Lesotho (2003) | Greece (2002) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
Administrative divisions | 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohales Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka | 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 |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 37.7% (male 353,554; female 349,092)
15-64 years: 56.8% (male 516,017; female 541,694) 65 years and over: 5.5% (male 41,735; female 59,867) (2003 est.) |
0-14 years: 14.8% (male 814,605; female 765,613)
15-64 years: 67.1% (male 3,579,945; female 3,564,068) 65 years and over: 18.1% (male 851,087; female 1,070,025) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock | wheat, corn, barley, sugar beets, olives, tomatoes, wine, tobacco, potatoes; beef, dairy products |
Airports | 28 (2002) | 79 (note - new Athens airport at Spata opened in March 2001) (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
total: 66
over 3,047 m: 6 2,438 to 3,047 m: 15 1,524 to 2,437 m: 19 914 to 1,523 m: 17 under 914 m: 9 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 24
914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 20 (2002) |
total: 13 14
914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 10 (2002) |
Area | total: 30,355 sq km
land: 30,355 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 131,940 sq km
land: 130,800 sq km water: 1,140 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | slightly smaller than Alabama |
Background | 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. In 1998, violent protests and a military mutiny following a contentious election prompted a brief but bloody South African military intervention. Constitutional reforms have since restored political stability; peaceful parliamentary elections were held in 2002. | 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 with Greek-speaking populations. Following the defeat of Communist rebels in 1949, Greece joined NATO in 1952. A military dictatorship, which in 1967 suspended many political liberties and forced the king to flee the country, lasted seven years. Democratic elections in 1974 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). |
Birth rate | 27.26 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 9.82 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $76 million
expenditures: $80 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million (FY 99/00 est.) |
revenues: $45 billion
expenditures: $47.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998 est.) |
Capital | Maseru | Athens |
Climate | temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers | temperate; mild, wet winters; hot, dry summers |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 13,676 km |
Constitution | 2 April 1993 | 11 June 1975; amended March 1986 and April 2001 |
Country name | conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho
conventional short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland |
conventional long form: Hellenic Republic
conventional short form: Greece local long form: Elliniki Dhimokratia local short form: Ellas or Ellada former: Kingdom of Greece |
Currency | loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR) | euro (EUR); drachma (GRD)
note: on 1 January 1999, the European Monetary Union introduced the euro as a common currency to be used by financial institutions of member countries; on 1 January 2002, the euro became the sole currency for everyday transactions within the member countries |
Death rate | 24.58 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 9.79 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $735 million (2002) | $63.4 billion (2002 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | 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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Thomas J. MILLER
embassy: 91 Vasilissis Sophias Avenue, 101 60 Athens mailing address: PSC 108, APO AE 09842-0108 telephone: [30] (210) 721-2951 FAX: [30] (210) 725-3025 consulate(s) general: Thessaloniki |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Molelekeng E. RAPOLAKI
chancery: 2511 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 797-5533 through 5536 FAX: [1] (202) 234-6815 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Yeoryious SAVVAIDES
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, and San Francisco consulate(s): Atlanta, Houston, and New Orleans |
Disputes - international | none | Greece and Turkey have resumed discussions to resolve their complex maritime, air, territorial, and boundary disputes in the Aegean Sea; Cyprus question with Turkey; dispute with The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia over its name |
Economic aid - donor | ODA $4.4 million | - |
Economic aid - recipient | $41.5 million (2000) | $5.4 billion from EU (1997 est.) |
Economy - overview | Small, landlocked, and mountainous, Lesotho relies on remittances from miners employed in South Africa and customs duties from the Southern Africa Customs Union for the majority of government revenue, but the government has strengthened its tax system to reduce dependency on customs duties. Completion of a major hydropower facility in January 1998 now permits the sale of water to South Africa, also generating royalties for Lesotho. As the number of mineworkers has declined steadily over the past several years, a small manufacturing base has developed based on farm products that support the milling, canning, leather, and jute industries and a rapidly growing apparel-assembly sector. The economy is still primarily based on subsistence agriculture, especially livestock, although drought has decreased agricultural activity. The extreme inequality in the distribution of income remains a major drawback. Lesotho has signed an Interim Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility with the IMF. | Greece has a mixed capitalist economy with the public sector accounting for about half of GDP and with per capita GDP 70% of the Big Four European 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 GDP. The economy has improved steadily over the last few years, as the government tightened policy in the run-up to Greece's entry into the EU's Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) on 1 January 2001. Major challenges remaining include the reduction of unemployment and further restructuring of the economy, including privatizing several state enterprises, undertaking social security reforms, overhauling the tax system, and minimizing bureaucratic inefficiencies. Economic growth is forecast at roughly 4% in 2003. |
Electricity - consumption | 40 million kWh (2001) | 46.099 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 1.74 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 40 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2001) | 1.729 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 0 kWh NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2001) | 49.581 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 92%
hydro: 7% nuclear: 0% other: 2% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m
highest point: Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m |
lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Olympus 2,917 m |
Environment - current issues | 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 | air pollution; water pollution |
Environment - international agreements | 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 |
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, 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, Antarctic Treaty, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
Ethnic groups | Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%, | Greek 98%, other 2%
note: the Greek Government states there are no ethnic divisions in Greece |
Exchange rates | maloti per US dollar - 10.54 (2002), 8.61 (2001), 6.94 (2000), 6.11 (1999), 5.53 (1998) | euros per US dollar - 1.1324 (January 2002), 1.1175 (2001); drachmae per US dollar - 380.21 (December 2000), 365.40 (2000), 305.65 (1999), 295.53 (1998), 273.06 (1997)
note: in January 2001, the drachma became a participating currency within the Eurosystem, and the euro market rate became applicable to all transactions |
Executive branch | 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 |
chief of state: President Konstandinos (Kostis) STEPHANOPOULOS (since 10 March 1995)
head of government: Prime Minister Konstandinos SIMITIS (since 19 January 1996) 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 2000 (next to be held by NA February 2005); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Konstandinos STEPHANOPOULOS reelected president; percent of Parliament vote - 90% |
Exports | NA (2001) | $12.6 billion f.o.b. (2002) |
Exports - commodities | manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (2000) | food and beverages, manufactured goods, petroleum products, chemicals, textiles |
Exports - partners | US 97.5%, Canada 0.9%, France 0.6% (2002) | EU 51.6% (Germany 15.9%, Italy 13.5%, UK 6.4%), US 5.7% (1999) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | 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 | 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 |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $5.106 billion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $201.1 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 20%
industry: 46% services: 34% (2001) |
agriculture: 9%
industry: 22% services: 70% (2000) (2000) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,700 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $19,000 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4% (2002 est.) | 3.5% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 29 30 S, 28 30 E | 39 00 N, 22 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level | strategic location dominating the Aegean Sea and southern approach to Turkish Straits; a peninsular country, possessing an archipelago of about 2,000 islands |
Heliports | - | 7 (2002) |
Highways | total: 5,940 km
paved: 1,087 km unpaved: 4,853 km (1999) |
total: 117,000 km
paved: 107,406 km (including 470 km of expressways) unpaved: 9,594 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 0.9%
highest 10%: 43.4% |
lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 25% (1993 est.) |
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 | NA (2001) | $31.4 billion f.o.b. (2002) |
Imports - commodities | food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products (2000) | machinery, transport equipment, fuels, chemicals |
Imports - partners | Hong Kong 51.9%, China 25%, France 3.9% (2002) | EU 66.2% (Italy 15.6%, Germany 15%, France 9.2%, Netherlands 6.4%) (1999) |
Independence | 4 October 1966 (from UK) | 1829 (from the Ottoman Empire) |
Industrial production growth rate | 15.5% (1999) | 7% (2000 est.) |
Industries | food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts; construction; tourism | tourism; food and tobacco processing, textiles; chemicals, metal products; mining, petroleum |
Infant mortality rate | total: 86.21 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 91.28 deaths/1,000 live births female: 80.99 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
6.25 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 10% (2002 est.) | 3.6% (2002) |
International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, C, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CCC, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EIB, EMU, EU, FAO, G- 6, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNOMIG, UPU, WEU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 27 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 10 sq km (1998 est.) | 14,220 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court | Supreme Judicial Court; Special Supreme Tribunal; all judges appointed for life by the president after consultation with a judicial council |
Labor force | 838,000 | 4.32 million (1999 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | 86% of resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture; roughly 35% of the active male wage earners work in South Africa | industry 21%, agriculture 20%, services 59% (2000 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 909 km
border countries: South Africa 909 km |
total: 1,228 km
border countries: Albania 282 km, Bulgaria 494 km, Turkey 206 km, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 246 km |
Land use | arable land: 10.71%
permanent crops: 0% other: 89.29% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 22.12%
permanent crops: 8.47% other: 69.41% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa | Greek 99% (official), English, French |
Legal system | 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 | based on codified Roman law; judiciary divided into civil, criminal, and administrative courts |
Legislative branch | 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 |
unicameral Parliament or Vouli ton Ellinon (300 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: elections last held 9 April 2000 (next to be held by NA April 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - PASOK 43.8%, ND 42.7%, KKE 5.5%, Coalition of the Left and Progress 3.2%; seats by party - PASOK 158, ND 125, KKE 11, Coalition of the Left and Progress 6; note - seats by party as of January 2002 - PASOK 156, ND 122, KKE 11, Coalition of the Left and Progress 6, independents 5 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 36.94 years
male: 36.76 years female: 37.13 years (2003 est.) |
total population: 78.74 years
male: 76.17 years female: 81.48 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 84.8% male: 74.5% female: 94.5% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97% male: 98.5% female: 96% (1999) |
Location | Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa | Southern Europe, bordering the Aegean Sea, Ionian Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea, between Albania and Turkey |
Map references | Africa | Europe |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
territorial sea: 6 NM |
Merchant marine | - | total: 802 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 27,998,523 GRT/49,458,125 DWT
ships by type: bulk 294, cargo 54, chemical tanker 25, combination bulk 7, combination ore/oil 5, container 45, liquefied gas 7, multi-functional large-load carrier 1, passenger 13, petroleum tanker 265, refrigerated cargo 3, roll on/roll off 23, short-sea passenger 54, specialized tanker 4, vehicle carrier 2 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Ireland 1, Japan 1, Liberia 1, Norway 1, Panama 2, Russia 1, Saudi Arabia 1, United Kingdom 1 (2002 est.) |
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 | Lesotho Defense Force (LDF; including Army and Air Wing), Royal Lesotho Mounted Police | Hellenic Army, Hellenic Navy, Hellenic Air Force, Police, National Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $34 million (1999) | $6.12 billion (FY99/00 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 4.91% (FY99/00 est.) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 459,723 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49: 2,668,872 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 250,560 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49: 2,034,192 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 21 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 77,976 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 4 October (1966) | Independence Day, 25 March (1821) |
Nationality | noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)
adjective: Basotho |
noun: Greek(s)
adjective: Greek |
Natural hazards | periodic droughts | severe earthquakes |
Natural resources | water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals | bauxite, lignite, magnesite, petroleum, marble, hydropower potential |
Net migration rate | -0.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 1.96 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 26 km; petroleum products 547 km |
Political parties and leaders | 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] | Coalition of the Left and Progress (Synaspismos) [Nikolaos KONSTANDOPOULOS]; Communist Party of Greece or KKE [Aleka PAPARIGA]; New Democracy or ND (conservative) [Konstandinos KARAMANLIS]; Panhellenic Socialist Movement or PASOK [Konstandinos SIMITIS] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 1,861,959
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 2003 est.) |
10,645,343 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 49% (1999) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.19% (2003 est.) | 0.2% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | Alexandroupolis, Elefsis, Irakleion (Crete), Kavala, Kerkyra, Chalkis, Igoumenitsa, Lavrion, Patrai, Peiraiefs (Piraeus), Thessaloniki, Volos |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 26, FM 88, shortwave 4 (1998) |
Radios | - | 5.02 million (1997) |
Railways | 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) |
total: 2,571 km
standard gauge: 1,565 km 1.435-m gauge (36 km electrified) narrow gauge: 961 km 1.000-m gauge; 22 km 0.750-m gauge (a rack-type railway for steep grades) dual gauge: 23 km combined 1.435-m and 1.000-m gauges (three rail system) (2001 est.) |
Religions | Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20% | Greek Orthodox 98%, Muslim 1.3%, other 0.7% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
Telephone system | 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) |
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: 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) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 22,200 (2000) | 5.431 million (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 21,600 (2000) | 937,700 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2000) | 36 (plus 1,341 low-power repeaters); also two stations in the US Armed Forces Radio and Television Service (1995) |
Terrain | mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains | mostly mountains with ranges extending into the sea as peninsulas or chains of islands |
Total fertility rate | 3.52 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 1.34 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 45% (2002) | 10.3% (2002 est.) |
Waterways | none | 80 km
note: system consists of three coastal canals including the Corinth Canal (6 km) which crosses the Isthmus of Corinth connecting the Gulf of Corinth with the Saronic Gulf and shortens the sea voyage from the Adriatic to Peiraiefs (Piraeus) by 325 km; there are also three unconnected rivers |