Location:
Southern Europe, bordering the Aegean Sea, Ionian Sea, and the
Mediterranean Sea, between Albania and Turkey
Geographic coordinates:
39 00 N, 22 00 E
Map references:
Europe
Area:
total: 131,940 sq km
water: 1,140 sq km
land: 130,800 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Alabama
Land boundaries:
total: 1,228 km
border countries: Albania 282 km, Bulgaria 494 km, Turkey 206 km,
The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 246 km
Coastline:
13,676 km
Maritime claims:
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
territorial sea: 6 NM
Climate:
temperate; mild, wet winters; hot, dry summers
Terrain:
mostly mountains with ranges extending into the sea as peninsulas
or chains of islands
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Olympus 2,917 m
Natural resources:
bauxite, lignite, magnesite, petroleum, marble, hydropower potential
Land use:
arable land: 22.12%
permanent crops: 8.47%
other: 69.41% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land:
14,220 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards:
severe earthquakes
Environment - current issues:
air pollution; water pollution
Environment - international agreements:
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
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