"text":"Greece achieved independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1830. 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. Following the latter's defeat in 1949, Greece joined NATO in 1952. In 1967, a group of military officers seized power, establishing a military dictatorship that suspended many political liberties and forced the king to flee the country. In 1974 following the collapse of the dictatorship, democratic elections and a referendum created a parliamentary republic and abolished the monarchy. 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 August 2018."
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> 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"
"text":"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"
"text":"<p>severe earthquakes</p><p><strong>volcanism:</strong> 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; although there have been very few eruptions in recent centuries, Methana and Nisyros in the Aegean are classified as historically active</p>"
"text":"strategic location dominating the Aegean Sea and southern approach to Turkish Straits; a peninsular country, possessing an archipelago of about 2,000 islands"
"text":"<br>Το Παγκόσμιο Βιβλίο Δεδομένων, η απαραίτητη πηγή βασικών πληροφοριών. (Greek)<br><br>The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information."
"text":"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"
"text":"air pollution; air emissions from transport and electricity power stations; water pollution; degradation of coastal zones; loss of biodiversity in terrestrial and marine ecosystems; increasing municipal and industrial waste"
},
"Environment - international agreements":{
"party to":{
"text":"Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands"
},
"signed, but not ratified":{
"text":"Air Pollution-Heavy Metals, Air Pollution-Multi-effect Protocol, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds"
"text":"the English name derives from the Roman (Latin) designation \"Graecia,\" meaning \"Land of the Greeks\"; the Greeks call their country \"Hellas\" or \"Ellada\""
}
},
"Government type":{
"text":"parliamentary republic"
},
"Capital":{
"name":{
"text":"Athens"
},
"geographic coordinates":{
"text":"37 59 N, 23 44 E"
},
"time difference":{
"text":"UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)"
},
"daylight saving time":{
"text":"+1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October"
"text":"Athens is the oldest European capital city; according to tradition, the city is named after Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom; in actuality, the appellation probably derives from a lost name in a pre-Hellenic language"
"text":"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)"
},
"Independence":{
"text":"3 February 1830 (from the Ottoman Empire); note - 25 March 1821, outbreak of the national revolt against the Ottomans; 3 February 1830, signing of the London Protocol recognizing Greek independence by Great Britain, France, and Russia"
},
"National holiday":{
"text":"Independence Day, 25 March (1821)"
},
"Constitution":{
"history":{
"text":"many previous; latest entered into force 11 June 1975"
"text":"proposed by at least 50 members of Parliament and agreed by three-fifths majority vote in two separate ballots at least 30 days apart; passage requires absolute majority vote by the next elected Parliament; entry into force finalized through a \"special parliamentary resolution\"; articles on human rights and freedoms and the form of government cannot be amended; amended 1986, 2001, 2008, 2019"
"text":"president elected by Hellenic Parliament for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 22 January 2020 (next to be held by February 2025); president appoints as prime minister the leader of the majority party or coalition in the Hellenic Parliament"
"text":"<em>2020:</em>Katerina SAKELLAROPOULOU (independent) elected president by Parliament - 261 of 300 votes; note - SAKELLAROPOULOU is Greece's first woman president<br><br><em>2015:</em> Prokopis PAVLOPOULOS (ND) elected president by Parliament - 233 of 300 votes"
"text":"unicameral Hellenic Parliament or Vouli ton Ellinon (300 seats; 280 members in multi-seat and single-seat constituencies and 15 members - including 3 seats for Greek diaspora - in a single nationwide constituency directly elected by open party-list proportional representation vote; members serve up to 4 years); note - only parties surpassing a 3% 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"
"text":"percent of vote by party - ND 40.6%, SYRIZA-PS 17.8%, PASOK-KINAL 11.9%, KKE 7.7%, Spartans 4.6%, Greek Solution 4.4%, NIKI 3.7%, Course of Freedom 3.2%, other 6.1%; seats by party - ND 158, SYRIZA-PS 48, PASOK-KINAL 32, KKE 20, Spartans 12, Greek Solution 12, NIKI 10, Course of Freedom 8; composition - men 231, women 69, percent of women 23%"
"text":"Supreme Civil and Criminal Court or Areios Pagos (consists of 56 judges, including the court presidents); Council of State (supreme administrative court) (consists of the president, 7 vice presidents, 42 privy councilors, 48 associate councilors and 50 reporting judges, organized into six 5- and 7-member chambers; Court of Audit (government audit and enforcement) consists of the president, 5 vice presidents, 20 councilors, and 90 associate and reporting judges"
},
"judge selection and term of office":{
"text":"Supreme Court judges appointed by presidential decree on the advice of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), which includes the president of the Supreme Court, other judges, and the prosecutor of the Supreme Court; judges appointed for life following a 2-year probationary period; Council of State president appointed by the Greek Cabinet to serve a 4-year term; other judge appointments and tenure NA; Court of Audit president appointed by decree of the president of the republic on the advice of the SJC; court president serves a 4-year term or until age 67; tenure of vice presidents, councilors, and judges NA"
},
"subordinate courts":{
"text":"Courts of Appeal and Courts of First Instance (district courts)"
"text":"Coalition of the Radical Left-Progressive Alliance or SYRIZA-PS (vacant)<br>Communist Party of Greece or KKE [Dimitrios KOUTSOUMBAS]<br>Course of Freedom [Zoe KONSTANTOPOULOU]<br>Democratic Patriotic Movement-Victory or NIKI [Dimitris NATSIOS]<br>Greek Solution [Kyriakos VELOPOULOS]<br>New Democracy or ND [Kyriakos MITSOTAKIS]<br>PASOK - Movement for Change or PASOK-KINAL [Nikolaos (Nikos) ANDROULAKIS]<br>Spartans [Vassilis STIGAS]"
"text":"nine equal horizontal stripes of blue alternating with white; a blue square bearing a white cross appears in the upper hoist-side corner; the cross symbolizes Greek Orthodoxy, the established religion of the country; there is no agreed upon meaning for the nine stripes or for the colors",
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> Greek legislation states that the flag colors are cyan and white, but cyan can mean \"blue\" in Greek, so the exact shade of blue has never been set and has varied from a light to a dark blue over time; in general, the hue of blue normally encountered is a form of azure"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> 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 Liberty\" as its anthem"
"text":"Acropolis, Athens (c); Archaeological site of Delphi (c); Meteora (m); Medieval City of Rhodes (c); Archaeological site of Olympia (c); Archaeological site of Mycenae and Tiryns (c); Old Town of Corfu (c); Mount Athos (m); Delos (c); Archaeological Site of Philippi (c)"
"text":"tourism- and shipping-based EU economy; clientelism economic culture and systemic corruption; new structural reforms for fiscal solvency; high public debts and unemployment; increasing Chinese port control; oil and gas disputes with Turkey"
"text":"Greece’s telecom market is susceptible to the country’s volatile economy, and, as a result, revenue among the key networks has been variable; broadband subscriptions in Greece are developing steadily; the main networks are concentrating investment on fiber-based next generation networks, enabling them to reach the European broadband targets for 2025; their work is also supported by government ultra-fast broadband projects, largely funded by the EC and aimed at delivering a service of at least 100Mb/s to under served areas; Greece’s well-developed mobile market is dominated by the three MNOs; Networks continue to invest in LTE infrastructure and technologies to provide networks capable of meeting customer demand for data services; after extensive trials of 5G, the MNOs were able to launch commercial services in early 2021 following the December 2020 allocation of frequencies in a range of bands; the rapid rollout of 5G encouraged the shut down of the 3G network (a process expected to be completed by the end of 2021) and reallocate for LTE and 5G. (2023)"
"text":"broadcast media dominated by the private sector; roughly 150 private TV channels, about 10 of which broadcast nationwide; 1 government-owned terrestrial TV channel with national coverage; 3 privately owned satellite channels; multi-channel satellite and cable TV services available; upwards of 1,500 radio stations, all of them privately owned; government-owned broadcaster has 2 national radio stations"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> unpaved runways have a surface composition such as grass or packed earth and are most suited to the operation of light aircraft; unpaved runways are usually short, often less than 1,000 m (3,280 ft.) in length; airports with unpaved runways often lack facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control"
"text":"Hellenic Armed Forces: Hellenic Army (Ellinikos Stratos, ES; includes National Guard), Hellenic Navy (Elliniko Polemiko Navtiko, EPN), Hellenic Air Force (Elliniki Polemiki Aeroporia, EPA; includes air defense) (2023)",
"note":"<strong>note 1:</strong> the police (under the Ministry of Citizen Protection) and the armed forces (Ministry of National Defense) share law enforcement duties in certain border areas; border protection is coordinated by a deputy minister for national defense; the Greek Coast Guard is under the Ministry of Shipping Affairs and Island Policy<br><br><strong>note 2:</strong> the National Guard was established in 1982 as an official part of the Army to help protect Greece and provide reinforcements and support to the Army in peacetime and in times of mobilization and war; members undergo weekly training run by the Army, which also provides weapons and ammunition"
"text":"the military's inventory consists of a mix of imported weapons from Europe and the US, as well as a limited number of domestically produced systems; in recent years, France, Germany, and the US have been the top suppliers; Greece's defense industry is capable of producing a range of military hardware, including naval vessels and associated subsystems (2023)",
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> Greece is in the midst of a significant military modernization program which includes acquisitions of fighter aircraft and naval ships from France and armored vehicles and tanks from Germany; it has also boosted purchases of US equipment, including fighter aircraft upgrades, helicopters, and naval patrol craft"
"text":"19-45 years of age for compulsory military service for men; 12-month obligation for all services (note - as an exception, the duration of the full military service is 9 instead of 12 months if conscripts, after the initial training, serve the entire remaining time in certain areas of the eastern borders, in Cyprus, or in certain military units); 18 years of age for voluntary military service for men and women (2023)",
"note":"<strong>note 1: </strong>compulsory service applies to any individual whom the Greek authorities consider to be Greek, regardless of whether the individual considers himself Greek, has a foreign citizenship and passport, or was born or lives outside of Greece; Greek citizens living permanently outside of Greece have the right to postpone their conscription; they are permanently exempted from their military obligations when they reach the age of 45 years old<strong><br><br>note 2: </strong>up to 50% of the Greek military is comprised of conscripts<br><br><strong>note 3: </strong>as of 2019, women comprised approximately 19% of the military's full-time personnel"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in Appendix-T"
"text":"<p>Greece and Turkey continue discussions to resolve their complex maritime, air, territorial, and boundary disputes in the Aegean Sea; the mass migration of unemployed Albanians still remains a problem for developed countries, chiefly Greece and Italy</p>"
"text":"a gateway to Europe for traffickers smuggling cannabis products and heroin from the Middle East and Southwest Asia to the West and precursor chemicals to the East; some South American cocaine transits or is consumed in Greece; money laundering related to drug trafficking and organized crime"
