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 ]
lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Olympus 2,917
note: Mount Olympus actually has 52 peaks but its highest point, Mytikas (meaning "nose"), rises to 2,917 meters; in Greek mythology, Olympus' Mytikas peak was the home of the Greek gods

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

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

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