Greece: Background & Geography

Introduction Greece
Background:
 Greece achieved its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1829. 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. Following the defeat of Communist rebels in 1949, Greece joined NATO in 1952. A military dictatorship, which in 1967 suspended many political liberties and forced the king to flee the country, lasted seven years. The 1974 democratic elections and a referendum created a parliamentary republic and abolished the monarchy; Greece joined the European Community or EC in 1981 (which became the EU in 1992).
Geography Greece
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 references:
 Europe
Area:
 total: 131,940 sq km
water: 1,140 sq km
land: 130,800 sq km
Area - comparative:
 slightly smaller than Alabama
Land boundaries:
 total: 1,228 km
border countries: Albania 282 km, Bulgaria 494 km, Turkey 206 km, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 246 km
Coastline:
 13,676 km
Maritime claims - as described in UNCLOS 1982 (see Notes and Definitions):
 territorial sea: 12 NM
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
Climate:
 temperate; mild, wet winters; hot, dry summers
Terrain:
 mostly mountains with ranges extending into the sea as peninsulas or chains of islands
Elevation extremes:
 lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Olympus 2,917 m
Natural resources:
 lignite, petroleum, iron ore, bauxite, lead, zinc, nickel, magnesite, marble, salt, hydropower potential
Land use:
 arable land: 22%
permanent crops: 8%
other: 70% (2004 est.)
Irrigated land:
 14,220 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards:
 severe earthquakes
Environment - current issues:
 air pollution; water pollution
Environment - 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
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds
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

See Also: