Map taken from lonelyplanet.com
About the Country:
OFFICIAL
NAME:
Hellenic Republic
CAPITAL:
Athens
SYSTEM OF
GOVERNMENT: Unitary Multiparty
Republic
AREA:
131,951 Sq Km (50,949
Sq Mi)
ESTIMATED 2000
POPULATION
10,346,800
LOCATION
& GEOGRAPHY: Greece
is located on the southern tip of the Balkan Peninsula in South East
Europe and the territory also includes several hundred islands in the
Ionian and Aegean Seas. It is bound by Albania, Macedonia and Bulgaria to
the north, Turkey and the Aegean Sea to the east, the Mediterranean Sea to
the south and the Ionian Sea to the west. Around 20% of the total land
area is accounted for by islands, of which the largest are Crete, Euboea,
Lesbos, Rhodes, Khios, Kefallonia, Corfu, Limnos, Samos and Naxos.
Mountains and hills dominate the landscape accounting for nearly 80% of
the total land area. In the northeast, the Macedonian and Thrace regions
are separated from Epirus in the northwest by the Pindhos Mountains, which
are a continuation of the Dinaric Alps. The mountain range along the east
coast includes Mt. Olympus and continues through to include some of the
islands.
The Pindhos Mountains continue southeast to Giona and reappear as
the islands of Kea, Kithnos, Serifos and Sifnos. Other mountain ranges
include Taiyetos in the south and Parnon in the east. In the extreme
northeast, Thrace is separated from Bulgaria by the Rhodope Mountains. The
principal rivers include the Mesta, Strimon, Arakhthos, Akheloos,
Aliakmon, Pinios and Alfios. Major Cities (pop. est.); Athens 772,100,
Thessaloniki 384,000, Piraievs 182,700, Patrai 152,600 (1991). Land Use;
forested 20%, pastures 41%, agricultural-cultivated 27%, other 12% (1993).
CLIMATE:
Greece
has a Mediterranean climate with long hot dry summers and mild winters
when the majority of rainfall occurs. In the summer the Etesian, a
northerly wind, blows across the Aegean Sea while in the mountainous
areas, temperatures are generally cooler with severe winter temperatures
and heavy rainfall. Average annual precipitation in Athens is 414 mm (16
inches) and the average temperature ranges are from 6 to 13 degrees
Celsius (43 to 55 degrees Fahrenheit) in February to 23 to 33 degrees
Celsius (73 to 91 degrees Fahrenheit) in August.
CURRENCY:
The
official currency is the Euro divided into 100 cents.
ECONOMY:
Gross National Product; USD $76,679,000,000 (1993). Public Debt; USD
$16,193,000,000 (1993). Imports; Dr 5,050,531,000,000 (1993). Exports; Dr
1,933,432,000,000 (1993). Tourism Receipts; USD $3,293,000,000 (1993).
Balance of Trade; Dr -2,113,500,000,000 (1992). Economically Active
Population; 4,118,400 or 39.7% of total population (1993). Unemployed;
9.7% (1993).
