Greece

Greece won independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1830 and became a kingdom. 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. The communists were defeated in 1949, and Greece joined NATO in 1952. In 1967, a military coup forced the king to flee the country. The ensuing military dictatorship collapsed in 1974, and Greece abolished the monarchy to become a parliamentary republic. <br><br>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 2018, and Greece's economy has since improved significantly. In 2022, the country finalized its early repayment to the IMF and graduated on schedule from the EU's enhanced surveillance framework.

Southern Europe, bordering the Aegean Sea, Ionian Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea, between Albania and Turkey

39 00 N, 22 00 E

Europe

slightly smaller than Alabama

13,676 km

temperate; mild, wet winters; hot, dry summers

mountainous with ranges extending into the sea as peninsulas or chains of islands

lignite, petroleum, iron ore, bauxite, lead, zinc, nickel, magnesite, marble, salt, hydropower potential

12,191 sq km (2021)

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

severe earthquakes <br><br><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; Methana and Nisyros in the Aegean are also classified as historically active

strategic location dominating the Aegean Sea and southern approach to Turkish Straits; a peninsular country, with an archipelago of about 2,000 islands

Greek 91.6%, Albanian 4.4%, other 4% (2011 est.)

Greek Orthodox 81-90%, Muslim 2%, other 3%, none 4-15%, unspecified 1% (2015 est.)

-0.35% (2025 est.)

7.38 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)

11.99 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)

1.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 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

3.154 million ATHENS (capital), 815,000 Thessaloniki (2023)

30.7 years (2020 est.)

5 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)

1.42 children born/woman (2025 est.)

0.69 (2025 est.)

6.58 physicians/1,000 population (2022)

4.2 beds/1,000 population (2019 est.)

24.9% (2016)

52.4% (2023 est.)

air pollution; air emissions from transport and electricity power stations; water pollution; degradation of coastal zones; loss of biodiversity; municipal and industrial waste disposal

temperate; mild, wet winters; hot, dry summers

14.6 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

68 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

parliamentary republic

13 regions (<em>perifereies</em>, singular - <em>perifereia</em>) and 1 autonomous monastic state* (<em>aftonomi monastiki politeia</em>); 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)

civil legal system based on Roman law

accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

17 years of age; universal and compulsory

Coalition of the Radical Left-Progressive Alliance or SYRIZA-PS <br>Communist Party of Greece or KKE <br>Course of Freedom<br>Democratic Patriotic Movement-Victory or NIKI<br>Greek Solution<br>New Democracy or ND<br>PASOK - Movement for Change or PASOK-KINAL<br>Spartans

Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CD, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECB, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, FATF, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD (partners), IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIF, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, Schengen Convention, SELEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNOOSA, UNWTO, UPU, Wassenaar Arrangement, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

3 February 1830 (from the Ottoman Empire)

Independence Day, 25 March (1821)

<strong>description:</strong> nine equal horizontal stripes of blue alternating with white; a blue square with a white cross is in the upper-left corner<br><br><strong>meaning:</strong> the cross symbolizes Greek Orthodoxy, the established religion; there is no set meaning for the stripes and colors

Greek cross (white cross on a blue field)

blue, white

the coat of arms was designed by Greek artist Kostas Grammatopoulos and has been in use since 1975; depicted in the national colors of blue and white; the white cross represents the country&rsquo;s primary religion, Greek Orthodoxy, and the laurel branches symbolize victory

<p>high-income EU and eurozone economy; growth above euro average, supported by private consumption and EU fund investments; structural reforms strengthening public finances and enhancing resilience within banking system; declining unemployment but low labor productivity and skill shortages</p>

$257.145 billion (2024 est.)

maize, wheat, sheep milk, oranges, tomatoes, milk, peaches/nectarines, grapes, watermelons, barley (2023)

tourism, food and tobacco processing, textiles, chemicals, metal products; mining, petroleum

6.1% (2024 est.)

4.655 million (2024 est.)

18.8% (2021 est.)

26.6% (of GDP) (2023 est.)

Italy 12%, Germany 6%, Cyprus 6%, Bulgaria 4%, USA 4% (2023)

refined petroleum, packaged medicine, aluminum, olive oil, tobacco (2023)

Germany 10%, China 10%, Italy 8%, Iraq 7%, Netherlands 6% (2023)

crude petroleum, refined petroleum, natural gas, cars, packaged medicine (2023)

broadcast media dominated by the private sector; roughly 150 private TV channels, about 10 of which broadcast nationwide; 1 state-owned terrestrial TV channel with national coverage; 3 privately owned satellite channels; multi-channel satellite and cable TV services available; over 1,500 radio stations, all privately owned; state-owned broadcaster has 2 national radio stations

.gr

SX

82 (2025)

59 (2025)

Hellenic Armed Forces (HAF; Ellinikes Enoples Dynamis, EED): Hellenic Army (Ellinikos Stratos, ES; includes National Guard), Hellenic Navy (Elliniko Polemiko Navtiko, EPN), Hellenic Air Force (Elliniki Polemiki Aeroporia, EPA; includes air defense) (2025)

approximately 112,000 active-duty military personnel (2025)

the military's inventory consists of a mix of domestically produced and imported armaments from Europe and the US; in recent years, France, Germany, the UK, and the US have been major suppliers of weapons systems; Greece's defense industry is capable of producing a range of military hardware, including naval vessels and associated subsystems (2025)

18 years of age for voluntary military service for men and women; all Greek men 19-45 are subject to compulsory military service; 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)  (2026)

approximately 1,000 Cyprus; 120 Kosovo (NATO); 130 Lebanon (UNIFIL) (2025)

the Hellenic Armed Forces (HAF) are responsible for protecting Greece’s independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity; the HAF also maintains a presence on Cyprus (the Hellenic Force in Cyprus or ELDYK) to assist and support the Cypriot National Guard; as a member of the EU, NATO, and other international organizations, the HAF participates in multinational peacekeeping and other security missions abroad, taking a particular interest in missions occurring in the near regions, such as the Balkans, the Mediterranean and Aegean seas, the Middle East, and North Africa; areas of focus for the HAF include instability in the Balkans, territorial disputes with Turkey, and support to European security through the EU and NATO<br><br>Greece’s NATO membership is a key component of its security; it became a NATO member in 1952 and occupies a strategic location in the Eastern Mediterranean on NATO’s southern flank; Greece is host to several NATO facilities, including the Deployable Corps Greece (NDC-GR) headquarters in Thessaloniki, the Combined Air Operations Center in Larissa, the Multinational Peace Support Operations Training Center in Kilkis, the Multinational Sealift Coordination Center in Athens, and the Naval Base, Maritime Interdiction Operational Training Centre, and NATO Missile Firing Installation at Souda, Crete (2025)

Hellenic Space Center (HSC; aka Hellenic Space Agency; established 2018) (2025)

focuses on building and operating satellites for communications and remote sensing (RS); researches and develops space-related technologies in a variety of sectors, including agriculture, defense, environmental studies, RS, and telecommunications; contributes to and participates in ESA capabilities and programs; also participates in EU space programs and cooperates bilaterally with European and US space agencies and commercial space sectors; has a commercial space sector that researches, develops, and produces a variety of space technologies and capabilities (2025)

1994 - signed first cooperation agreement with the ESA<br><br>2005 - first satellite (Hellas-Sat) for a domestic telecommunications satellite network launched by US; joined ESA (became member state in 2011)<br><br>2017 - first domestically manufactured communications satellite (UPSat) released from International Space Station<br><br>2019 - began participating in ESA’s quantum communications infrastructure (EuroQCI or “fiber in the sky”) and the US Gateway Lunar orbital/landing programs<br><br>2021 - launched ESA-assisted national program to develop, manufacture, launch, and operate small satellites <br><br>2024 - signed US-led Artemis Accords for space and Moon exploration<br><br>2025 - launched demonstrator/experimental RS cube satellite (DUTHSat-2) under ESA-assisted national small satellite program

Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS); Revolutionary Struggle (RS); Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C)