Greece Facts: Interesting Facts About Greece

The official name of Greece is the Hellenic Republic. The country is located in southeastern Europe and is one of the oldest civilizations in the world. Greece lies at the junction point of Africa, Asia and Europe. It was one of the first advanced civilizations in Europe. Greece is bordered by the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, Turkey and Albania to the east.

It is bordered by the Ionian Sea to the west and by the Aegean Sea to the east. Here are some other interesting facts about Greece. Greece has strains of the Byzantine Empire, the Ottoman rule and of Classical Greece in its current culture and tradition. It is considered to be the first democracy in the entire world. It is also considered to be where the western civilization was honed. The cultural importance of Greece to the world can never be measured, as it has been responsible for the Olympic Games, the Political Science, Drama and the Western literature. The long history of Greece can maybe compared only to another country with a long history - India.

The lands of Greece has gone through three eras, before the establishment of the modern Greek state took place. The first era as the Hellenistic Era, when Greece was under the rule of Alexander the Great. The Greek peninsula became a province of Rome in time, but Rome enthusiastically followed the Hellenistic culture. The last empire to rule Greece was the Ottoman Empire. The Modern Greek state rebelled and gained independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1830.

The total area of Greece is around fifty thousand square kilometers. It mainly consists of a mountainous mainland. Greece has the tenth largest coastline in the world. The coastline is bout fourteen thousand eight hundred and eighty kilometers long (14880 km), with its land boundary being one thousand one hundred sixty kilometers (1160 km). Greece is predominantly made up of mountains or hills. Around four fifths of Greece is consists of hills and mountains. It is therefore one of the most mountainous places in Europe. The highest mountain in the country is Mount Olympus, itself a mainstay in many myths and fables.

Greece has three main types of climates, namely the Mediterranean, Temperate and Alpine types. The most dominant of these types of climates in the mountainous regions of North Western Greece is the Alpine type of climate. The Temperate type of climate generally affects East and Central Macedonia and Thrace. Therefore, these areas have hot and dry summers and cold and damp winters.

The GDP of Greece is around two hundred and fifty billion dollars. Greece is a capitalist economy. The main economical factors are shipping, banking and finance, manufacturing, telecommunications and construction. The service industry is the fastest growing and commercial sector in Greece, at around seventy percent of the total economy of Greece. Construction and agriculture are the other major growth sectors in the Greek economy. Greece is the regional head quarters for many multinational concerns.

Shipping is another key element of the economic activity in Greece. Shipping has been prevalent in Greece since ancient times. It was once the most natural way for the peninsular Greece to connect with its neighbors and business associates. Shipping garners about five percent of the total GDP of Greece, with its employees being around one hundred thousand of the total employed force in Greece. The maritime fleet of Greece is the largest in the world today. It has about three thousand vessels, which accounts for more than fifteen percent of the total fleet capacity of the world. Greece also ranks first in dry bulk carriers and tankers. It ranks fourth in the number of containers and other ships.