Before visiting Greece one should know about certain Greece facts which will help them to understand the country better. The country with all its natural beauty and glorious history attracts tourist from all over the world.
General Facts:
Full name of the country: Elliniki Dimokratia
Total Land Area: 131.940 sq km The total land area covers 99% and the sea covers 1% of the geographical terrain
Size of the Coastline: The coastline covers a total area of 13676 km
Total Number of Greeks residing in the Country: 11000000 people in total The ratio of men is 46% while women are more than the men 54%
Languages Spoken: Greek is the official language of the country. Other than that the other languages spoken are Turkish, English and French
Neighboring Countries: The country shares its borders with The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia , Bulgaria and Turkey
Capital City : Athens
Currency Used: The official currency of Greece is the Euro
Religious Practices: 98% of the Greeks follow the Orthodox Greek Church while 1.3% of the total population follows the Islam religion. The rest 0.7% belong to other religions
Important Cities: Athens , Thessaloniki , Patra, Iraklio, Volos
Areas of Work: The Greeks have always strived hard for economic independence. 8.3% of the total population is dependant on agriculture as their livelihood, while 27.3% have an income generated from various industries and the rest 64.4% make their livelihood from services
Ratio of Unemployment: 9.9% according to the 1999 census
Revenue-generating Industries: The Greeks are dependant on industries like agriculture, food, wine tobacco, dairy products, olives, tomatoes, potatoes, wheat, barley, Tourism, Chemicals, Metal, Mining, and Petroleum etc Natural Deposits: The country is not abundant with natural resources but some of the deposits include petroleum, marble, hydropower, magnesite, lignite, bauxite and gold
Export and Import Capacity: Greece exports $15.5 billion worth products every year and imports products worth of $54.28 billion (this data is subject to change)
Gross Domestic Product (GDP in U.S. $): $205.2 billion (2004)
GDP per capita ( U.S. $): $ 18,560 ( 220)
Interesting Facts about Greece :
- Ancient Greece had 100 city-states. Among the ancient lands Sparta was famous for foe brave soldiers, Athens was renowned for education in arts and sciences. While Corinth was known for bronze statues, pottery and vase painters, Argos was renowned for its musical tradition and Megara produced beautiful clothes.
- The first Olympic Games known as the Panhellenic Games were first held in Olympia around 775 BC. There are different myths about the beginning of the game and one legend says the when Hercules brought a sacred olive tree to Olympia the game started. Another myth says that the Olympic Games tool place as part of the religious festival celebrating in honor of Zeus.
- The Greeks were the first to create alphabets with vowels. All the Greek alphabets had sounds.
- The Greek Civilization started about 2,500 years ago and is the small nation in southeastern Europe .
