Exceptional Geography

In the complexity of its contour and the variety of its natural features, Greece surpasses every country in Europe. Greece has exceptional variety in geographical landscape, scenery, vegetation and fauna, high mountains, very long coastline (has the longest coastline in the Mediterranean, and is 2^nd in the world in coastline/area ratio), and very large number of islands (about 6000, of which only 227 are inhabited) in the Aegean and Ionian archipelagos. Greece also has very high climatic variety. During certain time periods within a few hours it is possible to pass from winter to spring and from spring to summer. In the northern village of Nevrokopi, near the city of Drama, temperatures reach -20°C during February, while at the southern island of Gavdos, southwest of Crete, temperatures rarely fall bellow +10°C.

Modern Greece Timeline - A Selection of Key Events

1821 - After 400 years of life under the Ottomans, the Greek Revolution begins

1830 - Establishment of the Modern Greek State

1880s - Prime Minister Charilaos Trikoupis starts modernizing efforts

1896 - First modern Olympics in Athens

1912-13 - Balkan wars

1917 - Greece entered the World War I in favour of the Allies

1919-23 - Greco-Turkish War - Asia Minor Catastrophe - Exchange of populations with Turkey

1940-41 - Invasion of the Axis troops

1946-9 - Greek civil war - Defeat of communist forces

1952 - Greece joins NATO

1953-1973 - Greece was second in the world in growth rates after Japan.

1967 - Military coup stops democratic development

1974 - Cyprus invasion - End of dictatorship

1975 - New constitution declares Greece a Republic - Konstantinos Karamanlis forms a National Unity Government

1979 - Greece joins the EU

1981 - Andreas Papandreou's Socialist Party (PASOK) wins elections

2002 - Greece joins the EURO zone

2003 - 4^th Greek EU Presidency

2004 - New Democracy (ND) party led by Kostas Karamanlis wins elections

2004 - Athens Olympics and Paralympics

Diaspora

An estimated five million Greeks live abroad in more than 140 countries. Greeks abroad and citizens of Greek origin are bridges of inter-cultural dialogue and international cooperation and constitute a pool from which Greece draws invaluable resources. The government supports relevant programs and actions mainly in the fields of Diaspora education and culture. The primary goals are to enhance the ethno-cultural heritage of the Diaspora Greeks, to strengthen the ties among them and with their country of origin.

The National Statistical Service of Greece (www.statistics.gr) provides data on Population, Employment-Unemployment, Education, Public Health, Justice, Agriculture-Livestock-Forestry-Fishing, Industry and Construction. Note the relevant “Greece in Figures” publication (2005). The National Center for Social Research has created the Greek Social Data Bank, to support social empirical research and disseminate results. Further valuable statistical information about Greece can be sought at the Statistical Office of the European Communities website. Greek Public Opinion Analysis can be found at the Standard Eurobarometer National Reports. There’s also been an explosion in mainly pre-election public opinion polls taking place over the past decade. Major players include VPRC, Kappa Research, Metron Analysis, and MRB Hellas S.A.

Greece - A New Era 

• After the Athens Olympics, the world recognized in Greece a country that can meet large-scale challenges that “can do wonders.” The 2004 Olympics solidified Greece’s new “exclusive positioning;” Greece engages the world on its path of stability, security, and prosperity through its foreign and economic policy, and through its products and services in the financial sector, energy, infrastructure, the maritime industry, exports, tourism and culture. 

• Greece has won the Euro Football Championship 2004, the Eurovision song contest 2005 (and is hosting the 2006 contest), and the Eurobasket Championship 2005. 

• Greece is a non-permanent member to the UN Security Council - for a two-year term, ending in December 2006.

• Greece has held the EU presidency four times (in 1983, 1988, 1994, and 2003), has held the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) chairmanship from November 2004 to April 2005, while it currently holds the South East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) chairmanship (2005-2006).

• In the maritime industry, Greece is undoubtedly the global leading power. Greece holds the first place in ship ownership. At the same time, the Greek-flagged vessels, amounting to 60% of the EU’s commercial vessels, render Greece 5^th in the world and number one in the European Union.

• The structural reforms in the economic environment, including the new Development Law, the Tax Law, the Public Private Partnership Law, and the New Investment Incentives Law, all aim at supporting Greece’s competitiveness and upgraded role.

• According to recent figures, in the first 10 months of 2005, the total value of exports was €12,605mn as compared to €11,094mn during the same time period in 2004, presenting a 13.6% increase - one of the highest increases in exports among all eurozone members.

• Greece is among the first investment partners in Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro, Albania, and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, while it also strengthens its leading role in the financial services sector of the region. Greece is a stabilizing force in South East Europe but also a driving force for the accession of the broader area to the European Union and other institutions that foster cooperation and peace.

• Greece implements the Plan for the Economic Reconstruction of the Balkans, a five-year development aid programme which will allocate a total amount of 550 million euros from the national budget to foster peace, stability and the European orientation of South East Europe countries.

• Greek banks have been among the top performers in the European banking sector. The operations of Greek banks in the wider region, extending from South East Europe to Poland are expanding at double-digit rates of growth every year.

• Greece plays a key role as an energy hub in South East Europe, where the signing of the political agreement with Russia and Bulgaria (2005) on the construction of the Bourgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline marked a historic moment. The construction of the Greek-Turkish gas pipeline is well under way. The landmark Single Energy Community Treaty (2005) aims at institutionalizing, in a binding way, energy cooperation between the EU and South East Europe.

• Greece signed a protocol (2005) for the construction of the underwater gas pipeline between Greece and Italy, which will carry gas to the rest of Western Europe.

• Investments in the ‘Renewable Energy Resources’ market are highly encouraged and are expected to be extremely successful given Greece’s environment, the large part of Aeolian potential that remains unexploited, and the large proportion of water potential. Several European and Asian power-producing companies are in close collaboration with their Greek counterparts on various important investments of international scale.