Also known as Hellas and officially the Hellenic Republic, Greece is a country in southeastern Europe. Situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula, Greece has land borders with Albania, the Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to the east.
The Aegean Sea lies to the east of mainland Greece, the Ionian Sea to the west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the south.
Greece has the 10th longest coastline in the world at 14,880 km in length, featuring a vast number of islands (approximately 1400, of which 227 are inhabited), including Crete, the Dodecanese, the Cyclades, and the Ionian Islands among others. 80% of Greece consists of mountains, of which Mount Olympus is the highest at 2,917 metres.
The historical and cultural heritage of Greece continues to resonate throughout the modern Western world – in its literature, art, philosophy and politics.
