Location Southern Europe, bordering the Aegean Sea, Ionian Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea, between Albania and Turkey

Geographic coordinates 39 00 N, 22 00 E

Map references Europe

Area
total: 131,940 sq km
land: 130,800 sq km
water: 1,140 sq km

Area - comparative slightly smaller than Alabama

Land boundaries
total: 1,210 km
border countries: Albania 282 km, Bulgaria 494 km, Turkey 206 km, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 228 km

Coastline 13,676 km

Maritime claims
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
territorial sea: 6 nm

Climate temperate; mild, wet winters; hot, dry summers

Terrain mostly mountains with ranges extending into sea as peninsulas or chains of islands

Elevation extremes
lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Olympus 2,917 m

Natural resources bauxite, lignite, magnesite, petroleum, marble

Land use
arable land: 19%
permanent crops: 8%
permanent pastures: 41%
forests and woodland: 20%
other: 12% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land 13,140 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards severe earthquakes

Environment - current issues air pollution; water pollution

Environment - international agreements
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds

Geography - note strategic location dominating the Aegean Sea and southern approach to Turkish Straits; a peninsular country, possessing an archipelago of about 2,000 islands

NOTE: The information regarding Greece on this page is re-published from the 1998 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Greece Geography 1998 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Greece Geography 1998 should be addressed to the CIA.