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

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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 in 2001. From 2009 until 2019, Greece suffered a severe economic crisis, due to nearly a decade of chronic overspending and structural rigidities. Beginning in 2010, Greece entered three bailout agreements - the first two with the European Commission, the European Central Bank, and the IMF; and the third in 2015 with the European Stability Mechanism - worth in total about $300 billion. The Greek Government formally exited the third bailout in August 2018.


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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: 1,310 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than Alabama

Land boundaries
Total: 1,110 km
Border countries: (4) Albania 212 km; Bulgaria 472 km; North Macedonia 234 km; Turkey 192 km

Coastline: 13,676 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 6 nm
Continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation

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

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

Elevation
Highest point: Mount Olympus 2,917
Lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
Mean elevation: 498 m
Note: Mount Olympus actually has 52 peaks but its highest point, Mytikas (meaning "nose"), rises to 2,917 meters; in Greek mythology, Olympus' Mytikas peak was the home of the Greek gods

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

Land use
Agricultural land: 63.4% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land arable land: 19.7% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land permanent crops: 8.9% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land permanent pasture: 34.8% (2018 est.)
Forest: 30.5% (2018 est.)
Other: 6.1% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land: 11,853 km² (2019)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal
Municipal: 1.69 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
Industrial: 330 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
Agricultural: 8.11 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Total renewable water resources: 68.4 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Natural hazards: severe earthquakes

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


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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: 10,497,595 (2023 est.)
Growth rate: -0.35% (2023 est.)
Below poverty line: 17.9% (2018 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Greek(s)
Adjective: Greek

Ethnic groups: Greek 91.6%, Albanian 4.4%, other 4% (2011 est.)
Note: data represent citizenship; Greece does not collect data on ethnicity

Languages: Greek (official) 99%, other (includes English and French) 1%
Major-language samples:

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

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 14.02% (male 758,311/female 713,794)
15-64 years: 62.66% (male 3,285,484/female 3,292,524)
65 years and over: 23.31% (2023 est.) (male 1,086,188/female 1,361,294)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 57.7
Youth dependency ratio: 22.2
Elderly dependency ratio: 35.5
Potential support ratio: 2.8 (2021 est.)

Median age
Total: 46.2 years (2023 est.)
Male: 44.3 years
Female: 47.9 years

Population growth rate: -0.35% (2023 est.)

Birth rate: 7.5 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Death rate: 12 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Net migration rate: 1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)

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: 80.7% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization: 0.11% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Major urban areas
Population: 3.154 million ATHENS (capital), 815,000 Thessaloniki (2023)

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-Sulphur 94, Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands
International agreements signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Heavy Metals, Air Pollution-Multi-effect Protocol, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds

Air pollutants
Particulate matter emissions: 14.62 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
Carbon dioxide emissions: 62.43 megatons (2016 est.)
Methane emissions: 9.8 megatons (2020 est.)

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2023 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth: 30.7 years (2020 est.)

Maternal mortality ratio: 8 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 3.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
Male: 3.9 deaths/1,000 live births
Female: 3.1 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 81.7 years (2023 est.)
Male: 79.2 years
Female: 84.4 years

Total fertility rate: 1.4 children born/woman (2023 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate: NA

Drinking water source
Improved urban: 100% of population
Improved rural: 100% of population
Improved total: 100% of population
Unimproved urban: 0% of population
Unimproved rural: 0% of population
Unimproved total: 0% of population (2020 est.)

Current health expenditure: 9.5% of GDP (2020)

Physicians density: 6.31 physicians/1,000 population (2019)

Hospital bed density: 4.2 beds/1,000 population (2018)

Sanitation facility access
Improved urban:
Unimproved urban:

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 24.9% (2016)

Alcohol consumption
Per capita total: 6.33 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita beer: 2.13 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita wine: 2.66 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita spirits: 1.45 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita other alcohols: 0.08 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

Tobacco use
Total: 33.5% (2020 est.)
Male: 36.5% (2020 est.)
Female: 30.5% (2020 est.)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: NA

Education expenditures: 4.4% of GDP (2020 est.)

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 97.9%
Male: 98.5%
Female: 97.4% (2018)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 20 years
Male: 20 years
Female: 20 years (2020)

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15 24 total: 36.9% (2021 est.)
Rate ages 15 24 male: 33.5%
Rate ages 15 24 female: 41.5%


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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
Etymology: Athens is the oldest European capital city; according to tradition, the city is named after Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom; in actuality, the appellation probably derives from a lost name in a pre-Hellenic language

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
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, 2019

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 Ekaterini SAKELLAROPOULOU (since 13 March 2020)
Head of government: Prime Minister Kyriakos MITSOTAKIS (since 26 June 2023)
Cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister
Elections/appointments: president elected by Hellenic Parliament for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 22 January 2020 (next to be held by February 2025); president appoints as prime minister the leader of the majority party or coalition in the Hellenic Parliament
Election results:

Legislative branch
Description: unicameral Hellenic Parliament or Vouli ton Ellinon (300 seats; 280 members in multi-seat and single-seat constituencies and 15 members - including 3 seats for Greek diaspora - in a single nationwide constituency directly elected by open party-list proportional representation vote; members serve up to 4 years);  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 25 June 2023 (next to be held in 2,027)
Election results: percent of vote by party - ND 40.6%, SYRIZA-PS 17.8%, PASOK-KINAL 11.9%, KKE 7.7%, Spartans 4.6%, Greek Solution 4.4%, NIKI 3.7%, Course of Freedom 3.2%, other 6.1%; seats by party - ND 158, SYRIZA-PS 48, PASOK-KINAL 32, KKE 20, Spartans 12, Greek Solution 12, NIKI 10, Course of Freedom 8; composition - men NA, women NA, percent of women NA%

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, 7 vice presidents, 42 privy councilors, 48 associate councilors and 50 reporting judges, organized into six 5- and 7-member chambers; Court of Audit (government audit and enforcement) consists of the president, 5 vice presidents, 20 councilors, 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; court president serves a 4-year term or until age 67; tenure of vice presidents, councilors, and judges NA
Subordinate courts: Courts of Appeal and Courts of First Instance (district courts)

Political parties and leaders:

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, Wassenaar Arrangement, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Chargé d’Affaires Theodoros BIZAKIS (since 22 September 2023)
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 email address and website:
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador George James TSUNIS (since 10 May 2022)
From the us embassy: 91 Vasillisis Sophias Avenue, 10,160 Athens
From the us mailing address: 7,100 Athens Place, Washington DC 20,521-7,100
From the us telephone: [30] (210) 721-2,951
From the us FAX: [30] (210) 724-5,313
From the us email address and website:

Flag description: nine equal horizontal stripes of blue alternating with white; a blue square bearing a white cross appears in the upper hoist-side corner; the cross symbolizes Greek Orthodoxy, the established religion of the country; there is no agreed upon meaning for the nine stripes or for the colors
Note: Greek legislation states that the flag colors are cyan and white, but cyan can mean "blue" in Greek, so the exact shade of blue has never been set and has varied from a light to a dark blue over time; in general, the hue of blue normally encountered is a form of azure

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)
Lyrics/music: 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
Total World Heritage Sites: 18 (16 cultural, 2 mixed)
Selected World Heritage Site locales:


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Economy overview: tourism- and shipping-based EU economy; clientelism economic culture and systemic corruption; new structural reforms for fiscal solvency; high public debts and unemployment; increasing Chinese port control; oil and gas disputes with Turkey

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Note: data are in 2017 dollars

Real gdp growth rate:

Real gdp per capita:
Note: data are in 2017 dollars

Gross national saving

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: maize, olives, wheat, milk, peaches/nectarines, oranges, tomatoes, grapes, milk, potatoes

Industries: tourism, food and tobacco processing, textiles, chemicals, metal products; mining, petroleum

Industrial production growth rate: 10.67% (2021 est.)

Labor force: 4.619 million (2021 est.)

Unemployment rate:

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15 24 total: 36.9% (2021 est.)
Rate ages 15 24 male: 33.5%
Rate ages 15 24 female: 41.5%

Population below poverty line: 17.9% (2018 est.)

Gini index
Coefficient distribution of family income: 33.1 (2019 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10%: 1.7%
Highest 10%: 26.7% (2015 est.)

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $98.523 billion (2019 est.)
Expenditures: $97.277 billion (2019 est.)
Surplus  or deficit: 0.8% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Taxes and other revenues: 24.74% (of GDP) (2020 est.)

Public debt:

Revenue
From forest resources: 0.01% of GDP (2018 est.)
From coal: 0.04% of GDP (2018 est.)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices:

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance:

Exports:
Partners: Italy 10%, Germany 7%, Turkey 5%, Cyprus 5%, Bulgaria 5% (2019)
Commodities: refined petroleum, packaged medicines, aluminum plating, cotton, cheese, copper piping (2021)

Imports:
Partners: Germany 11%, China 9%, Italy 8%, Iraq 7%, Russia 6%, Netherlands 5% (2019)
Commodities: crude petroleum, refined petroleum, packaged medicines, cars, ships (2019)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:

Debt external:

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates:


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Electricity
Access electrification-total population: 100% (2021)
Installed generating capacity: 21.545 million kW (2020 est.)
Consumption: 46.18 billion kWh (2020 est.)
Exports: 967 million kWh (2020 est.)
Imports: 9.831 billion kWh (2020 est.)
Transmission/distribution losses: 3.256 billion kWh (2020 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels: 56.5% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources solar: 10.7% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources wind: 23% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 8.5% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources tide and wave: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources geothermal: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources biomass and waste: 1.4% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)

Coal
Production: 13.851 million metric tons (2020 est.)
Consumption: 13.828 million metric tons (2020 est.)
Exports: 7,000 metric tons (2020 est.)
Imports: 305,000 metric tons (2020 est.)
Proven reserves: 2.876 billion metric tons (2019 est.)

Petroleum
Total petroleum production: 4,800 bbl/day (2021 est.)
Refined petroleum consumption: 309,600 bbl/day (2019 est.)
Crude oil and lease condensate exports: 4,100 bbl/day (2018 est.)
Crude oil and lease condensate imports: 491,300 bbl/day (2018 est.)
Crude oil estimated reserves: 10 million barrels (2021 est.)

Crude oil

Refined petroleum
Products production: 655,400 bbl/day (2017 est.)
Products exports: 371,900 bbl/day (2017 est.)
Products imports: 192,200 bbl/day (2017 est.)

Natural gas
Production: 5.748 million cubic meters (2019 est.)
Consumption: 5,831,987,000 cubic meters (2020 est.)
Exports: 33.244 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
Imports: 5,219,409,000 cubic meters (2019 est.)
Proven reserves: 991 million cubic meters (2021 est.)

Carbon dioxide emissions: 70.163 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From coal and metallurgical coke: 13.404 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From petroleum and other liquids: 46.401 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From consumed natural gas: 10.358 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)

Energy consumption per capita: 108.022 million Btu/person (2019 est.)


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Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 4,907,123 (2022 est.)
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 47 (2021 est.)
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 11,494,008 (2021 est.)
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 110 (2021 est.)

Telephone system

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

Internet
Country code: .gr
Users total: 7.8 million (2021 est.)
Users percent of population: 78% (2021 est.)

Broadband fixed subscriptions
Total: 4,257,026 (2020 est.)
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 41 (2020 est.)


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Military expenditures:

Military and security forces: Hellenic Armed Forces: Hellenic Army (Ellinikos Stratos, ES; includes National Guard), Hellenic Navy (Elliniko Polemiko Navtiko, EPN), Hellenic Air Force (Elliniki Polemiki Aeroporia, EPA; includes air defense) (2023)
Note 1: the police (under the Ministry of Citizen Protection) and the armed forces (Ministry of National Defense) share law enforcement duties in certain border areas; border protection is coordinated by a deputy minister for national defense; the Greek Coast Guard is under the Ministry of Shipping Affairs and Island Policy
Note 2: the National Guard was established in 1982 as an official part of the Army to help protect Greece and provide reinforcements and support to the Army in peacetime and in times of mobilization and war; members undergo weekly training run by the Army, which also provides weapons and ammunition

Military service age and obligation: 19-45 years of age for compulsory military service for men; 12-month obligation for all services (note - as an exception, the duration of the full military service is 9 instead of 12 months if conscripts, after the initial training, serve the entire remaining time in certain areas of the eastern borders, in Cyprus, or in certain military units); 18 years of age for voluntary military service for men and women (2023)
Note 1: compulsory service applies to any individual whom the Greek authorities consider to be Greek, regardless of whether the individual considers himself Greek, has a foreign citizenship and passport, or was born or lives outside of Greece; Greek citizens living permanently outside of Greece have the right to postpone their conscription; they are permanently exempted from their military obligations when they reach the age of 45 years old
Note 2: up to 50% of the Greek military is comprised of conscripts
Note 3: as of 2020, women comprised approximately 16% of the military's full-time personnel

Space program
Overview: has a relatively new and growing space program focused on building and operating satellites; also researches and develops technologies in a variety of other space sectors, including such areas as remote sensing (RS), telecommunications, defense, environmental studies, and agricultural development; as a member of the European Space Agency (ESA), it contributes to, participates in, and benefits from ESA capabilities and programs; cooperates with space agencies and commercial space sectors of ESA and EU member states, as well as the US; has a robust commercial space sector that researches, develops, and produces a variety of space technologies and capabilities, including satellite components, electronics, sensors, and communications (2023)
Overview note: further details about the key activities, programs, and milestones of the country’s space program, as well as government spending estimates on the space sector, appear in space programs

Terrorist groups
Terrorist groups: Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS); Revolutionary Struggle; Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C)
Note: details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in terrorist organizations


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National air transport system
Number of registered air carriers: 11 (2020)
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 97
Annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 15,125,933 (2018)
Annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 21.91 million (2018) mt-km

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: SX

Airports: 77 (2021)
With paved runways: 68
With paved runways note: paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)
With unpaved runways: 9
With unpaved runways note: unpaved runways have a surface composition such as grass or packed earth and are most suited to the operation of light aircraft; unpaved runways are usually short, often less than 1,000 m (3,280 ft.) in length; airports with unpaved runways often lack facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control

Heliports: 9 (2021)

Pipelines: 1,466 km gas, 94 km oil (2013)

Railways
Total: 2,345 km (2020) 731 km electrified

Roadways
Total: 117,000 km (2018)

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

Merchant marine
Total: 1,234 (2022)
By type: bulk carrier 146, container ship 5, general cargo 83, oil tanker 311, other 689

Ports and terminals
Major seaports: Aspropyrgos, Pachi, Piraeus, Thessaloniki
Oil terminals: Agioi Theodoroi
Container ports teus: Piraeus (5,311,810) (2021)
Lng terminals import: Revithoussa


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Disputes international: Greece and Turkey continue discussions to resolve their complex maritime, air, territorial, and boundary disputes in the Aegean Sea; Greece has a security wall along a portion of its land border with Turkey to deter border crossings by migrants and has announced intentions to extend the wall along the entire border

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Refugees country of origin: 41,594 (Syria), 33,549 (Afghanistan), 14,228 (Iraq), 6,366 (West Bank and Gaza) (mid-year 2022); 25,050 (Ukraine) (as of 30 June 2023)
Stateless persons: 4,488 (2022)
Note: 1,272,420 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-November 2023)

Illicit drugs: a gateway to Europe for traffickers smuggling cannabis products 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