Olympics
Quick facts about Greece

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By any other name: Hellenic Republic is its formal name; Greece the conventional short form. Also called Ellas or Ellada.

Brief history: Greece achieved its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1829. Following the defeat of Communist rebels in 1949, Greece joined NATO in 1952. A military dictatorship, which in 1967 suspended many political liberties and forced the king to flee the country, lasted seven years. The 1974 democratic elections and a referendum created a parliamentary republic and abolished the monarchy. Greece joined the European Community in 1981.

Prime minister: Costas Caramanlis, 47, became the prime minister on March 10, following his party's victory in the parliamentary elections. He is the leader of the conservative New Democracy party.

Location: Strategic location dominating the Aegean Sea and southern approach to Turkish Straits; a peninsular country, possessing an archipelago of about 2,000 islands.

Population: A little less than 11 million.

Median age: 40.2 years.

Ethnic groups: Greek — 98 percent; other — 2 percent.

Religion: Greek Orthodox — 98 percent; Muslim — 1.3 percent; other — 0.7 percent.

Literacy: 97.5 percent.
 
Size: Slightly smaller than Alabama.

Terrain: Mostly mountains with ranges extending into the sea as peninsulas or chains of islands.

Elevation: Highest point is Mount Olympus at 9,570 feet.

Natural resources: Lignite, petroleum, iron ore, bauxite, lead, zinc, nickel, magnesite, marble, salt, hydropower potential.

Natural hazards: Severe earthquakes.

Flag: Nine equal horizontal stripes of blue alternating with white; there is a blue square in the upper hoist-side corner bearing a white cross; the cross symbolizes Greek Orthodoxy, the established religion of the country.

Labor force: 4,406,7000.

Occupation: Industry — 20 percent; agriculture — 20 percent; services — 59 percent; unemployed — 9.8 percent.

Industry: Tourism; food and tobacco processing, textiles; chemicals, metal products; mining, petroleum.

Currency: The euro (converts to $1.20 in U.S. dollars).

Source: The World Factbook