Greece is a country in Southern Europe, on the southernmost tip of the Balkan peninsula, with extensive coastlines and islands in the Aegean, Ionian, and Mediterranean Seas. It shares borders in the north with Albania, the Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, and Turkey.

Greece is one of the world's most popular tourist destinations, ranking in the world's top 20 countries. According to the Greek Ministry of Tourism, the nation received about 17 million visitors from January to mid August 2007, a large number for a small country of 11 million. Visitors are drawn to the country's beaches and reliable sunny summer weather, its nightlife, historical sites and natural beauty.
Greece has an ancient culture that has had a significant influence on the arts, language, philosophy, politics, and sports of western society, including the genres of comedy and drama, western alphabets, Platonic ideals and the Socratic Method, democracies and republics, and the Olympics. Furthermore it's a geographically appealing place to visit, with a mountainous mainland and idyllic island beaches.

Did you know?

• The Greeks were the first to develop an alphabet with vowels.
• The Rio-Antirio Bridge between the Peloponnese and mainland Greece is the longest cable stayed-suspended deck in Europe.
• The country's highest mountain, Mount Olympus was said to be the home of the Greek Gods in ancient Greek religion.
• The Olympic Games originated in Greece. The Ancient Olympic Games started in Greece, and that the 1st game of the Modern Olympics was held in Athens City Square in 1859.
• Modern Greece is only the centre of the Ancient Greek civilisation, which comprised Southern Italy, the coastal areas of Turkey and the Black Sea, as well as some colonies in North Africa, Southern France and Spain.

Economy

Greece has a predominately service economy, which (including tourism) accounts for over 73% of GDP. Almost 9% of the world’s merchant fleet is Greek-owned, making the Greek fleet the largest in the world. Other important sectors include food processing, tobacco, textiles, chemicals (including refineries), pharmaceuticals, cement, glass, telecommunication and transport equipment. Agricultural output has steadily decreased in importance over the last decade, accounting now for only about 5% of total GDP. The EU is Greece’s major trading partner, with more than half of all Greek two-way trade being intra-EU.
Greece adopted the euro (€) as its currency in January 2002 which provided it with access to competitive loan rates and also to low rates of the Eurobond market. This led to a dramatic increase in consumer spending, which gave a significant boost to economic growth. Between 1997-2007, Greece averaged 4% GDP growth, almost twice the European Union (EU) average.
As with other European countries, the financial crisis and resulting slowdown of the real economy have taken their toll on Greece’s rate of growth, which slowed to 2.0% in 2008. The economy went into recession in 2009 and contracted by 2.0% as a result of the world financial crisis and its impact on access to credit, world trade, and domestic consumption--the engine of growth in Greece.
Amid the relentlessly negative reporting of the Greek economy, trade has held up remarkably well. The Greek government is likely to encourage further privatisations and public-private partnerships for infrastructure, tourism and other projects.

Economy

• GDP (2010 forecast): €236 billion (about $315 billion).
• Per capita GDP (2009 estimated): $30,035.
• Growth rate (2010 forecast): -4.00%.
• Inflation rate (2010 forecast): 4.6%.
• Unemployment rate (annual average, 2010 forecast): 11.8%.
• Natural resources: Bauxite, lignite, magnesite, oil, marble.
• Agriculture (5.4% of GDP): Products--sugar beets, wheat, maize, tomatoes, olives, olive oil, grapes, raisins, wine, oranges, peaches, tobacco, cotton, livestock, dairy products.
  Manufacturing (21.3% of GDP): Types--processed foods, shoes, textiles, metals, chemicals, electrical equipment, cement, glass, transport equipment, petroleum products, construction, and electrical power
• Services (73.3% of GDP): Transportation, tourism, communications, trade, banking, public administration, defence.
• Trade: Exports (2009 estimated)--$21.37 billion: manufactured goods, food and beverages, petroleum products, cement, chemicals. Major markets--Germany, Italy, Bulgaria, U.S., U.K., Romania. Imports (2009 estimated)--$64.27 billion: basic manufactures, food and animals, crude oil, chemicals, machinery, transport equipment. Major suppliers--Germany, Italy, France, Netherlands, Russia.