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For other uses, see Greece (disambiguation).
"Hellenic Republic" redirects here. For other uses, see Hellenic Republic
(disambiguation).
Greece,[a] officially the Hellenic Republic,[b] is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the
southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, Greece shares land borders with Albania to the
northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to the east. The Aegean
Sea lies to the east of the mainland, the Ionian Sea to the west, and the Sea of Crete and
the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Greece has the longest coastline on the Mediterranean Basin,
featuring thousands of islands. The country comprises nine traditional geographic regions, and
has a population of over 10.4 million. Athens is the nation's capital and largest city, followed
by Thessaloniki and Patras.
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")
Duration: 46 seconds.0:46
Show globeShow map of EuropeShow all
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 Greek
language
and
national
language
Religion
o 93% Christiani
(2017)
ty
90% Gr
eek Orthodoxy (official)a
3%
other Christian
4% no religion
2% Islam
1% other[1]
Demony Greek
m(s) Hellene
Governm Unitary parliamentary
ent republic
• President Katerina Sakellaropoulou
• Prime Kyriakos Mitsotakis
Minister
• Parliament Konstantinos Tasoulas
Speaker
Legislatu Hellenic Parliament
re
Establishment history
• Independe 25 March 1821 (traditional
nce starting date of the Greek
declared fr War of Independence), 15
om January 1822 (official
the Ottom declaration)
an Empire
• Recognise 3 February 1830
d
• Third 24 July 1974
Hellenic
Republic
• Current 11 June 1975
constitutio
n
Area
• Total 131,957 km2 (50,949 sq mi)
[3]
(95th)
• Water (%) 1.51 (2015)[2]
Population
• 2023 10,413,982 (1 January
estimate 2023)[4] (90th)
• 2021 cens 10,432,481[5]
us
• Density 78.9/km2 (204.4/sq mi)
(105th)
GDP (PPP) 2024 estimate
• Total $436.757 billion[6] (54th)
• Per capita $42,066[6] (48th)
GDP (nom 2024 estimate
inal)
• Total $252.732 billion[6] (52nd)
• Per capita $24,342[6] (46th)
Gini (2023 31.8[7]
) medium inequality
HDI (2022 0.893[8]
) very high (33rd)
Currency Euro (€) (EUR)
Time UTC+02:00 (EET)
zone
• Summer ( UTC+03:00 (EEST)
DST)
Date dd.mm.yyyy (AD)b
format
Drives on right
Calling +30
code
ISO 3166 GR
code
Internet .grc
TLD .ελ
a. The Church of Greece is
recognized by the Greek
Constitution as the prevailing
religion in Greece,[9] the only
country in the world where
Eastern Orthodoxy is clearly
recognized as a state religion.[10]
b. Other short formats: dd-mm-
yyyy, dd/mm/yyyy
c. The .eu domain is also used, as
in other European
Union member states.
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) that spanned the Mediterranean and Black seas. 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 known ancient world from the eastern Mediterranean to
northwestern 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
predominately Greek in culture and language. 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 the Fourth Crusade in 1204, Latin possessions were established in
parts of the Greek peninsula, but most of the area fell under Ottoman rule by the mid-15th
century.
Following a protracted war of independence, which started in 1821, Greece emerged as a
modern nation state in 1830. Over the first hundred years, the Kingdom of
Greece sought territorial expansion, which was mainly realized in the early 20th century during
the Balkan Wars and up until the catastrophic defeat of its Asia Minor Campaign in 1922.
The short-lived republic that was established in 1924 was beset by the ramifications of civil
strife and the challenge of resettling refugees from Turkey. In 1936 a royalist
dictatorship inaugurated a long period of authoritarian rule, marked by military occupation, civil
war and military dictatorship. Democracy was restored in 1974–75, leading to the
current parliamentary republic. It was a belligerent on the side of the Greek Cypriots in
the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974.
Having achieved record economic growth from 1950 through the 1970s, Greece is a developed
country with an advanced high-income economy. A founding member of the United Nations,
Greece was the tenth member to join what is today the European Union in 1981 and is part of
the eurozone. It is a member of other international institutions, including the Council of
Europe, NATO (since 1952), the OECD, the WTO, and the OSCE. Greece has a unique cultural
heritage, large tourism industry, and prominent shipping sector. The country's rich historical
legacy is reflected in part by its 19 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Greece was the ninth most-
visited country in the world in 2023.
Name
History
Geography
Politics
Economy
Demographics
Culture
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Last edited 10 days ago by I am the pootis man1
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