General information

Greece, situated in South-eastern Europe, has a 131.957 sq.km area and a population of 10,964,020 with only 3.361.806 of them residing Athens, its capital. Greece, officially known as the Hellenic Republic, lies at the south-eastern edge of Europe. In the north, it shares borders with Albania, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) and Bulgaria and to the est with Turkey. The territory extends to 131,957 sq. km and the country consists of a penisula and over 2.000 islands.

Though a relatively small country, Greece boasts an astonishing variety of landscapes - from the legendary mountains of Olympus, Pindos, and Parnassos to miles of pristine coastline. Indeed, due to the large number of islands, Greece has a particularly long coastline, the most extensive among all Mediterranean countries.

The climate is mostly dry and temperate, though it snows in the mountains and in the north. Northern Macedonia and northern Epirus have a climate similar to the Balkans, with freezing winters and very hot, humid summers, while the Attica region, the Cyclades, the Dodecanese, Crete and Central and Eastern Peloponnese have a more typically Mediterranean climate with hot, dry summers and milder winters.

• Capital : Athens
• Population: 10,934,097 (2001 census) Urban population (percentage): 65.7% National Statistical Service www.statistics.gr   
• Dominant religion:   Christian Orthodox (98% of population) Church of Greece www.ecclesia.gr  
• Language : Greek  
• Local time : UTC+2 
• Country code : +30 
• Currency : EURO
• Geography Geographic coordinates: 39 00 , 22 00 
• Total area: 131,957 km2 
• Highest point: Mount Olympus 2,917 m. 
• Lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m. 
• Largest lake: Trichonis 95 km2 
• Longest river: The Aliakmon 297 km 
• Land boundaries: total 1,228 km; Bulgaria 494 km, Albania 282 km, former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 246 km, Turkey 206 km 
• Coastline: 15,021 km