Greece is a sovereign country in southeast Europe. With coasts in the Mediterranean, Cretan, and Ionian seas, the country boasts an abundance of environmental riches. It boasts the 12th-longest shoreline in the world and the largest beachfront in the Mediterranean. Greece has a conventional GDP of $203 billion and a $307 billion GDP calculated using the parity of purchasing power.
Out of 28 member countries, the nation has the 17th-largest GDP in the EU in 2017, based on the statistics. Greece is regarded as a modern country with several important sectors, including production, mining, farming, and the tourist industry. These industries are further explained below.
Mining
Greek miners have a long history and can be traced back to around 1000 BCE. Notwithstanding the prolonged legacy of minerals in the nation, the sector has made only a small impact on Greece’s economic growth. Minerals such as zinc, copper bauxite, magnesite, ilmenite, and petroleum can be found in Greece. The country was the globe’s biggest source of perlite and the seventh-largest supplier of pumice as of 2015.
About 1% of the planet’s bauxite production and 9% of the bentonite production each come from Greece. The nation’s mining sector handles the mineral energies, alloys, and commercial stones generated. The policy, which lays out several rules and legislation on mining, harmonizes the mining field in Greece.
Tourism
One of Greece’s most important businesses, tourism contributes around 25% of the nation’s GDP and is vital to national growth. Greece has a longstanding experience of tourism, though it only really took off after the 1950s. In 1950, there were only 33,000 tourists reported there; by 1994, that number had increased to 11.4 million. In 2018, the nation welcomed over 24 million visitors, compared to 22.1 million in 2017. According to these statistics, Greece is one of the most traveled-to countries in Europe.
Due to its rich past and tradition, the country has long been one of the top tourist destinations in Europe. About 6,000 islands are thought to exist in the nation. The Greek government has recently concentrated on promoting religious travel, especially in locations with a strong historical religious presence, such as the monasteries.
Roughly 840,000 people, or about 19% of the total in the nation, found jobs in the tourist sector in 2008.
Agriculture
Greece is a significant crop producer in the EU, and the industry hires 528,000 people, or around 12% of the labor force. 3.6% of the nation’s GDP, or around $16 billion, is attributed to farming. The plurality of immigrants in the nation work in the agricultural sector.
The nation produces a wide range of agricultural products as well as other livestock items. The National Agricultural Program currently extensively supports agribusiness in the nation. In 2010, Greece generated 183,800 tonnes of cotton, making it the largest cotton grower in the EU. With 2,232,412 mt of olive output, 344,615 tonnes of olive oil output, and 50,368 metric tonnes of fig output, the nation also leads the world in these industries. In addition, the nation generates 22,000 tonnes of tobacco, 578,000 tonnes of watermelons, 8,000 tonnes of pistachios, and 229,500 tonnes of rice.
Greek economy’s difficulties
Greece was severely impacted by the global economic downturn in 2009, and its market dropped by 2.3% in 2009 and 3.5% in 2010. By 2011, when the nation’s GDP was $298.1 billion, the industry had shrunk by 6%. The nation implemented initiatives to cut state spending, restructure the labor sectors, and make changes to the healthcare and retirement systems to lessen and eventually overcome the recession’s devastating consequences.
The country has always had high poverty rates; in 2012, it was 14.8%, and in 2013, it rose sharply to 28%. But, it had decreased significantly to 20.1% in 2018. The nation now has more people living in hardship as a result of the recession, and massive public debt. According to estimates, there were 15% more persons living in extreme poverty in 2015 than there were in 2011, which represents a significant increase from the 2.2% estimated in 2009.
