Greece
Europe ยท Capital: Athens
How it is run: Greece is a member of the United Nations, so it gets one vote in the General Assembly. Use the research links below to find out exactly who makes the laws there.
Greece is home to 10.4 million people in Southern Europe, where people speak Greek.
Numbers that tell a story ๐ข
๐ฅ People
10.4 million people
That is 0.1% of everybody alive (counted in 2025).
๐บ๏ธ Land
131,990 kmยฒ
Roughly the size of Italy or the state of Arizona.
๐๏ธ How crowded
About 79 people per square kilometre โ a comfortable mix of cities and open land.
๐ Size in its region
15th most people in Europe
14th largest by land in Europe.
๐ฃ๏ธ Official languages
Greek
๐ฐ Money
Euro (โฌ)
Life here today ๐ฉบ
These come from World Bank open data โ the same numbers governments use when they argue about budgets.
โค๏ธ How long people live
81.8 years on average
One of the healthier countries โ good hospitals and clean water make a big difference.
๐ผ Money made per person each year
about US$26,948
An upper-middle-income country: growing cities, and more families joining the middle class.
๐ข Living in cities
79.2% of people
Mostly a city country โ think buses, trains and apartment blocks.
๐ Kids under 15
12.9% of the population
An older country โ there are more grandparents than schoolchildren.
Everyday details ๐งญ
๐ Phone code
+30
Dial this before the number to call from another country.
๐ Websites end in
.gr
๐ง People here are called
Greek
๐ท๏ธ Name at home
ฮฮปฮปฮฌฮดฮฑ
Also written: Ellรกda, Hellenic Republic, ฮฮปฮปฮทฮฝฮนฮบฮฎ ฮฮทฮผฮฟฮบฯฮฑฯฮฏฮฑ.
๐ Coast or inland
Has a coastline
๐๏ธ UN voting group
Western European and Others Group
Countries in the same group often plan votes together.
Neighbours & borders ๐ค
Greece touches 4 neighbours by land. Neighbours share rivers, roads and usually a lot of trade.
Say its name around the world ๐ฃ๏ธ
Countries have different names in different languages. Try these with a penpal.
Spanish
Grecia
French
Grรจce
Arabic
ุงููููุงู
Chinese
ๅธ่
Japanese
ใฎใชใทใฃ
Russian
ะัะตัะธั
Portuguese
Grรฉcia
German
Griechenland
Put it in perspective ๐
- Russia โ the most populated country in Europe โ has about 13.8ร as many people as Greece.
- Greece covers roughly 1,257 times the area of Hong Kong Island.
- If everyone in Greece lined up shoulder to shoulder, the line would stretch about 5,207 km.
Flags through time ๐
A flag is a country telling you what it believes. Scroll the timeline and watch Greece change.
Independence flag
Nine stripes for the nine syllables of 'Freedom or Death'.
Modern Greece
Blue and white for the sea and the waves around the islands.
Fast facts ๐ง
Fact of the day: Greece is a full member of the United Nations, so it gets one vote in the General Assembly โ the same as every other member, big or small.
๐ท๏ธ Official name
Hellenic Republic
๐๏ธ Capital
Athens
๐ Region
Europe ยท Southern Europe
๐ค Country code
GR
๐๏ธ UN status
UN member state
๐ฉ Independence
Independent country
More about Greece ๐
The Acropolis
The Parthenon on this hill was finished in 438 BCE as a temple to Athena. Its columns bulge slightly in the middle so they look straight to your eye.
See it in Street View๐งญ Where on the map
39.0ยฐ N, 22.0ยฐ E
๐ Half of the world
Northern & Eastern hemisphere
๐ฐ๏ธ Clock check
Roughly UTC+1 โ when it is noon in London it is about 13:00 in Athens.
- The capital of Greece is Athens โ that's where the country's big decisions get made.
- Greece is close to the line of 0ยฐ longitude, so its clocks are near the world's reference time (UTC).
- Greece is a full member of the United Nations, so it gets one vote in the General Assembly โ the same as every other member, big or small.
- Greece sits in Southern Europe, in the northern and eastern half of the globe.
- Greece sits in the temperate zone, the belt where most of the world's farms and big cities are.
Countries nearby ๐ค
Talk about it ๐ฌ
- Greece has 1 official language. How would your school day change if lessons were taught in more than one language?
- Greece can trade by sea. What should a country protect first: its ports, its fishing waters, or its beaches?
- If Greece spoke at the General Assembly tomorrow, what one problem should its delegate ask the world to help fix?
Quick quiz ๐งช
Guess first, then tap to check your answer.
What is the capital of Greece?
Athens
Which money do people spend in Greece?
Euro (โฌ)
How many countries share a land border with Greece?
4 โ Albania, Bulgaria, Tรผrkiye, North Macedonia.
Roughly how many people live in Greece?
10.4 million people
Keep researching ๐
Everything here is a starting point. These trusted sites, databases and libraries will take you further โ and they are the kind of sources a teacher will accept in a report.
Start here โ kid-friendly encyclopedias ๐
Short articles written for students, with maps and photos you can use in a report.
Official data & government sources ๐๏ธ
Primary sources. Cite these when your teacher asks for real data.
News & current policy ๐ฐ
Use two different outlets before you decide what you think.
Your library card ๐ซ
Libraries give you books, databases and librarians โ all free.
Library tip: Ask your school or public librarian for their online databases (like Gale in Context or EBSCO Explora). Your library card unlocks them for free at home, and they are already checked by adults for school use.