Greece Economy
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Greece is located in the South Eastern Europe and shares its borders with Albania, Bulgaria and Turkey. Greece has a land area of 131,990 square km, with almost 80% of it being mountainous, and a population of 11,306,183 according to 2010 estimates. The country also has the 10th largest coastline in the world. The scenic beauty of the place, combined with its legacy of culture and architecture makes Greece a favorite amongst tourists, and tourism a major source of employment and GDP.[br]
Greece is located in the South Eastern Europe and shares its borders with Albania, Bulgaria and Turkey. Greece has a land area of 131,990 square km, with almost 80% of it being mountainous, and a population of 11,306,183 according to 2010 estimates. The country also has the 10th largest coastline in the world. The scenic beauty of the place, combined with its legacy of culture and architecture makes Greece a favorite amongst tourists, and tourism a major source of employment and GDP.[br]
Greece Economy: Overview
Greece has a capitalistic economy with a handy contribution of 40% by the public sector. Tourism also makes a significant contribution of 15% to the GDP. The country enjoyed steady growth rate around the Athens Olympic Games; growth, however, was constricted owing to the recession and Greece ended up violating the EU’s Growth and Stability Pact budget deficit criteria. The Greece economy is marred by high rate of unemployment, which stood at 8.9% in 2009. The figures seem to be increasing due to tightened credit situations and deteriorating credit ratings of the country. Greece economy is further dented by high rate of public debt and inflation, which are higher than EU averages.
Greece Economy: GDP[br]
Aided by tourism, private sector and credit, Greece could maintain a rather constant GDP post 2007-2009 recession. In 2009, Greece’s GDP (purchasing power parity) remained $339.2 billion. At the same time in previous years, the figures were $347.9 billion (2008) and $338.1 billion (2009). Recession affected the real growth rate and it climbed down to -2.5% in 2009 after having been 4% in 2008.The service sector contributed the maximum to the GDP with 75.8%; industries with 20.8% and agriculture with 3.4% according to 2009 data.
However, the global credit scenario and lesser economical growth have triggered a higher rate of public debt and unemployment; and the trend will most likely carry on till infrastructural and administrative changes are made.
