Greece, officially called the Hellenic Republic, is a country in southern Europe. It borders Turkey, Albania, Macedonia and Bulgaria. The region now known as Greece gave rise to the first European civilisations, which have influenced European philosophy and thinking to this day. Greek city states such as Sparta and Athens were politically and military powers before the Roman Era. However, the Romans ended Greek independence and Greece became a Roman province. As the Roman Empire split in two, the Eastern Roman Empire became known as the Empire of the Greeks or the Byzantine Empire.

In the 14th Century Greece was conquered by and became a part of the Ottoman Empire which lasted until 1829 when Greece rebelled and became an independent state. During World War II, Greece was occupied by Germany and Italy, but after liberation, the country suffered a civil war, which first ended in 1949 with communist defeat. In 1967 a military coup topped the elected government and the king and was followed by the regime of the colonels. However, in 1975 democracy was restored. Greece is a member of NATO and the European Union.

Inhabitants: 11,000,000
Area: 132,000 km2
Capital: Athens (3,800,000 inhabitants)
Languages: Greek
Religion: Orthodox (95%), Muslim (1%), others (4%)
GDP (PPP) per capita: $27,000
Government: Parliamentary republic
Climate: Greece has Mediterranean, temperate and alpine climate