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The historical and cultural heritage of Greece continues to resonate throughout the modern Western world - in its literature, art, philosophy and politics. Situated in the far south of the Balkan peninsula, Greece combines the towering mountains of the mainland with over 1400 islands, the largest of which is Crete. Post-World War II Greece has seen rapid economic and social change. Major contributors to the economy are tourism and shipping. Greece has long been at odds with its close neighbour, Turkey, over territorial disputes in the Aegean and the divided island of Cyprus.  Parthenon, Athens: Built at the apex of the city-state's power |
Relations warmed after both countries suffered earthquakes in 1999 and offered each other practical help. Although the disputes remain unresolved, the Greek government gives strong backing to Turkey's EU bid. It sees dividends to be gained from the increased regional stability that it believes membership would bring.
Greece has been in dispute since the early 1990s with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Greece contends that the use of the name Macedonia by the neighbouring country implies a territorial claim over Greece's own region of the same name. The UN is involved in continuing mediation efforts. Athens stepped into the global spotlight when the Olympic Games returned home in 2004. The games were hailed as a success, despite widely publicised fears that the infrastructure would not be complete in time.
- Full name: The Hellenic Republic
- Population: 11 million (UN, 2005)
- Capital: Athens
- Area: 131,957 sq km (50,949 sq miles)
- Major language: Greek
- Major religion: Christianity
- Life expectancy: 76 years (men), 81 years (women) (UN)
- Monetary unit: 1 euro = 100 cents
- Main exports: Textiles and clothing, food, oil products
- GNI per capita: US $19,670 (World Bank, 2006)
- Internet domain: .gr
- International dialling code: +30
President: Karolos Papoulias Prime minister: Costas Karamanlis  Inflation, rising unemployment have dogged Costas Karamanlis |
The conservative New Democracy Party led by Costas Karamanlis took over the reins of government from the Pan Hellenic Socialist Movement (Pasok) following a convincing win in elections in early March 2004. Pasok had been in government for over 10 years but was perceived in some quarters as ineffectual in improving living standards. Mr Karamanlis is the nephew of former President Constantine Karamanlis, who presided over the restoration of democracy after 1974. He has been party leader since 1996 and has no previous ministerial experience. Since he came to power, high unemployment and rising inflation as well as government plans for pension and labour reforms have prompted industrial action. At the same time, Mr Karamanlis is under pressure from Brussels to cut the budget deficit which is above the level permitted under the euro zone stability pact. Cutting the state bureaucracy and tackling |
