Greece
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For other uses, see Greece (disambiguation) and Hellas.
Hellenic Republic
Ελληνική Δημοκρατία (Greek)
Ellinikí Dimokratía
Flag
Coat of arms
Motto: Ελευθερία ή Θάνατος
Elefthería í Thánatos
(English: "Freedom or Death")
Anthem: Ύμνος εις την Ελευθερίαν
Ímnos is tin Eleftherían
(English: "Hymn to Liberty")
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Location of Greece (dark green)
– in Europe (light green & dark grey)
– in the European Union (light green)
Capital Athens
37°58′N 23°43′E
and largest city
Official language Greek
and national
language
Religion 93% Christianity
—90% Greek Orthodoxy[a]
(2017)
—3% Other Christian
4% No religion
2% Islam
1% Others[3]
Demonym(s) Greek
Government Unitary parliamentary republic
• President Katerina Sakellaropoulou
• Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis
• Parliament Speaker Konstantinos Tasoulas
Legislature Hellenic Parliament
Establishment history
• Independence 25 March 1821 (traditional starting date of
declared from the Greek War of Independence), 15 January
the Ottoman 1822 (official declaration)
Empire
• Recognised 3 February 1830
• Current 11 June 1975
constitution
Area
• Total 131,957 km2 (50,949 sq mi)[4] (95th)
• Water (%) 1.51 (as of 2015)[5]
Population
• 2020 estimate 10,718,565[6] (85th)
• 2011 census 10,816,286[7]
• Density 82[8]/km2 (212.4/sq mi) (98th)
GDP (PPP) 2021 estimate
• Total $339.668 billion[9]
• Per capita $31,821[9]
GDP (nominal) 2021 estimate
• Total $211.645 billion[9]
• Per capita $19,827[9]
Gini (2020) 31.4[10]
medium
HDI (2019) 0.888[11]
very high · 32nd
Currency Euro (€) (EUR)
Time zone UTC+02:00 (Eastern European Time)
• Summer (DST) UTC+03:00 (Eastern European Summer
Time)
Date format dd-mm-yyyy (AD)
Driving side right
Calling code +30
ISO 3166 code GR
Internet TLD .gra
.ελ
a. The .eu domain is also used, as in other European
Union member states.
Greece (Greek: Ελλάδα, romanized: Elláda, [eˈlaða]), officially the Hellenic Republic,[b] is
a country located in Southeast Europe. Its population is approximately 10.7 million as of
2018; Athens is its largest and capital city, followed by Thessaloniki. Situated on the
southern tip of the Balkans, Greece is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and
Africa. It shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North
Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to the northeast. The Aegean Sea lies
to the east of the mainland, the Ionian Sea to the west, the Cretan Sea and
the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Greece has the longest coastline on
the Mediterranean Basin and the 11th longest coastline in the world at 13,676 km
(8,498 mi) in length, featuring many islands, of which 227 are inhabited. Eighty percent
of Greece is mountainous, with Mount Olympus being the highest peak at 2,918 metres
(9,573 ft). The country consists of nine traditional geographic
regions: Macedonia, Central Greece, the Peloponnese, Thessaly, Epirus, the Aegean
Islands (including the Dodecanese and Cyclades), Thrace, Crete, and the Ionian
Islands.
Greece is considered the cradle of Western civilization, being the birthplace
of democracy, Western philosophy, Western literature, historiography, political science,
major scientific and mathematical principles, theatre and the Olympic Games. From the
eighth century BC, the Greeks were organised into various independent city-states,
known as poleis (singular polis), which spanned the Mediterranean and the Black
Sea. Philip II of Macedon united most of present-day Greece in the fourth century BC,
with his son Alexander the Great rapidly conquering much of the ancient world, from the
eastern Mediterranean to India. The subsequent Hellenistic period saw the height
of Greek culture and influence in antiquity. Greece was annexed by Rome in the second
century BC, becoming an integral part of the Roman Empire and its continuation,
the Byzantine Empire, which was culturally and linguistically predominantly Greek.
The Greek Orthodox Church, which emerged in the first century AD, helped shape
modern Greek identity and transmitted Greek traditions to the wider Orthodox world.
After falling under Ottoman dominion in the mid-15th century, Greece emerged as a
modern nation state in 1830 following a war of independence. The country's rich
historical legacy is reflected in part by its 18 UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Greece is a unitary parliamentary republic, and a developed country, with an
advanced high-income economy, and a high quality of life, ranking simultaneously very
high in the Human Development Index. Its economy is the largest in the Balkans, where
it is an important regional investor. A founding member of the United Nations, Greece
was the tenth member to join the European Communities (precursor to the European
Union) and has been part of the Eurozone since 2001. It is also a member of numerous
other international institutions, including the Council of Europe, the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD), the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Organization for
Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), and the Organisation internationale de la
Francophonie (OIF). Greece's unique cultural heritage, large tourism
industry, prominent shipping sector and geostrategic importance classify it as a middle
power.[c]
