Introduction to Greece

Located in the southern Balkans of southern Europe. It is adjacent to the Aegean Sea in the east, the Ionian Sea in the Ionian Sea in the west, the Mediterranean Sea in the south, and the land borders Albania, Albania, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria and Turkey. Area 13 19000 square kilometers. The territory consists of the mainland, the peninsula and more than 400 islands, of which the island area is 25,000 square kilometers. The main islands are Crete, Crete (the largest island in Greece), and Spartacus North, Spartacus South, cyclades and ionian islands. The total length of coastline is 6.5438+0.5 million kilometers, with many twists and turns. The population is 9.896 million (1984). The whole country is divided into 10 districts. The capital Athens.

natural environment

Three quarters of the territory is mountainous. Pindus Mountain runs through the west, extending more than 270 kilometers from north to south and 46-60 kilometers wide. It is a young folded mountain range, which constitutes the topographic skeleton of the country. Lodobi Mountains, located on the border between Bulgaria and the northeast of Greece, is an ancient block with broad and gentle mountains. Thessaly Basin, located in the east of Pindus, is the largest inland intermountain basin in China. There are towering mountains in the northeast of the basin, among which Mount Olympus is 2917m above sea level, which is the highest peak in China. The plain is distributed in coastal areas, narrow and scattered. Mainly in the Aegean coast, with developed economy and concentrated population. Rivers are fast and short, shipping benefits are not great, and hydropower resources are abundant (hydropower accounts for the vast majority of the country's total power generation). There are mainly Helos River, Niesto River and Valdar River. Except for the high mountains, the whole area has a Mediterranean climate, with warm and rainy winters and hot and dry summers. 1October 5 to 1 1℃, July 25 to 27℃, and the average temperature from north to south is 65438+. The annual precipitation is influenced by Pindus Mountain, which is 900- 1 200mm in the west and 400-700mm in the east.

Mineral resources include lignite, bauxite, nickel, iron, chromium, magnesium and copper. Among them, the proven reserves of bauxite are 65.438 billion tons and lignite is 2.7 billion tons. 1978, a large number of uranium mines were discovered near Zlama in the north, and then deep-sea oil fields were discovered near Sasos Island in the northern Aegean Sea.

A brief history of residents and development

95% of the residents are Greeks, and the rest are Macedonians, Turks and Albanians. Greek is the national language. The Greek Orthodox Church is the state religion. The natural population growth rate of 1982 is 7. The average population density in China is 75 people per square kilometer, and the distribution is very uneven. Athens and Thessaloniki alone account for 36.4% of the national population.

It has a long history and is the world-famous birthplace of Aegean culture. As early as 12 BC, there was a written history. City-states (slave-slave countries) appeared before the 8th century. Before the 5th century, economy and culture were highly developed. Ancient Greek architecture, literature, art and philosophy have made important contributions to mankind. After 0/46 BC, it was occupied by Roman Empire, Byzantine Empire and Turkey. An autonomous principality was established in 1829. 1830 declared independence and established the kingdom of Greece. It was occupied by fascist Germany during World War II. Under the leadership of the "National Liberation Front", the Greek people rose up against Japan, and on June 1944+ 10/5, the whole country was liberated and its independence was restored. 1in April, 967, the king was deposed and ruled militarily. 1973, the Greek Republic was founded.

economic geography

Originally an agricultural country. After the 1960s, industry developed rapidly. Since 1970s, industrial output has begun to surpass agriculture. 1983 industrial output value accounts for 26% of the gross national product, and agricultural output value accounts for 15.6%. The tertiary industry developed rapidly, accounting for 58.4% of the gross national product of that year. Light industry such as textiles, food and tobacco processing was once the main industrial sector, while heavy industry was weak. Since the 1960s, heavy chemical industries such as steel, shipbuilding, mining, oil refining, aluminum smelting, fertilizer and cement have developed rapidly. 1982 lignite production is 22 million tons; 198 1 annual output of aluminum 147600 tons, which is one of the major aluminum producing countries in Europe. The annual output of cement is 654.38+326,000 tons. At present, the output value of light and heavy industries each accounts for half of the total industrial output value. The scale of enterprises is mainly small and medium. In the manufacturing industry, enterprises with less than 10 account for 95% of all enterprises. Industrial distribution is extremely concentrated. Athens is the largest industrial center in China, with its industrial output value accounting for 2/3 of the total industrial output value and the number of factories accounting for half of the country. Thessaloniki is the second largest industrial center.

Agriculture still occupies an important position in the economy. Agriculture accounts for about 37% of the country's employed population, and the export of agricultural products accounts for 36% of the country's total export value. Small and medium-sized farms are the main production units of agriculture, and the average land area of each farm is only 3.5 hectares. Planting is the main component of agriculture, accounting for 2/3 of the total agricultural output value, and animal husbandry accounts for 1/3. 1979, there were 3.92 million hectares of cultivated land and perennial crops in China, including cultivated land1530,000 hectares. The main crops are wheat, barley, corn and rice. Wheat is the staple food of Greek residents, and its planting area accounts for 63% of the total grain area. The output of 1982 is 29 10000 tons, accounting for 56% of the total grain output. Food cannot be self-sufficient. Economic and horticultural crops mainly include beet, tobacco, cotton, olives, grapes, citrus and vegetables. 1980 beet planting area of 34,000 hectares, annual output of raw sugar198,000 tons, self-sufficient. The tobacco planting area is 3 000 hectares, and the annual output of tobacco leaves is 654.38 0.982 tons. Its export value accounts for about 40% of the total export value of agricultural products. 1980 The annual output of olive oil was 28 1 10,000 tons, ranking third in Europe after Italy and Spain in terms of output and export. Cotton planting area139,000 hectares 198 1 lint production110.7 million tons, making it the second cotton-producing country in Europe. Tomatoes are the main vegetables, covering an area of nearly 40,000 hectares, with an annual output of 6.5438+0.67 million tons, accounting for 46% of the total output of vegetables, fruits and vegetables, 60% of which are processed into cans for export. Citrus, lemon and grape are widely planted, mainly in the Peloponnesus, Crete and Macedonia. China has 5.255 million hectares of long-term grassland, accounting for 40% of the country's land area. Animal husbandry mainly focuses on raising cattle and sheep. 1980, large livestock14.47 million, sheep124.65 million. The pig industry has developed rapidly. In the early 1970s, the number of live pigs was 4 10/0,000, and now it has reached10,2000. Due to the shortage of feed, the development of poultry industry is slow. The fishing industry is dominated by offshore fishing, with an annual catch of198106,000 tons, of which more than two thirds are caught in the Mediterranean, and sponges are the only seafood exported.

Shipping, tourism and remittance are important economic pillars of Greece, and they are also the main sources to make up for the foreign trade deficit. Maritime trade in ancient Greece was quite developed. After World War II, the fleet expanded rapidly and the shipping industry developed, especially the ocean shipping industry. 1979 There are 4,056 merchant ships (including oil tankers) with a total tonnage of 38.3 million tons. In addition, there are more than 5050 foreign registered ships 1000, with a gross tonnage of17.2 million tons, ranking first in the world with a gross tonnage of 55.5 million tons. The shipping industry earns a lot of foreign exchange every year, averaging about $65.438+0 billion in the 1960s and $2.2 billion in the 1960s and 1990s. Among the employed population in China, about110 depends on the shipping industry for a living. Piraeus, the outer port of Athens, is a national shipping center with 685 merchant shipping companies, earning almost half of the country's foreign exchange every year. Rich in tourism resources. The pleasant climate, charming seashore, especially splendid cultural relics are very attractive to tourists. The Parthenon, built in the Acropolis more than 2,000 years ago, combines ancient Greek architecture, culture and art with its architectural art and fairy-tale relief. Minoan maze, built on the island of Crete in19th century BC, is a concentrated representative of Crete culture. Although the palace has been destroyed twice by the earthquake, it still retains cultural relics such as lithographs, metalwork and pottery (exhibited in the local museum). Since 1970s, the tourism industry in Greece has developed rapidly, with more than 2.73 million tourists visiting 1972 and 5.46 million visitors visiting 1982. During the same period, tourism revenue increased from $390 million to $6543.8+$535 million. The foreign exchange income of tourism is second only to shipping. In addition, labor export accounts for about 1/4 of the national labor force, and it is one of the major labor migration countries in Europe, mainly flowing to the Federal Republic of Germany, Switzerland, France, the United States, Australia and other countries.

The total length of the national railways is 2,479 kilometers, and some railways have a strategic position in international transportation. The railways from Thessaloniki along the Stremont Valley to Bulgaria, from the Vardal Valley to Yugoslavia, and from Alexandria along the Maricha River Valley in the northwest to Bulgaria are all shortcuts for eastern and southern European countries to go south to the Mediterranean. The railway from Thessaloniki to Istanbul, Turkey is one of the important land routes connecting Asia and the European continent. Athens and Thessaloniki are important railway hubs. The total length of the highway is more than 59,400 kilometers, accounting for 80% of the domestic passenger and freight volume. The connection between these islands is mainly by sea. Air traffic is also very convenient. Elinikon International Airport in Athens is one of the air transport centers in the eastern Mediterranean.