General Information

GREECE

Hellenic Republic (Greece)

National Flag

Area: 131, 990 sq. km.
Length of State Border: 1,228 km
Border Countries: Albania (282 km), Bulgaria (494 km), Turkey (206 km), North Macedonia (246 km)
Climate: Temperate, mild, wet winters, hot, dry summers
Terrain: Μostly mountainous with ranges extending into the sea as peninsulas or chains of islands
Elevation extremes: Lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m -Highest point: Mount Olympus 2,917 m

Geographic Importance

Strategic location dominating the Aegean Sea and the southern approach to the Dardanelles Straits, a peninsular country possessing an archipelago of approximately 3,000 major islands

Natural resources: Lignite, iron ore, bauxite, lead, zinc, nickel, magnesite, marble, salt

Legal system: Based on Roman law, judiciary divided into civil, criminal, and administrative courts
Time zone: GMT +2
Official language: Greek
Currency: Euro
Capital: Athens
Government type: Parliamentary Legislative Democracy
Legislative branch: Unicameral Parliament– 300 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to four-year terms
Head of State: President
Head of Government: Prime Minister

Membership in important international organizations: European Union, NATO, EBRD, EIB, IBRD, IMF, IMO, Interpol, OECD, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, WHO, WTO, CERN

Economic hub of Southeast Europe

As Greece emerges from the economic crisis, the country is appealing as an investment location because it offers business people a wide variety of investment opportunities that take advantage of the country’s strategic geographic location and unique competitive advantages. Greece is a natural gateway to more than 140 million consumers in Southeast Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean, a region with a GDP of almost 1 trillion Euro. As the hub of diverse emerging markets, Greece provides access to populations with a strong demand for consumer goods, infrastructure modernization, technology and innovation networks, energy, tourism development, and light manufacturing.

At the same time, Greek companies and banks have a strong foothold in the markets of neighbouring states. Investors are discovering that Greece has a combination of characteristics that are unequalled in Europe. Greece is a leading global tourism destination, an emerging regional energy hub, and possesses highly educated and multilingual human capital.

Population: 10,816,286
(Resident population, census 2011, revised data)
Density: 81.9/km2

Population by age group (Census 2011)
Age Group	Percentage of Total
0 – 14	9,7%
15 – 69	75.5%
70+	14.8%

Economically-active population 4.79 million (3rd Quarter 2017)
Birth rate 8,61 births/1,000 population (2016)

Major Greek Cities

Population (census 2011, revised data)
Athens (greater region)	3.828.434
Thessaloniki (greater region)	1.110.551
Patras	213.984
Iraklio	173.993
Larissa	162.591
Volos	144.449

Transportation & Telecommunications

Railways total:             2,265 km
Roadways total:       117,000 km
Of which: Urban:        75,500 km
                Interurban: 41,500 km

Major highways

Egnatia Highway
PATHE Motorway
Ionian Motorway, Rion-Antirion (Bridge)
Attiki Odos Motorway

Major Ports

Piraeus, Thessaloniki, Volos, Patras, Alexandroupolis, Elefsina, Igoumenitsa, Iraklio, Kavala, Rhodes, Lavrio, Chalkida, Corfu

Major Airports

15 international airports, 26 domestic airports, 53 million passengers in 2016 (departures – arrivals)
Main airports:
Athens International Airport (Eleftherios Venizelos), Thessaloniki, Iraklio (Crete), Rhodes, Corfu, Kos, Chania, Zakynthos, Samos, Mykonos, Santorini (Thira)

Telecommunications

Telephones – main lines in use: 4,750,488 (2016)*
Telephones – mobile (cellular): 15,934,294 (2016)*
Mobile phone penetration: 147% (2016)
Mobile phone operators: Cosmote, Wind Hellas, Vodafone Greece.
Internet penetration: 71% (2017)**
Broadband penetration: 33,5% (33,5 lines per 100 residents – est. as of end 2016)**

* Source: EETT

** Source: OCDE