The Greek Economy

Agriculture

The Greek economy depends a lot on agriculture. One quarter of the Greek
workforce is engaged in farming, and agriculture constitutes about 15%
of the
domestic production. Not much attention has been drawn on the
agricultural
sector of the economy. The farms are pretty small, the division of
inheriting
land has reduced the average size to 3,4 hectares (8 acres) and it is
really
difficult to use mechanised equipment efficiently. Yields are also low
due to
the dryness and erosion of the soil. Let's take a look at the yearly
output of
some major crops: tobacco 142000, wheat 2.6 million, tomatoes 1.9
million,
oranges 780000, corn 2.1 million, sugar beet 1.9 million, grapes 1.6
million,
olives 1.5 million, potatoes 850000 and cotton 222000. Livestock
included some
10.8 million sheep, 3.5 million goats, 800000 head of cattle, 31
million poultry
and 1.2 million pigs.

Forestry and Fishing

The Greek government owns the two-thirds of the forestland and has
materialised
her plans i.e. to replace the trees that were destroyed during World
War II.
About 2.9 million cu m of timber were annually cut in the late 80's and
approximately the 75% of the harvest was hardwood. Fish exports are
limited
because of the widespread consumption of fish products within Greece.
However in
recent years thousands of tons of fish are exported each year, due to
the ever
increasing development of fish farms in the country. In the late 80's
the annual
catch totalled 135000 tons, from which 80% was consumed within Greece.
Sponges
are the main marine product exported.

Mining

Mining is of little importance to the Greek economy. We should mention

though
the annual output of minerals in tons: bauxite 2.3 million, iron ore
1.3 million
and magnesite 884400. Also, about 279200 cu m of marble were quarried.
Petroleum,
salt, chromium, silver, zinc were also produced.
Manufacturing

Approximately one fifth of the Greek workforce is engaged in

manufacturing,
which contributes 18% of the annual gross production. The manufactured

products include: food, beverages, tobacco, textiles, clothing,

chemicals,
cement and wine. Athens is the manufacturing center of Greece.

Currency and Banking

The national currency of Greece is drachma. The central banking

institution is
the Bank of Greece. The biggest banks of Greece are the National Bank
of Greece,
with 470 domestic branches and the Agricultural Bank of Greece with 420
branches.

Foreign Trade

Generally Greece spends each year much more on imports than it receives
from
exports. This "imbalance" is offset to a certain extent by tourist
revenues and
by remittances from Greeks living abroad. In the 80's the imports
totalled 3
trillion drachmas and exports earned 1.5 trillion drachmas. The imports
were
mostly machinery, petroleum and chemicals. The main exports were fruits
and
vegetables, clothing, textiles and furs, beverages and tobacco,
petroleum
products, non-ferrous metal, iron and steel. The principal trade
patterns were:
Germany, Italy, Great Britain, France, the Netherlands, the United
States and
Japan. The countries of the European Union account for more that 60% of
Greece's
yearly total trade.

Tourism

Greek economy depends a lot on tourism. Due to the many archaeological

places
and buildings, the sun, the blue sky, the sea and the Mediterranean
climate,
many people visit each year Greece. In the late 80's 8.1 million
tourists
visited Greece. The receipts from tourism were totalled 300 billion
drachmas.

Bibliography:

"Encarta" Encyclopaedia, ‘Greece', Microsoft, 1996