taytrum travels

In this post I summarize 41 interesting facts about Greece. These facts cover wildlife, history, politics, language, and more.

Many of these are interesting facts about Greece for kids, as well as cool facts about ancient Greece.

1. Ancient Greece is considered by many as the birthplace of democracy, with the city-state of Athens pioneering the concept around the 5th century BCE.

2. The modern nation state of Greece was established in 1830 follow a war of independence.

3. The first-ever Olympic Games were held in Olympia, Greece, in 776 BCE. They were dedicated to the god Zeus.

4. Greece’s top export is refined petroleum.

5. Greek is one of the oldest written languages still in use today, with over 3,000 years of history.

6. There is relatively little language diversity in Greece with the overwhelming majority of resident speak Greek. There are however dialectic variations in some regions.

7. The most common minority languages are Turkish, Romani, and Bulgarian.

8. Greece has been cultivating olive trees for over 3,000 years. It’s one of the largest producers of olives and olive oil in the world, with the Kalamata olive being especially famous.

9. Between 2015 and 2023, Greece has received approximately 1.2 million refugees and migrants. As of 2023, there are an estimated 120,000 refugees and asylum seekers residing in Greece, either in camps or urban areas.

10. There are over 250,000 Romani people living in Greece (~2.5% of the population).

11. The Greek Debt Crisis began in 2009 and lasted for about a decade, severely affecting Greece’s economy and leading to significant political and social upheaval. Greece officially exited its bailout programs in 2018, after nearly a decade of crisis. However, the economy has contracted and unemployment remained high.

12. Greece joined the European Union (EU) on January 1, 1981. It became the 10th member of the EU, which was then known as the European Economic Community (EEC).

13. In 2001, Greece adopted the euro as its official currency, joining the Eurozone. The currency before was the Drachma.

14. Mykonos is nicknamed “The Island of the Winds” due to its frequent and strong winds, particularly during summer. Wind sports are quite popular.

15. The windmills of Mykonos, especially the ones in Chora (the main town), are important landmarks and were historically used to grind grain. They were recently restored.

16. According to Greek mythology, Mykonos was named after Mykons, the grandson of Apollo. The island was also said to be the battleground between Zeus and the Titans.

17. A pelican named Petros became the official mascot of Mykonos after he was found injured by a fisherman and nursed back to health in the late 1950s. He was a town staple until he was hit by a car and died.

18. The Schengen Agreement was originally signed in 1985 by five European countries: Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. Greece joined the Schengen Area later, on January 1, 2000.

19. The largest share of the Greek diaspora lives in the United States.

20. Greece has roughly 6,000 islands. Only 227 are inhabited.

21. The longest coastline in the Mediterranean and the 11th longest coastline in the world is in Greece, coming in at 8,498 miles (13,676 km) in length.

22. The largest cities in Greece are Athens, Thessaloniki, Patras, Piraeus, and Heraklion in that order.

23. The population of Athens is roughly 650,000 people. That’s about equal to the population of Vermont, the second smallest U.S. state by population.

24. Greece is about square 50,949 miles. That’s about the size of Louisiana.

25. Italy, Bulgaria, and Germany are the top three places Greece exports to according to data from 2023.

26. Greek wines are becoming more popular in the global market with increases to its overall export percentage. France and the United States are notable places where demand for Greek wine is growing.

27. The majority of Greece’s olive oil is made in the Peloponnese and on Crete.

28. The largest land mammal (besides humans) in Greece is the brown bear. There are a few hundred in the country living primarily in the Pindus Mountains.

29. The only variety of ibex in Europe is found in Greece: the Cretan wild goat called an agrimi or kri-kri.

30. There are four types of dolphins in Greece: the striped dolphin, the bottlenose dolphin, the common dolphin, and the Risso’s dolphin.

31. Greece has a parliamentary system of government lead by a prime minister.

33. Greece is usually characterized by a two-party system.

34. The parliament has a 3% threshold to hold a seat.

35. The most popular political parties are New Democracy, Coalition of the Radical Left, and the Panhellenic Socialist Movement.

36. In 2015, a neo-Nazi populist party, Golden Dawn, became the third most popular party in Greece.

37. Greece played a major role in the Balkan Wars in the early 1900s. In these wars, Greece, along with Serbia, Montenegro, and Bulgaria, fought the Ottoman Empire. As a result, Greece gained significant territories, including Thessaloniki, Epirus, and parts of Macedonia.

38. After World War II, Greece experienced a civil war from 1946-1949 between government forces (backed by the UK and the US) and communist guerrillas. The war was a Cold War flashpoint and had social and political consequences, leading to increased US influence in Greece under the Truman Doctrine.

39. From 1967 to 1974, Greece was ruled by a military dictatorship known as the “Regime of the Colonels.” This era was characterized by a great deal of censorship and repression.

40. Democracy was restored under Konstantinos Karamanlis and with the establishment of the Third Hellenic Republic 1974.

41. In 1974, the Greek people decisively voted to abolish the monarchy, establishing Greece as a parliamentary republic.

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