Greece

Greece Country Profile

Greece sits in southern Europe, bordering the Aegean Sea, Ionian Sea and Mediterranean Sea. It shares land borders with Albania, Bulgaria and North Macedonia and Turkey, and covers an area of 131,957 sq. km. With a population of 10.5 million, the official language is Greek.

Geography & Wildlife

The climate of Greece is primarily Mediterranean, with mild, wet winters; and hot, dry summers. 80% of Greece consists of mountains or hill, with mountainous ranges extending into the sea as peninsulas or chains of islands.

Rare marine species such as pinniped seals and loggerhead sea turtles live in the seas surrounding mainland Greece, while its dense inland forests are home to the endangered brown bear, Eurasian lynx, roe deer and wild goats.

Main Conservation Challenges

Air pollution; air emissions from transport and electricity power stations; water pollution; degradation of coastal zones; loss of biodiversity in terrestrial and marine ecosystems; increasing municipal and industrial waste.