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.
land: 130,647 sq km
water: 1,310 sq km
border countries (4): Albania 212 km; Bulgaria 472 km; North Macedonia 234 km; Turkey 192 km
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
mean elevation: 498 m
note: 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
arable land: 19.7% (2018 est.)
permanent crops: 8.9% (2018 est.)
permanent pasture: 34.8% (2018 est.)
forest: 30.5% (2018 est.)
other: 6.1% (2018 est.)
10,497,595 (2023 est.)
noun: Greek(s)
adjective: Greek
Greek 91.6%, Albanian 4.4%, other 4% (2011 est.)
note: data represent citizenship; Greece does not collect data on ethnicity
Greek (official) 99%, other (includes English and French) 1%
major-language sample(s):
Το Παγκόσμιο Βιβλίο Δεδομένων, η απαραίτητη πηγή βασικών πληροφοριών. (Greek)
The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Greek Orthodox 81-90%, Muslim 2%, other 3%, none 4-15%, unspecified 1% (2015 est.)
0-14 years: 14.02% (male 758,311/female 713,794)
15-64 years: 62.66% (male 3,285,484/female 3,292,524)
65 years and over: 23.31% (2023 est.) (male 1,086,188/female 1,361,294)
total dependency ratio: 57.7
youth dependency ratio: 22.2
elderly dependency ratio: 35.5
potential support ratio: 2.8 (2021 est.)
total: 46.2 years (2023 est.)
male: 44.3 years
female: 47.9 years
-0.35% (2023 est.)
7.5 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)
12 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)
1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)
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
urban population: 80.7% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 0.11% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
3.154 million ATHENS (capital), 815,000 Thessaloniki (2023)
at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2023 est.)
30.7 years (2020 est.)
8 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)
total: 3.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
male: 3.9 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 3.1 deaths/1,000 live births
total population: 81.7 years (2023 est.)
male: 79.2 years
female: 84.4 years
1.4 children born/woman (2023 est.)
0.68 (2023 est.)
NA
improved: urban: 100% of population
rural: 100% of population
total: 100% of population
unimproved: urban: 0% of population
rural: 0% of population
total: 0% of population (2020 est.)
9.5% of GDP (2020)
6.31 physicians/1,000 population (2019)
4.2 beds/1,000 population (2018)
improved: urban: 100% of population
rural: 100% of population
total: 100% of population
unimproved: urban: 0% of population
rural: 0% of population
total: 0% of population (2020 est.)
24.9% (2016)
total: 6.33 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
beer: 2.13 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine: 2.66 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits: 1.45 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols: 0.08 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
total: 33.5% (2020 est.)
male: 36.5% (2020 est.)
female: 30.5% (2020 est.)
NA
54.1% (2023 est.)
4.4% of GDP (2020 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.9%
male: 98.5%
female: 97.4% (2018)
total: 20 years
male: 20 years
female: 20 years (2020)
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
party to: 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: Air Pollution-Heavy Metals, Air Pollution-Multi-effect Protocol, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds
temperate; mild, wet winters; hot, dry summers
agricultural land: 63.4% (2018 est.)
arable land: 19.7% (2018 est.)
permanent crops: 8.9% (2018 est.)
permanent pasture: 34.8% (2018 est.)
forest: 30.5% (2018 est.)
other: 6.1% (2018 est.)
urban population: 80.7% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 0.11% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
0.01% of GDP (2018 est.)
0.04% of GDP (2018 est.)
particulate matter emissions: 14.62 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
carbon dioxide emissions: 62.43 megatons (2016 est.)
methane emissions: 9.8 megatons (2020 est.)
municipal solid waste generated annually: 5,477,424 tons (2014 est.)
municipal solid waste recycled annually: 1,040,711 tons (2014 est.)
percent of municipal solid waste recycled: 19% (2014 est.)
municipal: 1.69 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
industrial: 330 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
agricultural: 8.11 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
68.4 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
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
$314.427 billion (2021 est.)
$289.97 billion (2020 est.)
$318.662 billion (2019 est.)
note: data are in 2017 dollars
8.43% (2021 est.)
-9% (2020 est.)
1.88% (2019 est.)
$29,500 (2021 est.)
$27,100 (2020 est.)
$29,700 (2019 est.)
note: data are in 2017 dollars
$209.79 billion (2019 est.)
1.22% (2021 est.)
-1.25% (2020 est.)
0.25% (2019 est.)
Fitch rating: BB (2020)
Moody’s rating: Ba3 (2020)
Standard & Poors rating: BB- (2019)
note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained.
agriculture: 4.1% (2017 est.)
industry: 16.9% (2017 est.)
services: 79.1% (2017 est.)comparison rankings:
household consumption: 69.6% (2017 est.)
government consumption: 20.1% (2017 est.)
investment in fixed capital: 12.5% (2017 est.)
investment in inventories: -1% (2017 est.)
exports of goods and services: 33.4% (2017 est.)
imports of goods and services: -34.7% (2017 est.)
maize, olives, wheat, milk, peaches/nectarines, oranges, tomatoes, grapes, milk, potatoes
tourism, food and tobacco processing, textiles, chemicals, metal products; mining, petroleum
10.67% (2021 est.)
4.619 million (2021 est.)
14.8% (2021 est.)
16.3% (2020 est.)
17.31% (2019 est.)
total: 36.9% (2021 est.)
male: 33.5%
female: 41.5%
17.9% (2018 est.)
33.1 (2019 est.)
on food: 17.1% of household expenditures (2018 est.)
on alcohol and tobacco: 4.9% of household expenditures (2018 est.)
lowest 10%: 1.7%
highest 10%: 26.7% (2015 est.)
revenues: $98.523 billion (2019 est.)
expenditures: $97.277 billion (2019 est.)
0.8% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
252.29% of GDP (2020 est.)
212.38% of GDP (2019 est.)
208.84% of GDP (2018 est.)
24.74% (of GDP) (2020 est.)
calendar year
-$13.858 billion (2021 est.)
-$12.413 billion (2020 est.)
-$3.112 billion (2019 est.)
$87.521 billion (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$59.022 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$81.184 billion (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
Italy 10%, Germany 7%, Turkey 5%, Cyprus 5%, Bulgaria 5% (2019)
refined petroleum, packaged medicines, aluminum plating, cotton, cheese, copper piping (2021)
$103.532 billion (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$71.758 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$83.192 billion (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
Germany 11%, China 9%, Italy 8%, Iraq 7%, Russia 6%, Netherlands 5% (2019)
crude petroleum, refined petroleum, packaged medicines, cars, ships (2019)
$14.447 billion (31 December 2021 est.)
$11.931 billion (31 December 2020 est.)
$8.507 billion (31 December 2019 est.)
$484.888 billion (2019 est.)
$478.646 billion (2018 est.)
euros (EUR) per US dollar -
Exchange rates:
0.845 (2021 est.)
0.876 (2020 est.)
0.893 (2019 est.)
0.847 (2018 est.)
0.885 (2017 est.)
electrification - total population: 100% (2021)
installed generating capacity: 21.545 million kW (2020 est.)
consumption: 46.18 billion kWh (2020 est.)
exports: 967 million kWh (2020 est.)
imports: 9.831 billion kWh (2020 est.)
transmission/distribution losses: 3.256 billion kWh (2020 est.)comparison rankings:
fossil fuels: 56.5% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
solar: 10.7% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
wind: 23% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
hydroelectricity: 8.5% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
tide and wave: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
geothermal: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
biomass and waste: 1.4% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
production: 13.851 million metric tons (2020 est.)
consumption: 13.828 million metric tons (2020 est.)
exports: 7,000 metric tons (2020 est.)
imports: 305,000 metric tons (2020 est.)
proven reserves: 2.876 billion metric tons (2019 est.)
total petroleum production: 4,800 bbl/day (2021 est.)
refined petroleum consumption: 309,600 bbl/day (2019 est.)
crude oil and lease condensate exports: 4,100 bbl/day (2018 est.)
crude oil and lease condensate imports: 491,300 bbl/day (2018 est.)
crude oil estimated reserves: 10 million barrels (2021 est.)
655,400 bbl/day (2017 est.)
371,900 bbl/day (2017 est.)
192,200 bbl/day (2017 est.)
production: 5.748 million cubic meters (2019 est.)
consumption: 5,831,987,000 cubic meters (2020 est.)
exports: 33.244 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
imports: 5,219,409,000 cubic meters (2019 est.)
proven reserves: 991 million cubic meters (2021 est.)
70.163 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from coal and metallurgical coke: 13.404 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from petroleum and other liquids: 46.401 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from consumed natural gas: 10.358 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
108.022 million Btu/person (2019 est.)
number of registered air carriers: 11 (2020)
inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 97
annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 15,125,933 (2018)
annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 21.91 million (2018) mt-km
SX
77 (2021)
68
note: 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.)
9
note: 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
9 (2021)
1,466 km gas, 94 km oil (2013)
total: 2,345 km (2020) 731 km electrified
total: 117,000 km (2018)
6 km (2012) (the 6-km-long Corinth Canal crosses the Isthmus of Corinth; it shortens a sea voyage by 325 km)
total: 1,234 (2022)
by type: bulk carrier 146, container ship 5, general cargo 83, oil tanker 311, other 689
major seaport(s): Aspropyrgos, Pachi, Piraeus, Thessaloniki
oil terminal(s): Agioi Theodoroi
container port(s) (TEUs): Piraeus (5,311,810) (2021)
LNG terminal(s) (import): Revithoussa
manyapis