Greece Tourism

Greece is a country in Southeastern Europe that is located on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula. It is known to be the birthplace of democracy, western philosophy, Olympic Games, Western literature, and Western drama that includes both comedy and tragedy.


The prevailing religion of Greece as recognized by the constitution of Greece is the Greek Orthodox. Nevertheless, the country guarantees freedom of religious belief for all its citizens. Ninety-seven percent of the Greek citizens are identified as Greek Orthodox. Majority of these people celebrate the main religious feasts, especially the Greek Orthodox Easter called the Pascha. The government of Greece does not keep record on religious groups and religious affiliations do not take part in the censuses.

The education in Greece is free and is required for children aged between five and fifteen. The study of the English language is enforced from the third grade through high school. The university education, with the inclusion of books is free and is dependent on a student’s capacity to meet entrance requisites.

There is a high percentage of the population of students that search for higher education. Students registered at Greek universities count to more than one-hundred thousand and fifteen percent of this population holds a university degree. The state-administered examinations determine the admission of a student in a university. One out of four candidates is admitted to Greek universities. The admission depends on the student’s average from high school and his choice of major.

There is no official recognition made under the Greek law to graduates of private universities that have operations the country. The exception is when a student graduated from a degree that is valid in another European country.

Greek is the official language of Greece. Aside from this, minority languages and Greek dialects are spoken in the country. The only official language of the Hellenic Republic is the Standard Greek. It is spoken by ninety-nine percent of the population. The used standard is the Modern Greek, but there are several non-official languages spoken by the citizens of the country. Cretan Greek is the dialect spoken by more than half a million people that live on the island of Crete. These people speak Greek Diaspora as well. The Pontic Greeks have their own dialect and this dialect is spoken by 200,000 people in Greece. The Tsakonian dialect is spoken by people located in the Tsakonia region of Peloponesse. It is divided in three sub-dialects – Northern, Southern, and the Propontis. It is used by only 1,200 people.

The minority languages that are used by the locals of Greece are the Albanian, Arvanatika, Cham, Aromanian, Slavic, Bulgarian, Armenian, Romani, Turkish, and Ladino.

The biggest electric power company in the country is the Public Power Corporation of Greece (PPC SA). The company owns and operates thirty-four thermal and hydroelectric power plants, three aeolic parks of the power grid situated in the mainland. It also has sixty power plants sited on Crete, Rhodes and other Greek islands. The installed capacity of PPC's ninety-seven power plants is more than twelve thousand Megawatts.