Etudes par pays volume 2, PDF, 346 p., 1,4 Mo - Femise

11873_2002 Study D2: Poverty, Informal Sector, Health and Labour
1.3. Geography and Territorial Characteristics
Greece’s surface is 131,957 sq. km. Islands – more than 2000 in number of
which only 170 are inhabited – occupy 20 per cent of this surface. Eighty
per cent of the land is mountainous, whereas Greece’s very long coastline
sums to 13,700 km. Cultivated fields and orchards occupy about 30 per cent
of the territory. The climate of Greece varies substantially among its
regions. In southern and central Greece the climate is Mediterranean with
hot dry summers and mild winters. In northern Greece, winters are colder.
Regions in the west receive far more rain compared to the east. The average
annual rainfall in Athens and central Greece is 400 mm, whereas the
mountains receive much snow. The average temperature in Athens is in
January 10 degrees centigrade and in July 28 degrees centigrade. Greece is
divided into 9 geographic departments, the two of which, Attica and
Macedonia are respectively dominated by the two large cities of the country,
Athens and Thessaloniki, with a corresponding population of 3.0 and 2.3
million, representing 52 per cent of the country’s 11 million population. The
third major department is Peloponnesos with 1.2 million, while the other 6
departments have each a population ranging between 215,000 and 796,000
inhabitants (Clogg, 2003).
The principal natural resources of the country include lignite, with an annual
production of 58 to 62 million tons. The certain reserves of lignite number
9,500 million tons, but are not all exploitable. Lignite is used almost
exclusively for electricity production. There is also bauxite, whose
production, in recent years, reaches roughly 1.8-1.9 million tons a year.
Minerals, such as chromium, copper, uranium and magnesium are also
present in small quantities. Petroleum also exists in very small quantities
while there are no considerable reserves of natural gas (ibid.). Mild forms of
energy, i.e. solar, aeolic and geothermic, exist in substantial quantities bur
are only very little exploited. Water resources give annually about 65-69
trillion m 3 , of which 80-84 per cent are used for irrigation, 13-15 per cent in
households and 2.5-4.0 per cent for energy production. However, the
distribution of water resources is unequal and creates often tensions,
although things are getting better over time. Greece cannot cover all its
energy needs from local natural sources and depends on imported energy.
Finally, the islands and the coasts of Greece supporting the tourist industry
are also, in a way, part of its natural resources.
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