| name: |
The Hellenic Republic of Greece
Elliniki Dhimokratia
(Hellas, Ellada)
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| capital: |
Athens
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| location: |
Southern Europe, on the northeast of the Mediterranean Sea, bordering the Ionian Sea in the west and the Aegean Sea in the east; between Albania and Turkey
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| local time: |
Eastern European Time (EET)
Daylight Saving Schedule:
Summer (from last Sunday in March)
GMT/UTC +3 hours
Winter (from last Sunday in October)
GMT/UTC +2 hours
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| currency: |
Euro (€)
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| climate: |
Mediterranean (temperate, with wet winters and hot, dry summers);
continental (wetter, cooler) in north
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| total area: |
total: 131,940 square kilometres
land: 130,800 sq km
water: 1,140 sq km
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| coastline: |
13,676 km
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| international boundaries: |
total: 1,228 km
borders: Albania 282 km, (Former Yugoslavian) Republic of Macedonia 246 km, Bulgaria 494 km, Turkey 206 km
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| terrain: |
Mainly mountainous interspersed with plains; mountain ranges extend into the sea as peninsulas or chains of islands
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| highest point: |
Mount Olympus 2,917 metres
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| population: |
10,964,020 (Athens 3,192,606)
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| ethnicities: |
Greek 93%, other (foreign citizens) 7% (2001 census)
Census figures represent citizenship; Greece does not collect data on ethnicity.
Ethnic minorities include Vlachs, Pomaks, Turks and Roma
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| language: |
Greek 99% (official), other 1% (including English and French)
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| religion: |
Greek Orthodox 98%, Muslim 1.3%, other 0.7%
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| political system: |
parliamentary democracy since 1974
European Union member since 1981
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| constitution: |
11 June 1975; amended March 1986 and April 2001
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national holiday:
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Independence Day, 25 March (1821)
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administrative
divisions: |
Greece has 13 administrative regions known as districts or peripheries (perifereies), each of which is divided into prefectures (also known as departments, Greek nomoi, singular - nomos), which are further divided into municipalities (demoi) and communities (koinotites).
[The sub-division of provinces (eparchies) was abolished in 1999, although these are still referred to in many official documents and websites.]
The 13 peripheries:
Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, Central Macedonia, Western Macedonia, Epirus, Thessaly, Ionian Islands, Western Greece, Central Greece, Attica, Peloponnese, Northern Aegean Sea, Southern Aegean Sea, Crete
The 51 prefectures:
Achaia, Aitolia and Akarnania, Argolis, Arkadia, Arta, Attiki, Chalkidiki, Chanion, Chios, Dodekanisos, Drama, Evros, Evrytania, Evvoia, Florina, Fokidos, Fthiotis, Grevena, Ileia, Imathia, Ioannina, Irakleion, Karditsa, Kastoria, Kavala, Kefallinia, Kerkyra, Kilkis, Korinthia, Kozani, Kyklades, Lakonia, Larissa, Lasithi, Lefkas, Lesvos, Magnisia, Messinia, Pella, Pieria, Preveza, Rethynnis, Rodopi, Samos, Serrai, Thesprotia, Thessaloniki, Trikala, Voiotia, Xanthi, Zakynthos
Agion Oros (Mount Athos) is an autonomous region.
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| president: |
Mr Karolos Papoulias
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| prime minister: |
Mr Lucas Papademos
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| parliament: |
300 members, elected every 4 years
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map of Greece
See also our interactive map of Greece.
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Text, maps and photos: © David John 2003 - 2011
Some of the information and photos in this guide to Greece originally appeared in 2004-2005 on www.davidjohnberlin.com. |
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