Key Facts when Traveling to Greece
Location
Greece is located in Southern Europe, bordering the Aegean Sea, Ionian Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea, between Albania and Turkey.
Land Area
Greece is slightly smaller than Alabama and stretches over an area of 131,940 sq km, which 130,800 sq km is land and 1,140 sq km is water. Greece has a coastline area of a total of 13,676 km.
Climate
Greece has a temperate, mild climate with wet winters and hot dry summers. The Mediterranean Sea, with its favourable hot temperature, provides the coastline with occasional very hot days and welcoming breezes. The terrain of Greece is mostly mountainous with ranges extending into the sea as peninsulas or chains of islands.
Natural Resources and Hazards
Recognized natural resources are petroleum, iron ore, lead, zinc, nickel, marble, salt, magnesite, bauxite, lignite and hydropower potential. The only natural hazards experienced in Greece are severe earthquakes.
Population and Employment
Greece has a population of 10,668,354 (July 2005 est.) people, with an average of 79.09 years life expectancy at birth. An average labor force of 4.4 million (2004 est.) people is present - agriculture 12%, industry 20%, services 68%. A low unemployment rate of average 10% is present in Greece.
Religion
98 % of Greece's population is Greek Orthodox, 1.3% is Muslim and the remainders of 0.7% has other religions.
Flag
The flag of Greece is made up out of 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 establishes religion of the country.
Economy
Greece has a industrial economy with the public sector accounting for about 40% of GDP and with per capita GDP 70% of the leading euro-zone economies. 15% of the GDP of Greece is made up out of tourism and immigrants make up an average of nearly one-fifth of the work force, mainly in unskilled jobs. Greece is a major recipient of the EU aid, equal to about 3.3% of the annual GDP. The Greek economy grew by an average of 4.0% for the past two years, mainly because of the investment boom and infrastructure upgrades for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. Greece has GDP - a purchasing power parity of $226,4 billion (2004 est.).
Agricultural Products and Main Industries
The main recognized agricultural products in Greece are wheat, corn, barley, sugar beets, olives, tomatoes, wine, tobacco, potatoes, beef and diary products. The main recognized industries are tourism, food and tobacco processing, textiles, chemicals, metal products, mining and petroleum.
Infrastructure
Greece has a diverse infrastructure with a total of 2.571 km of railways, 117,000 km of highways, 6 km of waterways, 12 ports and harbors and 80 airports.
Capital
Athens is the capital of Greece and has a population of 3,700,000 (2004 est.) people.
Time Zone
GMT plus 2 hours.
