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Background Note: Greece
PROFILE
OFFICIAL NAME:
Hellenic Republic
Geography
Area: 131,957 sq. km. (51,146 sq. mi.; roughly the size of
Alabama).
Major cities: Capital--Athens. Greater Athens (pop. 3,566,060),
municipality of Athens (772,072), Greater Thessaloniki (pop.
1,057,825), Thessaloniki (824,633), Piraeus (182,671), Greater
Piraeus (880,529), Patras (170,452), Iraklion (132,117), Larissa
(113,090).
Terrain: Mountainous interior with coastal plains; 1,400-plus
islands.
Climate: Mediterranean; mild, wet winter and hot, dry summer.
People
Population (July 2006 est.): 10,688,058 million. (Immigrants
make up approximately 10% of the population.)
Growth rate: 0.18%.
Languages: Greek 99% (official); Turkish, others. Albanian is
spoken by approximately 700,000 Albanian immigrants. English is
the predominant second language.
Religions: Greek Orthodox (approximately 98% of citizens), with
Muslim (1.3%), Jewish, Catholic, Protestant, and other religious
communities.
Education: Years compulsory--9. Literacy—97.5%. All levels are
free.
Health: Infant mortality rate—5.43/1,000. Life expectancy--male
76.72 years, female 81.91 years.
Work force: 4.72 million.
Government
Type: Parliamentary republic.
Independence: 1830.
Constitution: June 11, 1975, amended March 1986, April 2001.
Branches: Executive--president (head of state), prime minister
(head of government). Legislative--300-seat unicameral Vouli
(parliament). Judicial--Supreme Court. Council of State.
Political parties: New Democracy (ND), Panhellenic Socialist
Movement (PASOK), Communist Party of Greece (KKE), Coalition of
the Left (SYNASPISMOS), and Popular Orthodox Rally (LAOS).
Suffrage is universal and mandatory at 18.
Administrative subdivisions: 13 peripheries (regional
districts), 51 nomi (prefectures).
Economy (2005 est.)
GDP: $236.8 billion.
Per capita GDP: $22,000
Growth rate: 3.7%.
Inflation rate: 3.5%.
Unemployment rate: 9.9%.
Natural resources: Bauxite, lignite, magnesite, oil, marble.
Agriculture (5.4% of GDP): Products-- sugar beets, wheat, maize,
tomatoes, olives, olive oil, grapes, raisins, wine, oranges,
peaches, tobacco, cotton, livestock, dairy products.
Manufacturing (21.3% of GDP): Types--Processed foods, shoes,
textiles, metals, chemicals, electrical equipment, cement,
glass, transport equipment, petroleum products, construction,
electrical power.
Services (73.3% of GDP): Transportation, tourism,
communications, trade, banking, public administration, defense.
Trade: Exports--$18.54 billion: manufactured goods, food and
beverages, petroleum products, cement, chemicals. Major
markets--Germany, Italy, France, U.S., U.K. Imports--$48.2
billion: basic manufactures, food and animals, crude oil,
chemicals, machinery, transport equipment. Major
suppliers--Germany, Italy, France, Japan, Netherlands, U.S.
PEOPLE
Greece was inhabited as early as the Paleolithic period and by
3000 BC had become home, in the Cycladic Islands, to a culture
whose art remains among the most evocative in world history. In
the second millennium BC, the island of Crete nurtured the
maritime empire of the Minoans, whose trade reached from Egypt
to Sicily. The Minoans were supplanted by the Mycenaeans of the
Greek mainland, who spoke a dialect of ancient Greek. During the
Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman Empires (1st-19th centuries),
Greece's ethnic composition became more diverse. The roots of
Greek language and culture date back at least 3,500 years, and
modern Greek preserves many elements of its classical
predecessor.
Eastern Orthodox Christianity is the dominant
religion in Greece and receives state funding. During the
centuries of Ottoman domination, the Greek Orthodox Church
preserved the Greek language and cultural identity and was an
important rallying point in the struggle for independence. There
is a centuries-old Muslim religious minority concentrated in
Thrace and an estimated 300,000 Muslim immigrants living
elsewhere in the country. Smaller religious communities in
Greece include Old Calendar Orthodox, Catholics, Protestants,
Jews, Jehovah's Witnesses, and Mormons. |