Greece

Greece /ɡriːs/ (help·info) (Greek: Ελλάδα, transliterated: Elláda [e̞ˈlaða] , historically Ἑλλάς, Hellás, IPA: [e̞ˈlas]), officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία, Ellīnikī́ Dīmokratía, [e̞liniˈkʲi ðimo̞kɾaˈtia]),^[4] is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula. The country has borders with Albania, the Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to the east. The Aegean Sea lies to the east and south of mainland Greece, while the Ionian Sea lies to the west. Both parts of the Eastern Mediterranean basin feature a vast number of islands, islets and rock islands.

Modern Greece traces its roots to the civilization of ancient Greece, generally considered to be the cradle of Western civilization. As such, it is the birthplace of democracy,^[5] Western philosophy,^[6] the Olympic Games, Western literature and historiography, political science, major scientific and mathematical principles, and Western drama,^[7] including both tragedy and comedy.

Greece is a developed country, a member of the European Union since 1981,^[8] a member of the Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union since 2001, NATO since 1952,^[9] the OECD since 1961,^[10] the WEU since 1995, a founding member of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation and a member of ESA since 2005.^[11] Athens is the capital; Thessaloniki, Patras, Heraklion, Larissa, Volos, Ioannina, Kavala, Rhodes and Serres are some of the country's other major cities.

Contents

• 1 History
• 2 Government and politics
  • 2.1 Political Parties
  • 2.2 Peripheries and prefectures
  • 2.3 Foreign relations
• 3 Geography
  • 3.1 Climate
• 4 Economy
  • 4.1 Maritime industry
  • 4.2 Science and technology
  • 4.3 Tourism
  • 4.4 International relations
• 5 Numismatics
• 6 Transport
• 7 Demographics
  • 7.1 Immigration
  • 7.2 Religion
  • 7.3 Languages
• 8 Education
• 9 Culture
  • 9.1 Philosophy
  • 9.2 Cuisine
  • 9.3 Music
  • 9.4 Sports
  • 9.5 Mythology
• 10 Armed forces
• 11 International rankings
• 12 See also
• 13 Notes
• 14 References
• 15 Further reading
• 16 External links

Hellenic Republic Ελληνική Δημοκρατία Ellīnikī́ Dīmokratía
Flag National emblem
Motto: Eleftheria i Thanatos, (Greek: "Ελευθερία ή Θάνατος", "Freedom or Death") (traditional)
Anthem: Ὕμνος εἰς τὴν Ἐλευθερίαν Ýmnos eis tīn Eleftherían Hymn to Liberty1
Location of Greece (dark green) – on the European continent (light green & dark grey) – in the European Union (light green) — [Legend]
Capital (and largest city)		Athens 38°00′N 23°43′E / 38°N 23.717°E / 38; 23.717
Official languages		Greek
Demonym		Greek
Government		Parliamentary republic
-	President	Karolos Papoulias
-	Prime Minister	Kostas Karamanlis
Modern statehood
-	Independence from the Ottoman Empire	25 March 1821
-	Recognized	3 February 1830, in the London Protocol
-	Kingdom of Greece	May 1832, in the Convention of London
-	Current constitution	1975, "Third Republic"
EU accession		1 January 1981
Area
-	Total	131,990 km2 (96th) 50,944 sq mi
-	Water (%)	0.8669
Population
-	2008 estimate	11,216,708[1] (74th)
-	2001 census	10,964,020[2]
-	Density	84/km2 (88th) 218/sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2008 estimate
-	Total	$341.127 billion[3]
-	Per capita	$30,534[3]
GDP (nominal)		2008 estimate
-	Total	$357.549 billion[3]
-	Per capita	$32,004[3]
Gini (2000)		34.32 (low) (35th)
HDI (2006)		▲ 0.947 (high) (18th)
Currency		Euro (€)3 (EUR)
Time zone		EET (UTC+2)
-	Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Drives on the		right
Internet TLD		.gr4
Calling code		30