Greece
Hellenic Republic Ελληνική Δημοκρατία Ellinikí Dhimokratía | |
|---|---|
| Motto: Ελευθερία ή θάνατος [Eleftheria i thanatos] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) (transliteration) "Freedom or Death" | |
| Anthem: Ύμνος εις την Ελευθερίαν "Hymn to Freedom" | |
![Location of Greece (orange) – in Europe (tan & white) – in the European Union (tan) [Legend]](/wiki/File:EU_location_GRE.png) Location of Greece (orange) – in Europe (tan & white) | |
| Capital and largest city | Athens |
| Official languages | Greek |
| Government | Parliamentary republic |
| Karolos Papoulias | |
| Kostas Karamanlis | |
| Formation | |
• First known Greek civilizations1 | c.3000 BC |
• Last previously independent state2 | 1461 |
• Independence from the Ottoman Empire | 25 March 1821 |
• Recognized | 1829 |
• Water (%) | 0.8669 |
| Population | |
• 2005 estimate | 11,244,118 [1] (74th) |
• 2001 census | 10,964,020 [2] |
| GDP (PPP) | 2007 estimate |
• Total | $305,595 billion (37th) |
• Per capita | $27,360 (27th) |
| GDP (nominal) | 2007 estimate |
• Total | $222.5 billion (29th) |
• Per capita | $30,603 (24th) |
| Gini (2000) | 35.45 Error: Invalid Gini value |
| HDI (2004) |  0.921Error: Invalid HDI value (24th) |
| Currency | Euro (€)3 (EUR) |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
| Calling code | 30 |
| ISO 3166 code | GR |
| Internet TLD | .gr4 |
| |
Greece (Greek: Ελλάδα [e̞ˈlaða] or Ελλάς [e̞ˈlas]), officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία [e̞ˌliniˈci ðimo̞kraˈtiˌa])[1], is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula. It is bordered by Bulgaria, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Albania to the north and by Turkey to the east. The Aegean Sea lies to the east and south of mainland Greece, while the Ionian Sea lies to the west. Both, parts of the eastern Mediterranean basin, feature a vast number of islands.
Greece lies at the juncture of Europe, Asia, and Africa. It is heir to the heritages of classical Greece, the Byzantine Empire,[2] and nearly four centuries of Ottoman rule.[3] Regarded as the cradle of western civilization and the birthplace of democracy,[4] Western philosophy,[5] the Olympic Games, western literature, political science, major scientific principles and drama[6] (including both tragedy and comedy), Greece has a particularly long and eventful history and a cultural heritage which has been considerably influential in Europe, Northern Africa and the Middle East.
Today, Greece is a developed country, a member of the European Union since 1981,[7] a member of the Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union since 2001, NATO since 1951, the OECD since 1960,[8] the WEU since 1995, and the ESA since 2005.[9] Athens is the capital; Thessaloniki, Piraeus and Patras are some of the country's other major cities.
History
Antiquity
The shores of Greece's Aegean Sea saw the emergence of the first advanced civilizations in Europe whose impact is inseparable from today's western institutions and western cultural and political development. In the wake of the Minoan and Mycenean civilizations, there emerged across the Greek peninsula and islands poleis, or city-states, each with their own distinct social and governmental infrastructure, uniting under Athens and Sparta to repel Persian advance. The conditions had been created for the flowering of Athens and birth of Classical civilization, drawing to a close only with the culmination of the perennial conflict between Athens and Sparta, the Peloponnesian War. Within a century the Greek tribes had been united under the rule of Alexander the Great to roll back Persian gains and herald the Hellenistic era, itself brought only partially to a close with the establishment of Roman rule in 146 BC.
Roman Era
Although the establishment of Roman rule did not break the continuity of Hellenistic society and culture, which remained essentially unchanged until the advent of Christianity, it did mark the end of Greek political independence. The Greek peninsula became a province of Rome, while Greek culture continued to dominate the eastern Mediterranean. When the Roman Empire finally split in two, the Eastern Roman Empire, known as the Empire of the Greeks and later Byzantine Empire and centered around Constantinople (known in ancient times as Byzantium), remained Greek in nature, encompassing Greece itself. During the Byzantine imperial period Greece experienced fluctuating fortunes, but succeeded in Hellenizing and institutionalizing most of its new invaders, and by the late eighth century Greeks from Sicily and Asia Minor were brought in as settlers. The eleventh and twelfth centuries are said to have been the Golden Age of Byzantine art in Greece, while the crusading epochs between 1204 and 1458 saw Greece hit by a series of non-Orthodox armies in the name of religion. The Byzantine era persisted, nevertheless, until the Fall of Constantinople on May 29, 1453, to the Ottoman Empire.
Ottoman Era
While the Ottomans were completing the main conquest of Greek Mainland Ottoman Greece, two Greek migrations occurred. The first saw the Greek intelligentsia migrate to Western Europe — especially to Italy — and was a significant factor in the advent of the Western European Renaissance. The second migration of Greeks left the plains of the Greek peninsula and resettled in the mountains, the islands and other Greek regions where the Ottomans were unable to create a permanent military and administrative presence. As a result some Greek mountain clans across the peninsula, as well as some islands, were able to maintain a status of independence. The millet system contributed to the ethnic cohesion of Orthodox Greeks by segregating the various peoples within the Ottoman Empire based on religion. Eventually, religion played an integral part in the formation of the Modern Greek and other post-Ottoman national identities.
The establishment of the modern Greek state
In March 1821 the Greeks rebelled against the Ottoman Empire. Their struggle lasted until in 1829, when the newly formed Greek state was finally created and internationally recognized. In 1827, the Russian ex-minister of foreign affairs, Ioannis Kapodistrias, a noble Greek from the Ionian Islands, was chosen as the President of the new Republic. However, the Great Powers soon dissolved that republic and installed a monarchy. The first king, Otto, was of the Bavarian House of Wittelsbach. The War of Independence also set in motion the establishment of major new cities and centres of trade such as Hermoupolis, Athens and Pireaus. In 1843 King Otto was forced, as a result of an uprising, to grant his subjects a constitution and a representative assembly. He was deposed in 1863 only to be replaced by a Danish Prince who took the name George I of Greece and brought with him the Ionian Islands as a coronation gift from Britain.
Greece was growing economically, whilst becoming politically more liberal. In 1877, Prime Minister Charilaos Trikoupis curbed the power of the monarchy to interfere in the Assembly. This period was punctuated by the undertaking of one of the largest construction initiatives on the European continent, one of significant commercial importance; the creation of the Corinth Canal, lasting from 1881 to 1893. In 1896 the Olympic Games were revived in Athens, and hailed as a success.
Territorial expansion and internal turmoil
As a result of the Balkan Wars of 1912-13, Crete, Chios, Samos, most of Epirus and southern Macedonia, including Thessaloniki, were incorporated into Greece. King George I, monarch for five decades, was assassinated in Thessaloniki in 1913, succeeded by his eldest son, King Constantine I. His struggle with Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos over Greece's entry into the First World War resulted in Greece's joining the Entente against Germany and Austria and the later abdication of King Constantine in favour of his son, Alexander, but left Greece divided into two bitterly hostile political camps for decades (see National Schism). At that time, a part of Asia Minor centered around the city of Smyrna (known today as İzmir) still retained a Greek population majority. The area was awarded to Greece by the Great Powers as a reward for having sided with the entente powers in World War I against the Ottoman Empire. Three years later, Turkish nationalists led by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk denounced the Sultan's government in Istanbul and formed a new one in Ankara, eventually re-establishing control over Asia Minor (Greco-Turkish War (1919-1922)).
Following the withdrawal of Greek forces, the destruction of Smyrna and the displacement of thousands of Greeks from the city, a new government was established in Greece. Soon afterwards, the Treaty of Lausanne was signed, fixing the Greco-Turkish borders to this date. A population exchange was included in the agreement and immediately afterwards around five hundred thousand Muslims, then living in mainland Greece went to Turkey in exchange for more than 1.22 million Greek residents of Asia Minor (excluding Constantinople, Imvros and Tenedos). Between 1924 and 1935 there were 23 changes of government, a dictatorship and 13 coups until in 1935 a referendum was held, resulting in an overwhelming majority in favour of restoring the monarchy in the person of King George II. In 1936, General Ioannis Metaxas established an authoritarian conservative dictatorship in Greece, known as the 4th of August Regime.
Greece during World War II
During the night of October 28, 1940, the Italian dictator Mussolini demanded that Greece surrender all its arms and allow Axis troops to invade the country; the Greek government gave what became known as the simple negative response of “No” (see Okhi Day), thereby siding with the Allies. Italian troops then invaded the country from southern Albania, but were checked by significantly smaller Greek forces. This gave the Allies their first victory on land against the Axis powers. A prolonged period of fierce fighting in the Pindus mountains followed, in which Mussolini's forces were successfully pushed back. Hitler and his generals realized that their strategic southern flank needed to be secured more effectively, so German forces, whose ranks included troops from Bulgaria and Italy, invaded.
The invasion of Greece by Nazi Germany began on April 6, 1941 and led to the complete occupation of the country. Greek Resistance to the occupation was fierce, often with bitter retaliation from the occupiers. The Greek resistance in 1940-41 however, is believed to have forced a delay in German plans to initiate the invasion against the Soviet Union, thereby extending the campaign into the punishing Russian winter, while the extremely heavy losses of German paratroop forces in the Battle of Crete foiled a planned German campaign in the Middle East against British-held Iraq and its oil fields. Germany retained its disastrous grip on the country until October 12, 1944 when its troops finally withdrew after the landing of Allied Forces in Athens. The Jewish communities of Greece, especially of Thessaloniki, suffered the heaviest toll in the Holocaust, ca. 300,000 Greeks died of famine, and the country's economy languished.
Post-war era and the Regime of the Colonels
After liberation from Nazi Germany, Greece experienced an equally bitter civil war between the self-proclaimed communist Democratic Army of Greece and the Hellenic Army. The war lasted until 1949, when the communist forces were defeated in the Battle of Grammos-Vitsi. During the 1950s and 1960s, Greece experienced a gradual and consistent economic growth, also aided by significant grants and loans by the United States through the Marshall Plan.
After 1965, however, a period of political turbulence and uncertainty led to a coup d’etat against the elected government and King Constantine II at dawn on April 21, 1967. In their place, a US-supported military junta, known as the Regime of the Colonels, was established. In the ensuing years, a number of sympathisers of the left, as well as a number of politicians and communists, were arrested and brutally tortured by the regime. Many politicians evaded capture and found political refuge in other European countries such as France and Sweden, but the then head of state, King Constantine, officially acknowledged the new regime, which was also then duly recognized by the international community and diplomatic relations continued. The King himself, however, attempted a counter coup in December 1967. After it failed, the former head of state went into exile in Rome. In 17 November 1973, the Athens Polytechnic Uprising sent shockwaves across the regime and was not suppressed until July 20, 1974. On that day Turkey invaded Cyprus, allegedly to protect the island's Turkish minority from a Colonels-sponsored coup d'etat. The developing crisis led to the collapse of the Regime of the Colonels on July 23, 1974.
Modern Era
Ex-Premier Constantine Karamanlis was immediately invited back from Paris, where he had resided since 1963. Marking the beginning of the Metapolitefsi era of modern Greek history, the plane carrying Constantine Karamanlis landed in Athens in the early hours of July 24, amidst massive celebrations and enormous crowds, extending from the capital's Ellinikon International Airport to Syntagma Square; Karamanlis was immediately appointed as the interim prime minister under President Gizikis and founded the conservative New Democracy party, going on to win the ensuing elections by a large margin. Democratic rule was finally restored in its birthplace and a democratic republican constitution activated in 1975. The monarchy was abolished by a referendum held that same year, denying King Constantine II and his family any access to the country until 2004. Meanwhile, another prominent figure of the past, Andreas Papandreou, had also returned from the United States and had already founded the Panhellenic Socialist Party, or PASOK.
Karamanlis won the 1977 parliamentary elections but resigned in 1980 giving way to George Rallis; Papandreou, however, won the elections held on October 18, 1981 by a landslide and formed the first socialist government in Greece's history. Papandreou dominated the Greek political stage for almost 15 years (excepted only by the 1990-1993 period when Constantine Mitsotakis of the New Democracy party won elections), until his death in June 23, 1996. By that time Kostas Simitis, one of many prominent political figures of PASOK, had already succeeded the ailing and hospitalized Papandreou as the new Prime Minister. Following a long period of diplomatic tension and the threat of a military confrontation (see Imia-Kardak crisis), relations with neighbouring Turkey have improved substantially over the last decade, since successive earthquakes hit both nations in the summer of 1999. Rapprochement came about through what became known as Greek-Turkish earthquake diplomacy and today Greece is an active supporter of Turkey's effort to be accepted by the European Union as a full member.
Prime Minister Simitis remained in office until March 7, 2004 when Kostas Karamanlis of the conservative New Democracy party and a nephew of Constantine Karamanlis, won the parliamentary elections. Greece became the tenth member of the European Union on January 1 1981 and ever since the nation has experienced a remarkable and sustained economic growth. Widespread investments in industrial enterprises and heavy infrastructure, as well as funds from the European Union and growing revenues from tourism, shipping and a fast growing service sector have raised the country's standard of living to unprecedented levels. The country adopted the Euro in 2001 and successfully organised the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.
Politics
The Constitution (Σύνταγμα) of Greece, describes the country as a parliamentary republic (Προεδρευομένη Κοινοβουλευτική Δημοκρατία)[10], grants extensive specific guarantees of civil liberties and vests the powers of the head of state in a President elected by parliament for a five-year term.
The Greek governmental structure is similar to that found in many Western democracies, and has been described as a compromise between the French and German models. The Prime Minister (Πρωθυπουργός) and cabinet play the central role in the political process, while the President performs some executive and legislative functions in addition to ceremonial duties.
The Prime Minister of Greece is the head of government, and Executive power is exercised by that government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Hellenic Parliament. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature and comprises three Supreme Courts: the Court of Cassation (Άρειος Πάγος), the Council of State (Συμβούλιο της Επικρατείας) and the Court of Auditors (Ελεγκτικό Συνέδριο). The Judiciary system is also comprised of civil courts, which judge civil and penal cases and administrative courts, which judge administrative cases, namely disputes between the citizens and the State.
Greece elects a legislature by universal suffrage of all citizens over the age of 18. The Hellenic Parliament (Vouli ton Ellinon) has 300 members, elected for a four-year term.[10] Since the restoration of democracy the party system is dominated by the liberal-conservative New Democracy (Νέα Δημοκρατία, Nea Dimokratia) and the socialist PASOK, or Panhellenic Socialist Movement (Πανελλήνιο Σοσιαλιστικό Κίνημα, Panellinio Sosialistiko Kinima). Non-negligible parties include the Communist Party of Greece and the Coalition of the Radical Left.
On March 7, 2004, Kostas Karamanlis, president of the New Democracy party and nephew of the late Constantine Karamanlis was elected as the new Prime Minister of Greece, thus marking his party's first electoral victory in nearly eleven years. Karamanlis took over government from Kostas Simitis of PASOK, who had been in office since January 1996, replacing the ailing charismatic leader Andreas Papandreou who died on June 23, 1996.
Administrative Divisions
Administratively, Greece consists of thirteen peripheries subdivided into a total of fifty-four prefectures ([nomoi] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), singular [nomos] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)). There is also one autonomous area, Mount Athos ([Agio Oros] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), "Holy Mountain"), in Macedonia Periphery.
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Geography
Greece consists of a mountainous and craggy mainland jutting out into the sea at the southern end of the Balkans. The Peloponnesus peninsula (separated from the mainland by the canal of the Isthmus of Corinth); and numerous islands (around 2,000), including Crete, Euboea, Lesbos, Chios, the Dodecanese and the Cycladic groups of the Aegean Sea as well as the Ionian Sea islands. Greece has the tenth longest coastline in the world with over 15,000 km; its land boundary is 1,160 km (721 mi).
Four-fifths of Greece consist of mountains or hills, making the country one of the most mountainous in Europe. Western Greece contains a number of lakes and wetlands and it is dominated by the Pindus mountain range. Pindus has a maximum elevation of 2,636 metres (8,648 ft) and it is essentially a prolongation of the Dinaric Alps.
The range continues through the western Peloponnese, crosses the islands of Kythera and Antikythera and find its way into southwestern Aegean, in the island of Crete where it eventually ends. (the islands of the Aegean are peaks of underwater mountains that once constituted an extension of the mainland). Pindus is characterized by its high, steep peaks, often dissected by numerous canyons and a variety of other karstic landscapes. Most notably, the impressive Meteora formation consisting of high, steep boulders provides a breathtaking experience for the hundreds of thousands of tourists who visit the area each year. Special lifts transfer visitors to the scenic monasteries that lie on top of those rocks. Meteora is situated in the Trikala prefecture. The Vikos-Aoos Gorge is yet another spectacular formation. The Vikos-Aoos Gorge is a popular hotspot for those fond of extreme sports. The mythical Mount Olympus is the highest mountain in the country, located in the southwestern Pieria prefecture, near Thessaloniki. Mytikas in the Olympus range has a height of 2,919 metres (9,570 ft) at its highest peak. Once considered the throne of the Gods, it is today extremely popular among hikers and climbers who deem its height as a challenge. Moreover, northeastern Greece features yet another high altitude mountain range, the Rhodope range, spreading across the periphery of East Macedonia and Thrace; this area is covered with vast, thick, ancient forests. The famous Dadia forest is in the prefecture of Evros, in the far northeast of the country.
Expansive plains are primarily located in the prefectures of Thessaly, Central Macedonia and Thrace. They constitute key economic regions as they are among the few arable places in the country. Volos and Larissa are the two largest cities of Thessaly.
Rare marine species such as the Pinniped Seals and the Loggerhead Sea Turtle live in the seas surrounding mainland Greece, while its dense forests are home to the endangered brown bear, the lynx, the Roe Deer and the Wild Goat.
Climate
The climate of Greece can be categorised into three types that influence well-defined regions of its territory. The Pindus mountain range strongly affects the climate of the country by making the western side of it (areas prone to the south-westerlies) wetter on average than the areas lying to the east of it (lee side of the mountains). The three distinct types are the Mediterranean, the Alpine and the Temperate types. The first one features mild, wet winters and hot, dry summers. The Cyclades, the Dodecanese, Crete, Eastern Peloponessus and parts of the Sterea Ellada region are mostly affected by this particular type. Temperatures rarely reach extreme values although snowfalls do occur occasionally even in the Cyclades or the Dodecanese during the winter months.
The Alpine type is dominant mainly in the mountainous areas of Northwestern Greece (Epirus, Central Greece, Thessaly, Western Macedonia) as well as in the central parts of Peloponnese, including the prefectures of Achaia, Arcadia and parts of Laconia, where extensions of the Pindus mountain range pass by). Finally, the Temperate type affects Central Macedonia and East Macedonia and Thrace; it features cold, damp winters and hot, dry summers. Athens is located in a transitional area featuring both the Mediterranean and the Temperate types. It averages about 16 inches of rain annually. The city's northern suburbs are dominated by the temperate type while the downtown area and the southern suburbs enjoy a typical Mediterranean type.
Economy
Greece operates capitalist economy that produces a GDP of $251.7 billion (2006).[11] Main economic activities include tourism, shipping, banking & finance, manufacturing, construction and telecommunications while the country serves as the regional business hub for many of the world's major multinational companies.[11]
The people of Greece enjoy a high standard of living. Greece ranks 24th[12] in the 2006 HDI, 22nd on The Economist's 2005 world-wide quality-of-life index[13], and it has an average per capita income that has been estimated at $27,360[14] for the year 2007, or around 93% of the EU average.
Greece's present prosperity is largely owed to the post-WWII "Greek economic miracle" (when GDP growth averaged 7% between 1950 and 1973), the implementation of a number of structural and fiscal reforms, combined with considerable European Union funding over the last twenty-five years and increasing private consumption. The latter facts have contributed to a consistent annual growth of the Greek GDP that was surpassing the respective one of most other EU partners. [15]
Today, Services (74.4%), make up the largest, most vital and fastest-growing sector of the Greek economy, followed by industry (20.6%) and agriculture (5.1%).[11] The tourism industry is a major source of foreign exchange earnings and revenue accounting for 15% of Greece’s total GDP[11] and employing (directly or indirectly) 659,719 people (or 16.5% of total employment). In 2005, Greece welcomed almost 18 million visitors and in 2006 that figure almost reached 20 million.
The Greek banking & finance sector is also an important source of revenue and employment and Greek banks have invested heavily in the Balkan region. The manufacturing sector accounts for about 13% of GDP with the food industry leading in growth, profit and export potential.
High-technology equipment production, especially for telecommunications, is also a fast-growing sector. Other important areas include textiles, building materials, machinery, transport equipment, and electrical appliances. Construction (10%GDP) and agriculture (7%) are yet two other significant sectors of the Greek economic activity.
Greek Maritime Industry
The Greek shipping industry has been an important part of the Greek economy since antiquity.[16] This was the way the Greeks could trade with their neighbours and expand their size. This is one of Greece's most important industries which contibutes 4.5% of GDP, employees 160,000 people (4% of total employment), and represents 1/3 of the countries trade deficit.[17] During the 1960's the Greek fleet nearly doubled, thanks to the shipping magnates of Onassis and Niarchos.[18] Their rivalry was so fierce not only would they compete over women, but also on the size of their yacht.[18] Greek maritime businessmen were able to thanks to the Ship Sales Act of the 1940's amass surplus ship sold to them by the United States Government after WWII.[18] According to the BTS, the Greek maritime fleet is the largest in the world, with 3,079 vessels accounting for 18% of the world's fleet capacity (making it the largest than any other country) with a total dwt of 141,931.[19] Broken down, this means the Greeks' ranks first in both tankers and dry bulk, fourth in the number of containers, and fourth in other ships.[19] Unfortunately, this fleet size is down from their high of 5,000 ships in 1977.[16]
Science and technology
Because of its strategic location, qualified workforce and political and economic stability, many multinational companies, such as Ericsson, Siemens, SAP, Motorola, Coca-Cola have their regional R&D Headquarters in Greece.
The General Secretariat for Research and Technology of the Hellenic Ministry of Development is responsible for designing, implementing and supervising national research and technological policy.
In 2003, public spending on R&D was 456,37 million Euros (12,6% increase from 2002). Total research and development (R&D) spending (both public and private) as a percentage of GDP has increased considerably since the beginning of the past decade, from 0,38% in 1989, to 0,65% in 2001. R&D spending in Greece remains lower than the EU average of 1,93%, but, according to Research DC, based on OECD and Eurostat data, between 1990 and 1998, total R&D expenditure in Greece enjoyed the third highest increase in Europe, after Finland and Ireland.
In 2001, there were 55,626 researchers (from 30,500 in 1993)in such fields as telecommunications, microelectronics, multimedia, computer science, computer networks and software engineering, attracting the interest of many multinational companies and producing an increasing number of high quality publications. Of that number, approximately 33,507 were employed in Higher Education Foundations, 13,100 by private companies, 8,800 in State-owned Research Centres and approximately 200 in non-profit private research centres.
Greece's technology parks with incubator facilities include the Science and Technology Park of Crete (Heraklion), the Thessaloniki Technology Park, the Lavrio Technology Park and the Patras Science Park.
Greece has been a member of the European Space Agency (ESA) since 2005.[9] Cooperation between ESA and the Hellenic National Space Committee began in the early 1990s. In 1994, Greece and ESA signed their first cooperation agreement. Having formally applied for full membership in 2003, Greece became ESA's sixteenth member on March 16 2005. As member of the ESA, Greece participates in the agency's telecommunication and technology activities, and the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security Initiative.
Demographics
The official Statistical body of Greece is the National Statistical Service of Greece (NSSG).
Statistics
According to the NSSG, Greece's total population in 2005 was 11,082,752, of whom 5,486,632 were males and 5,596,119 females. As statistics from 1971, 1981 and 2001 show, the Greek population has been ageing the past several decades. The birth rate in 2003 stood 9.5 per 1,000 inhabitants (14.5 per 1,000 in 1981). At the same time the mortality rate increased slightly from 8.9 per 1,000 inhabitants in 1981 to 9.6 per 1,000 inhabitants in 2003. In 2001, 16.71% of the population were 65 years old and older, 68.12% between the ages of 15 and 64 years old, and 15.18% were 14 years old and younger. In 1971 the figures were 10.92%, 63.72% and 25.36% respectively. Greek society has also rapidly changed with the passage of time. For example, marriage rates kept falling from almost 71 per 1,000 inhabitants in 1981 until 2002, only to increase slightly in 2003 to 61 per 1,000. Divorce rates on the other hand, have seen an everlasting and accelerating increase – from 89.2 per 1,000 marriages in 1981 to 191 per 1,000 marriages in 2002.
Almost two-thirds of Greeks live in urban areas. Greece's largest cities in 2005 were: Athens (3,190,336), Thessaloniki (980,419), Patra (216,592),Larissa (207,000), Iraklio (188,650) and Volos (151,591).[20]
Minorities
The only minority in Greece which receiving special treatment is the Muslim minority (Μουσουλμανική μειονότητα) in Thrace, which amounts to approximately 0.95% of the total population. It mainly consists of ethnic Turks, Pomaks and Roma. Other recognized ethnic minorities include approximately 35,000 Armenians, and 5,500 Jews.
Immigration
Due to the complexity of Greek immigration policy, practices and data collection, truly reliable data on immigrant populations in Greece is difficult to gather and therefore subject to much speculation. A study from the Mediterranean Migration Observatory maintains that the 2001 Census from the NSSG recorded 762,191 persons residing in Greece without Greek citizenship, constituting around 7% of total population and that, of these, 48,560 were EU or EFTA nationals and 17,426 Cypriots with privileged status. At the same time, Albanians constituted some 56% of total immigrants, followed by Bulgarians (5%), Georgians (3%) and Romanians (3%). Americans, Cypriots, British and Germans appeared as sizeable foreign communities at around 2% each of total foreign population. The rest were around 690,000 persons of non-EU or non-homogeneis status.
The greatest cluster of non-EU immigrant population is in the Municipality of Athens –some 132,000 immigrants, at 17% of local population. Thessaloniki is the second largest cluster, with 27,000 – but reaching only 7% of local population. After this, the predominant areas of location are the Athens environs.
According to the same study, the foreign population (documented and undocumented) residing in Greece may in reality figure upwards to 8.5% or 10.3%, that is approximately meaning 1.15 million - if immigrants with homogeneis cards are accounted for.
Religion
The majority of Greek citizens (95-98%) are baptised into the Greek Orthodox Church and most of them celebrate at least the main religious feasts, especially Pascha (Greek Orthodox Easter).
According to the US Department of State, the Greek Government does not keep statistics on religious groups and censuses do not ask for religious affiliation. The Department of State's 2005 International Religious Freedom Report maintains that approximately 97 percent of citizens identify themselves at least nominally with the Greek Orthodox faith. Estimates of the officially recognised Muslim minority range from 98,000 to 140,000, while the immigrant Muslim community is between 100,000 and 300,000. In an address to the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church of Greece on 10 October 2006 Archbishop Christodoulos stated: "Today more than 500,000 Moslems live in our country."[21] Greek members of the Roman Catholic faith (including both Byzantine Greek Catholics and Latin Catholics) are estimated at 50,000, with the immigrant Catholic community (mostly Poles and Byzantine Catholic Ukrainians) approximating 200,000. The Jehovah's Witnesses report having 30,000 active members. The State Department report calculates Protestants, including Evangelicals, at about 30,000. The two biggest Protestant denominations are the: Greek Evangelical Church and the Free Evangelical Church. The independent Pentecostal denomination, Free Apostolic Church of Pentecost is very active with over than 20,000 members.[citation needed] There are also 12,000 Pentecostals from many different churches. In Greece you can find some Adventists, Mormons and Quakers. The long-standing Jewish community numbers approximately 5,000 adherents, about 2,000 of whom reside in Thessaloniki. Ancient Greek religion is also returning,[22] with approximately 2,000 adherents.[23]
According to the most recent Eurostat Eurobarometer poll, in 2005,[24] 81% of Greek citizens responded that they "believe there is a God", whereas 16% answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force" and 3% that they "do not believe there is a God, spirit, nor life force". Greece's percentage of respondents asserting that they "believe there is a God" was the third highest among EU members.
Education
Compulsory education in Greece is comprised of primary schools (Δημοτικό Σχολείο, Dimotikó Scholeio) and gymnasia (Γυμνάσιο). Kindergartens (Παιδικός σταθμός, Paidikós Stathmós) and nursery schools (Νηπιαγωγείο, Nipiagogeío) are popular but not compulsory.
Children start primary school aged 6 and remain there for six years. Some primary schools are "all-day", offering an extended timetable and enriched syllabus. Attendance at gymnasia starts at age 12 and last for three years.
Greece's post-compulsory secondary education consists of two school types: unified upper secondary schools (Ενιαίο Λύκειο, Eniaia Lykeia) and technical-vocational educational schools (Τεχνικά και Επαγγελματικά Εκπαιδευτήρια, "TEE"). Post-compulsory secondary education also includes vocational training institutes (Ινστιτούτα Επαγγελματικής Κατάρτισης, "IEK") which provide a formal but unclassified level of education. As they can accept both Gymnasio (lower secondary school) and Lykeio (upper secondary school) graduates, these institutes are not classified as offering a particular level of education.
Public higher education is divided into universities, "Highest Educational Institutions" (Ανώτατα Εκπαιδευτικά Ιδρύματα, Anótata Ekpaideytiká Idrýmata, "ΑΕΙ") and "Highest Technological Educational Institutions" (Ανώτατα Τεχνολογικά Εκπαιδευτικά Ιδρύματα, Anótata Technologiká Ekpaideytiká Idrýmata, "ATEI"). Students are admitted to these Institutes according to their performance at national level examinations taking place after completion of the third grade of Lykeio. Additionally, students over twenty-two years old may be admitted to the Hellenic Open University through a form of lottery.
The Greek education system also provides special kindergartens, primary and secondary schools for people with special needs or difficulties in learning. Specialist gymnasia and high schools offering musical, theological and physical education also exist.
Some of the main universities in Greece include: National and Capodistrian University of Athens · National Technical University of Athens · University of Piraeus · University of Macedonia (in Thessaloniki) · University of Crete · Athens University of Economics and Business · Aristotle University of Thessaloniki · University of the Aegean (across the Aegean Islands) · Democritus University of Thrace · University of Ioannina · Panteion University of social and political sciences
Culture
Greek culture evolved over thousands of years, with its beginnings in the Mycenean and Minoan civilizations, continuing into Classical Greece, the birth of the Hellenistic era and through the influence of the Roman Empire and its Greek Eastern successor the Byzantine Empire. The Ottoman Empire also had a significant influence on Greek culture, but the Greek war of independence is credited with revitalizing Greece and giving birth to a single entity of its multi-faceted culture throughout the ages.
Ancient Greece is often referred to as "the cradle of Western civilization".
International Rankings
| Organisation | Survey | Ranking |
|---|---|---|
| Heritage Foundation/The Wall Street Journal[25] | Index of Economic Freedom | 94 out of 157 |
| The Economist[26] | Worldwide Quality-of-life Index, 2005 | 22 out of 111 |
| Reporters Without Borders[27] | Worldwide Press Freedom Index | 32 out of 168 |
| Transparency International[28] | Corruption Perceptions Index | 54 out of 163 |
| United Nations Development Programme[29] | Human Development Index | 24 out of 177 |
| World Economic Forum[30] | Global Competitiveness Report | 47 out of 125 |
Gallery
 | This section contains an unencyclopedic or excessive gallery of images. |
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The Pontikonisi island in Corfu.
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The Avenue of the Knights in the old section of the City of Rhodes. -
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The island of Kalymnos, Dodecanese. -
Spring in Agrafa. -
The rugged coastline of the volcanic island of Santorini. -
The famous statue of Hermes bearing the infant Dionysus, attributed to the greatest of the ancient attic sculptors, Praxiteles.
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Alexander the Great. Detail of the mosaic Battle of Issus, 333 BC. -
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Entrance to the Philosophy School building at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece's largest university. -
View of the rocky Meteora formation in central Greece. -
Porto Katsiki beach in the island of Lefkada.
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August 13, 2004: The widely praised 2004 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony was held in the Athens Olympic Stadium.
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The Greek Parliament today.
See also
References
- ^ "World Factbook - Greece: Government". CIA. www.cia.gov. 2007-03-15. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
- ^ Sir Steven Runciman, The Fall of Constantinople
- ^ "Greece." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2006. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 6 Sept. 2006 <http://search.eb.com/eb/article-9106266>.
- ^ Finley, M. I. Democracy Ancient and Modern. 2d ed., 1985. London: Hogarth.
- ^ History of Philosophy, Volume 1 by Frederick Copleston
- ^ Brockett, Oscar G. History of the Theatre. sixth ed., 1991. Boston; London: Allyn and Bacon.
- ^ "Member States of the EU: Greece". European Union. europa.eu. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
- ^ "Convention on the OECD". Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. www.oecd.org. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
- ^ a b "Greece becomes 16th ESA Member State". European Space Agency. www.esa.int. 2005-03-22. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
- ^ a b "The Constitution of Greece" (PDF). Hellenic Parliament. www.parliament.gr. 2001-04-06. Retrieved 2007-04-13.
- ^ a b c d "World Factbook: Greece". CIA. www.cia.gov. 2007-03-15. Retrieved 2007-04-08.
- ^ "Country Fact Sheets: Greece". UNDP. hdr.undp.org. Retrieved 2007-04-08.
- ^ "The Economist Intelligence Unit's quality-of-life index (2005)" (PDF). The Economist. www.economist.com. Retrieved 2007-04-08.
- ^ "IMF World Economic Outlook, April 2007". International Monetary Fund. www.imf.org. 2007-04. Retrieved 2007-04-08.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ http://www.elke.gr/default.asp?V_DOC_ID=765
- ^ a b Polemis, Spyros M. "The History of Greek Shipping". www.greece.org. Retrieved 2007-04-09.
- ^ "Greek shipping is modernized to remain a global leader and expand its contribution to the Greek economy". National Bank of Greece. www.nbg.gr. 2006-05-11. Retrieved 2007-04-08.
- ^ a b c Engber, Daniel (2005-08-17). "So Many Greek Shipping Magnates..." Slate. Washington Post/slate.msn.com. Retrieved 2007-04-09.
- ^ a b "Top 20 Ranking of World Merchant Fleet by Country of Owner as of January 1, 2001a". Bureau of Transportation Statistics. www.bts.gov. 2001. Retrieved 2007-04-08.
- ^ The Regions of Greece, All Media Publication, 2005.
- ^ Εκκλησία, Official Gazette of the Church of Greece, October 2006, page 737
- ^ CNN, http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/01/21/ancient.gods.ap/index.html
- ^ US Department of State, http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2006/71383.htm
- ^ "Index of Economic Freedom". Heritage Foundation & The WSJ. www.heritage.org. 2007. Retrieved 2007-04-10.
- ^ "Worldwide Quality of Life - 2005" (PDF). The Economist. www.economist.com. 2005. Retrieved 2007-04-10.
- ^ "North Korea, Turkmenistan, Eritrea the worst violators of press freedom". Reporters Without Borders. www.rsf.org. 2006. Retrieved 2007-04-10.
- ^ "CPI Table". Transparency International. www.transparency.org. 2006. Retrieved 2007-04-10.
- ^ "Human Development Report 2006". hdr.undp.org. 2006. Retrieved 2007-04-10.
{{cite web}}: Text "work United Nations Development Program" ignored (help) - ^ "Global Competitiveness Report 2006-2007" (PDF). World Economic Forum. www.weforum.org. 2006. Retrieved 2007-04-10.
Further reading
- Richard Clogg, A Concise History of Greece, Second Edition, Cambridge University Press 2002
- Minorities in Greece - historical issues and new perspectives. History and Culture of South Eastern Europe. An Annual Journal. München (Slavica) 2003.
External links
Definitions from Wiktionary
Media from Commons
News from Wikinews
Quotations from Wikiquote
Texts from Wikisource
Textbooks from Wikibooks
Resources from Wikiversity
Official
- Greek News Agenda Newsletter
- President of the Hellenic Republic
- Prime Minister of Greece
- Hellenic Parliament
- Greece — information and links related to Greece from the ministry of foreign affairs
- Greek missions abroad (embassies, consulates, representations)
- Foreign missions in Greece
- Greek National Tourism Organisation
- National Statistical Service of Greece
Other
- Encyclopaedia Britannica - Greece's country page
- Hellenic History
- The Greek Heritage
- Open Directory Project: Greece
- Chronology of Greece from the World History Database
- History of Greece: Primary Documents
- Greece main cities list and satellite views
- Greek News
- Greek Political Structure
- Historical Reconstruction of Greek Pankration
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