Back Бырзентәыла Abkhazian Yunani ACE Урымые ADY Griekeland Afrikaans Griechenland ALS ግሪክ (አገር) Amharic Greece AMI Grecia AN Grecland ANG Giris ANN
Hellenic Republic | |
|---|---|
| Motto: Ελευθερία ή Θάνατος Elefthería í Thánatos (English: "Freedom or Death") | |
| Anthem: Ύμνος εις την Ελευθερίαν Ímnos is tin Eleftherían (English: "Hymn to Liberty") | |
.svg)  Location of Greece (dark green) – in Europe (light green & dark grey) | |
| Capital and largest city | Athens 37°58′N 23°43′E / 37.967°N 23.717°E |
| Official language and national language | Greek |
| Religion (2017) |
|
| Demonym(s) |
|
| Government | Unitary parliamentary republic |
| Konstantinos Tasoulas | |
| Kyriakos Mitsotakis | |
| Nikitas Kaklamanis | |
| Legislature | Hellenic Parliament |
| Establishment history | |
• Greek War of Independence against the Ottoman Empire | 25 March 1821 (traditional starting date) |
| 1 January 1822 | |
| 3 February 1830 | |
| 24 July 1974 | |
| 11 June 1975 | |
| Area | |
• Total | 131,957 km2 (50,949 sq mi)[5] (95th) |
• Water (%) | 1.51 (2015)[4] |
| Population | |
• 2024 estimate |  10,400,720 (1 January 2024)[6] (91st) |
• 2021 census | 10,432,481[7] |
• Density | 78.9/km2 (204.4/sq mi) (105th) |
| GDP (PPP) | 2025 estimate |
• Total |  $467.590 billion[8] (54th) |
• Per capita | $45,048[8] (47th) |
| GDP (nominal) | 2025 estimate |
• Total | $267.348 billion[8] (50th) |
• Per capita | $25,756[8] (45th) |
| Gini (2024) |  31.8[9]medium inequality |
| HDI (2023) | 0.908[10] very high (34th) |
| Currency | Euro (€) (EUR) |
| Time zone | UTC+02:00 (EET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+03:00 (EEST) |
| Calling code | +30 |
| ISO 3166 code | GR |
| Internet TLD | |
Greece,[c] officially the Hellenic Republic,[d] is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to the east. The Aegean Sea lies to the east of the mainland, the Ionian Sea to the west, and the Sea of Crete and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Greece has the longest coastline on the Mediterranean Basin, spanning thousands of islands and nine traditional geographic regions. It has a population of over 10 million. Athens is the nation's capital and largest city, followed by Thessaloniki and Patras.
Greece is considered the cradle of Western civilisation and the birthplace of democracy, Western philosophy, Western literature, historiography, political science, major scientific and mathematical principles, theatre, and the Olympic Games. The Ancient Greeks were organised into various independent city-states, or poleis (singular polis), that spanned the Mediterranean and Black seas. Philip II of Macedon united most of present-day Greece in the fourth century BC, with his son Alexander the Great conquering much of the known ancient world from the Near East to northwestern India. The subsequent Hellenistic period saw the height of Greek culture and influence in antiquity. Greece was annexed by Rome in the second century BC, becoming an integral part of the Roman Empire and its continuation, the Byzantine Empire, where Greek culture and language were dominant. The Greek Orthodox Church, which emerged in the first century AD, helped shape modern Greek identity and transmitted Greek traditions to the wider Orthodox world. After the Fourth Crusade in 1204, parts of the Greek peninsula came under Latin rule, but most of the area fell under Ottoman control by the mid-15th century.
Following a protracted war of independence in 1821, Greece emerged as a modern nation state in 1830. The Kingdom of Greece pursued gradual territorial expansion, which was mainly realised during the Balkan Wars of 1912 and 1913 and ceased following the catastrophic defeat of its Asia Minor Campaign in 1922. A short-lived republic was established in 1924 but faced civil strife and the challenge of resettling refugees from Turkey. In 1936 a royalist dictatorship inaugurated a long period of authoritarian rule, marked by military occupation, civil war and military dictatorship. Greece transitioned to democracy in 1974–75, leading to the current parliamentary republic.
Having achieved record economic growth from 1950 through the 1970s, Greece is a developed country with an advanced high-income economy. It was the tenth member to join what is today the European Union in 1981 and is part of multiple international organizations and forums. Greece has a unique cultural heritage, large tourism industry, and prominent shipping sector. The country's rich historical legacy is reflected partly by its 19 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Greece was the ninth most-visited country in the world in 2024.
- ^ "The Constitution of Greece: Section II Relations of Church and State: Article 3". Archived from the original on 2 October 2017. Hellenic Resources network Archived 1 August 2017 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Enyedi, Zsolt; Madeley, John T.S. (2 August 2004). Church and State in Contemporary Europe. Routledge. p. 228. ISBN 9781135761417.
Both as a state church and as a national church, the Orthodox Church of Greece has a lot in common with Protestant state churches, and even with Catholicism in some countries.
- ^ "Religious Belief and National Belonging in Central and Eastern Europe". Pew Research Center. 10 May 2017. Archived from the original on 24 February 2018. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
- ^ "Surface water and surface water change". Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Archived from the original on 24 March 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
- ^ "Country Comparison: Area". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Archived from the original on 13 November 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
- ^ "Estimated Population and Migration Flows, 2024". Piraeus: Hellenic Statistical Authority. 31 December 2024. Retrieved 8 January 2025.
- ^ Αποτελέσματα Απογραφής Πληθυσμού - Κατοικιών 2021 [Results of Population-Housing Census 2021] (in Greek). Piraeus: Hellenic Statistical Authority. 19 July 2022. Archived from the original on 6 June 2023. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
- ^ a b c d "World Economic Outlook Database, April 2025". Washington, D.C.: International Monetary Fund. 22 April 2025. Retrieved 22 April 2025.
- ^ "Income inequality, 2024". Piraeus: Hellenic Statistical Authority. 16 April 2025. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
- ^ "Human Development Report 2025" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 6 May 2025. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 May 2025. Retrieved 6 May 2025.
- ^ "List of left- & right-driving countries". WorldStandards.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).