CountryWatch - Country Review

Greece

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Country Profile

Greece achieved independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1830 and became a constitutional monarchy about 15 years later. For much of the 20th century, the nation was divided between republicans and monarchists. During World War II, Greece was first invaded by Italy (1940) and subsequently occupied by Germany (1941-44), and postwar instability led to a civil war between supporters of the king and Communist rebels. Following the latter's defeat in 1949, Greece joined NATO in 1952. A military dictatorship ruled Greece from 1967 until 1974 when democratic elections and a referendum created a parliamentary republic and abolished the monarchy. Greece joined the EU in 1981 and adopted the euro as its new common currency in January 2002. Greece is one of the smallest economies in the EU, and major contributors to its economy include tourism and shipping. The agricultural sector is still large compared to other EU countries, although its contribution to GDP (most recently at over 3 percent) has declined in recent years.

Country Forecast

Greece - Macroeconomic Data

	2008	2009	2010	2011
Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (€ billions)	221.220	220.788	219.488	221.857
Real GDP Growth Rate (%)	2.900	-0.1000	-0.5000	1.000
Inflation Rate (from GDP Price Deflator) (%)	3.300	2.300	1.900	1.900
Exchange Rate US Dollars (€/$)	0.6820	0.6890	0.6660	0.6340

Major Cities

City	Population	Estimated
Athens	752,573	2009
Thessaloniki	348,858	2009
Piraieus	178,390	2009

Key Data

Region :	Europe
Population :	11,243,142
Area Total :	131,940 km²
Area Land :	130,800 km²
Coast Line :	13,676 km
Capital :	Athens
Climate :	Temperate; mild, wet winters; hot, dry summers
Languages :	Greek; some speakers of English, French, Turkish, Macedonian, Romanian, Romani, Bulgarian and Albanian
Currency :	1 Euro = 100 cents
Holiday :	Independence Day, 25 March (1821)

Average Daily TemperatureBoundaries

January :	10.20°C / 50.40°F
July :	27.90°C / 82.20°F
Annual Rainfall :	371.4mm / 14.6"

Bulgaria	494km
Albania	282km
Macedonia (FYROM)	228km
Turkey	206km

Ethnic DivisionsReligions

Greek	98%
Other	2%

Greek Orthodox	98%
Muslim	1%
Other	1%