Greece joined the European Union in
1981 and began to utilize the euro as its currency it 2002. In recent years the
Greek economy has emphasized in the media due to the financial troubles that
the country is encountering.
From 2008 to 2009 the Greek economy took a turn for the worse, and the
gross domestic product dropped over 20% since 2007 (see chart below). In 2010 the Eurozone approved a $146
billions dollar, three year bailout to assist Greece in its financial crisis that
was in turn affecting all of Europe. Economists projected that by 2013 the
economy would begin to return, and based on the chart below it has begun to
rise again.
Although
the countries economy seems to be on its way to improvement, the unemployment
rate is still high, currently assessed to be at 24.4%. The life expectancy in
Greece is at 82 years old. Social indicators also point to the corruption
within the country, there are high levels of perceived corruption in both the
public and private sectors which many attribute to the financial troubles that
Greece currently faces. Greece currently has many social security programs that
have been put in place to assist their population and improve social indicators
but many have not been as successful as hoped. The total fertility rate of Greece is 1.4.
References:
Rowntree, Lewis, Price & Wyckoff. (2011). Globalization and
Diversity: Geography of a Changing World. Pearson.
