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.