikas, Kaïmaktsalán, Voras, Óros Týmfi, etc.

The gigantic pillars of stones known as the massive Meteora rock formations are located in the immediate southwest of Mt. Olympus. Along the border with Bulgaria in the far north, the Southern Rhodope Mountain range is present. This mountain range is heavily forested.

There are many ancient volcanoes in Greece such as Santorini, Poros, Nisyros, Milos, Methana, and Kos. They haven’t erupted for a long time.

Greece has a Mediterranean climate, which is characterized by hot and dry summers and significantly cold and wet winters. During the winter season, the upper region of Greece remains very cold. Snowfall is also not uncommon. The southern parts of Greece, as well as the islands, have milder winters. The higher mountains usually get lots of snowfall.

During July-August, the temperature usually revolves around 30-35 °C (), which may reach 40°C () or even more sometimes. The eastern coast of Greece is generally swept by a strong northern wind known as Meltemi during July-August, offering welcome relief from the heat. However, sometimes these strong winds can also get very strong, disrupting ferryboats to the islands severely.

What is the Economy of Greece?

Greece is a developed economy, having one of the largest nominal GDPs in the world. In 2018, the nominal GDP grew at a rate of 1.9% to reach US$ 218,230 million. Despite being a capitalist economy, the public sector accounts for around 40% of the GDP. Tourism accounts for 18% of the GDP. The Greek economy receives a significant amount from the European Union as aid, accounting for 3.3% of the annual GDP.

The Greek economy had a negative balance of trade in 2018 of around $22.5 billion. While Greece imported $52.8 billion and exported $30.2 billion value of goods and services. The country’s major exports were Refined Petroleum, Non-fillet Fresh Fish, Aluminum Plating, Packaged Medicaments, Pure Olive Oil, etc. The major import items were Crude Petroleum, Cars, Passenger and Cargo Ships, Packaged Medicaments, Refined Petroleum, and many more.

Around 1/5th of the labor force in Greece are immigrants, who generally perform unskilled work and are mostly associated with agricultural work. The unemployment rate in the country was 18.5% in 2018, and less than 20.9% in 2017. The rate has come down to 16.9% in July 2019.

Eurostat data shows that 34.8% of the people in Greece are poor with over 20% having severe material deprivation. Around 4 out of 10 Greeks live under the poverty line. Every 1-in-3 people in Greece are at risk of social exclusion or poverty. The rate of poverty has increased in the last decade, from 28.1% in 2008 to 34.8% in 2017.

What is the Transportation System of Greece?

Greece has 77 airports, out of which 68 have paved runways and 9 have unpaved ones. 9 heliports are also there. 117,000 km (72,700 mi) of roadways are present. 2,548 km (1,583 mi) of the railway network is available in Greece, out of which 1,565 km (972 mi) is standard gauge and 961 km (597 mi) is narrow gauge. 764 km (475 mi) electrified railway network is also available. 6 km (3.7 mi) of the waterway is also present. The main seaports are Thessaloniki, Piraeus, Pachi, and Aspropyrgos.

What are International Organizations in Greece part of?

UN, WTO, Schengen Convention, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CD, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECB, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, FATF, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, MIGA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OECD, OIF, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, SELEC, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, ZC, ICC (national committees), IGAD (partners), ITUC (NGOs), OAS (observer), WFTU (NGOs)

Related Links:

• Macedonian-Greece Dispute

• Prespa Agreement