Greece (2005) | Lesotho (2002) | |
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Administrative divisions | 51 prefectures (nomoi, singular - nomos) and 1 autonomous region*; Agion Oros* (Mt. Athos), Achaia, Aitolia kai Akarmania, Argolis, Arkadia, Arta, Attiki, Chalkidiki, Chanion, Chios, Dodekanisos, Drama, Evros, Evrytania, Evvoia, Florina, Fokidos, Fthiotis, Grevena, Ileia, Imathia, Ioannina, Irakleion, Karditsa, Kastoria, Kavala, Kefallinia, Kerkyra, Kilkis, Korinthia, Kozani, Kyklades, Lakonia, Larisa, Lasithi, Lefkas, Lesvos, Magnisia, Messinia, Pella, Pieria, Preveza, Rethynnis, Rodopi, Samos, Serrai, Thesprotia, Thessaloniki, Trikala, Voiotia, Xanthi, Zakynthos | 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohales Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 14.4% (male 791,227/female 744,178)
15-64 years: 66.8% (male 3,561,689/female 3,564,675) 65 years and over: 18.8% (male 884,497/female 1,122,088) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 39% (male 433,229; female 427,926)
15-64 years: 56.3% (male 600,476; female 642,538) 65 years and over: 4.7% (male 43,691; female 60,094) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | wheat, corn, barley, sugar beets, olives, tomatoes, wine, tobacco, potatoes; beef, dairy products | corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock |
Airports | 80 (2004 est.) | 28 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 66
over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 16 1,524 to 2,437 m: 20 914 to 1,523 m: 16 under 914 m: 9 (2004 est.) |
total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 14
914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 11 (2004 est.) |
total: 24
914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 20 (2002) |
Area | total: 131,940 sq km
land: 130,800 sq km water: 1,140 sq km |
total: 30,355 sq km
land: 30,355 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Alabama | slightly smaller than Maryland |
Background | Greece achieved its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1829. During the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, it gradually added neighboring islands and territories, most with Greek-speaking populations. In World War II, Greece was first invaded by Italy (1940) and subsequently occupied by Germany (1941-44); fighting endured in a protracted civil war between royalist supporters of the king and communist rebels. Following the latter's defeat in 1949, Greece was able to join NATO in 1952. A military dictatorship, which in 1967 suspended many political liberties and forced the king to flee the country, lasted seven years. The 1974 democratic elections and a referendum created a parliamentary republic and abolished the monarchy. Greece joined the European Community or EC in 1981 (which became the EU in 1992); it became the 12th member of the euro zone in 2001. | Basutoland was renamed the Kingdom of Lesotho upon independence from the UK in 1966. King MOSHOESHOE was exiled in 1990. Constitutional government was restored in 1993 after 23 years of military rule. |
Birth rate | 9.72 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 30.72 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $54.39 billion
expenditures: $64.4 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
revenues: $76 million
expenditures: $80 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million |
Capital | Athens | Maseru |
Climate | temperate; mild, wet winters; hot, dry summers | temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers |
Coastline | 13,676 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 11 June 1975; amended March 1986 and April 2001 | 2 April 1993 |
Country name | conventional long form: Hellenic Republic
conventional short form: Greece local long form: Elliniki Dhimokratia local short form: Ellas or Ellada former: Kingdom of Greece |
conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho
conventional short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland |
Currency | - | loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR) |
Death rate | 10.15 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 16.81 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $67.23 billion (2004 est.) | $715 million (2001 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Charles RIES
embassy: 91 Vasilissis Sophias Avenue, 10160 Athens mailing address: PSC 108, APO AE 09842-0108 telephone: [30] (210) 721-2951 FAX: [30] (210) 645-6282 consulate(s) general: Thessaloniki |
chief of mission: Ambassador Robert G. LOFTIS
embassy: 254 Kingsway, Maseru West (Consular Section) mailing address: P. O. Box 333, Maseru 100, Lesotho telephone: [266] 312666 FAX: [266] 310116 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Yeoryios SAVVAIDIS
chancery: 2221 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 939-1300 FAX: [1] (202) 939-1324 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Tampa consulate(s): Atlanta, Houston, and New Orleans |
chief of mission: Ambassador Dr. Lebohang Kenneth MOLEKO
chancery: 2511 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 797-5533 through 5536 FAX: [1] (202) 234-6815 |
Disputes - international | Greece and Turkey continue discussions to resolve their complex maritime, air, territorial, and boundary disputes in the Aegean Sea; Cyprus question with Turkey; Greece rejects the use of the name Macedonia or Republic of Macedonia | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $8 billion from EU (2000-06) | $123.7 million (1995) (1995) |
Economy - overview | Greece has a capitalist economy with the public sector accounting for about 40% of GDP and with per capita GDP 70% of the leading euro-zone economies. Tourism provides 15% of GDP. Immigrants make up nearly one-fifth of the work force, mainly in menial jobs. Greece is a major beneficiary of EU aid, equal to about 3.3% of annual GDP. The Greek economy grew by about 4.0% for the past two years, largely because of an investment boom and infrastructure upgrades for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. Despite strong growth, Greece has failed to meet the EU's Growth and Stability Pact budget deficit criteria of 3% of GDP since 2000; public debt, inflation, and unemployment are also above the eurozone average. Further restructuring of the economy will need to include privatizing of several state enterprises, undertaking pension and other reforms, and minimizing bureaucratic inefficiencies. | Small, landlocked, and mountainous, Lesotho's primary natural resource is water. Its economy is based on subsistence agriculture, livestock, remittances from miners employed in South Africa, and a rapidly growing apparel-assembly sector. The number of mineworkers has declined steadily over the past several years. A small manufacturing base depends largely on farm products that support the milling, canning, leather, and jute industries. Agricultural products are exported primarily to South Africa. Proceeds from membership in a common customs union with South Africa form the majority of government revenue. Although drought has decreased agricultural activity over the past few years, completion of a major hydropower facility in January 1998 now permits the sale of water to South Africa, generating royalties for Lesotho. The pace of privatization has increased in recent years. In December 1999, the government embarked on a nine-month IMF staff-monitored program aimed at structural adjustment and stabilization of macroeconomic fundamentals. The government is in the process of applying for a three-year successor program with the IMF under its Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility. Lesotho has a marked inequality in income distribution and serious unemployment/underemployment problems that will not yield to short-run solutions. |
Electricity - consumption | 47.42 billion kWh (2002) | 100 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 1.1 billion kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 4.6 billion kWh (2002) | 100 million kWh
note: electricity supplied by South Africa (2000) |
Electricity - production | 47.22 billion kWh (2002) | 0 kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Olympus 2,917 m |
lowest point: junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m
highest point: Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m |
Environment - current issues | air pollution; water pollution | population pressure forcing settlement in marginal areas results in overgrazing, severe soil erosion, and soil exhaustion; desertification; Highlands Water Project controls, stores, and redirects water to South Africa |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, 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 |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping |
Ethnic groups | Greek 98%, other 2%
note: the Greek Government states there are no ethnic divisions in Greece |
Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%, |
Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000) | maloti per US dollar - 11.58786 (January 2002), 8.60918 (2001), 6.93983 (2000), 6.10948 (1999), 5.52828 (1998), 4.60796 (1997); note - the Lesotho loti is at par with the South African rand which is also legal tender; maloti is the plural form of loti |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Karolos PAPOULIAS (since 12 March 2005)
head of government: Prime Minister Konstandinos KARAMANLIS (since 7 March 2004) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: president elected by parliament for a five-year term; election last held 8 February 2005 (next to be held by February 2010); according to the Greek Constitution, presidents may only serve two terms; president appoints leader of the party securing plurality of vote in election to become prime minister and form a government election results: Karolos PAPOULIAS elected president; number of parlimentary votes, 279 out of 300 |
chief of state: King LETSIE III (since 7 February 1996); note - King LETSIE III formerly occupied the throne from November 1990 to February 1995, while his father was in exile
head of government: Prime Minister Pakalitha MOSISILI (since 23 May 1998) cabinet: Cabinet elections: none; according to the constitution, the leader of the majority party in the Assembly automatically becomes prime minister; the monarch is hereditary, but, under the terms of the constitution which came into effect after the March 1993 election, the monarch is a "living symbol of national unity" with no executive or legislative powers; under traditional law the college of chiefs has the power to determine who is next in the line of succession, who shall serve as regent in the event that the successor is not of mature age, and may even depose the monarch |
Exports | 84,720 bbl/day (2001) | $250 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | food and beverages, manufactured goods, petroleum products, chemicals, textiles | manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals |
Exports - partners | Germany 13.2%, Italy 10.3%, UK 7.5%, Bulgaria 6.3%, US 5.3%, Cyprus 4.6%, Turkey 4.5%, France 4.2% (2004) | South African Customs Union 53.9%, North America 45.6% (1999) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | nine equal horizontal stripes of blue alternating with white; there is a blue square in the upper hoist-side corner bearing a white cross; the cross symbolizes Greek Orthodoxy, the established religion of the country | divided diagonally from the lower hoist side corner; the upper half is white, bearing the brown silhouette of a large shield with crossed spear and club; the lower half is a diagonal blue band with a green triangle in the corner |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $5.3 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 7%
industry: 22% services: 71% (2004 est.) |
agriculture: 18%
industry: 38% services: 44% (2001) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $21,300 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,450 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.7% (2004 est.) | 2.6% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 39 00 N, 22 00 E | 29 30 S, 28 30 E |
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 | landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level |
Heliports | 7 (2004 est.) | - |
Highways | total: 117,000 km
paved: 107,406 km (including 470 km of expressways) unpaved: 9,594 km (1999 est.) |
total: 4,955 km
paved: 887 km unpaved: 4,068 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 28.3% (1998 est.) |
lowest 10%: 1%
highest 10%: 43% (1986-87) |
Illicit drugs | a gateway to Europe for traffickers smuggling cannabis and heroin from the Middle East and Southwest Asia to the West and precursor chemicals to the East; some South American cocaine transits or is consumed in Greece; money laundering related to drug trafficking and organized crime | - |
Imports | 468,300 bbl/day (2001) | $720 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery, transport equipment, fuels, chemicals | food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products |
Imports - partners | Germany 13.3%, Italy 12.8%, France 6.4%, Netherlands 5.5%, Russia 5.5%, US 4.4%, UK 4.2%, South Korea 4.1% (2004) | South African Customs Union 89.5%, Asia 7% (1999) |
Independence | 1829 (from the Ottoman Empire) | 4 October 1966 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4.1% (2004 est.) | 15.5% (1999 est.) |
Industries | tourism; food and tobacco processing, textiles; chemicals, metal products; mining, petroleum | food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts; construction; tourism |
Infant mortality rate | total: 5.53 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 6.08 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.94 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
82.57 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.9% (2004 est.) | 6.9% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, EU, FAO, G- 6, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNOMIG, UPU, WCO, WEU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC | ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 14,220 sq km (1998 est.) | 10 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Judicial Court; Special Supreme Tribunal; all judges appointed for life by the president after consultation with a judicial council | High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court |
Labor force | 4.4 million (2004 est.) | 700,000 economically active |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 12%, industry 20%, services 68% (2004 est.) | 86% of resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture; roughly 35% of the active male wage earners work in South Africa |
Land boundaries | total: 1,228 km
border countries: Albania 282 km, Bulgaria 494 km, Turkey 206 km, Macedonia 246 km |
total: 909 km
border countries: South Africa 909 km |
Land use | arable land: 21.1%
permanent crops: 8.78% other: 70.12% (2001) |
arable land: 10.71%
permanent crops: 0% other: 89.29% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Greek 99% (official), English, French | Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa |
Legal system | based on codified Roman law; judiciary divided into civil, criminal, and administrative courts | based on English common law and Roman-Dutch law; judicial review of legislative acts in High Court and Court of Appeal; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral Parliament or Vouli ton Ellinon (300 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: elections last held 7 March 2004 (next to be held by March 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - ND 45.4%, PASOK 40.6%, KKE 5.9%, Synaspismos 3.3%; seats by party - ND 165, PASOK 117, KKE 12, Synaspismos 6 |
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (33 members - 22 principal chiefs and 11 other members appointed by the ruling party) and the Assembly (120 seats, 80 by direct popular vote and 40 by proportional vote; members elected by popular vote for five-year terms); note - number of seats in the Assembly rose from 80 to 120 in the May 2002 election
elections: last held 25 May 2002 (next to be held NA May 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - LCD 54%, BNP 21%, LPC 7%, other 18%; seats by party - LCD 76, BNP 21, LPC 5, other 18 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 79.09 years
male: 76.59 years female: 81.76 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 47 years
male: 46.3 years female: 47.8 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.5% male: 98.6% female: 96.5% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 83% male: 72% female: 93% (1999 est.) |
Location | Southern Europe, bordering the Aegean Sea, Ionian Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea, between Albania and Turkey | Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa |
Map references | Europe | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 861 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 30,186,624 GRT/52,943,968 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 296, cargo 65, chemical tanker 47, combination ore/oil 2, container 46, liquefied gas 2, passenger 13, passenger/cargo 121, petroleum tanker 252, roll on/roll off 17 foreign-owned: 25 (Chile 1, China 1, Cyprus 5, Norway 6, Sweden 1, United Kingdom 11) registered in other countries: 2,208 (2005) |
- |
Military - note | - | The Lesotho Government in 1999 began an open debate on the future structure, size, and role of the armed forces, especially considering the Lesotho Defense Force's (LDF) history of intervening in political affairs. |
Military branches | Hellenic Army, Hellenic Navy, Hellenic Air Force (Polemiki Aeroporia, EPA) | Lesotho Defense Force (LDF; including Army and Air Wing), Royal Lesotho Mounted Police |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $5.89 billion (2004) | $34 million (1999) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 4.3% (2003) | NA% |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 526,332 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 283,203 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 25 March (1821) | Independence Day, 4 October (1966) |
Nationality | noun: Greek(s)
adjective: Greek |
noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)
adjective: Basotho |
Natural hazards | severe earthquakes | periodic droughts |
Natural resources | lignite, petroleum, iron ore, bauxite, lead, zinc, nickel, magnesite, marble, salt, hydropower potential | water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals |
Net migration rate | 2.34 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | -0.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
People - note | women, men, and children are trafficked to and within Greece for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labor | - |
Pipelines | gas 1,166 km; oil 94 km (2004) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Coalition of the Left and Progress (Synaspismos) [Alekos ALAVANOS]; Communist Party of Greece or KKE [Aleka PAPARIGA]; New Democracy or ND (conservative) [Konstandinos KARAMANLIS]; Panhellenic Socialist Movement or PASOK [Yiorgos PAPANDREOU]; Popular Orthodox Rally [Yeoryios KARATZAFERIS] | Basotho Congress Party or BCP [Tseliso MAKHAKHE]; Basotho National Party or BNP [Maj. Gen. Justine Metsing LEKHANYA]; Lesotho Congress for Democracy or LCD [Phebe MOTEBANO, chairwoman; Pakalitha MOSISILI, leader] - the governing party; Lesotho People's Congress or LPC [Kelebone MAOPE]; United Democratic Party or UDP [Charles MOFELI]; Marematlou Freedom Party or MFP and Setlamo Alliance [Vincent MALEBO]; Progressive National Party or PNP [Chief Peete Nkoebe PEETE]; Sefate Democratic Party or SDP [Bofihla NKUEBE] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | General Confederation of Greek Workers or GSEE [Khristos POLYZOGOPOLOS]; Federation of Greek Industries or SEV [Odysseas KYRIAKOPOULOS]; Civil Servants Confederation or ADEDY [Spyros PAPASPYROS] | NA |
Population | 10,668,354 (July 2005 est.) | 2,207,954
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | 49% (1999 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.19% (2005 est.) | 1.33% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Agioitheodoroi, Aspropyrgos, Irakleion, Pachi, Peiraiefs, Thessaloniki | none |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 26, FM 88, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | - | NA (2002) |
Railways | total: 2,571 km (764 km electrified)
standard gauge: 1,565 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 961 km 1.000-m gauge; 22 km 0.750-m gauge dual gauge: 23 km combined 1.435-m and 1.000-m gauges (three rail system) (2004) |
total: 2.6 km; note - owned by, operated by, and included in the statistics of South Africa
narrow gauge: 2.6 km 1.067-m gauge (1995) |
Religions | Greek Orthodox 98%, Muslim 1.3%, other 0.7% | Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: adequate, modern networks reach all areas; good mobile telephone and international service
domestic: microwave radio relay trunk system; extensive open-wire connections; submarine cable to offshore islands international: country code - 30; tropospheric scatter; 8 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), 1 Eutelsat, and 1 Inmarsat (Indian Ocean region) |
general assessment: rudimentary system
domestic: consists of a few landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a minor radiotelephone communication system; a cellular mobile telephone system is growing international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 5,205,100 (2003) | 22,200 (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 8,936,200 (2003) | 21,600 (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 36 (plus 1,341 low-power repeaters); also two stations in the US Armed Forces Radio and Television Service (1995) | 1 (2000) |
Terrain | mostly mountains with ranges extending into the sea as peninsulas or chains of islands | mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains |
Total fertility rate | 1.33 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 4.01 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 10% (2004 est.) | 45% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | 6 km
note: Corinth Canal (6 km) crosses the Isthmus of Corinth; shortens sea voyage by 325 km (2004) |
none |