Country information

Hellas

Since the website is directed to an intermational audience, it is an opportunity to correct a common mistake. Greeks do not call their country Greece but Hellas and themselves Hellenes. These names are from ancient times and are the preferable names because they are the correct ones. In ancient times, Graecians were a Hellenic tribe or a group of Hellenic people that settled in Magna Graecia, in southern Italy. In Latin texts, the name Graeci was erroneously used for collectively all Hellenic people and that is how the names Greece and Greeks were derived.

Population - area - largest cities

Greece is on the southern end of Balkan peninsula, in SouthEast Europe. It has a population is 10,4 million and a total area of 131.957 km2 (50.949 sq mi). The ten largest cities and their population in thousands are; Athens 3.155, Salonica 815, Patras 177, Piraeus 168, Heraklion 164, Larissa 149, Volos 86, Ioannina 66, Trikala 62, Chalcis 59.

In terms of Religion, 90% of inhabitants are Eastern Orthodox Christians, 3% other Christians, 2% Muslims. Most immigrants are by far from Albania. Next are Bulgarians, Romanians, Pakistanis, Georgians. These are documented only, counted in the Census. They were legal from start or became legalized. There are many undocumented immigrants that are not counted and their numbers can not be estimated.

Climate

The climate is generally Mediterranean with cool, wet winters and hot dry summers. Pindus mountain range and its extension in Peloponnese affect the climate on the eastern side because they block western systems that bring moisture. As a result, eastern side is drier than western side. During the winter, the mountainous areas with high altitude get heavy snowfalls. The number of days that snows in Athens every year is single digit. 

Summer & winter tourism

In addition to its ancient history and the sightseeings related to it, Greece is known across the world for the beaches and the islands. It has 13.676 km (8.498 mi) coastline which is very long for the country's area. Beaches and islands attract many visitors during summertime. It is not well known in the rest of the world that Greece is also a great place for winter tourism. It has many beatiful mountains, with picturesque villages and sightseeings. The weather conditions are not as harsh as in Central and Northern Europe. This allows more and longer outdoor activities but ski season is shorter. 

Islands

The ten most popular islands are; Santorini, Mykonos, Corfu, Rhodes, Crete, Zakynthos, Naxos, Paros, Skiathos, Kos. The list may vary from year to year. The number of islands ranges between 1.200 and 6.000, according to the definition of an island. People live on 227 of these islands. The ten largest islands are; Crete, Euboea, Lesbos, Rhodes, Chios, Kefalonia, Corfu, Limnos, Samos, Naxos. There are six clusters of islands. Cyclades, Sporades, Dodecanese, Argo-Saronic islands, North Aegean islands are in Aegean Sea, on the eastern side of mainland. Ionian islands are in Ionian Sea, on the western side of mainland.

Mountains 

Greece is one of the most mountainous countries in Europe, approximately 80% of the land consists of mountains and hills. The highest peak is Mytikas in Mount Olympus with 2.918 meters (9.573 ft) elevation. Second is Smolikas (2.637 meters - 8.652 ft). The ten next highest peaks are above 2.400 meters; Kaimaktsalan (2.524), Grammos (2.520), Giona (2.510), Tymfi (2.497), Vardousia (2.495), Parnassos (2.457), Psiloritis (2.456), White Mountains (2.454), Tzoumerka (2.429), Taygetos (2.407). There are 32 more peaks higher than 2.000 meters.

Samarina is the highest village in Balkans at an altitude of 1.400 – 1.600 meters (4.593 – 5.249 ft). It is located on mount Smolikas, in Grevena prefecture. The largest mountain range is Pindus which is continuation of Dinaric Alps and extented to Peloponnese. Pindus has the second highest peak at Smolikas. Rhodope in Eastern Macedonia and Thrace is another high altitude mountain range. Vikos Canyon in Vikos-Aoos National Park in Pindus is the deepest in the world.

Regions and prefectures 

Geographically, the country is divided in nine regions or departments; Central Greece, Peloponnese, Thessaly, Epirus, Macedonia, Thrace, Crete, Ionian Islands, Aegean islands. These were also the first level administrative divisions. There were 54 prefectures. Kallikratis reform started in 1987 and came into effect in 2011.

There were some changes made with Kallikratis reform. Currently there are thirteen first level administrative divisions; Attika, Central Greece, Peloponnese, West Greece, Thessaly, Epirus, West Macedonia, Central Macedonia, East Macedonia and Thrace, North Aegean, South Aegean, Crete, Ionian islands. The previous 54 prefectures remain as sub-divisions.

Maps

Two maps are included. The one above is a map of Greece and the one below a map of Athens - Pireaus Greater Metropolitan Area. Visitors can check the maps and see where the places mentioned and shown in videos - photos are. 

History 1   History 2   Ancestry   Life in Greece   Politics-Economics

more information about history, life, politics, economy coming soon...