Official Name: Ellinikí Dhimokratía (Hellenic Republic).

Area: Europe

Size: 131,990 km²

Coastline: 13,676 km

Independence: from the Ottoman Empire 25 March 1821 

Form of Govt.: Unitary multiparty republic

Head of Govt.: Prime Minister

Capital: Athens

Largest City: Athens

Demographics (2005): 11,244,118,    84 /km² 

Greek 98%, other 2%

GDP per Capita (2005): $27,360

Languages: Greek

Geography: It is bound by Albania, Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, Turkey and the Aegean Sea to the east, the Mediterranean Sea to the south and the Ionian Sea to the west. Around 20% of the total land area is accounted for by islands, of which the largest are Crete, Euboea, Lesbos, Rhodes, Khios, Kefallonia, Corfu, Limnos, Samos and Naxos. Mountains and hills dominate the landscape accounting for nearly 80% of the total land area. In the northeast, the Macedonian and Thrace regions are separated from Epirus in the northwest by the Pindhos Mountains, which are a continuation of the Dinaric Alps. The mountain range along the east coast includes Mt. Olympus and continues through to include some of the islands. The Pindhos Mountains continue southeast to Giona and reappear as the islands of Kea, Kithnos, Serifos and Sifnos.

Climate: Greece has a Mediterranean climate with long hot dry summers and mild winters when the majority of rainfall occurs. In the summer the Etesian, a northerly wind, blows across the Aegean Sea while in the mountainous areas, temperatures are generally cooler with severe winter temperatures and heavy rainfall. Average annual precipitation in Athens is 414 mm and the average temperature ranges are from 6 to 13 degrees in February to 23 to 33 degrees in August.