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| Greece | Plants and Animal | Back to Top |
Greece has diverse vegetation. From sea level to an elevation of 460 m (1,500 ft), oranges, olives, dates, pomegranates, figs, cotton, and tobacco are grown. From 120 to 460 m (400 to 1,500 ft) are deciduous and evergreen forests containing oak, black pine, chestnut, beech, and sumac. Tulips, hyacinths, and laurels are also characteristic of this elevation. Firs and wild flowers such as anemone and cyclamen are found above 1,200 m (4,000 ft), and mosses and lichens predominate above 1,500 m (5,000 ft). Wildlife in Greece includes boar, European black bear, lynx, jackal, chamois, deer, fox, badger, and weasel. Among the birds are the hawk, pelican, egret, pheasant, partridge, nightingale, turtledove, and stork. Marine life includes squid, octopus, cod, bass, whitebait, and red mullet.
| Greece | Communications | Back to Top |
adequate, modern networks reach all areas; good mobile telephone and international service domestic: microwave radio relay trunk system; extensive open wire connections; submarine cable to offshore islands international: tropospheric scatter; 8 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), 1 Eutelsat, and 1 Inmarsat (Indian Ocean region)
| Greece | Culture | Back to Top |
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. Since independence in 1830 and an exchange of populations with Turkey in 1923, Greece has forged a national state which claims roots reaching back 3,000 years. The Greek language dates back at least 3,500 years, and modern Greek preserves many elements of its classical predecessor.
Greek education is free and compulsory for children between the ages of 6 and 15. English language study is compulsory from 4th grade through high school. University education, including books, is also free, contingent upon the student's ability to meet stiff entrance requirements. Overall responsibility for education rests with the Ministry of National Education and Religious Affairs. Private primary and secondary schools are under the authority of the Ministry of National Education. Control is mainly exercised in matters of curriculum and competence of teaching staff, as well as financial control in connection with fee collection and increases in fees. The Greek constitution does not permit the operation of private universities in Greece. Private colleges and universities (mostly foreign), however, do have campuses in Greece in spite of the fact that their degrees are not recognized by the Greek state.
Low salaries and recent legislation aimed at teacher evaluation have prompted a new wave of demonstrations and protests. Delay, on behalf of the state, to supply students with textbooks, lack of supplies, labs, and computers are matters of concern for Greek parents and educators.
A high percentage of the student population seeks higher education. About 295,000 students are registered at Greek universities, and 15% of the population currently holds a university degree. Entrance to a university is determined by state-administered exams, the candidate's grade-point average from high school, and his/her priority choices of major. About three in four candidates gain admission to Greek universities and/or technical educational institutions but rarely at the institution and major of their preference.
A large number of students, mainly those who are excluded from university admission or are admitted by less the respected technical educational institutions, pursue higher education abroad. When they return, they present their degrees to the official body of the Ministry of Education responsible for awarding recognition and equivalence of foreign university degrees. This body decides, through an evaluation procedure, whether to recognize degrees from specific foreign universities as a qualification for public sector hiring. Other students attend private, post-secondary educational institutions in Greece that are not recognized by the Greek Government.
The number of Greek students studying at European institutions is increasing along with EU support for educational exchange. In addition, nearly 5,000 Greeks are studying in the United States, about half of whom are in graduate school. Greek per capita student representation in the U.S. is the highest of any European country.
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 Muslim religious minority concentrated in Thrace. Smaller religious communities in Greece include Old Calendar Orthodox, Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Jehovah's Witnesses, and Mormons.
Surveys show that most Greeks get their news from television. In 1988, a new law provided the legal framework for the establishment of private radio stations and, as of 1989, private television stations. Although official licensing has been delayed for many years, Greece now has about 140 television stations and 1,000 radio stations supplementing the 4,500 print publications throughout the country.
In 1994, the Ministry of Press and Information was established to deal with media and communication issues. State broadcaster ERT is nominally part of the Ministry and operates three national television channels and five national radio stations. The Minister of Press serves as the government spokesperson.
The Ministry also administers the Athens News Agency (APE), whose daily Bulletin is a primary source of information for the Greek press. The same Ministry also issues the Macedonian News Agency (MPE) Bulletin, which is distributed throughout the Balkan region. For international news, CNN is a particular influence in the Greek market; the major TV channels often use it as a source. A few papers and stations have overseas correspondents, including in the United States.
| Greece | Defence | Back to Top |
Military branches: Hellenic Army, Hellenic Navy, Hellenic Air Force, National Guard, Police
Military manpower - military age: 21 years of age
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 2,673,539 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 2,040,227 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 77,976 (2001 est.)
| Greece | International Disputes | Back to Top |
complex maritime, air, and territorial disputes with Turkey in Aegean Sea; Cyprus question with Turkey; dispute with The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia over its name
| Greece | Economy | Back to Top |
agriculture dominated the Greek economy, with subsistence farming predominating in many areas. Throughout the first half of the 20th century, Greece drew most of its income from the export of a few agricultural products, principally tobacco and dried fruit; from its shipping industry; and from money sent home by Greeks living abroad. Greece became increasingly industrialized in the period following World War II, benefiting from government policies that encouraged growth, along with foreign aid and investment. Greece’s most striking economic development of the postwar period has been its emergence as a major tourist destination. Greece became a full member of the European Community (now the European Union, or EU) in 1981. The country engages in free trade with its European partners and also benefits from EU grants and subsidies. Still, Greece’s economy remains one of the least developed in the EU.
Greece has few natural resources. Only in the case of nonferrous metals are there substantial deposits. Of these the most important is bauxite, reserves of which amount to more than 650 million metric tons. Fossil fuels, with the exception of lignite of low calorific value, are in short supply. There are no deposits of bituminous coal, and oil production, based on the Prinos field near the island of Thasos, is very limited. The complex dispute between Greece and Turkey that developed in the 1970s over the delineation of the two countries' respective continental shelves—and hence the right to such minerals, in particular oil, as may exist under the Aegean seabed—shows no sign of being resolved.
Greece has a mixed capitalist economy with the public sector accounting for about half of GDP. Tourism is a key industry, providing a large portion of GDP and foreign exchange earnings. Greece is a major beneficiary of EU aid, equal to about 4% of GDP. The economy has improved steadily over the last few years, as the government has tightened policy in the run-up to Greece's entry into the EU's Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) on 1 January 2001. In particular, Greece has cut its budget deficit to below 1% of GDP and tightened monetary policy, with the result that inflation fell from 20% in 1990 to 3.1% in 2000. Major challenges remaining include the reduction of unemployment and further restructuring of the economy, including the privatization of some leading state enterprises. Growth, 3.8% in 2000, may fall off to 3%-3.5% in 2001.
| Greece | Education | Back to Top |
In 2001 Greece had an adult literacy rate of 100 percent. Education is free and compulsory for all children between the ages of 6 and 15; the remaining years of secondary school are optional and also free. Many Greeks place a high value on education as the key to upward social mobility and a secure job. However, there are an inadequate number of public universities, and the constitution prohibits private ones, making access to higher education highly competitive. Many students of means attempt to gain an edge by attending privately run educational establishments called phrontisteria, which prepare them for university entrance examinations. Students attend the phrontisteria in addition to high school. Students who fail to gain entry to Greek universities may attend private, unofficial colleges. Many also choose to study abroad, particularly in the United Kingdom and Italy.
| Greece | Government | Back to Top |
Greece formally became an independent state in 1830. Except for the period between 1923 and 1935, when a republic was instituted briefly, the country’s system of government was that of a hereditary constitutional monarchy. In 1967 a junta (group of military leaders) took control of the country. A constitution drafted the following year stripped the king of most powers. Following the collapse of military rule in 1974, the Greek people voted in favor of a republic and for the end of the monarchy. A new republican constitution took effect in 1975. The 1975 constitution significantly strengthened the powers of the executive over the legislature. Greece has both a president and a prime minister, as well as a cabinet of ministers. A constitutional revision in 1986 transferred a great deal of executive authority from the president to the prime minister and the cabinet. The powers of the president are now largely ceremonial. The president is the head of state and commander in chief of the armed forces. He or she is elected by parliament for a maximum of two five-year terms. Under extraordinary circumstances, a Council of the Republic, consisting of prominent political figures, can authorize the president to dissolve parliament. The prime minister is head of government. The president appoints the prime minister but is obliged to select the candidate proposed by the party with the largest number of seats in parliament. The president appoints the cabinet on the recommendation of the prime minister. Parliament can remove the prime minister and cabinet with a vote of no confidence.
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: Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK), New Democracy (ND), Communist Party of Greece (KKE), Coalition of the Left (SYNASPISMOS), Democratic Social Movement (DIKKI), Political Spring, and Movement of Free Citizens (KEP). Suffrage: Universal at 18. Administrative subdivisions: 13 peripheries (regional districts), 51 nomi (prefectures).
| Greece | History | Back to Top |
The Greek War of Independence began in 1821 and concluded in 1830 when England, France, and Russia forced the Ottoman Empire to grant Greece its independence under a European monarch, Bavarian prince Otto. He was deposed 30 years later, and the Great Powers chose a prince of the Danish House of Glucksberg as his successor. He became George I, King of the Hellenes.
At independence, Greece had an area of 47,515 square kilometers (18,346 square mi.), and its northern boundary extended from the Gulf of Volos to the Gulf of Arta. Under the influence of the "Meagali Idea," of expanding the Greek state to include all areas of Greek population, Greece aquired the Ionian Islands in 1864; Thessaly and part of Epirus in 1881; Macedonia, Crete, Epirus, and the Aegean Islands in 1913; Western Thrace in 1918; and the Dodecanese Islands in 1947.
Greece entered World War I in 1917 on the side of the Allies. After the war, Greece took part in the Allied occupation of Turkey, where many Greeks still lived. In 1921, the Greek army marched toward Ankara, but was defeated by Turkish forces led by Mustafa Kemal (later Ataturk) and forced to withdraw. In a forced exchange of populations, more than 1.3 million Christian refugees from Turkey poured into Greece, creating enormous challenges for the Greek economy and society.
Greek politics, particularly between the two world wars, involved a struggle for power between monarchists and republicans. Greece was proclaimed a republic in 1924, but George II returned to the throne in 1935. A plebiscite in 1946 upheld the monarchy, which was finally abolished by referendum on December 8, 1974.
Greece's entry into World War II was precipitated by the Italian invasion on October 28, 1940. Despite Italian superiority in numbers and equipment, determined Greek defenders drove the invaders back into Albania. Hitler was forced to divert German troops to protect his southern flank and overran Greece in 1941. German forces withdrew in October 1944, and the government in exile returned to Athens.
After the German withdrawal, the principal Greek resistance movement, which was controlled by the communists, refused to disarm. A banned demonstration by resistance forces in Athens in December 1944 ended in battles with Greek Government and British forces. Continuing tensions led to the outbreak of full-fledged civil war in 1946. First the United Kingdom and later the U.S. gave extensive military and economic aid to the Greek government. In 1947, Secretary of State George C. Marshall implemented the Marshall Plan under President Truman, which focused on the economic recovery and the rebuilding of Europe. The U.S. contributed millions of dollars to rebuilding Greece in terms of buildings, agriculture, and industry.
In August 1949, the National Army forced the remaining insurgents to surrender or flee to Greece's communist neighbors. The insurgency resulted in 100,000 killed, 700,000 displaced persons inside the country, and catastrophic economic disruption. This civil war left deep political division in Greek society between leftist and rightist.
Greece became a member of NATO in 1952. From 1952 to late 1963, Greece was governed by conservative parties--the Greek Rally of Marshal Alexandros Papagos and its successor, the National Radical Union (ERE) of Constantine Karamanlis. In 1963, the Center Union Party of George Papandreou was elected and governed until July 1965. It was followed by a succession of unstable coalition governments.
On April 21, 1967, just before scheduled elections, a group of colonels led by Col. George Papadopoulos seized power in a coup d'etat. Civil liberties were suppressed, special military courts were established, and political parties were dissolved. Several thousand political opponents were imprisoned or exiled to remote Greek islands. In November 1973, following an uprising of students at the Athens Polytechnic University, Gen. Dimitrios Ioannides replaced Papadopoulos and tried to continue the dictatorship.
Gen. Ioannides' attempt in July 1974 to overthrow Archbishop Makarios, the President of Cyprus, brought Greece to the brink of war with Turkey, which invaded Cyprus and occupied part of the island. Senior Greek military officers then withdrew their support from the junta, which toppled. Leading citizens persuaded Karamanlis to return from exile in France to establish a government of national unity until elections could be held. Karamanlis' newly organized party, New Democracy (ND), won elections held in November 1974, and he became Prime Minister.
Following the 1974 referendum, which resulted in the rejection of the monarchy, a new constitution was approved by parliament on June 19, 1975, and parliament elected Constantine Tsatsos as president of the republic. In the parliamentary elections of 1977, New Democracy again won a majority of seats. In May 1980, Prime Minister Karamanlis was elected to succeed Tsatsos as president. George Rallis was then chosen party leader and succeeded Karamanlis as Prime Minister.
On January 1, 1981, Greece became the 10th member of the European Community (now the European Union). In parliamentary elections held on October 18, 1981, Greece elected its first socialist government when the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK), led by Andreas Papandreou, won 172 of 300 seats. In 1985, Supreme Court Justice Christos Sartzetakis was elected president by the Greek parliament.
Greece had two rounds of parliamentary elections in 1989; both produced weak coalition governments with limited mandates. In the April 1990 election, ND won 150 seats and subsequently gained 2 others. After Mitsotakis fired his Foreign Minister, Andonis Samaras in 1992, the rift led to the collapse of the ND government and new elections in September 1993 won again by Andreas Papandreou's PASOK.
On January 17, 1996, following a protracted illness, Prime Minister Papandreou resigned and was replaced as Prime Minister by former Minister of Industry Constantine Simitis. In elections held in September 1996, Constantine Simitis was elected Prime Minister. In April 2000, Simitis and PASOK won again by a narrow margin, gaining 158 seats to ND's 125. New elections must be held no later than spring 2004.
| Greece | Introduction | Back to Top |
Greece (in Greek, Hellas), officially known as the Hellenic Republic (Ellinikí Dimokratía), country in south-eastern Europe, occupying the southernmost part of the Balkan Peninsula and numerous islands. It is bordered on the north-west by Albania, on the north by the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) and Bulgaria, on the north-east by Turkey, on the east by the Aegean Sea, on the south by the Mediterranean Sea, and on the west by the Ionian Sea. The total area is 131,957 sq km (50,949 sq mi), of which about one fifth is composed of islands in the Aegean and Ionian seas. Athens is the capital and largest city.
Official Name - Hellenic Republic| Greece | Land | Back to Top |
N/A
| Greece | Languages | Back to Top |
The first language of the overwhelming majority of the population is Modern Greek . The Greek language demonstrates a remarkable degree of continuity. Modern Greek uses the same alphabet that was used for the Greek language spoken in ancient times. During much of the 19th and 20th centuries, the Greek language was a subject of controversy. In the 19th century Greek scholars attempted to purify the modern language to make it more similar to Ancient Greek. These purists introduced the formal Katharevousa form of Greek. Katharevousa differs in grammar, syntax, and vocabulary from Demotike, the spoken vernacular. Until the 1970s many of Greece’s books and newspapers were in Katharevousa. In 1976 Demotike was made the country’s official language. English and German are widely spoken in Greece. Languages spoken by Greece’s ethnic minorities include Turkish, Slavic Macedonian, Vlach (a Romanian dialect), Albanian, and Pomak (a Bulgarian dialect).
| Greece | Legal | Back to Top |
Legal system: based on codified Roman law; judiciary divided into civil, criminal, and administrative courts Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory Executive branch: chief of state: President Konstandinos (Kostis) STEPHANOPOULOS (since 10 March 1995) head of government: Prime Minister Konstandinos SIMITIS (since 19 January 1996) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: president elected by Parliament for a five-year term; election last held 8 February 2000 (next to be held by NA March 2005); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Konstandinos STEPHANOPOULOS reelected president; percent of Parliament vote - 90% Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament or Vouli ton Ellinon (300 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: elections last held 9 April 2000 (next to be held by NA April 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - PASOK 43.8%, ND 42.7%, KKE 5.5%, Coalition of the Left and Progress 3.2%; seats by party - PASOK 158, ND 125, KKE 11, Coalition of the Left and Progress 6 Judicial branch: Supreme Judicial Court; Special Supreme Tribunal; all judges appointed for life by the president after consultation with a judicial council
| Greece | Life | Back to Top |
Greece has been transformed from a poor agricultural country ravaged by war and foreign occupation to a prosperous consumer society with a generally high standard of living. In the 1990s Greeks were faring far better than their northern neighbors in Albania, FYROM, and Bulgaria, countries stifled by decades of Communist rule and troubled by other forces since the Communist regimes fell. Rapid economic change in Greece has been accompanied by significant social change. Traditionally, Greek women were expected to be submissive to men and to devote themselves to the home. For example, women were not allowed to vote in national elections until 1955. Since the 1980s, however, there have been significant changes in the status of women. Family law has been changed to ensure greater equality between the sexes. The dowry system, which required brides to give property or money to the groom, has been legally abolished, but the practice has not completely died out.
| Greece | organization | Back to Top |
Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CCC, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EIB, EMU, EU, FAO, G- 6, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNOMIG, UPU, WEU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC
| Greece | People | Back to Top |
1991, at the time of the most recent census, Greece had a population of 10,259,900. In 2001 the country had an estimated population of 10,623,835. Declining birth rates have resulted in a very low rate of population increase. In 1951 the birth rate was 20.3 per 1,000 persons; by 2001 it had decreased to 9.8 per 1,000. In 2001 male life expectancy at birth was 76 years, and female life expectancy was 81 years.
The inherent instability of the Balkan Peninsula—located as it is at the crossroads of invading Turks, migrating Slavs, and colonizing powers from western or central Europe (Venetians, Austro-Hungarians)—has bequeathed a bewildering amount of cultural confusion to Greece. Even in the south or on the islands, centuries of population migration and forced population exchanges continued well into the 20th century. Despite the long Ottoman administration (perhaps because of its failure to create a nation-state), all but a very small part of the population belong to the Church of Greece (Greek Orthodox church). This body appoints its own ecclesiastical hierarchy and is headed by a synod of 12 metropolitans under the presidency of the archbishop of Athens. The Greek church has links in dogma with the other Orthodox churches. Virtually all Cretans belong to a special branch of the Church of Greece, headed by the archbishop of Crete and directly responsible to the patriarchate of Constantinople.
Population (March 2001 est.): 10,939,771 million. Growth rate: 0.21%. Languages: Greek 99% (official); English. Religions: Greek Orthodox 98%, Muslim 1.3%, other .7%. Education: Years compulsory--9. Literacy--95%. All levels are free. Health: Infant mortality rate--6/1,000. Life expectancy--male 76 years, female 81 years. Work force: 4.32 million.
| Greece | Politics | Back to Top |
Coalition of the Left and Progress (Synaspismos) [Nikolaos KONSTANDOPOULOS]; Communist Party of Greece or KKE [Aleka PAPARIGA]; New Democracy or ND (conservative) [Konstandinos KARAMANLIS]; Panhellenic Socialist Movement or PASOK [Konstandinos SIMITIS]
| Greece | Provinces | Back to Top |
51 prefectures (nomoi, singular - nomos)and 1 autonomous region*; Ayion Oros* (Mt. Athos), Aitolia kai Akarnania, Akhaia, Argolis, Arkadhia, Arta, Attiki, Dhodhekanisos, Drama, Evritania, Evros, Evvoia, Florina, Fokis, Fthiotis, Grevena, Ilia, Imathia, Ioannina, Irakleion, Kardhitsa, Kastoria, Kavala, Kefallinia, Kerkyra, Khalkidhiki, Khania, Khios, Kikladhes, Kilkis, Korinthia, Kozani, Lakonia, Larisa, Lasithi, Lesvos, Levkas, Magnisia, Messinia, Pella, Pieria, Preveza, Rethimni, Rodhopi, Samos, Serrai, Thesprotia, Thessaloniki, Trikala, Voiotia, Xanthi, Zakinthos
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