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: 131,957 sq km
[see also: Area - total country ranks ]
land: 130,647 sq km
[see also: Area - land country ranks ]
water: 1,310 sq km
[see also: Area - water country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 98

Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Alabama
Area comparison map: slightly smaller than Alabama

Land boundaries:
total: 1,110 km
[see also: Land boundaries - total country ranks ]
border countries (4): Albania 212 km, Bulgaria 472 km, Macedonia 234 km, Turkey 192 km

Coastline:
13,676 km
[see also: Coastline country ranks ]

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
[see also: Maritime claims - territorial sea country ranks ]
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
[see also: Maritime claims - continental shelf country ranks ]

Climate:
temperate; mild, wet winters; hot, dry summers
More Climate Details

Terrain:
mountainous with ranges extending into the sea as peninsulas or chains of islands

Elevation:
mean elevation: 498 m
[see also: Elevation - mean elevation country ranks ]
elevation extremes: lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m highest point: Mount Olympus 2,917 m

Natural resources:
lignite, petroleum, iron ore, bauxite, lead, zinc, nickel, magnesite, marble, salt, hydropower potential

Land use:
agricultural land: 63.4% arable land 19.7%; permanent crops 8.9%; permanent pasture 34.8%
[see also: Land use - agricultural land country ranks ]
forest: 30.5%
[see also: Land use - forest country ranks ]
other: 6.1% (2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - other country ranks ]

Irrigated land:
15,550 sq km (2012)
[see also: Irrigated land country ranks ]

Population - distribution:
one-third of the population lives in and around metropolitan Athens; the remainder of the country has moderate population density mixed with sizeable urban clusters

Natural hazards:
severe earthquakes
volcanism: Santorini (367 m) has been deemed a Decade Volcano by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior, worthy of study due to its explosive history and close proximity to human populations; although there have been very few eruptions in recent centuries, Methana and Nisyros in the Aegean are classified as historically active

Environment - current issues:
air pollution; water pollution

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

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