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{{Infobox Country|native_name = Ελληνική Δημοκρατία Ellīnikī́ Dīmokratía|conventional_long_name = Hellenic Republic|common_name = Greece|image_flag = Flag of Greece.svg|image_coat = COA of Greece.svg|symbol_type = National emblem|image_coat_caption = National emblem|image_map = Location Greece EU Europe.png|national_motto = (transliteration)"Freedom or Death"]|official_languages = Greek language|demonym = Greeks|capital = Athensary [republic|leader_name1 = [Karolos Papoulias|leader_name2 = [Kostas Karamanlis|leader_name3 = [Dimitris Sioufas|sovereignty_type = Formation|established_event1 = First known Greek civilizations1|established_date1 = Circa3000 BC|established_event2 = Last previously independent state²|established_date2 = 1461|established_event3 = Independence fromthe Ottoman Empire [1821 [1829, at the London Protocol|accessionEUdate = January 1 1981-->|percent_water = 0.8669|population_estimate = 11,170,957 |population_estimate_rank = 74th|population_estimate_year = 2007|population_census = 10,964,020 |population_census_year = 2001|population_density_km2 = 84|population_density_sq_mi = 218 391.395 1000000000 (number) |GDP_PPP_rank = 30th|GDP_PPP_year = 2007 International Monetary Fund|GDP_PPP_per_capita = $35,167|GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 18th|GDP_nominal = $356.258 billion|GDP_nominal_rank = 27th|GDP_nominal_year = 2007 International Monetary Fund|GDP_nominal_per_capita = $32,010|GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = 25th|HDI = 0.921|HDI_rank = 24th|HDI_year = 2004|HDI_category = high|Gini = 35.44|Gini_year = 2000|Gini_category = low|currency = Euro (Euro sign)³|currency_code = EUR|country_code =|time_zone = Eastern European Time|utc_offset = +2|time_zone_DST = EEST5|calling_code = 30|footnote1 = [Minoan and Cycladic civilizations.].|footnote3 = Prior to 2001: Drachma.|footnote4 = UNU/Wider World Income Inequality Database.|footnote5 = The .eu domain is also used, as it is shared with other European Union member states.-->

Greece ( or Ελλάς ), officially the Hellenic Republic (Greek: Ελληνική Δημοκρατία ), is a country in Southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkans. It borders Albania, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to the east. The Aegean Sea lies to the east and south of mainland Greece, while the Ionian Sea lies to the west. Both parts of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea basin feature a vast number of Greek islands.

Greece lies at the juncture of Europe, Asia, and Africa. It is heir to the heritages of Ancient Greece, the Byzantine Empire,Sir Steven Runciman, The Fall of Constantinople and nearly four centuries of Ottoman Empire rule."Greece." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2006. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 6 Sept. 2006 . Regarded as the cradle of western world and the birthplace of democracy,Finley, M. I. Democracy Ancient and Modern. 2d ed., 1985. London: Hogarth. Western philosophy, History of Philosophy, Volume 1 by Frederick Copleston the Olympic Games, western literature, political science, major scientific principles and dramaBrockett, Oscar G. History of the Theatre. sixth ed., 1991. Boston; London: Allyn and Bacon. including both tragedy and comedy, Greece has a particularly long and eventful history and a cultural heritage considerably influential in Northern Africa and the Middle East, and fundamentally formative for the culture of Europe and what may be called the West.

Modern Greece is a developed country, a member of the European Union since 1981, a member of the Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union since 2001, NATO since 1952, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development since 1961, the Western European Union since 1995, and European Space Agency since 2005. Athens is the capital; Thessaloniki, Patras, Heraklion, Volos and Larissa are some of the country's other major cities.

History Antiquity in Athens.

The shores of Greece's Aegean Sea saw the emergence of the first advanced civilizations in Europe whose impact is inseparable from today's western institutions and western cultural and political development. In the wake of the Minoan and Mycenae civilizations, there emerged across the Greek peninsula and islands poleis, or city-states, each with their own distinct social and governmental infrastructure, uniting under Athens and Sparta to repel Persians advance. The conditions had been created for the flowering of Athens and birth of Classical antiquity civilization, drawing to a close only with the culmination of the perennial conflict between Athens and Sparta, the Peloponnesian War. Within a century the Greek tribes had been united under the rule of Alexander the Great to roll back Persians gains and herald the Hellenistic era, itself brought only partially to a close with the establishment of Roman Republic rule in 146 BC.

Although the establishment of Roman rule did not break the continuity of Hellenistic society and culture, which remained essentially unchanged until the advent of Christianity, it marked the end of Greek political independence. Rome enthusiastically took up Hellenic culture and it thus became a major influence throughout the empire. The Greek peninsula became a province of Roman Empire, while Greek language and culture continued to dominate the eastern Mediterranean Sea.

Byzantine Era Emperor John II Comnenus. Mosaic in the Hagia Sophia, Istanbul (Constantinople).

When the Roman Empire finally split in two, during the late third century, the Eastern Roman Empire centered around Constantinople (known previously as Byzantium, today Istanbul, Turkey), remained Hellenistic in nature, and came to be known as the "Empire of the Greeks" or "Greece" to its western European contemporaries. The eleventh and twelfth centuries are said to have been the Golden Age of Byzantine art in Greece, while the crusading epochs between 1204 and 1458 saw Greece hit by a series of non-Orthodox armies such as The Great Company in the name of religion. The Greek-Byzantine states persisted, nevertheless, and were centered in the Greek peninsula. The Latin clashes of the 13th century gave birth to a form of modern Greek proto-nationalism in Byzantine Empire, and Constantinople was consciously an ethnic Greek city when it fell on May 29, 1453.S. Runciman, The fall of Constantinople

Ottoman Era While the Ottomans were completing the main conquest of the Greek mainland, two Greek migrations occurred. The first saw the Greek intelligentsia migrate to Western Europe (especially to Italy) and was a significant factor in the advent of the Renaissance. The second migration of Greeks left the plains of the Greek peninsula and resettled in the mountains, the islands of the Aegean and other Greek regions where the Ottomans were unable to create a permanent military and administrative presence. As a result, some Greek mountain clans across the peninsula, as well as some islands, were able to maintain a status of independence. The Millet (Ottoman Empire) system contributed to the ethnic cohesion of Orthodox Greeks by segregating the various peoples within the Ottoman Empire based on religion. Eventually, religion played an integral part in the formation of modern Greek and other post-Ottoman national identities.

Establishment of the modern Greek state

In March 1821, the Greeks Greek War of Independence against the Ottoman Empire. Their struggle lasted until 1829, when the independence of the nascent Greek state was finally recognised under the London Protocol, although the Ottomans delayed recognition until the Treaty of Constantinople (1832) of 1832. In 1827, the Russian ex-minister of foreign affairs, Ioannis Kapodistrias (Ιωάννης Καποδίστριας), a noble Greek from the Ionian Islands, was chosen as the governor of the new Republic. However, the Great Powers soon dissolved that republic and installed a Kingdom of Greece.

The first king, Otto of Greece, was of the Bavarian House of Wittelsbach. The War of Independence also set in motion the establishment of major new cities and centres of trade such as Hermoupolis, Athens and Pireaus. In 1843 King Otto was forced, as a result of an uprising, to grant his subjects a constitution and a representative assembly. He was deposed in 1863 and replaced by Prince Vilhelm (William) of Denmark, of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg line of the House of Oldenburg, who took the name George I of Greece and brought with him the Ionian Islands as a coronation gift from United Kingdom. On 29 March 1864, the Treaty of London pledged the transfer of sovereignty to Greece upon ratification. Thus, on May 28, by proclamation of the Lord High Commissioner, the Ionian Islands were united with Greece.

, convening as Prime Minister Charilaos Trikoupis gives a speech, during the late nineteenth century.

Greece was growing economically, whilst becoming politically more liberal. In 1877, Prime Minister Charilaos Trikoupis curbed the power of the monarchy to interfere in the Assembly. This period was punctuated by the undertaking of one of the largest construction initiatives on the European continent, one of significant commercial importance; the creation of the Corinth Canal, lasting from 1881 to 1893. In 1896 the Olympic Games were revived in 1896 Olympic Games, and hailed as a success.

Territorial expansion and internal turmoil As a result of the Balkan Wars, Crete, Chios, Samos, most of Epirus (region) and southern Macedonia (region), including Thessaloniki, were incorporated into Greece. George I of Greece, monarch for five decades, was assassinated in Thessaloniki in 1913; he was succeeded by his eldest son, Constantine I of Greece. His struggle with Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos over Greece's entry into the First World War resulted in Greece's joining the Triple Entente against Germany and Austria and the later abdication of King Constantine in favour of his son, Alexander of Macedon, but left Greece divided into two bitterly hostile political camps for decades (see National Schism). At that time, a part of Asia Minor centered around the city of Smyrna (known today as İzmir) still retained a large Greek population. The area was awarded to Greece by the Great Powers as a reward for having sided with the entente powers in World War I against the Ottoman Empire. Three years later, Turkish nationalists led by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk denounced the Sultan's government in Istanbul and formed a new one in Ankara, eventually re-establishing control over Asia Minor (Greco-Turkish War (1919-1922)).

Following the withdrawal of Greek forces, the destruction of Smyrna and the displacement of thousands of Greeks from the city, a new government was established in Greece. Soon afterwards, the Treaty of Lausanne was signed, fixing the Greco-Turkish borders to this date. A population exchange was included in the agreement and immediately afterwards around five hundred thousand Muslims, then living in mainland Greece went to Turkey in exchange for more than 1.22 million Greek residents of Asia Minor (excluding Constantinople, Imvros and Tenedos). From 1924 a succession of unstable governments continued until 1935, when a referendum was held, resulting in an overwhelming majority in favour of restoring the monarchy in the person of George II of Greece. In 1936, General Ioannis Metaxas established an authoritarian conservative dictatorship in Greece, known as the 4th of August Regime.

Greece during World War II (1940-1944) (left), with King George II of Greece, Crown Prince Paul of Greece and Commander-in-Chief General Alexander Papagos.

In the early hours of October 28, 1940, Italy dictator Mussolini demanded that Greece surrender all its arms and allow the Axis powers of World War II troops to invade the country; the administration then gave what became known as the simple negative response of “No” (see Okhi Day), thereby siding with the Allies of World War II. Italian troops immediately began Greco-Italian War the country from southern Albania. However, they were checked by the significantly smaller Greek Army, signalling the Allies' first major victory on land against the Axis powers. A prolonged period of fierce fighting in the Pindus mountains followed, in which Mussolini's forces were successfully pushed back. Hitler and his generals realized that their strategic southern flank needed to be secured more effectively so German forces, whose ranks included troops from Bulgaria and Italy, invaded.

The Battle of Greece began on April 6, 1941 and led to the complete Axis Occupation of Greece of the country. Greek Resistance to the occupation was fierce, often with bitter retaliation from the occupiers. The Greek resistance in 1940-41 however, is believed to have forced a delay in German plans to initiate Operation Barbarossa, thereby extending the campaign into the punishing Russian winter. Meanwhile the extremely heavy losses suffered by German paratroop forces (5000) in the Battle of Crete foiled a planned German campaign in the Middle East against British-held Iraq and its oil fields. Germany retained its disastrous grip on the country until October 12, 1944 when its troops finally withdrew after the landing of Allied Forces in Athens. The Jewish communities of Greece, especially of Thessaloniki, suffered the heaviest toll in the Holocaust, ca. 300,000 Greeks died of famine and the country's economy languished.

Post-war era (1944-1966) 1973: An AMX 30 tank standing in front of the Athens Polytechnic School, moments before the bloody end to the Athens Polytechnic Uprising. 1974: Konstantinos Karamanlis arrives in Athens on the French Presidential jet, courtesy of French President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, to assume the leadership of government of national unity that would lead to free elections. He is greeted by jubilant crowds of supporters craving for the restoration of democratic rule.

After liberation from Nazi Germany, Greece experienced an equally bitter Greek Civil War, caused by differences that emerged between communist and non-communist resistance forces. Civil war began between the communist Democratic Army of Greece and the elected government which had the support of the Hellenic Army and lasted until 1949, when communist partisans were defeated in the Battle of Grammos-Vitsi. During the 1950s and 1960s, Greece experienced a gradual and significant economic growth, also aided by grants and loans by the United States through the Marshall Plan.

Regime of the Colonels (1967-1974) In 1965, a period of political turbulence and uncertainty began which led to a coup d’etat against the elected government and Constantine II of Greece on April 21, 1967. In their place, a US-supported military junta, known as the Greek military junta of 1967-1974, was established under Colonel George Papadopoulos. In the ensuing years, a number of citizens opposed to the regime, from all shades of the political spectrum, were arrested and in some cases tortured by the members of the regime. Many politicians evaded capture and found political refuge elsewhere in Europe, such as France and Sweden. The then head of state, King Constantine, had officially acknowledged the new regime, which was then duly recognized by the international community, so diplomatic relations continued. However, the King subsequently attempted a failed counter-coup in December 1967, after which the former head of state went into exile in Rome. In 1973 Papadopoulos launched a failed attempt to liberalize, under the premiership of Spiros Markezinis. In November 1973 the Athens Polytechnic Uprising sent shockwaves across the regime, and a counter-coup by junta hardliner Brigadier Dimitrios Ioannides prolonged the junta until July 20, 1974. On that day, Turkey invaded the predominately Greek island of Cyprus, allegedly to protect the island's Turkish minority from a junta-sponsored coup d'etat. The developing crisis led to the collapse of the Regime of the Colonels on July 23, 1974.

Modern Era (1975-present) Ex-Premier Constantine Karamanlis was immediately invited back from Paris, where he had resided since 1963. Marking the beginning of the Metapolitefsi era of modern Greek history, the plane carrying Constantine Karamanlis landed in Athens in the early hours of July 24, amidst massive celebrations and enormous crowds, extending from the capital's Ellinikon International Airport to Syntagma Square; Karamanlis was immediately appointed as the interim prime minister under President Gizikis and founded the conservative New Democracy (Greece) party, going on to win the ensuing elections by a large margin. Democratic rule was finally restored in its birthplace and a democratic republican constitution activated in 1975. The monarchy was abolished by a referendum held that same year, denying King Constantine II and his family any access to the country until 2004. Meanwhile, another prominent figure of the past, Andreas Papandreou, had also returned from the United States and had already founded the Panhellenic Socialist Party, or PASOK.

hosted the 2004 Olympic Games.

Karamanlis won the 1977 parliamentary elections but resigned in 1980 giving way to George Rallis. Papandreou, however, won the elections held on October 18, 1981 by a landslide and formed the first socialist government in Greece's history. Papandreou dominated the Greek political stage for almost 15 years (excepted only by the 1990-1993 period when Constantine Mitsotakis of the New Democracy (Greece) party won elections), until his death in June 23, 1996. By that time Kostas Simitis, one of many prominent political figures of PASOK, had already succeeded the ailing and hospitalized Papandreou as the new Prime Minister. Following a long period of diplomatic tension and the threat of a military confrontation (see Imia-Kardak crisis), relations with neighbouring Turkey have improved substantially over the last decade, since successive earthquakes hit both nations in the summer of 1999. Rapprochement came about through what became known as Greek-Turkish earthquake diplomacy and today Greece is an active supporter of Turkey's effort to be accepted by the European Union as a full member, under the assumption that it addresses humanitarian issues. Prime Minister Simitis remained in office until March 7, 2004 when Kostas Karamanlis of the conservative New Democracy (Greece) party and a nephew of Constantine Karamanlis, won the parliamentary elections. Greece became the tenth member of the European Union on January 1 1981 and ever since the nation has experienced a remarkable and sustained economic growth. Widespread investments in industrial enterprises and heavy infrastructure, as well as funds from the European Union and growing revenues from tourism, shipping and a fast growing service sector have raised the country's standard of living to unprecedented levels. The country adopted the Euro in 2001 and successfully organised the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.

Government and politics , the current Prime Minister of Greece.

Greece is a parliamentary democracy. The Constitution of Greece: Article 1 The head of state is the President of Greece, who is elected by the Hellenic Parliament for a five-year term. The Constitution of Greece: Article 30 After the Greek Constitutional amendment of 1986 the President's duties were curtailed to a significant extent, and they are now largely ceremonial.K. Mavrias, Constitutional Law, 477-478

The current Constitution of Greece was drawn up and adopted by the Fifth Revisionary Parliament of the Hellenes and entered into force in 1975 after the fall of the Greek military junta of 1967-1974. It has been revised twice since, in 1986 and in Greek Constitutional amendment of 2001. The Constitution, which consists of 120 articles, provides for a separation of powers into executive branch, legislative branch, and judicial branches, and grants extensive specific guarantees (further reinforced in 2001) of civil liberties and social rights.P.D. Dagtoglou, Individual Rights, I, 21
* E. Venizelos, The "Acquis" of the Constitutional Revision, 131-132, 165-172

According to the Constitution, executive power is exercised by the President of the Republic and the Cabinet of Greece; The Constitution of Greece: Article 26 after 1986, however, the role of the President in the executive branch is ceremonial. The position of Prime Minister of Greece, Greece's head of government, belongs to the List of Prime Ministers of Greece of the List of political parties in Greece that can obtain the confidence of a plurality in the Parliament. The President of the Republic formally appoints the Prime Minister and, on his recommendation, appoints and dismisses the other members of the Cabinet. The Constitution of Greece: Article 37 The Prime Minister exercises vast political power, and the amendment of 1986 further strengthened his position to the detriment of the President of the Republic.K. Mavrias, Constitutional Law, 477-478, 486-487

Legislative power is exercised by a 300-member unicameralism. The Constitution of Greece: Articles 51, 53 Statutes passed by the Parliament are promulgated by the President of the Republic. The Constitution of Greece: Article 42 Parliamentary elections are held every four years, but the President of the Republic is obliged to dissolve the Parliament earlier on the proposal of the Cabinet, in view of dealing with a national issue of exceptional importance. The Constitution of Greece: Article 41 The President is also obliged to dissolve the Parliament earlier, if the opposition manages to pass a motion of no confidence. The Constitution of Greece: Article 84

The Judicial system of Greece is independent of the executive and the legislature and comprises three Supreme Courts: the Court of Cassation (Greece) (Άρειος Πάγος), the Council of State (Greece) (Συμβούλιο της Επικρατείας) and the Chamber of Accounts (Greece) (Ελεγκτικό Συνέδριο). The Judiciary system is also composed of civil courts, which judge civil and penal cases and administrative courts, which judge administrative cases, namely disputes between the citizens and the State.

Since the restoration of democracy the party system is dominated by the liberal-conservative New Democracy (Greece) and the socialist Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK). Non-negligible parties include the Communist Party of Greece, the Coalition of the Radical Left and the Popular Orthodox Rally.

On March 7, 2004, Kostas Karamanlis, president of the New Democracy party and nephew of the late Constantine Karamanlis was elected as the new Prime Minister of Greece, thus marking his party's first electoral victory in nearly eleven years. Karamanlis took over government from Kostas Simitis of PASOK, who had been in office since January 1996, replacing the ailing Andreas Papandreou who died on June 23, 1996. Kostas Karamanlis won a second term on September 16, 2007, however his party acquired a slimmer majority in the Greek Parliament gaining only 152 out of 300 seats.

Peripheries and prefectures Administratively, Greece consists of fourteen peripheries subdivided into a total of fifty-four prefectures (, singular ). There is also one autonomous area, Mount Athos (, "Holy Mountain"), which borders the periphery of Central Macedonia.

{] !!width="140px"| Peripheries of Greece !!width="80px"| Capital !!width="80px"] !!width="80px"| Population ] || Athens ] || Lamia (city) || style="text-align:right"|15,549 km²|| style="text-align:right"|614,614|-| 3 || Central Macedonia ] ||style="text-align:right"|18,811 km²|| style="text-align:right"|1,931,870|-| 4 || Crete ] || style="text-align:right"|6,336 km²|| style="text-align:right"|623,666|-| 5 || East Macedonia and Thrace ] || style="text-align:right"|14,157 km²|| style="text-align:right"|623,248|-| 6 || Epirus (periphery) || Ioannina ] || Corfu (city) || style="text-align:right"|2,307 km²|| style="text-align:right"|220,097|-| 8 || North Aegean ] || style="text-align:right"|3,836 km²|| style="text-align:right"|208,151|-| 9 || Peloponnese (periphery) || Tripoli, Greece || style="text-align:right"|15,490 km²|| style="text-align:right"| 650,310|-| 10 || South Aegean ] || style="text-align:right"|5,286 km²|| style="text-align:right"|320,001|-| 11 || Thessaly ] || style="text-align:right"|14.037 km²|| style="text-align:right"|760,714|-| 12 || West Greece ] || style="text-align:right"|11,350 km²|| style="text-align:right"|753,267|-| 13 || West Macedonia ] || style="text-align:right"|9,451 km²|| style="text-align:right"|303,857|-| - || Mount Athos (Autonomous) ] || style="text-align:right"|390 km²|| style="text-align:right"|2,250|}

Geography {| border=0 align=right cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 style="margin: 0 0 1em 1em; background: #f9f9f9; border: 0px #aaaaaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 100%;"|AlbaniaF.Y.R.O.M.Bulgaria'TurkeyGreece[Athens[ThessalonikiKavala---ThasosAlexandroupoli--SamothraceCorfuIgoumenitsaLarissaVolosIoanninaChalcisPatrasCorinthCorinthNafplionNafplionSpartaSpartaAreopoliAreopoliPiraeusEleusinaLauriumHeraklionMacedonia (Greece)Western ThraceEpirus (periphery)ThessalyCentral GreecePeloponneseMount Olympus (Mountain)LefkadaKefaloniaZakynthos-LemnosLesbos IslandChiosSamos IslandAndrosTinosMykonosIcaria--PatmosNaxos (island)MilosSantorini---KosRhodesKarpathosKassosKythiraGavdosAegean SeaAegean SeaSea of CreteMyrtoan SeaMyrtoan SeaIonian SeaIonian SeaMediterranean SeaMediterranean SeaCreteAegean IslandsAegean IslandsCycladesDodecaneseIonian Islands|}

Greece consists of a mountainous and craggy mainland jutting out into the sea at the southern end of the Balkans, the Peloponnese peninsula (separated from the mainland by the canal of the Isthmus of Corinth), and Greek islands (around 2,000), including Crete, Euboea, Lesbos Island, Chios, the Dodecanese and the Cyclades groups of the Aegean Sea as well as the Ionian Sea islands. Greece has the List of countries by length of coastline in the world with 14,880 km; its land boundary is 1,160 km (721 mi).

Four-fifths of Greece consist of mountains or hills, making the country one of the most mountainous in Europe. Western Greece contains a number of lakes and wetlands and it is dominated by the Pindus mountain range. Pindus has a maximum elevation of 2,636 metres (8,648 ft) and it is essentially a prolongation of the Dinaric Alps.

The range continues through the western Peloponnese, crosses the islands of Kythera and Antikythera and find its way into southwestern Aegean, in the island of Crete where it eventually ends. (the islands of the Aegean are peaks of underwater mountains that once constituted an extension of the mainland). Pindus is characterized by its high, steep peaks, often dissected by numerous canyons and a variety of other karstic landscapes. Most notably, the impressive Meteora formation consisting of high, steep boulders provides a breathtaking experience for the hundreds of thousands of tourists who visit the area each year. Special lifts transfer visitors to the scenic monasteries that lie on top of those rocks.

formation in central Greece. (2917 m/9570 ft) from the town of Litochoro.

Meteora is situated in the Trikala prefecture. The Vikos-Aoos Gorge is yet another spectacular formation. The Vikos-Aoos Gorge is a popular hotspot for those fond of extreme sports. Mount Olympus (Mountain) is the highest mountain in the country, located in the southwestern Pieria prefecture, near Thessaloniki. Mytikas in the Olympus range has a height of 2,920 m (9,570 ft) at its highest peak. Once considered the throne of the Gods, it is today extremely popular among hikers and climbers who deem its height as a challenge. Moreover, northeastern Greece features yet another high altitude mountain range, the Rhodope range, spreading across the periphery of East Macedonia and Thrace; this area is covered with vast, thick, ancient forests. The famous Dadia forest is in the prefecture of Evros, in the far northeast of the country.

Expansive plains are primarily located in the prefectures of Thessaly, Central Macedonia and Western Thrace. They constitute key economic regions as they are among the few arable places in the country. Volos and Larissa are the two largest cities of Thessaly. Rare marine species such as the Pinniped Seals and the Loggerhead Sea Turtle live in the seas surrounding mainland Greece, while its dense forests are home to the endangered brown bear, the lynx, the Roe Deer and the Wild Goat.

Climate (Beach of Porto Katsiki, Lefkada).

The climate of Greece can be categorised into three types that influence well-defined regions of its territory. The Pindus mountain range strongly affects the climate of the country by making the western side of it (areas prone to the south-westerlies) wetter on average than the areas lying to the east of it (lee side of the mountains). The three distinct types are the Mediterranean, the Alpine and the Temperate types. The first one features mild, wet winters and hot, dry summers. The Cyclades, the Dodecanese, Crete, Eastern Peloponessus and parts of the Sterea Ellada region are mostly affected by this particular type. Temperatures rarely reach extreme values although snowfalls do occur occasionally even in the Cyclades or the Dodecanese during the winter months.

The Alpine type is dominant mainly in the mountainous areas of Northwestern Greece (Epirus (periphery), Central Greece, Thessaly, Western Macedonia) as well as in the central parts of Peloponnese, including the prefectures of Achaia, Arcadia and parts of Laconia, where extensions of the Pindus mountain range pass by). Finally, the Temperate type affects Central Macedonia and East Macedonia and Thrace; it features cold, damp winters and hot, dry summers. Athens is located in a transitional area featuring both the Mediterranean and the Temperate types. It averages about 16 inches of rain annually. The city's northern suburbs are dominated by the temperate type while the downtown area and the southern suburbs enjoy a typical Mediterranean type.

Economy in commemoration of the 2004 Olympic Games.

Greece operates a capitalist economy that produced a GDP of $305.595 billion in 2006. The principal economic activities mainly include the tourism and shipping industries, banking and finance, manufacturing and construction and telecommunications. The country serves as the regional business hub for many of the world's largest multinational companies.

The people of Greece enjoy a high standard of living. Greece ranks 24th in the 2006 Human Development Index, 22nd on The Economist's 2005 world-wide quality-of-life index, and it has an average per capita income that has been estimated at $33,004 for the year 2006, higher than that of Germany, France and Italy.

Greece's present prosperity is largely owed to the post-World War II "Greek economic miracle" (when GDP growth averaged 7% between 1950 and 1973), the implementation of a number of structural and fiscal reforms, combined with considerable European Union funding over the last twenty-five years and increasing private consumption. The latter facts have contributed to a consistent annual growth of the Greek GDP that was surpassing the respective one of most other EU partners. http://www.elke.gr/default.asp?V_DOC_ID=765

Today, the Services (74.4%) makes up the largest, most vital and fastest-growing sector of the Greek economy, followed by industry (20.6%) and agriculture (5.1%). The tourism industry is a major source of foreign exchange earnings and revenue accounting for 15% of Greece’s total GDP and employing (directly or indirectly) 659,719 people (or 16.5% of total employment). In 2005, Greece welcomed almost 18 million visitors and in 2006 that figure almost reached 20 million.

The Greek banking & finance sector is also an important source of revenue and employment and Greek banks have invested heavily in the Balkan region. The manufacturing sector accounts for about 13% of GDP with the food industry leading in growth, profit and export potential.

High-technology equipment production, especially for telecommunications, is also a fast-growing sector. Other important areas include textiles, building materials, machinery, transport equipment, and electrical appliances. Construction (10%GDP) and agric

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