Greece - Country information


		Greece	Population Government Economy Geography Communication Transportation

Population		Top of page

Inhabitants		Life expectancy
10,706,290 (July 2007 est.)		total population: 79.38 years male: 76.85 years female: 82.06 years (2007 est.)

Ethnic groups		Religions
population: Greek 93%, other (Albanians, various Slavic minorities, and Turks) 7% (2001 census)		Greek Orthodox 98%, Muslim 1.3%, other 0.7%

Languages		Literacy
Greek 99% (official), other 1% (includes English and French)		definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 97.5% male: 98.6% female: 96.5% (2003 est.)

Government		Top of page

Government type		Capital
parliamentary republic		Athens

Independance		National day
1829 (from the Ottoman Empire)		Independence Day, 25 March (1821)

Constitution		Legal system
11 June 1975; amended March 1986 and April 2001		based on codified Roman law; judiciary divided into civil, criminal, and administrative courts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Economy		Top of page

GDP (purchasing power parity)		Growth rate
$232.5 billion (2006 est.)		4.1% (2006 est.)

GDP per inhabitant		Unemployment rate
$23,500 (2006 est.)		9.2% (2006 est.)

Population below poverty line		Inflation rate
NA%		3.3% (2006 est.)

Exports		Imports
$24.42 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)		$59.12 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold		Currency
$2.5 billion (2006 est.)		euro (EUR)

Military expenditures
4.3% (2005 est.)

Geography		Top of page

Location		Area
Southern Europe, bordering the Aegean Sea, Ionian Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea, between Albania and Turkey		131,940 sq km

Climate		Natural resources
temperate; mild, wet winters; hot, dry summers		lignite, petroleum, iron ore, bauxite, lead, zinc, nickel, magnesite, marble, salt, hydropower potential

Le Monde en Fiches