Greece

C

Plants and Animals

Greece has a great diversity of vegetation. From sea level to an elevation of about 460 m (1,500 ft), oranges, olives, dates, pomegranates, figs, cotton, and tobacco are grown. From about 120 to 460 m (400 to 1,500 ft) deciduous and evergreen forests are found, where oak, black pine, chestnut, beech, and sumac grow. Tulips, hyacinths, and laurel are also characteristic of the area. Firs and such wild flowers as anemone and cyclamen are found above about 1,200 m (4,000 ft), and mosses and lichens predominate above about 1,500 m (5,000 ft).

Wildlife includes boar, European black bear, lynx, jackal, chamois, deer, fox, badger, and weasel. Among the birds are the hawk, pelican, egret, pheasant, partridge, nightingale, turtle-dove, and stork.

D

Environmental Concerns

Athens is the most highly industrialized and densely populated city in Greece. Owing largely to the country's rapid industrialization and its motor vehicle emissions, air pollution is a severe problem in the city. Air pollution has also degraded many classical Greek antiquities, especially in Athens. In an effort to combat air pollution, the government restricts the number of vehicles allowed to enter the city, especially on days with high pollution levels. The government also encourages citizens to use vehicles that pollute less. An additional important step in combating pollution has been the use of solar collectors to harness energy. In the 1970s Greece joined the Mediterranean Action Plan, devised by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), which aided in slowing the rate at which the Mediterranean is polluted. The plan, along with many of its pollution protocols, has been adopted by all of the countries surrounding the Mediterranean. Today, Greece has been voted one of the countries with the cleanest beaches. Many wetlands in the interior of Greece suffer from being drained for agricultural or other human activities, and they are in danger of further degradation. Several wetlands sites have been earmarked for conservation programmes. Greece is party to treaties on air pollution, biodiversity, climate change, endangered species, hazardous wastes, marine dumping, ship pollution, tropical timber, and wetlands.

III

Population

Greece is mostly a country of small towns and villages. Famous ancient cities such as Árgos, Corinth, and Sparta are small towns today. The population is about 98 per cent Greek. About 1 per cent of the population is classified by the Greek government as Muslim. Most Muslims are of Turkish descent. About 100,000 Muslims live in Thrace. The remainder of the population includes people of Slavic, Albanian, and Armenian descent.

A

Population Characteristics

Greece has a population of 10,706,290 (2007 estimate), giving an overall population density of about 82 people per sq km (212 people per sq mi). The population of Greece is very large in relation to the size and economic capacity of the country. Both the birth rate (formerly one of the highest in Europe) and the death rate have declined in recent years, and in the mid-1990s the annual rate of population growth was estimated to be less than 1 per cent. About 61 per cent of the population is urban. Much of the urban population is concentrated around Athens, around Salonica (Thessaloníki) in Macedonia, in western Pelopónnisos, and on the islands. Corfu (Kérkira), Zákinthos (Zante), and Khíos are among the most densely populated islands.

B

Political Divisions

Under a reorganization plan introduced in 1987, Greece is divided for administrative purposes into 13 regions (diamerismata), which are subdivided into 51 departments (nomoi). The 13 regions, with their populations, are Attica (3,523,407, 1991), Central Greece (582,280, 1991), Central Macedonia (1,710,513, 1991), Crete (540,054, 1991), Eastern Macedonia and Thrace (570,496, 1991), Epirus (339,728, 1991), Ionian Islands (193,734, 1991), Northern Aegean (199,231, 1991), Pelopónnisos (607,428, 1991), Southern Aegean (257,481, 1991), Thessaly (734,846, 1991), Western Greece (707,687, 1991), and Western Macedonia (293,015, 1991). The 1975 constitution recognizes Mount Athos (population, 1981, 1,472), with its monastic community, as an autonomous district.

Municipalities, or demes (cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants), are administered by a mayor and a city council, and communities that have 300 to 10,000 inhabitants by a president and a community council.