King to grant a constitution and a representative assembly. Due to his unimpaired authoritarian rule, he was eventually dethroned in 1863 and replaced by Prince Vilhelm (William) of Denmark, who took the name George I and brought with him the Ionian Islands as a coronation gift from Britain. In 1877, Charilaos Trikoupis, who is attributed with the significant improvement of the country's infrastructure, curbed the power of the monarchy to interfere in the assembly by issuing the rule of vote of confidence to any potential prime minister. 20th century King Constantine I (centre) and Eleftherios Venizelos (seated, with back to camera) in 1913, during the Balkan Wars. As a result of the Balkan Wars, Greece increased the extent of its territory and population. In the following years, the struggle between King Constantine I and charismatic Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos over the country's foreign policy on the eve of World War I dominated the country's political scene, and divided the country into two opposed groups. In the aftermath of WWI, Greece fought against Turkish nationalists led by Mustafa Kemal, a war which resulted in a massive population exchange between the two countries under the Treaty of Lausanne.[20] According to various sources,[21] several hundred thousand Pontic Greeks died during this period.[22] Instability and successive coups d'état marked the following era, which was overshadowed by the massive task of incorporating 1.5 million Greek refugees from Turkey into Greek society. On 28 October 1940 Fascist Italy demanded the surrender of Greece, but Greek dictator Ioannis Metaxas refused and in the following Greco-Italian War, Greece repelled Italian forces into Albania, giving the Allies their first victory over Axis forces on land. The country would eventually fall to urgently dispatched German forces during the Battle of Greece. The German occupiers nevertheless met serious challenges from the Greek Resistance. Over 100,000 civilians died from starvation during the winter of 1941–42. In 1943 virtually the entire Jewish population was deported to Nazi extermination camps.[23] Territorial evolution of Greece until 1947. After liberation, Greece experienced a bitter civil war between communist and anticommunist forces, which led to economic devastation and severe social tensions between rightists and largely communist leftists for the next 30 years.[24] The next 20 years were characterized by marginalisation of the left in the political and social spheres but also by rapid economic growth, propelled in part by the Marshall Plan. King Constantine's dismissal of George Papandreou's centrist government in July 1965 prompted a prolonged period of political turbulence which culminated in a coup d'état on 21 April 1967 by the United States-backed Regime of the Colonels. The brutal suppression of the Athens Polytechnic uprising on 17 November 1973 sent shockwaves through the regime, and a counter-coup established Brigadier Dimitrios Ioannidis as dictator. On 20 July 1974, as Turkey invaded the island of Cyprus, the regime collapsed. Former premier Konstantinos Karamanlis was invited back from Paris where he had lived in self-exile since 1963, marking the beginning of the Metapolitefsi era. On the 14 August 1974 Greek forces withdrew from the integrated military structure of NATO in protest at the Turkish occupation of northern Cyprus.[25][26] The first multiparty elections since 1964 were held on the first anniversary of the Polytechnic uprising. A democratic and republican constitution was promulgated on 11 June 1975 following a referendum which abolished the monarchy. Meanwhile, Andreas Papandreou founded the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) in response to Karamanlis's conservative New Democracy party, with the two political formations alternating in government ever since. Greece rejoined NATO in 1980.[25] Traditionally strained relations with neighbouring Turkey improved when successive earthquakes hit both nations in 1999, leading to the lifting of the Greek veto against Turkey's bid for EU membership. Greece became the tenth member of the European Communities (subsequently subsumed by the European Union) on 1 January 1981, ushering in a period of remarkable and sustained economic growth. Widespread investments in industrial enterprises and heavy infrastructure, as well as funds from the European Union and growing revenues from tourism, shipping and a fast-growing service sector have raised the country's standard of living to unprecedented levels. The country adopted the euro in 2001 and successfully hosted the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. Government and politics Main articles: Politics of Greece and List of political parties in Greece The Hellenic Parliament in central Athens. Ioannis Kapodistrias (1776–1831),first head of state of independent Greece. The current President of Greece, Karolos Papoulias. Greece is a parliamentary republic.[27] The nominal head of state is the President of the Republic, who is elected by the Parliament for a five-year term.[27] The current Constitution was drawn up and adopted by the Fifth Revisionary Parliament of the Hellenes and entered into force in 1975 after the fall of the military junta of 1967–1974. It has been revised twice since, in 1986 and in 2001. The Constitution, which consists of 120 articles, provides for a separation of powers into executive, legislative, and judicial branches, and grants extensive specific guarantees (further reinforced in 2001) of civil liberties and social rights.[28] Women's suffrage was guaranteed with a 1952 Constitutional amendment. According to the Constitution, executive power is exercised by the President of the Republic and the Government.[27] From the Constitutional amendment of 1986 the President's duties were curtailed to a significant extent, and they are now largely ceremonial; most political power thus lies in the hands of the Prime Minister.[29] The position of Prime Minister, Greece's head of government, belongs to the current leader of the political party that can obtain a vote of confidence by the Parliament. The President of the Republic formally appoints the Prime Minister and, on his recommendation, appoints and dismisses the other members of the Cabinet.[27] Legislative powers are exercised by a 300-member elective unicameral Parliament.[27] Statutes passed by the Parliament are promulgated by the President of the Republic.[27] Parliamentary elections are held every four years, but the President of the Republic is obliged to dissolve the Parliament earlier on the proposal of the Cabinet, in view of dealing with a national issue of exceptional importance.[27] The President is also obliged to dissolve the Parliament earlier, if the opposition manages to pass a motion of no confidence.[27] The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature and comprises three Supreme Courts: the Court of Cassation (??e??? ?????), the Council of State (S?µß????? t?? ?p???ate?a?) and the Court of Auditors (??e??t??? S???d???). The Judiciary system is also composed of civil courts, which judge civil and penal cases and administrative courts, which judge disputes between the citizens and the Greek administrative authorities. Political parties Main article: Political parties of Greece Since the restoration of democracy, the Greek two-party system is dominated by the liberal-conservative New Democracy (ND) and the social-democratic Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK).[30] Other significant parties include the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), the Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA) and the Popular Orthodox Rally (LAOS). The current prime minister is George Papandreou, president of the PASOK, who on October 4, 2009, won with a majority in the Parliament of 160 out of 300 seats. Peripheries and prefectures Main articles: Peripheries of Greece, Prefectures of Greece, and Municipalities and communities of Greece Administratively, Greece consists of thirteen peripheries subdivided into a total of fifty-one prefectures (nomoi, singular Greek: nomos). There is also one autonomous area, Mount Athos (Greek: Agio Oros, "Holy Mountain"), which borders the periphery of Central Macedonia. Map Number Periphery Capital Area (km²) Area (sq mi) Population 1 Attica Athens 3,808 1,470 3,761,810 2 Central Greece Lamia 15,549 6,004 605,329 3 Central Macedonia Thessaloniki 18,811 7,263 1,871,952 4 Crete Heraklion 8,259 3,189 601,131 5 East Macedonia and Thrace Komotini 14,157 5,466 611,067 6 Epirus Ioannina 9,203 3,553 353,820 7 Ionian Islands Corfu 2,307 891 212,984 8 North Aegean Mytilene 3,836 1,481 206,121 9 Peloponnese Kalamata 15,490 5,981 638,942 10 South Aegean Ermoupoli 5,286 2,041 302,686 11 Thessaly Larissa 14,037 5,420 753,888 12 West Greece Patras 11,350 4,382 740,506 13 West Macedonia Kozani 9,451 3,649 301,522 - Mount Athos (Autonomous) Karyes 390 151 2,262 Foreign relations Main article: Foreign relations of Greece Prominent issues in Greek foreign policy include the enduring dispute over Cyprus, differences with Turkey over the Aegean sea, as well as the naming dispute with the Republic of Macedonia, which Greece refers to internationally by the provisional reference "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia". Geography Main article: Geography of Greece Topographical map of Greece. Albania Rep. Macedonia Bulgaria Turkey Greece Athens Thessaloniki Kavala Thasos Alexandroupoli Samothrace Corfu Igoumenitsa Larissa Volos Ioannina Chalcis Patras Corinth Nafplion Sparta Areopoli Piraeus Eleusina Laurium Heraklion Macedonia Thrace Epirus Thessaly Euboea Central Greece Peloponnese Mt. Olympus Lefkada Kefalonia Zakynthos Lemnos Lesbos Chios Samos Andros Tinos Mykonos Icaria Patmos Naxos Milos Santorini Kos Rhodes Karpathos Kassos Kythira Gavdos Aegean Sea Sea of Crete Myrtoan Sea Ionian Sea Mediterranean Sea Crete Aegean Islands Cyclades Dodecanese Ionian Islands Greece consists of a mountainous, peninsular mainland jutting out into the sea at the southern end of the Balkans, the Peloponnesus peninsula (separated from the mainland by the canal of the Isthmus of Corinth), and numerous islands (1400, 227 of which are inhabited), including Crete, Euboea, Lesbos, Chios, the Dodecanese and the Cycladic groups of the Aegean Sea as well as the Ionian Sea islands. Greece has the tenth longest coastline in the world with 14,880 km (9,246 mi); its land boundary is 1,160 km (721 mi). Eighty percent of Greece consists of mountains or hills, making the country one of the most mountainous in Europe. Mount Olympus, a focal point of Greek culture throughout history culminates at Mytikas peak 2,917 m (9,570 ft), the highest in the country. Once considered the throne of the Gods, it is today extremely popular among hikers and climbers. Western Greece contains a number of lakes and wetlands and is dominated by the Pindus mountain range. The Pindus reaches a maximum elevation of 2,637 m (8,652 ft) at Mt. Smolikas and is essentially a prolongation of the Dinaric Alps. The Vikos-Aoos Gorge is yet another spectacular formation and a popular hotspot for those fond of extreme sports. View of Mount Olympus from Litochoro. Vikos Gorge, Epirus. The range continues through the central Peloponnese, crosses the islands of Kythera and Antikythera and find its way into southwestern Aegean, in the island of Crete where it eventually ends. The islands of the Aegean are peaks of underwater mountains that once constituted an extension of the mainland. Pindus is characterized by its high, steep peaks, often dissected by numerous canyons and a variety of other karstic landscapes. Most notably, the impressive Meteora formation consisting of high, steep boulders provides a breathtaking experience for the hundreds of thousands of tourists who visit the area each year. Northeastern Greece features another high-altitude mountain range, the Rhodope range, spreading across the periphery of East Macedonia and Thrace; this area is covered with vast, thick, ancient forests. The famous Dadia forest is in the prefecture of Evros, in the far northeast of the country. Expansive plains are primarily located in the prefectures of Thessaly, Central Macedonia and Thrace. They constitute key economic regions as they are among the few arable places in the country. Rare marine species such as the Pinniped Seals and the Loggerhead Sea Turtle live in the seas surrounding mainland Greece, while its dense forests are home to the endangered brown bear, the lynx, the Roe Deer and the Wild Goat. Phytogeographically, Greece belongs to the Boreal Kingdom and is shared between the East Mediterranean province of the Mediterranean Region and the Illyrian province of the Circumboreal Region. According to the World Wide Fund for Nature and the European Environment Agency, the territory of Greece can be subdivided into six ecoregions: the Illyrian deciduous forests, Pindus Mountains mixed forests, Balkan mixed forests, Rodope montane mixed forests, Aegean and Western Turkey sclerophyllous and mixed forests and Crete Mediterranean forests. Climate Main article: Climate of Greece The climate of Greece can be categorised into three types (the Mediterranean, the Alpine and the Temperate) that influence well-defined regions of its territory. The Pindus mountain range strongly affects the climate of the country by making the western side of it (areas prone to the south-westerlies) wetter on average than the areas lying to the east of it (lee side of the mountains). The Mediterranean type of climate features mild, wet winters and hot, dry summers. The Cyclades, the Dodecanese, Crete, the Eastern Peloponnese and parts of the Sterea Ellada (Central Continental Grece) region are mostly affected by this particular type of climate. Temperatures rarely reach extreme values along the coasts, although, with Greece being a highly mountainous country, snowfalls occur frequently in winter. It sometimes snows even in the Cyclades or the Dodecanese. The Alpine type is dominant mainly in the mountainous areas of Northwestern Greece (parts of Epirus, Central Greece, Thessaly, Western Macedonia) as well as in the central parts of Peloponnese, including parts of the prefectures of Achaia, Arcadia and Laconia, where extensions of the Pindus mountain range pass by. Finally, the Temperate type affects Central Macedonia and East Macedonia and Thrace; it features cold, damp winters and hot, dry summers with frequent thunderstorms. Athens is located in a transitional area featuring both the Mediterranean and the Temperate types. The city's northern suburbs are dominated by the temperate type while the downtown area and the southern suburbs enjoy a typical Mediterranean type. Economy Main article: Economy of Greece GDP Growth of Greece compared to the Eurozone between 1996 and 2006. The main building of the Bank of Greece in Athens. Aerial view of the central districts of Thessaloniki, Greece's second largest city and a major economic and industrial center. Annual growth of Greek GDP has surpassed the respective levels of most of its EU partners.[31] The tourism industry is a major source of foreign exchange earnings and revenue accounting for 15% of Greece’s total GDP[32] and employing, directly or indirectly, 16.5% of the total workforce. The Greek labor force totals 4.9 million, and it is the second most industrious between OECD countries, after South Korea.[33] The Groningen Growth & Development Centre has published a poll revealing that between 1995 and 2005, Greece was the country with the largest work/hour ratio among European nations; Greeks worked an average of 1,900 hours per year, followed by the Spanish (average of 1,800 hours/year).[34] In 2007, the average worker made around 20 dollars, similar to Spain and slightly more than half of average U.S. hourly income. Immigrants make up nearly one-fifth of the work force, occupied mainly in agricultural and construction work. Greece's purchasing power-adjusted GDP per capita is the world's 26th highest. According to the International Monetary Fund it has an estimated average per capita income of $30,661 for the year 2008,[35] a figure comparable to that of Germany, France or Italy. According to Eurostat data, Greek PPS GDP per capita stood at 95 per cent of the EU average in 2008.[36] Greece ranks 18th in the 2006 HDI,[37] 22nd on The Economist's 2005 worldwide quality-of-life index.[38] According to a survey by the Economist, the cost of living in Athens is close to 90% of the costs in New York; in rural regions it is lower. However, the Greek economy also faces significant problems, including rising unemployment levels, an inefficient government bureaucracy and widespread corruption.[39] In 2009, Greece had the EU's second lowest Index of Economic Freedom (after Poland), ranking 81st in the world.[40] The country suffers from high levels of political and economic corruption and low global competitiveness relative to its EU partners.[41][42] Although remaining above the euro area average, economic growth turned negative in 2009 for the first time since 1993.[43][verification needed] An indication of the trend of over-lending in recent years is the fact that the ratio of loans to savings exceeded 100% during the first half of the year.[44] By the end of 2009, as a result of a combination of international (financial crisis) and local (uncontrolled spending prior to the October 2009 national elections) factors, the Greek economy faced its most severe crisis after 1993, with the highest budget deficit (although close to those of Ireland and the UK) as well as the second highest debt to GDP ratio in the EU. Greece has currently adopted harsh austerity measures to bring its deficit under control, which have won support from EU leaders and the European Commission, and will be monitored by the Commission. Maritime industry Main articles: Greek shipping and List of ports in Greece Piraeus is the largest marine - based shipping centre of Greece and also the commercial hub of Greek shipping, with most of Greece's shipowners basing their commercial operations there. The shipping industry is a key element of Greek economic activity dating back to ancient times.[45] Today, shipping is one of the country's most important industries. It accounts for 4.5% of GDP, employs about 160,000 people (4% of the workforce), and represents 1/3 of the country's trade deficit.[46] During the 1960s, the size of the Greek fleet nearly doubled, primarily through the investment undertaken by the shipping magnates Onassis and Niarchos.[47] The basis of the modern Greek maritime industry was formed after World War II when Greek shipping businessmen were able to amass surplus ships sold to them by the United States Government through the Ship Sales Act of the 1940s.[47] According to the BTS, the Greek-owned maritime fleet is today the largest in the world, with 3,079 vessels accounting for 18% of the world's fleet capacity (making it the largest of any other country) with a total dwt of 141,931 thousand (142 million dwt).[48] In terms of ship categories, Greece ranks first in both tankers and dry bulk carriers, fourth in the number of containers, and fourth in other ships.[48] However, today's fleet roster is smaller than an all-time high of 5,000 ships in the late 70's.[45] Tourism Main article: Tourism in Greece Elias Beach on the Greek island of Mykonos. An important percentage of Greece's income comes from tourism. In 2004 Greece welcomed 16.5 million tourists. According to a survey conducted in China in 2005, Greece was voted as the Chinese people's number one choice as a tourist destination,[49] and 6,088,287 tourists visited only the city of Athens, the capital city. In November 2006, Austria, like China, announced t