Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea, between Albania
and Turkey

Flag
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Description: nine equal horizontal stripes of blue alternating
with white; there is a blue square in the upper hoist-side corner
bearing a white cross; the cross symbolizes Greek Orthodoxy, the
established religion of the country

Geography
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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 area: 131,940 sq km
land area: 130,800 sq km
comparative area: slightly smaller than Alabama

Land boundaries:
total: 1,210 km
border countries: Albania 282 km, Bulgaria 494 km, Turkey 206 km,
The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 228 km

Coastline: 13,676 km

Maritime claims:
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
territorial sea: 6 nm

International disputes: complex maritime, air, and territorial
disputes with Turkey in Aegean Sea; Cyprus question; dispute with
The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia over name; border
demarcation with Albania, the treatment of Albania's ethnic Greek
minority, and migrant Albanian workers in Greece remain unresolved
issues

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

Terrain: mostly mountains with ranges extending into sea as
peninsulas or chains of islands
lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Olympus 2,917 m

Natural resources: bauxite, lignite, magnesite, petroleum, marble

Land use:
arable land: 23%
permanent crops: 8%
meadows and pastures: 40%
forest and woodland: 20%
other: 9%

Irrigated land: 11,900 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
current issues: air pollution; water pollution
natural hazards: severe earthquakes
international agreements: party to - Air Pollution,
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity,
Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification,
Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban,
Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83,
Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides,
Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds,
Desertification

Geographic note: strategic location dominating the Aegean Sea and
southern approach to Turkish Straits; a peninsula