Geography, economy, society
Getting to know today's Greece: land, institutions, economy, religion and figures.
Greece at a glance
An introduction to Greece: area, population, capital, language, currency, system of government, islands, mountains and time zone, with charts on…
Geography
The physical geography of Greece explained with data and charts: the Pindus and the highest mountains, Mount Olympus, the plains of Thessaly and…
Climate
What the Greek climate is like month by month: average temperatures and rainfall in Athens with charts, differences between islands, coasts and…
Nature and parks
The nature of Greece: one of Europe's richest floras with thousands of endemic species, its wildlife (brown bear, wolf, golden jackal, monk seal…
Loggerhead turtles
The loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) in Greece: what it looks like and how it lives, the nesting and hatching cycle, the main beaches…
Meltemi
The meltemi, the Etesian wind of the Aegean: what it is and why it forms, when it blows (May to September, strongest in July and August), its…
Population
The population of Greece explained with data and charts: 10.4 million inhabitants, concentration in Athens and Thessaloniki, falling births and…
Statistics
Greece's key figures on one page, updated to the latest available data: area, population, cities, GDP, public debt, unemployment, tourism, islands…
Regions and municipalities
How Greece is organised: the 13 regions (periferies) with capitals and population at the 2021 census, the 74 regional units that replaced the old…
Flag
The flag of Greece explained: the nine blue and white stripes and the motto "Freedom or death", the Orthodox cross, the meaning of the colours, its…
Politics
How Greek politics works: the 1975 Constitution, the 300-seat Parliament (Vouli), the President and the Prime Minister, the party system from the…
Elections
How Greeks vote: the proportional system with a majority bonus, the 3% threshold, voting at 17, the results of the June 2023 election with a seat…
Economy
The Greek economy explained with charts: the size and structure of GDP, key sectors (tourism, shipping, agri-food, energy), the great crisis of…
Crisis 2009-2012
How the Greek debt crisis began: structural weaknesses, the discovery of falsified public accounts in 2009, soaring spreads and the risk of default…
Crisis 2015
The most dramatic year of the Greek crisis: the victory of SYRIZA and Alexis Tsipras, negotiations with creditors and Yanis Varoufakis, bank closures…
European bailouts
Greece's three bailouts explained with figures and a chart: the 2010 programme of bilateral loans and IMF funds, the 2012 programme with the EFSF and…
Schools and universities
How school works in Greece: compulsory education from 4 to 15, kindergarten, primary school (dimotiko), gymnasium and general or vocational lyceum…
Orthodox Church
The Church of Greece explained: Byzantine origins and the schism of 1054, autocephaly in 1833-1850, its organisation (Archbishop of Athens, Holy…
Orthodox baptism
How an Orthodox baptism takes place in Greece: the role of the godparent (nonos or nona), choosing the name, the rite with exorcism, triple immersion…
Press and media
A guide to Greek media: the main daily and weekly papers (Kathimerini, Ta Nea, To Vima, Efimerida ton Syntakton, Proto Thema, Rizospastis…
Famous Greeks
The best-known Greeks of the modern era: politicians such as Kapodistrias, Venizelos, Karamanlis and Papandreou; Nobel laureates Seferis and Elytis…