About Greece

Greece, officially known as the Hellenic Republic, is located in the south eastern part of the European and is said to be the birth place of many aspects of western society, including fundamentals in mathematics, politics, philosophy, drama and medicine. The north of Greece borders Albania, Bulgaria and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the East borders Turkey and on the West and South lays the coast line of the Mediterranean Sea. Greece also has thousands of islands, some of which are uninhabited by people and are used as day drip islands either by plane or by boat. Greece has been a full member of the European Union since 1981 and NATO since 1952.

Whenever you travel to a new country it can be daunting and because of this it is often important to have some background information on your destination. Because of this we have provided a general outline of Greece below. Please be advised that information contained in this page is subject to change without prior warning or knowledge, and as such you should consult an expert for the most accurate details.

Official Name: The Hellenic Republic

Capital city: Athens

Location: Southern Europe, bordering the Aegean Sea, Ionian Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea. Land borders include Albania, Bulgaria, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Turkey.

Size: 131,940 sq km, comparatively this is marginally smaller than the U.S state of Alabama, and slightly bigger than North Korea.

Climate: Greece experiences mild fairly wet winters, and hot arid summers.

Population: Greece has a population of 10,722,816; this is slightly more than Portugal and a little bit short of Zimbabwe.

Life Expectancy: At birth the average Greek can expect to live for up to 79.52 years of age.

Major Illness: There are no major illnesses present in Greece that are not present throughout the rest of Europe, however there are about 100-200 people every year who die from AIDS and about 9200 people living with AIDS.

Ethnicities: 93% Greek, 7% foreign citizen. (Note Greek authorities do not collect data on ethnicity types)

Languages: 99% of the population speak predominately Greek, the other 1% include English, French and Turkish.

Religion: 98% of the Greek population who are religious are part of the Greek Orthodox Church, 1.2% Muslim and 0.8% other Christian denominations.

Head of State: Karolos Papoulias, is the current president of Greece.

Economy: Greece is largely a capitalist economy with the private section making up 40% of the GDP, and 75% of the GDP per capita. Tourism is by far the largest industry in Greece contributing 15% annually to the GDP. 25% of the GDP is made up of immigrant workers, mainly from Turkey, who predominately work in the unskilled and agricultural jobs. The Greek economy saw a booming period where GDP grew at a yearly average of 4% during the years 2002-2007. This can be mainly contributed to the 2004 Athens games success, the large state and private run tourism advertisements it ran prior to and post the 2004 Olympics and the increased availability of credit which has spurred large amounts of consumer spending, rapidly accelerating GDP. In Greece there is a major problem with labour unions which have a lot of sway over the government and strikes, particularly those in the construction and public transport industries, are quite common.

GDP: The purchasing parity of the Greek GDP is equal to 351,300,000,000 (USD). In comparison to the world this is just above Hong Kong and marginally below Sweden.

For more information about Greece expat insurance, the international health insurance plans that we can offer in Greece, or to receive a free quote, please contact one of our expert advisers today.

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