Map of Greece | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | More stats

top of page


Background: Greece achieved independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1830. 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. In World War II, Greece was first invaded by Italy (1940) and subsequently occupied by Germany (1941-44); fighting endured in a protracted civil war between supporters of the king and other anti-communist and communist rebels. Following the latter's defeat in 1949, Greece joined NATO in 1952. In 1967, a group of military officers seized power, establishing a military dictatorship that suspended many political liberties and forced the king to flee the country. In 1974 following the collapse of the dictatorship, democratic elections and a referendum created a parliamentary republic and abolished the monarchy. In 1981, Greece joined the EC (now the EU); it became the 12th member of the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) in 2001. Greece has suffered a severe economic crisis since late 2009, due to nearly a decade of chronic overspending and structural rigidities. Beginning in 2010, Greece entered three bailout agreements - with the European Commission, the European Central Bank (ECB), the IMF, and the third in 2015 with the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) - worth in total about $300 billion. The Greek Government formally exited the third bailout in August 2018.


top of page


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 reference: Europe

Area
Total: 131,957 km²
Land: 130,647 km²
Water: 1310 km²
Rank: 98
Comparative: slightly smaller than Alabama

Land boundaries
Total: 1110 km
Border countries: (4) Albania 212 km; , Bulgaria 472 km; , Macedonia 234 km; , Turkey 192 km

Coastline: 13,676 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: temperate; mild, wet winters; hot, dry summers

Terrain: mountainous with ranges extending into the sea as peninsulas or chains of islands

Elevation
Mean elevation: 498 m
Elevation extremes: 0 m
Note: lowest point: Mediterranean Sea

Natural resources: lignite, petroleum, iron ore, bauxite, lead, zinc, nickel, magnesite, marble, salt, hydropower potential

Land use
Agricultural land: 63.4% (2011 est.)
Forest: 30.5% (2011 est.)
Other: 6.1% (2011 est.)

Irrigated land: 15,550 km² (2012)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: severe earthquakesvolcanism: Santorini (367 m) has been deemed a Decade Volcano by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior, worthy of study due to its explosive history and close proximity to human populations; although there have been very few eruptions in recent centuries, Methana and Nisyros in the Aegean are classified as historically active

Geography
Note: strategic location dominating the Aegean Sea and southern approach to Turkish Straits; a peninsular country, possessing an archipelago of about 2,000 islands


top of page


Population
Distribution: one-third of the population lives in and around metropolitan Athens; the remainder of the country has moderate population density mixed with sizeable urban clusters: 10,761,523 (July 2018 est.)
Rank: 84
Growth rate: -0.07% (2018 est.)
Growth rate rank: 203
Below poverty line: 36% (2014 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Greek(s)
Adjective: Greek

Ethnic groups:

Languages: Greek (official) 99%, other (includes English and French) 1%

Religions: Greek Orthodox (official) 81-90%, Muslim 2%, other 3%, none 4-15%, unspecified 1% (2015 est.)

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 13.72% (male 760,615 /female 716,054)
15-24 years: 9.68% (male 531,957 /female 509,671)
25-54 years: 42.18% (male 2,259,672 /female 2,279,464)
55-64 years: 13.28% (male 699,205 /female 729,655)
65 years and over: 21.14% (male 997,359 /female 1,277,871) (2018 est.)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 52.7 (2015 est.)
Youth dependency ratio: 22.2 (2015 est.)
Elderly dependency ratio: 30.5 (2015 est.)
Potential support ratio: 3.3 (2015 est.)

Median age
Total: 44.9 years
Male: 43.8 years
Female: 45.9 years (2018 est.)
Rank: 7

Population growth rate: -0.07% (2018 est.)
Rank: 203

Birth rate: 8.3 births/1000 population (2018 est.)
Rank: 218

Death rate: 11.4 deaths/1000 population (2018 est.)
Rank: 21

Net migration rate: 2.3 migrant(s)/1000 population (2017 est.)
Rank: 41

Population distribution: one-third of the population lives in and around metropolitan Athens; the remainder of the country has moderate population density mixed with sizeable urban clusters

Urbanization
Urban population: 79.1% of total population
Note: (2015-20 est.)
Rate of urbanization: 0.22% annual rate of change

Major urban areas
Population: 3.156 million ATHENS (capital), 811,000 Thessaloniki (2018)

Environment
Current issues: air pollution; air emissions from transport and electricity power stations; water pollution; degradation of coastal zones; loss of biodiversity in terrestrial and marine ecosystems; increasing municipal and industrial waste
International agreements party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
International agreements signed but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.06 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
0-14 years: 1.06 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
15-24 years: 1.05 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
25-54 years: 0.99 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
55-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
Total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth: 29.8 years (2014 est.)

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 4.5 deaths/1000 live births (2018 est.)
Male: 5 deaths/1000 live births (2018 est.)
Female: 4.1 deaths/1000 live births (2018 est.)
Rank: 181

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 80.8 years (2018 est.)
Male: 78.2 years (2018 est.)
Female: 83.6 years (2018 est.)
Rank: 40

Total fertility rate: 1.44 children born/woman (2018 est.)
Rank: 207

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source
Urban: 0% of population
Rural: 0% of population
Total: 0% of population (2015 est.)

Current health expenditure

Physicians density: 6.26 physicians/1000 population (2014)

Hospital bed density: 4.3 beds/1000 population (2015)

Sanitation facility access
Urban: 0.8% of population (2015 est.)
Rural: 1.9% of population (2015 est.)
Total: 1% of population (2015 est.)

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.2% (2017 est.)
Adult prevalence rate rank: 93
People living with hivaids: 14,000 (2017 est.)
People living with hivaids rank: 91
Deaths note: <100 (2017 est.)

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 24.9% (2016)
Rank: 54

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write (2015 est.)
Total population: 97.7% (2015 est.)
Male: 98.5% (2015 est.)
Female: 96.9% (2015 est.)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 18 years (2014)
Male: 18 years (2014)
Female: 18 years (2014)

Youth unemployment


top of page


Country name
Conventional long form: Hellenic Republic
Conventional short form: Greece
Local long form: Elliniki Dimokratia
Local short form: Ellas or Ellada
Former: Hellenic State, Kingdom of Greece
Etymology: the English name derives from the Roman (Latin) designation Graecia, meaning Land of the Greeks; the Greeks call their country Hellas or Ellada

Government type: parliamentary republic

Capital
Name: Athens
Geographic coordinates: 37 59 N, 23 44 E
Time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

Administrative divisions: 13 regions (perifereies, singular - perifereia) and 1 autonomous monastic state* (aftonomi monastiki politeia); Agion Oros* (Mount Athos), Anatoliki Makedonia kai Thraki (East Macedonia and Thrace), Attiki (Attica), Dytiki Ellada (West Greece), Dytiki Makedonia (West Macedonia), Ionia Nisia (Ionian Islands), Ipeiros (Epirus), Kentriki Makedonia (Central Macedonia), Kriti (Crete), Notio Aigaio (South Aegean), Peloponnisos (Peloponnese), Sterea Ellada (Central Greece), Thessalia (Thessaly), Voreio Aigaio (North Aegean)

Dependent areas

Independence: 3 February 1830 (from the Ottoman Empire); note - 25 March 1821, outbreak of the national revolt against the Ottomans; 3 February 1830, signing of the London Protocol recognizing Greek independence by Great Britain, France, and Russia

National holiday: Independence Day, 25 March (1821)

Constitution
History: many previous; latest entered into force 11 June 1975 (2016)
Amendments: proposed by at least 50 members of Parliament and agreed by three-fifths majority vote in two separate ballots at least 30 days apart; passage requires absolute majority vote by the next elected Parliament; entry into force finalized through a special parliamentary resolution; articles on human rights and freedoms and the form of government cannot be amended; amended 1986, 2001, 2008 (2016)

Legal system: civil legal system based on Roman law

International law organization participation: accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Citizenship
Citizenship by birth: no
Citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Greece
Dual citizenship recognized: yes
Residency requirement for naturalization: 10 years

Suffrage: 17 years of age; universal and compulsory

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Prokopios (Prokopis) PAVLOPOULOS (since 13 March 2015)
Head of government: Prime Minister Alexios TSIPRAS (since 21 September 2015); note - Vasiliki THANOU-CHRISTOFILOU served as interim prime minister beginning on 27 August 2015 for less than a month after the resignation of Alexios TSIPRAS on 20 August 2015; she was Greeces first female prime minister; before the brief interregnum, Alexios TSIPRAS had served as prime minister since 26 January 2015
Cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister
Electionsappointments: president elected by Hellenic Parliament for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 18 February 2015 (next to be held by February 2020); president appoints as prime minister the leader of the majority party or coalition in the Hellenic Parliament
Election results: Prokopios PAVLOPOULOS (ND) elected president by Parliament - 233 of 300 votes

Legislative branch
Description: unicameral Hellenic Parliament or Vouli ton Ellinon (300 seats; 280 members in multi-seat constituencies and 12 members in a single nationwide constituency directly elected by open party-list proportional representation vote; 8 members in single-seat constituencies elected by simple majority vote; members serve up to 4 year);  note - only parties surpassing a 3% threshold are entitled to parliamentary seats; parties need 10 seats to become formal parliamentary groups but can retain that status if the party participated in the last election and received the minimum 3% threshold
Elections: last held on 20 September 2015 (next to be held by October 2019); note - snap election called because of upheaval in the governing SYRIZA party over the third bailout deal with international creditors
Election results: percent of vote by party - SYRIZA 35.5%, ND 28.1%, Golden Dawn 7%, PASOK-DIMAR 6.3%, KKE 5.6%, The River 4.1%, ANEL 3.7%, EK 3.4%, other 6.3%; seats by party - SYRIZA 145, ND 75, Golden Dawn 18, PASOK-DIMAR 17, KKE 15, The River 11, ANEL 10, EK 9; composition - men 241, women 59, percent of women 19.7%

Judicial branch
Highest courts: Supreme Civil and Criminal Court or Areios Pagos (consists of 56 judges including the court presidents); Council of State (supreme administrative court) consists of the president, vice president, 42 privy councillors, and 98 associate and reporting judges, organized into 5- and 7-member chambers; Hellenic Court of Audit (government audit and enforcement) consists of the president, 5 vice presidents, 20 councillors, and 90 associate and reporting judges
Judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court judges appointed by presidential decree on the advice of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), which includes the president of the Supreme Court, other judges, and the prosecutor of the Supreme Court; judges appointed for life following a 2-year probationary period; Council of State president appointed by the Greek Cabinet to serve a 4-year term; other judge appointments and tenure NA; Court of Audit president appointed by decree of the president of the republic on the advice of the SJC to serve a 4-year term with an age limit of 67
Subordinate courts: Courts of Appeal and Courts of First Instance(district courts)

Political parties and leaders: Anticapitalist Left Cooperation for the Overthrow or ANTARSYA [collective leadership]Coalition of the Radical Left or SYRIZA [Alexios (Alexis) TSIPRAS]Communist Party of Greece or KKE [Dimitrios KOUTSOUMBAS]Democratic Left or DIMAR [Athanasios (Thanasis) THEOCHAROPOULOS]Greek Solution {Kyriakos VELOPOULOS]Independent Greeks or ANEL [Panagiotis (Panos) KAMMENOS]Movement for Change or KINAL (includes PASOK, DIMAR, KIDISO) Movement of Democratic SOcialists or KIDISO [Georgios PAPANDREOUS]Panhellenic Socialist Movement or PASOK [Foteini (Fofi) GENIMMATA]Movement of Democratic Socialists or KIDISO [Georgios PAPANDREOU]New Democracy or ND [Kyriakos MITSOTAKIS]People's Association-Golden Dawn [Nikolaos MICHALOLIAKOS]Popular Unity or LAE [Panagiotis LAFAZANIS]The River (To Potami) [Stavros THEODORAKIS]Union of Centrists or EK [Vasileios (Vasilis) LEVENTIS]

International organization participation: Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CD, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECB, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, FATF, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD (partners), IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIF, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, Schengen Convention, SELEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Theocharis LALAKOS (since 27 June 2016)
In the us chancery: 2,217 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 939-1300
In the us FAX: [1] (202) 939-1324
In the us consulate:
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Geoffrey R. PYATT (since 24 October 2016)
From the us embassy: 91 Vasillisis Sophias Avenue, 10,160 Athens
From the us mailing address: PSC 108, APO AE 9,842-0108
From the us telephone: [30] (210) 721-2,951
From the us FAX: [30] (210) 645-6,282
From the us consulate: Thessaloniki

Flag description:

National symbols: Greek cross (white cross on blue field, arms equal length); national colors: blue, white

National anthem
Name: Ymnos eis tin Eleftherian (Hymn to Liberty)
Lyricsmusic: Dionysios SOLOMOS/Nikolaos MANTZAROS: note: adopted 1864; the anthem is based on a 158-stanza poem by the same name, which was inspired by the Greek Revolution of 1821 against the Ottomans (only the first two stanzas are used); Cyprus also uses 'Hymn to Liberty' as its anthem

National heritage


top of page


Economy overview: Greece has a capitalist economy with a public sector accounting for about 40% of GDP and with per capita GDP about two-thirds that of the leading euro-zone economies. Tourism provides 18% of GDP. Immigrants make up nearly one-fifth of the work force, mainly in agricultural and unskilled jobs. Greece is a major beneficiary of EU aid, equal to about 3.3% of annual GDP.The Greek economy averaged growth of about 4% per year between 2003 and 2007, but the economy went into recession in 2009 as a result of the world financial crisis, tightening credit conditions, and Athens' failure to address a growing budget deficit. By 2013, the economy had contracted 26%, compared with the pre-crisis level of 2007. Greece met the EU's Growth and Stability Pact budget deficit criterion of no more than 3% of GDP in 2007-08, but violated it in 2009, when the deficit reached 15% of GDP. Deteriorating public finances, inaccurate and misreported statistics, and consistent underperformance on reforms prompted major credit rating agencies to downgrade Greece's international debt rating in late 2009 and led the country into a financial crisis. Under intense pressure from the EU and international market participants, the government accepted a bailout program that called on Athens to cut government spending, decrease tax evasion, overhaul the civil-service, health-care, and pension systems, and reform the labor and product markets. Austerity measures reduced the deficit to 1.3% in 2017. Successive Greek governments, however, failed to push through many of the most unpopular reforms in the face of widespread political opposition, including from the country's powerful labor unions and the general public.In April 2010, a leading credit agency assigned Greek debt its lowest possible credit rating, and in May 2010, the IMF and euro-zone governments provided Greece emergency short- and medium-term loans worth $147 billion so that the country could make debt repayments to creditors. Greece, however, struggled to meet the targets set by the EU and the IMF, especially after Eurostat - the EU's statistical office - revised upward Greece's deficit and debt numbers for 2009 and 2010. European leaders and the IMF agreed in October 2011 to provide Athens a second bailout package of $169 billion. The second deal called for holders of Greek government bonds to write down a significant portion of their holdings to try to alleviate Greece’s government debt burden. However, Greek banks, saddled with a significant portion of sovereign debt, were adversely affected by the write down and $60 billion of the second bailout package was set aside to ensure the banking system was adequately capitalized.In 2014, the Greek economy began to turn the corner on the recession. Greece achieved three significant milestones: balancing the budget - not including debt repayments; issuing government debt in financial markets for the first time since 2010; and generating 0.7% GDP growth — the first economic expansion since 2007.Despite the nascent recovery, widespread discontent with austerity measures helped propel the far-left Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA) party into government in national legislative elections in January 2015. Between January and July 2015, frustrations grew between the SYRIZA-led government and Greece’s EU and IMF creditors over the implementation of bailout measures and disbursement of funds. The Greek government began running up significant arrears to suppliers, while Greek banks relied on emergency lending, and Greece’s future in the euro zone was called into question. To stave off a collapse of the banking system, Greece imposed capital controls in June 2015, then became the first developed nation to miss a loan payment to the IMF, rattling international financial markets. Unable to reach an agreement with creditors, Prime Minister Alexios TSIPRAS held a nationwide referendum on 5 July on whether to accept the terms of Greece’s bailout, campaigning for the ultimately successful 'no' vote. The TSIPRAS government subsequently agreed, however, to a new $96 billion bailout in order to avert Greece’s exit from the monetary bloc. On 20 August 2015, Greece signed its third bailout, allowing it to cover significant debt payments to its EU and IMF creditors and to ensure the banking sector retained access to emergency liquidity. The TSIPRAS government — which retook office on 20 September 2015 after calling new elections in late August — successfully secured disbursal of two delayed tranches of bailout funds. Despite the economic turmoil, Greek GDP did not contract as sharply as feared, boosted in part by a strong tourist season.In 2017, Greece saw improvements in GDP and unemployment. Unfinished economic reforms, a massive non-performing loan problem, and ongoing uncertainty regarding the political direction of the country hold the economy back. Some estimates put Greece’s black market at 20- to 25% of GDP, as more people have stopped reporting their income to avoid paying taxes that, in some cases, have risen to 70% of an individual’s gross income.

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Rank: 56

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 176

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 75

Gross national saving:
Rank: 159

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 69.6% (2017 est.)
Government consumption: 20.1% (2017 est.)
Investment in fixed capital: 12.5% (2017 est.)
Investment in inventories: -1% (2017 est.)
Exports of goods and services: 33.4% (2017 est.)
Imports of goods and services: -34.7% (2017 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 4.1% (2017 est.)
Industry: 16.9% (2017 est.)
Services: 79.1% (2017 est.)

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: 3.5% (2017 est.)
Rank: 85

Labor force: 4.769 million (2017 est.)
Rank: 84
By occupation agriculture: 12.6%
By occupation industry: 15%
By occupation services: 72.4% (30 October 2015 est.)

Unemployment rate:
Rank: 189

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: 36% (2014 est.)

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 26.7% (2015 est.)
Highest 10: 26.7% (2015 est.)

Distribution of family income gini index:
Rank: 86

Budget
Revenues: 97.99 billion (2017 est.)
Expenditures: 96.35 billion (2017 est.)
Surplus or deficit: 0.8% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 36

Taxes and other revenues: 48.8% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
Rank: 17

Public debt:
Rank: 2

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices:
Rank: 59

Central bank discount rate:
Rank: 144

Commercial bank prime lending rate:
Rank: 144

Stock of narrow money:
Rank: 39

Stock of broad money:
Rank: 39

Stock of domestic credit:
Rank: 41

Market value of publicly traded shares:
Rank: 56

Current account balance:
Rank: 158

Exports:
Rank: 65
Partners: Italy 10.6%, Germany 7.1%, Turkey 6.8%, Cyprus 6.5%, Bulgaria 4.9%, Lebanon 4.3% (2017)
Commodities: food and beverages, manufactured goods, petroleum products, chemicals, textiles

Imports:
Rank: 52
Commodities: machinery, transport equipment, fuels, chemicals
Partners: Germany 10.4%, Italy 8.2%, Russia 6.8%, Iraq 6.3%, South Korea 6.1%, China 5.4%, Netherlands 5.3%, France 4.3% (2017)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
Rank: 80

Debt external:
Rank: 23

Stock of direct foreign investment at home:
Rank: 67

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad:
Rank: 49

Exchange rates:


top of page


Electricity
Access electrification total population: 100% (2016)
Production: 52.05 billion kWh (2016 est.)
Production rank: 53
Consumption: 56.89 billion kWh (2016 est.)
Consumption rank: 45
Exports: 1.037 billion kWh (2016 est.)
Exports rank: 58
Imports: 9.833 billion kWh (2016 est.)
Imports rank: 27
Installed generating capacity: 19.17 million kW (2016 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 46
Generation sources fossil fuels: 57% of total installed capacity (2016 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 137
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 98
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 14% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 105
Generation sources other renewable sources: 29% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 19

Coal

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 2,753 bbl/day (2017 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 84
Crude oil exports: 3,229 bbl/day (2017 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 67
Crude oil imports: 484,300 bbl/day (2017 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 20
Crude oil proven reserves: 10 million bbl (1 January 2018 est.)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 90

Crude oil

Refined petroleum
Products production: 655,400 bbl/day (2017 est.)
Products production rank: 28
Products consumption: 304,100 bbl/day (2017 est.)
Products consumption rank: 43
Products exports: 371,900 bbl/day (2017 est.)
Products exports rank: 22
Products imports: 192,200 bbl/day (2017 est.)
Products imports rank: 35

Natural gas
Production: 8 million m³ (2017 est.)
Production rank: 93
Consumption: 4.927 billion m³ (2017 est.)
Consumption rank: 61
Exports: 0 m³ (2017 est.)
Exports rank: 112
Imports: 4.984 billion m³ (2017 est.)
Imports rank: 36
Proven reserves: 991.1 million m³ (1 January 2018 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 100

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 69.37 million Mt (2017 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 51

Energy consumption per capita


top of page


Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 5,176,475 (2017 est.)
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 48 (2017 est.)
Fixed lines rank: 28
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 12,937,106 (2017 est.)
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 120 (2017 est.)
Mobile cellular rank: 72

Telephone system
General assessment: adequate, modern networks reach all areas; good mobile telephone and international service; 3 mobile network operators; 2019 5G trials and LTE use; despite rough economic conditions broadband penetration developing (2017)
Domestic: microwave radio relay trunk system; extensive open-wire connections; submarine cable to offshore islands; 48 per 100 for fixed-line and 120 per 100 for mobile-cellular (2017)
International: country code - 30; landing point for the SEA-ME-WE-3 optical telecommunications submarine cable that provides links to Europe, Middle East, and Asia; a number of smaller submarine cables provide connectivity to various parts of Europe, the Middle East, and Cyprus; tropospheric scatter; satellite earth stations - 4 (2 Intelsat - 1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean, 1 Eutelsat, and 1 Inmarsat - Indian Ocean region) (2015)

Broadcast media: broadcast media dominated by the private sector; roughly 150 private TV channels, about 10 of which broadcast nationwide; 1 government-owned terrestrial TV channel with national coverage; 3 privately owned satellite channels; multi-channel satellite and cable TV services available; upwards of 1,500 radio stations, all of them privately owned; government-owned broadcaster has 2 national radio stations (2014)

Internet
Country code: .gr
Users total: 7,443,016 (July 2016 est.)
Users percent of population: 69.1% (July 2016 est.)
Users rank: 57

Broadband fixed subscriptions
Total: 3,778,263 (2017 est.)
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 35 (2017 est.)
Rank: 32


top of page


Military expenditures:
Rank: 41

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation: 19-45 years of age for compulsory military service; during wartime the law allows for recruitment beginning January of the year of inductee's 18th birthday, thus including 17 year olds; 18 years of age for volunteers; conscript service obligation is 1 year for the Army and 9 months for the Air Force and Navy; women are eligible for voluntary military service (2014)

Space program

Terrorist groups
Home based Revolutionary Struggle:


top of page


National air transport system
Number of registered air carriers: 9 (2015)
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 93 (2015)
Annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 12,583,541 (2015)
Annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 27,452,961
Note: mt-km (2015)

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: SX (2016)

Airports: 77 (2013)
Rank: 69
With paved runways total: 68 (2017)
With paved runways over 3047 m: 6 (2017)
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 15 (2017)
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 19 (2017)
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 18 (2017)
With paved runways under 914 m: 10 (2017)
With unpaved runways total: 9 (2013)
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 2 (2013)
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 7 (2013)

Heliports: 9 (2013)

Pipelines: 1329 km gas, 94 km oil (2013)

Railways
Total: 2,548 km (2014)
Standard gauge: 1565 km
Note: 1.000-m gauge (2014)
Narrow gauge: 961 km: 22 0.750-m gauge
Rank: 67

Roadways
Total: 116,960 km (2010)
Paved: 41,357 km
Note: (includes 1091 km of expressways) (2010)
Unpaved: 75,603 km (2010)
Rank: 41

Waterways: 6 km
Note: (the 6-km-long Corinth Canal crosses the Isthmus of Corinth; it shortens a sea voyage by 325 km) (2012)
Rank: 106

Merchant marine
Total: 1364 (2017)
By type: bulk carrier 207, container ship 7, general cargo 127, oil tanker 423, other 600 (2017)
Rank: 21

Ports and terminals
Major seaport: Aspropyrgos, Pachi, Piraeus, Thessaloniki
Oil terminal: Agioi Theodoroi
Container port: Piraeus (3,736,644) (2016)
LNG terminal: Revithoussa


top of page


Disputes international: Greece and Turkey continue discussions to resolve their complex maritime, air, territorial, and boundary disputes in the Aegean SeaGreece rejects the use of the name Macedonia or Republic of Macedoniathe mass migration of unemployed Albanians still remains a problem for developed countries, chiefly Greece and Italy

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Refugees: 13,714 (Syria) (2017)
Stateless persons: 198 (2017): note: 1,118,070 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-December 2018); as of the end of June 2018, an estimated 62,938 migrants and refugees were stranded in Greece; 35,052 migrant arrivals in 2017

Illicit drugs: a gateway to Europe for traffickers smuggling cannabis and heroin from the Middle East and Southwest Asia to the West and precursor chemicals to the East; some South American cocaine transits or is consumed in Greece; money laundering related to drug trafficking and organized crime