Background: Greece won independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1830 and became a kingdom. 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. The communists were defeated in 1949, and Greece joined NATO in 1952. In 1967, a military coup forced the king to flee the country. The ensuing military dictatorship collapsed in 1974, and Greece abolished the monarchy to become a parliamentary republic. 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 2018, and Greece's economy has since improved significantly. In 2022, the country finalized its early repayment to the IMF and graduated on schedule from the EU's enhanced surveillance framework.

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): (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

Land use
Agricultural land: 41.7% (2023 est.)
Arable land: 14.4% (2023 est.)
Permanent crops: 8% (2023 est.)
Permanent pasture: 19.2% (2023 est.)
Forest: 36.9% (2023 est.)
Other: 21.3% (2023 est.)

Irrigated land: 12,191 km² (2021)

Natural hazards: severe earthquakes
Volcanism: 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; Methana and Nisyros in the Aegean are also classified as historically active

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

Population
Total: 10,461,091 (2024 est.)
Male: 5,117,862
Female: 5,343,229
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
Growth rate: -0.35% (2024 est.)

Languages: Greek (official) 99%, other (includes English and French) 1%
Major-language sample(s): ; Το Παγκόσμιο Βιβλίο Δεδομένων, η απαραίτητη πηγή βασικών πληροφοριών. (Greek); The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

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

Age structure
0-14 years: 13.8% (male 742,131/female 699,079)
15-64 years: 62.6% (male 3,278,906/female 3,267,140)
65 years and over: 23.6% (2024 est.) (male 1,096,825/female 1,377,010)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 59.8 (2024 est.)
Youth dependency ratio: 22 (2024 est.)
Elderly dependency ratio: 37.8 (2024 est.)
Potential support ratio: 2.6 (2024 est.)

Median age
Total: 46.5 years (2024 est.)
Male: 44.6 years
Female: 48.3 years

Population growth rate: -0.35% (2024 est.)

Birth rate: 7.4 births/1,000 population (2024 est.)

Death rate: 12 deaths/1,000 population (2024 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)

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 (2024 est.)

Maternal mortality ratio: 5 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 3.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)
Male: 3.8 deaths/1,000 live births
Female: 3 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 81.9 years (2024 est.)
Male: 79.4 years
Female: 84.6 years

Total fertility rate: 1.41 children born/woman (2024 est.)

Drinking water source
Urban: 0% of population (2022 est.)
Rural: 0% of population (2022 est.)
Total: 0% of population (2022 est.)

Sanitation facility access
Urban: 0% of population (2022 est.)
Rural: 0% of population (2022 est.)
Total: 0% of population (2022 est.)

Youth unemployment
Rate (ages 15-24): 10.2% (2024 est.); 11.1% (2023 est.); 12.5% (2022 est.)
Rate (ages 15-24) note: % of labor force seeking employment

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: the origin of the name is uncertain; according to tradition, the city is named after Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom, but the name is probably pre-Hellenic

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)

Legal system: civil legal system based on Roman law

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

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Konstantinos TASOULAS (since 13 March 2025)
Head of government: Prime Minister Kyriakos MITSOTAKIS (since 26 June 2023)
Cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister
Election/appointment process: president elected by Hellenic Parliament for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); president appoints as prime minister the leader of the majority party or coalition in the Hellenic Parliament
Most recent election date: 12 February 2025
2025: Konstantinos TASOULAS (ND) elected president by Parliament - 160 of 300 votes
2020: Katerina SAKELLAROPOULOU (independent) elected president by Parliament - 261 of 300 votes
Expected date of next election: 2,030

Legislative branch
Legislature name: Hellenic Parliament (Vouli Ton Ellinon)
Legislative structure: unicameral
Number of seats: 300 (all directly elected)
Electoral system: proportional representation
Scope of elections: full renewal
Term in office: 4 years
Most recent election date: 6/25/2023
Parties elected and seats per party: New Democracy (ND) (158); Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA) (47); Panhellenic Socialist Movement - Movement for Change (PASOK-KINAL) (32); Communist Party (KKE) (21); Other (42)
Percentage of women in chamber: 22.9%
Expected date of next election: June 2,027
Note: only parties surpassing a 3% vote 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

Flag description: nine equal horizontal stripes of blue alternating with white; a blue square with a white cross is in the upper-left corner

National anthem
Title: 'Ymnos eis tin Eleftherian' (Hymn to Freedom)
Lyrics/music: Dionysios SOLOMOS/Nikolaos MANTZAROS
History: 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 Freedom' as its anthem

National heritage
Total World Heritage Sites: 20 (18 cultural, 2 mixed)
Selected World Heritage Site locales:

Real gdp growth rate: 2.3% (2024 est.); 2.3% (2023 est.); 5.7% (2022 est.)
Note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency

Real gdp per capita: 2.3% (2024 est.); 2.3% (2023 est.); 5.7% (2022 est.)
Note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 66.9% (2023 est.)
Government consumption: 19.3% (2023 est.)
Investment in fixed capital: 15.2% (2023 est.)
Investment in inventories: 1.5% (2023 est.)
Exports of goods and services: 43.7% (2023 est.)
Imports of goods and services: -48.4% (2023 est.)
Note: figures may not total 100% due to rounding or gaps in data collection

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 3.3% (2024 est.)
Industry: 15.4% (2024 est.)
Services: 68% (2024 est.)
Note: figures may not total 100% due to non-allocated consumption not captured in sector-reported data

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

Industrial production growth rate: 6.1% (2024 est.)
Note: annual % change in industrial value added based on constant local currency

Labor force: 4.655 million (2024 est.)
Note: number of people ages 15 or older who are employed or seeking work

Unemployment rate: 10.2% (2024 est.); 11.1% (2023 est.); 12.5% (2022 est.)
Note: % of labor force seeking employment

Youth unemployment
Rate (ages 15-24): 10.2% (2024 est.); 11.1% (2023 est.); 12.5% (2022 est.)
Rate (ages 15-24) note: % of labor force seeking employment

Budget
Revenues: $111.938 billion (2023 est.)
Expenditures: $114.497 billion (2023 est.)
Note: central government revenues (excluding grants) and expenditures converted to US dollars at average official exchange rate for year indicated

Taxes and other revenues: 26.6% (of GDP) (2023 est.)
Note: central government tax revenue as a % of GDP

Exports: $108.424 billion (2024 est.); $107.218 billion (2023 est.); $106.189 billion (2022 est.)
Note: balance of payments - exports of goods and services in current dollars
Commodities: refined petroleum, packaged medicine, aluminum, olive oil, tobacco (2023)
Commodities note: top five export commodities based on value in dollars

Imports: $122.408 billion (2024 est.); $119.234 billion (2023 est.); $127.82 billion (2022 est.)
Note: balance of payments - imports of goods and services in current dollars
Commodities: crude petroleum, refined petroleum, natural gas, cars, packaged medicine (2023)
Commodities note: top five import commodities based on value in dollars

Electricity
Installed generating capacity: 24.169 million kW (2023 est.)
Consumption: 46.929 billion kWh (2023 est.)
Exports: 3.24 billion kWh (2023 est.)
Imports: 8.152 billion kWh (2023 est.)
Transmission/distribution losses: 5.346 billion kWh (2023 est.)
Access electrification - total population: 100% (2022 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels: 48.9% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
Generation sources solar: 17.5% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
Generation sources wind: 23.3% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 9.8% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
Generation sources biomass and waste: 0.6% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)

Coal
Production: 10.469 million metric tons (2023 est.)
Consumption: 10.091 million metric tons (2023 est.)
Exports: 5 metric tons (2023 est.)
Imports: 49,000 metric tons (2023 est.)
Proven reserves: 2.876 billion metric tons (2023 est.)

Petroleum
Total petroleum production: 5,000 bbl/day (2023 est.)
Refined petroleum consumption: 308,000 bbl/day (2024 est.)
Crude oil estimated reserves: 10 million barrels (2021 est.)

Natural gas
Production: 1.323 million cubic meters (2023 est.)
Consumption: 3.344 billion cubic meters (2023 est.)
Exports: 8.362 billion cubic meters (2023 est.)
Imports: 11.619 billion cubic meters (2023 est.)
Proven reserves: 991.09 million cubic meters (2021 est.)

Carbon dioxide emissions: 62.06 million metric tonnes of CO&sub2; (2023 est.)
From coal and metallurgical coke: 10.794 million metric tonnes of CO&sub2; (2023 est.)
From petroleum and other liquids: 44.649 million metric tonnes of CO&sub2; (2023 est.)
From consumed natural gas: 6.617 million metric tonnes of CO&sub2; (2023 est.)

Energy consumption per capita: 92.693 million Btu/person (2023 est.)

Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 4.962 million (2023 est.)
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 48 (2023 est.)
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 11.3 million (2023 est.)
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 109 (2022 est.)

Internet
Users percent of population: 85% (2023 est.)

Broadband fixed subscriptions
Total: 4.48 million (2023 est.)
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 44 (2023 est.)

Military expenditures: 2.9% of GDP (2025 est.); 2.7% of GDP (2024 est.); 2.8% of GDP (2023 est.); 3.9% of GDP (2022 est.); 3.7% of GDP (2021 est.)

Airports: 82 (2025)

Heliports: 59 (2025)

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

Merchant marine
Total: 1,215 (2023)
By type: bulk carrier 132, container ship 4, general cargo 79, oil tanker 299, other 701