Country Profile: Greece

GREECE IS the cradle of civilization that spawned not only democracy but also many of the roots of Western culture. Greek art and architecture still influence modern aesthetics. Contemporary scholars still ponder the wisdom of Aristotle and Socrates. And, of course, the Olympic Games originated there. Today the Greek economy is based on agriculture, industrial multinationals and a tourism industry that attracts 8 million visitors a year.

 

 

GENERAL INFORMATIONS

GREECE, Hellas, officially known as the "Hellenic Republic" is the southeastern most country in Europe, occupying the southernmost part of the Balkan Peninsula. It is bordered by Albania, X-Yugoslavia (the Republic of Skopje) and Bulgaria from the north, and the European part of Turkey from the northeast. From the east by the Aegean Sea, from the south by the Mediterranean Sea, and from the west the Ionian Sea, including more than 400 islands, which occupy more than one fifth of its total land territory the total area of the country is 131,957 square kilometers (50,949 square miles).
The mainland portion of Greece comprises the regions of Thraki and Macedonia in the north; Epirus, Thessaly, and Central Greece in the central section; and in the south Peloponnisos, a peninsula which is connected to the rest of the mainland by the Isthmus of Corinth. The remainder of Greece consists of more than 400 islands, (only 149 are inhabited.) These are Evia, Crete, or Kriti, the Northern Sporades, the Cyclades, the Dodecanisa, Chios, Limnos, Lesvos, Samos, Samothraki, and Thassos, all of which are spread out in the Aegean Sea. In the west, the Ionian Sea, is where the Eptanisa are found, a group of seven inhabited major islands and three small uninhabited ones.
The coastal waters of the country are relatively shallow and penetrate far inland. Despite its indented coastline, Greece has fine natural harbors, namely its main harbor of Piraeus, the second largest in the Mediterranean Sea, after Marseilles in France. Piraeus is considered an excellent harbor in the East Mediterranean waters.

 

Demographic & Statistical data

LAND

Area of Greek territory Sq. kms %
Total Greece 131,990 100
Mainland 106,821 81
Islands 25,169 19
Arable land 39,098 30
Non-arable land 92,892 70

POPULATION

Census
year		 Total Male Female Inhabitants
per sq.km		 % Increase
1861 1,096,810 567,334 529,476 23.08 -
1870 1,457,894 745,176 703,718 29.04 32.92
1879 1, 679, 470 880,952 798,518 33.45 15.20
1896 2,433, 806 1,266,816 1,166,990 38.26 44.92
1907 2,631,952 1,324,942 1,307,010 41.64 8.14
1920 5,016,889 2,495,316 2,521,573 39.50 90.61
1928 6,204,684 3,076,235 3,128,449 47.99 23.68
1940 7,344,860 3,658,393 3,686,467 56.81 18.38
1951 7,632,801 3,721,648 3,911,153 57.85 3.92
1961 8,388, 553 4,091,894 4,296,659 63.58 9.90
1971 8,768,372 4,286,748 4,481,624 66.45 4.53
1981 9,739,589 4,779,571 4,960,018 73.70 10.96
1991 10,264,156 5,029,710 5,234,446 77.78 5.38

THE TWELVE LARGEST TOWNS & CITIES

Position Town/City Population
1 Athens 3,096,775
2 Thessaloniki 739,998
3 Patra 172,763
4 Heraklion 127,600
5 Volos 106,142
6 Larissa 113,426
7 Chania 65,519
8 Kavala 58,576
9 Seres 50,875
10 Trikala 48,820
11 Agrinio 48,730
12 Halkida 51,482

AREA & POPULATION COMPARISON

Area Surface area
sq.kms		 % of
total area		 Population
1981		 Population 1991 % of total
population
Athens 428 0.32 3,016,457 3,072,922 29.95
Macedonia 34,177 25.89 2,105,649 2,236,019 21.79
Central Greece & Evia 24,480 18.55 1,097,480 1,260,945 12.29
Peloponesse 21,439 16.24 1,005,154 1,086,935 10.59
Thessalia 13,929 10.55 695,010 734,846 7.16
Ipiros 9,203 6.98 323,333 339,728 3.31
Aegean Islands 9,113 6.90 435,749 456,712 4.45
Thraki 8,578 6.50 345,709 338,005 3.29
Crete 8,336 6.32 501,082 540,054 5.26
lonian Islands 2,307 1.75 181,064 193,734 1.89
Total 131,990 100 9,739,589 10,259,900 100