Greece Missions
Missionaries Serving:
Demetrios (Takis) Marmaras
Capital
Athens (772,100, 1993 est.)
System of Government
Unitary Multiparty Republic
Area
131,951 Sq Km (50,949 Sq Mi) (slightly smaller than Alabama)
Estimated 2000 Population
10,346,800
Geography
Greece is located on the southern tip of the Balkan Peninsula in South East Europe and the territory also includes several hundred islands in the Ionian and Aegean Seas. It is bound by Albania, Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, Turkey and the Aegean Sea to the east, the Mediterranean Sea to the south and the Ionian Sea to the west. About 20% of the total land area of Greece is accounted for by islands, of which the largest are Crete, Euboea, Lesbos, Rhodes, Khios, Kefallonia, Corfu, Limnos, Samos and Naxos. Mountains and hills dominate the landscape, accounting for nearly 80% of the total land area.
Climate
Greece has a Mediterranean climate with long hot dry summers and mild winters when the majority of rainfall occurs. Average temperature ranges are from 43 to 55 degrees Fahrenheit in February to 73 to 91 degrees Fahrenheit in August.
People
The principal ethnic majority are the Greeks who account for 96% of the population. The Macedonians of Northern Greece account for 1.5%, Turks for 0.9% and 1% are Vlach, Slav, Albanian or Jewish.
Vital Statistics
Life Expectancy at Birth: 74.6 years male, 79.8 years female (1990). Infant Mortality Rate: 8.2 per 1,000 live births (1992). HIV/AIDS Adult Prevalence Rate: 0.16% (1999 est.).
Religions
The official religion of Greece is Greek Orthodox Christianity, which accounts for 98% of the population. There are also a small minority of Muslims which account for 1.5% of the population. Minority religions face some discrimination from the state Greek Orthodox Church.
Languages
The official language is Greek with 98% of the population speaking it. English and French are also widely understood.
History
During World War II, the German and Italian Axis forces occupied Greece from 1941 to 1944. In 1949 communist rebels known as the National Liberation Front were defeated in northern Greece by Marshal Alexander Papagos with the support of the Allies. In 1954 Pagagos signed the Balkan Treaty with Yugoslavia and Turkey. In 1964 George Panadreou won a parliamentary majority but resigned in July 1965 after a clash with King Constantine II over constitutional changes. In April 1967 a military coup led by Colonel George Papadopoulos seized power, suspended the constitution and dissolved the Parliament. In 1967 an abortive countercoup led by King Constantine forced the King intoexile. A new constitution was approved by Greek voters in 1968, in which Papadopoulos abolished the monarchy and proclaimed Greece a republic. Later, military leaders overthrew the Papadopoulos government. In November 1974 Greece held its first parliamentary elections in more than ten years and a civilian government was formed under Constantine Karamanlis. In December 1974 Greece held a referendum which voted against the restoration of the monarchy. A new constitution in June 1975 declared Greece a presidential parliamentary republic. In May 1980 Karamanlis was elected President. He resigned in 1985, and was succeeded by Christos Sartzetakis. In mid 1990 Karamanlis was again elected president. Elections were held in 1993 which brought Papandreou’s Panhellenic Socialist Movement back to power. Konstandinos Stephanopoulos was elected president in 1995, and re-elected in 2000.
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