| |||||
| Capital (and largest city) |
Athens | ||||
| Language | Greek | ||||
| Prime Minister | Kostas Karamanlis | ||||
| President | Karolos Papoulias | ||||
| Area | 131,990 km2 km² | ||||
| Population | 11,216,708 | ||||
| Independence | 1832, current Republic 1972 | ||||
| Currency | Euro | ||||
Greece is a Mediterranean situated European nation. Although historically it has had many a coups and constant regime changes, its government has been relatively stable since the 70s.
It is the birth place of Western thought and philosophy. It is also the birth place of many theater forms such as tragedy and drama. Its economy is improving since it joined the European Union in 1981.
It also owns many small islands such as Rhodes and the Eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus.
Politics[]
The Parliament in Greece consists of 300 members.
The New Democracy Party has been in control of nation with a medium to slim majority since the 80s. It is a Liberal Conservative and Centrist party. The opposition is the Communist Party of Greece.
The Prime Minister exercises most executive power with the President's office being one of ceremonial actions. Greece elects a legislature by universal suffrage of all citizens over the age of 18. 288 of the 300 seats are determined by constituecy voting, and voters may select the candidate or candidates of their choice by marking their name on the party ballot. The remaining 12 seats are filled from nationwide party lists on a top-down basis and based on the proportion of the total vote each party received. Greece uses a complex reinforced proportional representation electoral system which discourages splinter parties and makes a parliamentary majority possible even if the leading party falls short of a majority of the popular vote. Under the current electoral law, any single party must receive at least a 3% nationwide vote tally in order to elect Members of Parliament (the so-called "3% threshold").
The last election was in 2007, with the 2007 Legislative Elections
Religion[]
97 percent of Greeks believe in a god ,life force, or spirit. This means Greece has one of the lowest rates of Atheism in Europe.
On the other hand, it has the highest rate of Neo-Paganism in Europe. Neo-Hellenicism (a renewed belief in old Greek gods) has gotten much press attention in Greece, despite being one of the smaller Neo-Pagan movements. Estimates put the percent of Greeks that are Neo-Pagans at 30 to 40 percent. This has caused major problems and tensions. Neo-Pagans in Greece have suffered greatly from discrimination from the dominating Greek Orthodox church. There have only been 4 parliament members who are openly Neo-Pagan in Greece. Proselytism, or attempting to convert people, is illegal according to Greek law.