World Factbook
Greece
Elliniki Dimokratia
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Area
land
130,647 sq km
water
1,310 sq km
total
131,957 sq km
Climate
temperate; mild, wet winters; hot, dry summers
Terrain
mountainous with ranges extending into the sea as peninsulas or chains of islands
Land use
other
21.3% (2023 est.)
forest
36.9% (2023 est.)
agricultural land
41.7% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: arable land
arable land: 14.4% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent crops
permanent crops: 8% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent pasture
permanent pasture: 19.2% (2023 est.)
Location
Southern Europe, bordering the Aegean Sea, Ionian Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea, between Albania and Turkey
Coastline
13,676 km
Elevation
note
note: Mount Olympus actually has 52 peaks but its highest point, Mytikas (meaning "nose"), rises to 2,917 meters; in Greek mythology, Olympus' Mytikas peak was the home of the Greek gods
lowest point
Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point
Mount Olympus 2,917
mean elevation
498 m
Irrigated land
12,191 sq km (2021)
Map references
Europe
Land boundaries
total
1,110 km
border countries
Albania 212 km; Bulgaria 472 km; North Macedonia 234 km; Turkey 192 km
Maritime claims
territorial sea
6 nm
continental shelf
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
Natural hazards
severe earthquakes volcanism: Santorini (367 m) has been deemed a Decade Volcano by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior, worthy of study due to its explosive history and close proximity to human populations; Methana and Nisyros in the Aegean are also classified as historically active
Geography - note
strategic location dominating the Aegean Sea and southern approach to Turkish Straits; a peninsular country, with an archipelago of about 2,000 islands
Natural resources
lignite, petroleum, iron ore, bauxite, lead, zinc, nickel, magnesite, marble, salt, hydropower potential
Area - comparative
slightly smaller than Alabama
Geographic coordinates
39 00 N, 22 00 E
Population distribution
one third of the population lives in and around metropolitan Athens; the remainder of the country has moderate population density mixed with sizeable urban clusters