Greece is a peninsular and a mountainous country situated in southeast Europe on the Mediterranean Sea, with a total area of 130,800 km2. The country is surrounded by the sea.
The Greek islands represent one fifth of the country's surface. Greece has about 1400 Greek islands, of which only 169 are inhabited. The majority of the islands are scattered in the Aegean Sea between the Greek and Turkish coasts.
The country has a population of about 11 million (2000), with 4 millions living in Athens, the country's capital.
More: Geography
The conventional names of the country are Hellas or Hellenic Republic.
The democratic Greek system is working like a parliamentary republic with the President of the Hellenic Republic as the Head of the State.
The actual head of the government is the Prime Minister George Papandreou, leader of the Sosialist Party PASOK, and the chief of state is the President Karolos Papoulias
More: Politics
220 volts AC, 50Hz. Round two-pin plugs are used. North American visitors require a transformer and British visitors an adaptor.
Some hotels provide these adaptors. Otherwise, you can buy them from the airport or large electric venues.
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Greece is one of the poorest countries in the European Union, even though its economy has improved after the adoption of the EU's single currency (the euro) and the country's preparation for the Olympic Games.
Greece is an agricultural country. 22% of the workforce is employed for agriculture, 27% in the industry sector and 50 % in the services.
The sector of tourism, hotels, travel and shipping contribute the most to the economy of the country.
More: Economy
Greek is the only official language of the country. However, a large part of the population, mostly the people working in tourism and the younger generations, currently use English at a good level and sometimes other popular European languages.
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98% of the Greek population belongs to the Orthodox Church. The rest of the Greek population is Roman Catholic, Muslim and Jewish. Russia is the only other country with such a proportion of Orthodox. The Orthodox Church forms the third largest branch of Christianity.
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GMT + 2
Greece is two hours ahead the time of Greenwich. |
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The network coverage is quite good in most parts of the country, except from some areas like mountains and in some small islands. The main operators are Vodafone, Cosmote, Wind and Q.
Internet is available in all the cities of Greece and in the touristic areas (islands). Over the last years, many Internet hotspots work in the most popular places and a lot of hotels include wireless Internet connection in their facilities.
Greece is the European country with the biggest number of newspapers. There are 18 daily newspapers in Athens. Foreign press can be found in big cities and popular islands.
More: Newspapers
Banks and Public Services work from 08.00 to 14.00, Monday to Friday.
The shops are usually open Monday-Wednesday- Saturday from 09.00 to 15.00 and Tuesday-Thursday-Friday from 09.00 to 14.00 and 17.00 to 20.00. In these three days of the week, shops close for the siesta at noon and open again in the afternoon.
In the tourist areas in high season, most shops stay open all day long, from early in the morning till late in the evening. Malls in the big cities also stay open all day.
In August 2004, the Olympic Games returned to their birth country. Athletes from over 200 countries joined Athens during 17 days in August 2004.
More: Athens 2004
Greece proposes many events, especialy in summer. The famous "Athens Festival" organises concerts and theatrical scenes in famous ancient theatres in Athens and Epidaurus. Also particularly popular are the panigyria in summer, which are actually religious celebrations followed by traditional dancing in the village square.
More: Cultural Events |
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