1996 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1996 (Project Gutenberg)
Introduction
Description
nine equal horizontal stripes of blue alternating with white; there is a blue square in the upper hoist-side corner bearing a white cross; the cross symbolizes Greek Orthodoxy, the established religion of the country
Location
39 00 N, 22 00 E -- Southern Europe, bordering the Aegean Sea, Ionian Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea, between Albania and Turkey Flag ----
Geography
Area
- comparative area
- slightly smaller than Alabama
- land area
- 130,800 sq km
- total area
- 131,940 sq km
Climate
temperate; mild, wet winters; hot, dry summers
Coastline
13,676 km
Environment
- current issues
- air pollution; water pollution
- international agreements
- party to - Air Pollution, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Desertification
- natural hazards
- severe earthquakes
Geographic coordinates
39 00 N, 22 00 E
Geographic note
strategic location dominating the Aegean Sea and southern approach to Turkish Straits; a peninsular country, possessing an archipelago of about 2,000 islands
International disputes
complex maritime, air, and territorial disputes with Turkey in Aegean Sea; Cyprus question; dispute with The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia over name; border demarcation with Albania, the treatment of Albania's ethnic Greek minority, and migrant Albanian workers in Greece remain unresolved issues
Irrigated land
11,900 sq km (1989 est.)
Land boundaries
- border countries
- Albania 282 km, Bulgaria 494 km, Turkey 206 km, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 228 km
- total
- 1,210 km
Land use
- arable land
- 23%
- forest and woodland
- 20%
- meadows and pastures
- 40%
- other
- 9%
- permanent crops
- 8%
Location
Southern Europe, bordering the Aegean Sea, Ionian Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea, between Albania and Turkey
Map references
Europe
Maritime claims
- continental shelf
- 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
- territorial sea
- 6 nm
Natural resources
bauxite, lignite, magnesite, petroleum, marble
Terrain
- mostly mountains with ranges extending into sea as peninsulas or chains of islands
- highest point
- Mount Olympus 2,917 m
- lowest point
- Mediterranean Sea 0 m
People and Society
Age structure
0-14 years: 16% (male 899,029; female 837,308) 15-64 years: 68% (male 3,571,918; female 3,542,556) 65 years and over: 16% (male 736,818; female 950,965) (July 1996 est.)
Birth rate
9.78 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Death rate
9.53 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Ethnic divisions
- Greek 98%, other 2%
- note
- the Greek Government states there are no ethnic divisions in
Infant mortality rate
7.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
Life expectancy at birth
- female
- 80.78 years (1996 est.)
- male
- 75.6 years
- total population
- 78.1 years
Nationality
- adjective
- Greek
- noun
- Greek(s)
Net migration rate
3.98 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Population
10,538,594 (July 1996 est.)
Population growth rate
0.42% (1996 est.)
Sex ratio
- all ages
- 0.98 male(s)/female (1996 est.)
- at birth
- 1.07 male(s)/female
- under 15 years
- 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female
Total fertility rate
1.37 children born/woman (1996 est.)