capital: Athens
population: 11,214,992 (2008)
languages: Greek 99% (official), other 1%
Religions: Greek Orthodox 98%, Muslim 1.3%, other 0.7%
time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Independence: 1830 (from the Ottoman Empire)
Internet country code: .gr
Internet users: 3,800,000 (35.5 % of population)
Country Area: 131,957 sq km
border countries: Albania 282 km, Bulgaria 494 km, Turkey 206 km, FYROM 246 km
Coastline: 13,676 Km
EC Membership: Since 1981
UN Membership: Since 1947
NATO: 1952
CSCE: 1992
shipping Fleet: Largest Fleet Worldwide (50% of EU Fleet)
Climate: Mediterranean: hot summers - mild winters
Terrain: mostly mountains with ranges extending into the sea as peninsulas or chains of islands
highest mountain: Mount Olympus 2,917 m
number of islands: about 2.000
life expectancy: 79.52 years
Coat of arms
