Judicial branch: Supreme Judicial Court, judges appointed for life by the president after consultation with a judicial council; Special Supreme Tribunal, judges appointed for life by the president after consultation with a judicial council
Political parties and leaders: New Democracy or ND (conservative)
International organization participation: Australia Group, BIS,
BSEC, CCC, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EIB, EU, FAO, G- 6, IAEA,
IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO,
IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO,
MTCR, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE,
PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNOMIG, UPU,
WEU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Alexandre PHILON
chancery: 2221 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and
San Francisco
consulate(s): Atlanta, Houston, and New Orleans
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador R. Nicholas BURNS embassy: 91 Vasilissis Sophias Boulevard, 10160 Athens mailing address: PSC 108, APO AE 09842-0108 consulate(s) general: Thessaloniki
Flag description: nine equal horizontal stripes of blue alternating with white; there is a blue square in the upper hoist-side corner bearing a white cross; the cross symbolizes Greek Orthodoxy, the established religion of the country
Economy
Economy—overview: Greece has a mixed capitalist economy with the public sector accounting for about half of GDP, although the government plans to privatize some leading state enterprises. Tourism is a key industry, providing a large portion of GDP and foreign exchange earnings. Greece is a major beneficiary of EU aid, equal to about 4% of GDP. The economy has improved steadily over the last few years, as the government has tightened policy with the goal of qualifying Greece to join the EU's single currency (the euro) in 2001. In particular, Greece has cut its budget deficit to just over 2% of GDP and tightened monetary policy, with the result that inflation fell below 4% by the end of 1998—the lowest rate in 26 years. The outlook for 1999 is good with the budget deficit and inflation both expected to decline further, while GDP growth stays near 3% and the current account deficit remains below 2% of GDP.
GDP: purchasing power parity—$143 billion (1998 est.)
GDP—real growth rate: 3% (1998 est.)