Short facts about the geography of Greece

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 the 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, hydropower potential

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-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, 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-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol

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

Source: World Factbook