Flag Description
The flag of Greece has nine equal horizontal stripes of blue alternating with white; there is a blue square in the upper hoist-side corner bearing a white cross; the cross symbolizes Greek Orthodoxy, the established religion of the country.
Geography
Location: Southern Europe, bordering the Aegean Sea, Ionian Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea, between Albania and Turkey
Geographic coordinates: 39 00 N, 22 00 E
Map references: Europe
Area: total: 131,940 sq km / water: 1,140 sq km / land: 130,800 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Alabama
Land boundaries: total: 1,228 km / border countries: Albania 282 km, Bulgaria 494 km, Turkey 206 km, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 246 km
Coastline: 13,676 km
Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 nm / continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
Climate: temperate; mild, wet winters; hot, dry summers
Terrain: mostly mountains with ranges extending into the sea as peninsulas or chains of islands
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m / highest point: Mount Olympus 2,917 m
Natural resources: lignite, petroleum, iron ore, bauxite, lead, zinc, nickel, magnesite, marble, salt, hydropower potential
Land use: arable land: 21.1% / permanent crops: 8.78% / other: 70.12% (2001)
Irrigated land: 14,220 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: severe earthquakes
Environment - current issues: air pollution; water pollution
Background
Greece achieved its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1829. During the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, it gradually added neighboring islands and territories, most with Greek-speaking populations. Following the defeat of Communist rebels in 1949, Greece joined NATO in 1952. A military dictatorship, which in 1967 suspended many political liberties and forced the king to flee the country, lasted seven years. The 1974 democratic elections and a referendum created a parliamentary republic and abolished the monarchy; Greece joined the European Community or EC in 1981 (which became the EU in 1992).
Government
Country name: conventional long form: Hellenic Republic / conventional short form: Greece / local short form: Ellas or Ellada / former: Kingdom of Greece / local long form: Elliniki Dhimokratia
Government type: parliamentary republic; monarchy rejected by referendum 8 December 1974
Capital: Athens
Administrative divisions:
51 prefectures (nomoi, singular - nomos) and 1 autonomous region*; Agion Oros* (Mt. Athos), Achaia, Aitolia kai Akarmania, 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, Larisa, Lasithi, Lefkas, Lesvos, Magnisia, Messinia, Pella, Pieria, Preveza, Rethynnis, Rodopi, Samos, Serrai, Thesprotia, Thessaloniki, Trikala, Voiotia, Xanthi, Zakynthos
Independence: 1829 (from the Ottoman Empire)
National holiday: Independence Day, 25 March (1821)
Constitution: 11 June 1975; amended March 1986 and April 2001
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) elections: president elected by Parliament for a five-year term; election last held 8 February 2000 (next to be held by NA February 2005); president appoints leader of the party securing plurality of vote in election head of government: Prime Minister Konstandinos KARAMANLIS (since NA March 2004) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister 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 7 March 2004 (next to be held by March 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - ND 45.4%, PASOK 40.6%, KKE 5.9%, Synaspismos 3.3%; seats by party - ND 165, PASOK 117, KKE 12, Synaspismos 6
Judicial branch: Supreme Judicial Court; Special Supreme Tribunal; all judges appointed for life by the president after consultation with a judicial council
Political parties and leaders: Coalition of the Left and Progress (Synaspismos) [Nikolaos KONSTANTOPOULOS]; Communist Party of Greece or KKE [Aleka PAPARIGA]; New Democracy or ND (conservative) [Konstandinos KARAMANLIS]; Panhellenic Socialist Movement or PASOK [Yiorgos PAPANDREOU]
Political pressure groups and leaders: NA
People
Population: 10,647,529 (July 2004 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 14.5% (male 792,938; female 746,119) / 15-64 years: 67% (male 3,563,703; female 3,566,549) / 65 years and over: 18.6% (male 873,540; female 1,104,680) (2004 est.)
Median age: total: 40.2 years / male: 39.1 years / female: 41.3 years (2004 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.2% (2004 est.)
Birth rate: 9.73 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Death rate: 10.08 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Net migration rate: 2.35 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female / under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female / 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female / 65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female / total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2004 est.)
Infant mortality rate: total: 5.63 deaths/1,000 live births / female: 5.04 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) / male: 6.19 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 78.94 years / male: 76.44 years / female: 81.59 years (2004 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.32 children born/woman (2004 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.2% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 8,800 (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: less than 100 (2001 est.)
Nationality: noun: Greek(s) / adjective: Greek
Ethnic groups: Greek 98%, other 2% / note: the Greek Government states there are no ethnic divisions in Greece
Religions: Greek Orthodox 98%, Muslim 1.3%, other 0.7%
Languages: Greek 99% (official), English, French
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write / total population: 97.5% / male: 98.6% / female: 96.5% (2003 est.)
Economy
Economy - overview: Greece has a mixed capitalist economy with the public sector accounting for half of GDP and with per capita GDP 70% of the leading euro-zone economies. Tourism provides 15% of GDP. Immigrants make up nearly one-fifth of the work force, mainly in menial jobs. Greece is a major beneficiary of EU aid, equal to about 3.3% of GDP. The Greek economy grew by 4.0% in 2003 and is expected to grow by 4.2% in 2004, the year that Athens will host the 2004 Olympic Games. Remaining challenges include the reduction of the public debt, inflation, and unemployment; and further restructuring of the economy, including privatizing several state enterprises, undertaking pension and other reforms, and minimizing bureaucratic inefficiencies.
GDP: purchasing power parity - 2.2 billion (2003 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 4% (2003 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - ,900 (2003 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 6.7% / industry: 22% / services: 71.2% (2003 est.)
Investment (gross fixed): 25.5% of GDP (2003)
Population below poverty line: NA
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 3% / highest 10%: 25.3% (1993 est.)
Distribution of family income - Gini index: 32.7 (1993)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.6% (2003 est.)
Labor force: 4.39 million (2003 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: industry 20%, agriculture 20%, services 59% (2000 est.)
Unemployment rate: 9.4% (2003 est.)
Budget: revenues: .84 billion / expenditures: .48 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.)
Public debt: 100.9% of GDP (2003)
Agriculture - products: wheat, corn, barley, sugar beets, olives, tomatoes, wine, tobacco, potatoes; beef, dairy products
Industries: tourism; food and tobacco processing, textiles; chemicals, metal products; mining, petroleum
Industrial production growth rate: 0.7% (2003 est.)
Electricity - production: 49.79 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 94.5% / hydro: 3.8% / other: 1.7% (2001) / nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption: 48.8 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports: 1.062 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports: 3.562 billion kWh (2001)
Oil - production: 5,992 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption: 405,700 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports: 84,720 bbl/day (2001)
Oil - imports: 468,300 bbl/day (2001)
Oil - proved reserves: 4.5 million bbl (1 January 2002)
Natural gas - production: 35 million cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - consumption: 2.021 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - exports: 0 cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - imports: 2.018 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves: 254.9 million cu m (1 January 2002)
Current account balance: $-11.33 billion (2003)
Exports: .899 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)
Exports - commodities: food and beverages, manufactured goods, petroleum products, chemicals, textiles
Exports - partners: Germany 12.6%, Italy 10.5%, UK 7%, US 6.5%, Bulgaria 6.2%, Cyprus 4.8%, France 4.2%, Turkey 4% (2003 est.)
Imports: .27 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)
Imports - commodities: machinery, transport equipment, fuels, chemicals
Imports - partners: Germany 12.5%, Italy 12.2%, France 6.6%, Russia 6.1%, South Korea 5.4%, US 5.2%, Netherlands 5.2%, Japan 4.3%, UK 4.2% (2003 est.)
Reserves of foreign exchange & gold: .802 billion (2003)
Debt - external: .51 billion (2003 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: .4 billion from EU (1995)
Currency: euro (EUR)
note: on 1 January 1999, the European Monetary Union introduced the euro as a common currency to be used by financial institutions of member countries; on 1 January 2002, the euro became the sole currency for everyday transactions within the member countries
Currency code: EUR
Exchange rates: euros per US dollar - 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 365.399 (2000), 305.647 (1999)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Art and Architecture
Here are some links to interesting information on Greek art and architecture
Greek Art
Source: Artchives
Ancient Greece - Greek Art
Ancient Greece.org
Greek Art and Architecture
Source: University of Colorado at Colorado Springs
Greek Temples
Source: Odyssey Adventures in Archaeology
Architecture in Ancient Greece
Universal Artists
Learning Links
Greek National Tourism Organization
This official site for toruism in the Greek Isles covers information on travel and business. Its section on travel has wonderful write-ups on Archaelogica churches and more.
Greece Now
Visit here for top headlines, useful information on politics, education, culture and maps.
Consular Information Sheet - Greece
This consular sheet has everything you need to know about traveling in Greece. If you plan to travel to Greece, this is essential reading.
Ancient Greece
This wonderful site has well written segments on architecture, mythology, wars, Olympics and other resources.
历史
这片爱琴海沿岸的土地见证了欧洲最早的两大文明：米诺斯文明(Mionan civilisation)及迈锡尼文明(Mycenae civilisation)。之后希腊经历了一段黑暗时期，直到公元前800年新的希腊文明的诞生。当时的希腊城邦在地中海沿岸建立起自己的殖民地，成功地抵御了波斯人的入侵，并最终发展出了灿烂的希腊文化。
虽然在军事上希腊在公元前168年被罗马帝国完全征服，希腊文化却反过来征服了罗马人的生活。作为罗马帝国的一个省，希腊文化继续主宰着东地中海，直到帝国被分裂成两部分。以君士坦丁堡为中心的拜占庭帝国本质上就是希腊化的。拜占庭抵御了几个世纪来自东西方的攻击，直到1453年君士坦丁堡最终被沦陷，奥斯曼帝国也从此逐渐征服了整个希腊。
奥斯曼帝国的统治一直持续到1821年，希腊人宣布独立为止。1828年希腊独立战争结束后，希腊在1833年建立了君主政权。在整个19世纪及20世纪初，希腊不断扩张领土，吸收奥斯曼帝国内讲希腊语的族群，直到1947年希腊的版图成了现在的样子。
第二次世界大战后，希腊又经历了一次内战。1949年内战结束后的希腊宣布加入北约组织。1967年4月21日军人发动政变，之后又宣布废黜国王。塞浦路斯问题最终导致了军人政权在1974年的垮台，一个民主共和国在1975年建立。1981年希腊正式加入欧盟。
政治
1975年颁布的宪法包含了保障民权的条款，并授予一名间接选举产生的总统作为国家元首的权利。总理和内阁主导着政治进程，而总统在象征性的职权之外还可以行使一些政府功能。总统任期5年，由议会选举产生，可以再连任一次。
希腊一院制的议会(Vouli ton Ellinon)成员最长任期为4年，但选举可以提前举行。希腊使用一种十分复杂的比例代表制选举体系，在此系统下小党无法有较大的影响力，而及时是在最大党没过半数的情况下，该党依然可以控制议会。政党只有获得至少3%的选票才可以取得300席议会中的席位。
行政区
希腊划分为13个大区(peripheries)，再进一步分为51个州(nomoi，单数nomos)：
阿提卡(Attica):
Attica
中希腊:
Euboea
Evritania
Fokis
Fthiotis
Viotia
中马其顿
Khalkidhiki
Imathia
Kilkis
Pella
Pieria
Serres
Thessaloniki
克里特岛(Crete)
Chania
Heraklion
Lasithi
Rethimno
色雷斯和东马其顿(East Macedonia and Thrace)
Drama
Evros
Kavala
Rodhopi
Xanthi
伊皮鲁斯(Epirus)
Arta
Ioannina
Preveza
Thesprotia
爱奥尼亚群岛(Ionian Islands)
Corfu
Kefallinia
Levkas
Zakinthos
北爱琴海
Chios
Lesbos
Samos
伯罗奔尼撒(Peloponnesus)
Arcadia
Argolis
Corinth
Laconia
Messinia
南爱琴海
Cyclades
Dodecanese
色萨利(Thessaly)
Kardhitsa
Larisa
Magnesia
Trikala
西希腊
Achaea
Aitolia-Acarnania
Ilia
西马其顿
Florina
Grevena
Kastoria
Kozani
除此之外还有一个享有很大自治权的区域阿苏斯神权共和国（圣山）。
地理
该国由一片大陆以及巴尔干半岛南端的伯罗奔尼撒半岛(Peloponnesus Penisula)组成。海岸线有14,880千米，陆地边界长1,160千米。希腊80%的地方是山区，全国大部分地区都十分干燥；只有28%的土地是可耕种的。西部主要是湿地。中部山区平均海拔在2,650米左右。传奇性的奥林帕斯山为希腊最高点，海拔2,917米。
希腊气候冬温湿，夏干热。温度变化不大，但在冬天山区甚至雅典地区都有降雪。
经济
希腊拥有综合了资本主义经济以及占GDP一半左右的公共版块。旅游业是支柱产业，占希腊GDP以及外汇收入的很大一部分。希腊是欧盟经济援助的主要受惠国，受欧盟援助的资金大约占总GDP的3.3%，在过去几年中希腊经济稳步增长。
急需解决的问题包括了降低失业率以及进一步的经济重组，包括了几个主要国有企业的私有化，社会保障体系、税收体系的改革，以及减少官僚系统的缺失。
人口
大多数希腊人(98%)信奉国教东正教。东正教会受国家保护，并有自治权，但受位于君士坦丁堡的基督教元老院的精神指导。除此之外，还有1.3%的人口信奉伊斯兰教，而伊斯兰教也是唯一受官方承认的除东正教之外的宗教。
