greece

=Greece= By Nicole Murch

__Fast facts__
Head of State: Konstandinos Karmanlis Size: 131,940 km² Population: 10,706,290 Currency: Euro Capital City: Athens Language: Greek

__Location__
Greece is in the south-east of Europe and is the southernmost country on the Balkan Peninsulaborders. It Borders Albania, Macidonia, Bulgaria, Turkey, the Aegean Sea, the Ionian Sea and the Mediteranian Sea.

__Geographical Features__
Four fiths of Germany consist of mountains or hills making it one of the most mountainous countries in Europe. Mt Olypus is the highest mountain in the country located in the south-western pieria prefecture. It is 2920m high and in ancient times was considered the home of the gods. The Pindus mountain has a large effect on the country. It makes the western part wetter then the eastern part. Trichonis Lake is located in the Sterea Ellada region. It is 95840 square kilometers.

__Climate__
There are three main section of climate in Greece. The Cyclades have a mediteranian climate which means they have mild, wet winters and hot, dry summers. The mountains regions in the north-west have an alipne climate. The last section of climate is Temperate. It affects centural and east Macadonia and Thrace. They have cold, damp winters and hot, dry summers. Athens is in an transitional area, situated between a mediteranian climate and a temperate climate.

__Economy__
In 2002 Greece's currency became the Euro. This led to a large increase in consumer spending and bosted the economy.Greece has a capitalist economy. The public sector makes about about 40% of the GDP. Nearly one fifth of the work force is made up of foreigners mainly is unskilled and agricultural jobs. Services are the largest industry and the tourism and transport sector have helped to cover a large amount of Greece's trade deficet. The food industry and the high tech/telecommonitcations sectors are increasing while the textile industry is decreasing. They experience large benifits from the European Union. Unemployment and inflation levels are falling but are still abouve the euro-zone average. Their major trading partners are Germany, Italy, France, and Great Britain.

The food industry and the high tech/telecommonitcations sectors are increasing while the textile industry is decreasing. They major agricultural products are corn, wheat, barley, citrus fruits, olives, olive oil, tomatoes, sugar beets, grapes, currents, cotton, tobacco and potatoes. The leading manufactured goods are processed food and tobacco, textiles, chemicals, metal products, construction materials, and refined petroleum.The main exports are food, clothing, textiles, petroleum products, and tobacco. The main imports are machinery and transportation equipment, petroleum products, chemicals, meats, and manufactured consumer goods. As well as that a large number of sheep and goats are raised. Agriculture used to be the largest source of income untill the service sector took over as the leading source.

__Government__
Greece's capital is Athens. There are fifty-one prefectures and one autonomous region. The legal system is based on Codified Roman Law. Voting is universal and compulsery and teh sufferage age is eighteen. In the executive branch, President Karolos PAPOULIAS is the cheif of state and the had of government is Prime Minister Konstandinos (Kostas) KARAMANLIS. The cabnet is appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister. The president is elected by parliment for a five year term. The legislative branch is unicameral with three hundred seats. Members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms. In the judicial branch there are two main courts the Supreme Judicial Court and the Special Supreme Tribunal. The president, after consultation with the judicial councel elects the judges for life.

__**History**__
Greece has a very rich and ancient history with many invasions and various dominations. The Macedonians had a very strong empire which was followed by the Roman empire. The next era, the Byzantine empire, was overthrown with the invasion of the Turks. This Ottoman rule lasted for four hundred years and was a very difficult time for the inhabitants of the country. Eventually the people grew tired of the Turkish rule and organised revolts against them. This led to the War of Independance which lasted from 1821 to 1830. They eventually overthrew the Turks and set up the the state of Hellenic in which a monarch was established. During the nineteenth and early twentieth centurary they integrated other people in the area into the state. In 1834 Athens is declared the capital city.

In 1897 the Greeks were at war with Turkey. In 1924 they experienced an invasion from Italy which they fought off in just six weeks and in 1940 Greece was at war with Italy again. During World War II in 1941, Greece became occupied by Germany but in 1944 Germany withdrew from the country. After a seven year dictatorship, a referendum was held in 1974 and Greece went from being a Constitutional Monarchy to a Presidential Parlimentary Democracy. From 1944 a civil war broke out betweent the people who supported communism and the people who didn't. This lasted until 1966. Greece then joined the European Union in 1981 and became part of the European community.

Greece has an extreamly large amount of cultural history because started as an ancient civilisation. Their ideas, concepts and art formed the basis of the western civilisation and the concept of democracy was created in ancient Athens. Greece is now a developed country and part of the European Union.