Greece - General Information

Hellenic Republic (Greece) Area: 131, 990 sq. km.  Length of State Border: 1,228 km Border Countries: Albania (282 km), Bulgaria (494 km), Turkey (206 km), FYROM (246 km) Climate: Temperate, mild, wet winters, hot and dry summers Terrain: Mostly mountains with ranges extending into the sea as peninsulas or chains of islands Elevation extremes: Lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m -Highest point: Mount Olympus 2,917 m Geographic importance: Strategic location dominating the Aegean Sea and the southern approach to the Dardanelles Straits, a peninsular country possessing an archipelago of approximately 3,000 major islands Natural resources: Lignite, iron ore, bauxite, lead, zinc, nickel, magnesite, marble, salt Legal system: Based on Roman law, judiciary divided into civil, criminal and administrative courts Time zone: GMT +2 Official Language: Greek Currency: Euro Capital: Athens Regime: Presidential Parliamentary Republic Legislative branch: Unicameral Parliament– 300 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to four-year terms Head of State: President Head of Government: Prime Minister Membership in important international organizations: European Union, NATO, EBRD, EIB, IBRD, IMF, IMO, Interpol, OECD, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, WHO, WTO, CERN

ECONOMIC HUB OF SOUTHEAST EUROPE

As Greece emerges from the economic crisis, the country is appealing as an investment location because it offers business people a wide variety of investment opportunities that take advantage of the country’s strategic geographic location and unique competitive advantages. Greece is a natural gateway to more than 140 million consumers in Southeast Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean, a region with a GDP of almost 1 trillion Euro. As the hub of diverse emerging markets, Greece provides access to populations with a strong demand for consumer goods, infrastructure modernization, technology and innovation networks, energy, tourism development, and light manufacturing.

At the same time, Greek companies and banks have a strong foothold in the markets of neighbouring states. Investors are discovering that Greece has a combination of characteristics that are unequalled in Europe. Greece is a leading global tourism destination, an emerging regional energy hub, and possesses highly educated and multilingual human capital.

Population 10,816,286
(Resident population, census 2011, revised data)

Density: 81.9/km2

Economically-active population 4.79 million (3rd Quarter 2017)

Birth rate 8,61 births/1,000 population (2016)

Major Greek Cities

Transportation

Railways total: 2,265 k

Roadways total: 117,000 km

Of which: Urban: 75,500 km
Interurban: 41,500 km               

Major highways

Egnatia Highway

PATHE Motorway

 Ionian Motorway, Rion-Antirion, Bridge

Attiki Odos Motorway

Major Ports

Piraeus, Thessaloniki, Volos, Patras, Alexandroupolis, Elefsina, Igoumenitsa, Iraklio, Kavala,
Rhodes, Lavrio, Chalkida, Corfu

Major Airports

[15 international airports, 26 domestic airports, 53 million passengers in 2016
(departures - arrivals)]

Main airports:

Athens International Airport (Eleftherios Venizelos), Thessaloniki, Iraklio (Crete), Rhodes,
Corfu, Kos, Chania, Zakynthos, Samos, Mykonos, Santorini (Thira)

Telecommunications

Telephones – main lines in use: 4,755,309 (2014)

Telephones – mobile (cellular): 16,358,327 (2014)

Mobile phone penetration: 150.0% (2014)

Mobile phone operators: Cosmote, Wind Hellas, Vodafone Greece and CYTA Hellas

Internet penetration: 66% (2014)

Broadband penetration: 28,5% (28,5 lines per 100 residents - est. end 2014)

The increase of broadband penetration in the country during 2012 (2 lines per 100 residents) is higher than the previous year (1.8 lines per 100 residents).

Source: Enterprise Greece. Url: http://www.enterprisegreece.gov.gr/