Country · Europe
Greece
Hellenic Republic
Greece is a country in Southern Europe. About 10.7 million people live there, in an area of 131 990 square kilometres. Its capital city is Athens.
Picture credit: George E. Koronaios (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Jebulon (CC0) · Jebulon (CC0) · Thomas Wolf (CC BY-SA 3.0 de) · A.Savin (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Greece?
Greece lies in Southern Europe, on the continent of Europe.
It sits in the northern half of the world, roughly 4 341 km from the equator.
Its coastline is about 13 676 km long.
It shares a border with 4 countries: Albania, Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Türkiye.
How big is Greece?
Greece covers 131 990 square kilometres.
That is about 3.2 times the size of Switzerland.
Among the world's countries that makes it the 95th largest.
If everybody spread out evenly, there would be about 81.3 people on every square kilometre.
That is close to the world average of roughly 60 people per square kilometre.
Who lives in Greece?
About 10.7 million people live in Greece.
That is the 84th biggest population in the world.
People here speak Greek.
They pay with the Euro (€).
On average, people born here can expect to live about 78 years.
The land of Greece
The land of Greece sits on average 498 metres above sea level.
Its coast runs for about 13 676 km. Walking it end to end, at twenty kilometres a day, would take roughly 684 days.
It lies between the tropics and the poles, which is the single biggest reason its weather is the way it is.
What makes Greece different?
Dishes the country is known for: Fasolada, Moussaka and Souvlaki.
Websites from here often end in .gr.
Greece and the rest of the world
Out of every thousand people alive on Earth, about one lives in Greece.
It takes up about 0.1 % of all the land that countries stand on.
Within Europe the country ranks 14th of 45 by size, and 12th by population.
Greece and its neighbours
Türkiye, its largest neighbour, is about 5.9 times bigger.
Türkiye has more people: 82.3 million against 10.7 million.
Nature and animals
Of the animals on this site, 11 live wild in Greece: Great white pelican, European mole, Fire salamander, Praying mantis, Sea urchin, European tree frog and more. The highest mountain in the country is Mount Olympus, at 2 918 metres. The longest river in the country is the Aliakmonas. The largest lake in the country is Lake Trichonida.
Great white pelican
European mole
Fire salamander
Praying mantis
Sea urchin
European tree frog
Griffon vulture
Rock dove
Common stingray
Common cuttlefish
Common nightingale
Photographs from Wikimedia Commons under free licences — every credit is on the page itself and in the picture credits.
Where this country lands in the record lists
How big is Greece compared with the United States?
- The United States is about 71 times as big as Greece: 9 372 610 km² against 131 990 km². See both on one map
- The United Kingdom is about 1.8 times as big as Greece: 242 900 km² against 131 990 km².
Questions children ask
What is the capital of Greece?
The capital of Greece is Athens. It is the city where the country's government works from.
How many people live in Greece?
About 10.7 million people live in Greece, which makes it the 84th most populated country in the world. (Source: World Bank, 2018.)
Which countries border Greece?
Greece borders Albania, Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Türkiye — 4 neighbours in total.
How big is Greece?
Greece covers 131 990 square kilometres, making it the 95th largest country in the world. That is about 3.2 times the size of Switzerland.
What is the highest mountain in Greece?
The highest mountain in Greece is Mount Olympus, 2 918 metres above sea level. It is the country's highest point.
What is the longest river in Greece?
The longest river in Greece is the Aliakmonas, about 297 kilometres long.
What is the largest lake in Greece?
The largest lake in Greece is Lake Trichonida. It covers about 99 km².
Which continent is Greece in?
Greece is in Europe, in the part called Southern Europe.
Where these numbers come from
Borders and outlines: Natural Earth. Names, capitals, areas, languages and currencies: ISO 3166 data (world-countries). Population: World Bank, 2018. Every derived figure on this page (ranks, density, distance from the equator) is calculated from those values.
Last checked: · How these pages are made