Greece
The birthplace of democracy and western culture, it experienced its apogee in the 5th century B.C.
The ecclesiae of the Greek cities are the first documented expressions of popular participation in the management of public affairs.
The nation, historically divided into city states, achieves its first form of unity in the 4th century B.C. with the incorporation into the Kingdom of Macedonia.
With the conquest by the Roman Republic in 146 B.C., Greek culture began its spread across the Mediterranean, at that time entirely under the dominion of Rome.
Part of the Eastern Roman Empire and then the Ottoman Empire, it regained full sovereignty with the War of Independence and the subsequent London Protocol of 1830.
The war with Turkey following the First World War ended in defeat and the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne assigned Anatolia and Eastern Thrace to Turkey.
It became a member of NATO in 1952 together with its historical opponent Turkey, but territorial disputes still remain.
The island of Cyprus, partially occupied by Turkey in 1974 and still divided between the Greek and Turkish parts, is a bone of contention between the two countries.
There was also a diatribe with North Macedonia, also a NATO member from March 2020, concerning the naming of this almost homonymous country of the Macedonia region of Greece. In May 2024, the President’s oath of allegiance ‘to Macedonia’ without the complementary specification ‘of the North’ caused negative reactions from the Greek authorities.
Relations with Italy, still visible in art and language as well as in many southern dialects, date back to the classical era with the foundation of the first colonies in the south of the peninsula and in Sicily.
Territorial disputes with Italy were last settled in 1947 with the Treaty of Paris, by which Italy ceded the Dodecanese islands to Greece.
It became a member of the European Community in 1981 after the end of the so-called Colonels’ Regime in 1974.
The prevailing religion is the Orthodox Christian denomination, which in the country originates from the split with the Church of Rome, dating back to the 8th century A.D. However, Greece has contributed to the dialogue between the different religions, with a particular focus on the rapprochement with Catholicism, culminating in the meeting between Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras on 26 October 1967.
The Jewish presence in the nation was documented at 80,000 in 1941, with more than 50,000 in the city of Thessaloniki alone, hosting the largest Jewish community in Europe. The community in the whole of Greece had shrunk to 10,000 members by 1945 due to the Shoah.
The economy suffered a severe crisis in 2011 due to a significant rise in sovereign debt. At that time, there was a strong risk of exclusion from the European Union because of fears that the crisis would adversely affect the financial stability of the entire Union with particular reference to the Euro currency area.
The situation improved with severe measures to reduce the deficit. These measures included a heavy tax burden with high income taxation and a 24% tax on value added.
These instruments resulted in a decrease in the aforementioned debt, which nevertheless remained, at the end of 2023, the highest among EU countries at 162% of GDP.
GDP, although modest compared to that of other European countries, was, at the end of 2023, growing by about 2%.
Greece was, in 2022, the fifth European country, with 3.69%, by percentage of the budget committed to defence spending, after Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia.
The most significant industry is tourism with a GDP share of 11.5% (2023 data). There is also a growth in the textile, food and petrochemical sectors.
Italy is the main importer of Greek products and the second, after Germany, for exports to the Greek market.
| Head of state | Aikaterinī Sakellaropoulou |
| Head of Government | Kyriakos Mītsotakīs |
| Institutional Form | Parliamentary republic |
| Capital | Athens |
| Legislative Power | Unicameral Hellenic Parliament or Vouli ton Ellinon (300 seats) |
| Judicial Power | Supreme Civil and Criminal Court or Areios Pagos (56 judges), Council of State, Court of Audit |
| Ambassador to Italy | S.E. Eleni Sourani |
| Total Area kmq | 131.957 km2 |
| Land | 130.647 km2 |
| Weather | Temperate |
| Natural resources | Lignite, petroleum, iron ore, bauxite, lead, zinc, nickel, magnesite, marble, salt, hydropower potential |
| Economic summary | Greece, after years of deep economic crisis, seems to be recovering economically, showing optimistic overall growth rates. Nevertheless, the country's situation remains critical, with high unemployment rates and a still high public debt. |
| GDP | €211 billion (2023) |
| Pro-capite GDP (Purchasing power parity) | $23.024 (2023) |
| Exports | Refined petroleum, packaged medicine, aluminum, natural gas, plastic products (2022) |
| Export partner | Italy, Bulgaria, Germany, Cyprus, Turkey (2022) |
| Imports | Crude petroleum, natural gas, refined petroleum, garments, packaged medicine |
| Import partner | China, Germany, Russia, Italy, Iraq (2022) |
| Trade With Italy | €12.579 mln (2023) |
| Population | 10.461.091 (2024) |
| Population Growth | -0,35% (2024) |
| Ethnicities | Greek Orthodox 81-90%, Muslim 2%, other 3%, none 4-15%, unspecified 1% |
| Languages | Greek (official) 99%, other (includes English and French) 1% |
| Religions | Greek Orthodox 81-90%, Muslim 2%, other 3%, none 4-15%, unspecified 1% |
| Urbanization | 80,7% (2023) |
| Literacy | 97,9% (2018) |
The birthplace of democracy and western culture, it experienced its apogee in the 5th century B.C.
The ecclesiae of the Greek cities are the first documented expressions of popular participation in the management of public affairs.
The nation, historically divided into city states, achieves its first form of unity in the 4th century B.C. with the incorporation into the Kingdom of Macedonia.
With the conquest by the Roman Republic in 146 B.C., Greek culture began its spread across the Mediterranean, at that time entirely under the dominion of Rome.
Part of the Eastern Roman Empire and then the Ottoman Empire, it regained full sovereignty with the War of Independence and the subsequent London Protocol of 1830.
The war with Turkey following the First World War ended in defeat and the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne assigned Anatolia and Eastern Thrace to Turkey.
It became a member of NATO in 1952 together with its historical opponent Turkey, but territorial disputes still remain.
The island of Cyprus, partially occupied by Turkey in 1974 and still divided between the Greek and Turkish parts, is a bone of contention between the two countries.
There was also a diatribe with North Macedonia, also a NATO member from March 2020, concerning the naming of this almost homonymous country of the Macedonia region of Greece. In May 2024, the President’s oath of allegiance ‘to Macedonia’ without the complementary specification ‘of the North’ caused negative reactions from the Greek authorities.
Relations with Italy, still visible in art and language as well as in many southern dialects, date back to the classical era with the foundation of the first colonies in the south of the peninsula and in Sicily.
Territorial disputes with Italy were last settled in 1947 with the Treaty of Paris, by which Italy ceded the Dodecanese islands to Greece.
It became a member of the European Community in 1981 after the end of the so-called Colonels’ Regime in 1974.
The prevailing religion is the Orthodox Christian denomination, which in the country originates from the split with the Church of Rome, dating back to the 8th century A.D. However, Greece has contributed to the dialogue between the different religions, with a particular focus on the rapprochement with Catholicism, culminating in the meeting between Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras on 26 October 1967.
The Jewish presence in the nation was documented at 80,000 in 1941, with more than 50,000 in the city of Thessaloniki alone, hosting the largest Jewish community in Europe. The community in the whole of Greece had shrunk to 10,000 members by 1945 due to the Shoah.
The economy suffered a severe crisis in 2011 due to a significant rise in sovereign debt. At that time, there was a strong risk of exclusion from the European Union because of fears that the crisis would adversely affect the financial stability of the entire Union with particular reference to the Euro currency area.
The situation improved with severe measures to reduce the deficit. These measures included a heavy tax burden with high income taxation and a 24% tax on value added.
These instruments resulted in a decrease in the aforementioned debt, which nevertheless remained, at the end of 2023, the highest among EU countries at 162% of GDP.
GDP, although modest compared to that of other European countries, was, at the end of 2023, growing by about 2%.
Greece was, in 2022, the fifth European country, with 3.69%, by percentage of the budget committed to defence spending, after Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia.
The most significant industry is tourism with a GDP share of 11.5% (2023 data). There is also a growth in the textile, food and petrochemical sectors.
Italy is the main importer of Greek products and the second, after Germany, for exports to the Greek market.
