1.1 DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE OF THE GREECE The Demographics of Greece refer to the demography of the population that inhabits the Greek peninsula. As of January 2008, the population of Greece is estimated at 11,262,000 by Eurostat. Greece was inhabited as early as the Paleolithic period. Prior to the 2nd millennium BC, the Greek peninsula was inhabited by various pre-Hellenic peoples, the most notable of which were the Pelasgians. The Greek language ultimately dominated the peninsula and Greece's mosaic of small city-states became culturally similar. The population estimates on the Greeks during the 4th century BC, is approximately 3.5 million on the Greek peninsula and 4 to 6.5 million in the rest of the entire Mediterranean Basin,[5] including all colonies such as those in Magna Graecia, Asia Minor and the shores of the Black Sea. 1 Population: 11,329,618 Growth rate: 0.146% Birth rate: 9.45 births/1,000 population Death rate: 10.51 deaths/1,000 population Life expectancy: 79.66 years –male: 77.11 years –female: 82.37 years Fertility rate: 1.50 children born/woman Age structure: 0-14 years: 14.3% 15-64 years: 66.6% 65-over: 19.1% Sex ratio: At birth: 1.06 male(s)/female Under 15: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.00 male(s)/female 65-over: 0.78 male(s)/female Nationality: Nationality: noun : Greek(s) adjective: Greek 2 1.2 GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREECE Continent: Europe Region: Southern Europe (Balkan Peninsula) Coordinates: 39°00′N 22°00′E / 39°N 22°E Area: Ranked 96th 131,940 km 2 (50,940 sq mi) 99.1% land 0.9% water Borders: Total land borders: 1,228 km (7 63 miles) Albania: 282 km (175 mi) Bulgaria: 494 km (307 mi) Turkey: 206 km (128 mi) Rep. Mace donia: 228 km (142 mi) Highest point: Mount Olympus: 2,919 m Lowest point: Mediterr anean Sea: 0 m Longest river: Haliacmo n: 322 km (200 mi) Largest lake: Trichonid a: 98.6 km2 (38.1 sq mi) 3 1.3 ECONOMIC REVIEW OF THE GREECE The economy of Greece is the 32nd largest in the world by nominal gross domestic product (GDP) and the 37th largest at purchasing power parity (PPP), according to data by the World Bank for the year 2010. Per capita, it is ranked 33rd by nominal GDP and 31st at PPP according to the 2010 data. A developed country, Greece is a member of the European Union, the euro zone, the OECD, the World Trade Organization and the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization. The service sector contributes 78.8% of GDP, industry 17.9%, and agriculture 3.3%. The public sector accounts for about 40% of total economic output. Greece is the 31st most globalize country in the world and is classified as a high-income economy. GDP - per capita (purchasing power parity) $29,600 (2010) $31,000 (2009) $31,700 (2008) note: data are in 2010 US dollars 4 Ran k: 32nd (nominal, 2010) 37th (PPP, 2010) Curren cy: 1 euro = 100 cents Tr ade organi zations EU, WTO, OECD, BSEC Statistics GD P: $312.042 billion (nominal, 2011) $309.231 billion (PPP, 2011 GDP gr owth: 5.0% (Q3 2011 compared with Q3 2010, non-seasonally-adjusted) GDP per capit a: $27,875 (nominal, 2011) $27,624 (PPP, 2011) GDP by sec tor agri cultur e: 3.3%; industry: 17.9%; services: 78.8% (2010) Infl ation (CPI) 2.9% (November 2011) Unempl oyment : 17.7% (Q3 2011) Main industri es: tourism; shipping; industrial products, food and tobacco processing, textiles; chemicals, metal products; mining, petroleum Expor ts: €16.3751 billion (2010) Export good s: food and beverages, manufactured goods, petroleum products, chemicals, textiles Impor ts: €48.1074 billion (2010) Import goods machinery, transport equipment, fuels, and chemicals 5 1.4 Monetary Policy In October 2008, i.e. about a year and a half ago, the Bank of Greece stressed in its Monetary Policy Interim Report that the Greek economy was at a crucial juncture and that, as the global economic situation worsened, the macroeconomic imbalances and structural weaknesses of the domestic economy would become more severe and more difficult to address. • In the Monetary Policy Report that followed in February 2009, the Bank of Greece warned about everything that is happening today – stressing, in particular, the possibility of a rise in the cost of borrowing. As that Report stated, “a widening of the yield spread would increase the future burden on taxpayers”. • Lastly, in October 2009, the Monetary Policy Interim Report underlined the need to send a clear message to the markets that Greece is determined to implement a multi-year plan of fiscal consolidation and structural reforms. Unfortunately, the developments during the past few months have confirmed the Bank’s warnings and undermined confidence in the future of the Greek economy: Since April 2009, Greece has been subject to the Excessive Deficit Procedure, as the deficits of both 2007 and 2008 exceeded the reference value set by the Treaty. In 2009, as the Bank of Greece had warned, the general government deficit reached 12.9% of GDP and public debt stood at 115% of GDP. These developments triggered a series of downgrading of Greece’s credit ratings and led to a large widening in the yield spread between Greek and German government bonds – resulting in increased borrowing and debt-servicing costs for the Greek government. The increase in debt-service expenditures, in turn, increased the country’s budget deficit, made fiscal consolidation more difficult to achieve, and had serious repercussions for the real economy and the banking system. The Greek economy is caught in a vicious circle, with only one way out: the drastic reduction of the fiscal deficit and debt so that there is an immediate reversal of the current trend. 6 1.5 SOME COMPARISION S.No Fac tor Greece In dia 1 Population 11 ,329 ,61 8 11 891 728 64 2 GDP real growth rate 5.0 10 .4 3 Per capital income (US Dollar) $29 ,60 0 35 00 4 Inflation rate (%) (CPI) 2.9 11 .7 5 Exports (Billion $) 16 .375 1 225 6 Imports (Billion $) 48 .107 4 357 .7 7 Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 17 .7 9.4 (%) 7 1.6 India – Greece Trade Data Year Ind ia’s Ind ia’s To tal Trade Exports Imports 2006 -07 671.98 209.49 841 .47 2007 -08 530.95 126.81 657.44 2008 -09 878.43 69 .49 947.92 2009 -2010 452.80 154.13 606.93 (Source: Export Import Data Bank, Department of Commerce, Government of India) The main items of Greece’s exports to India are machinery, rubber and plastic products, cotton, copper products, iron and steel products and chemicals. The main items of India’s exports are machinery, automobiles and auto parts, iron and steel, aluminum, copper, dyes and chemicals, and textiles and garments 8 1.7 PEOPLE IN GREECE Nationality: Greek Population: 11,329,618 Population growth rate: 0.083 Region: Southern Europe (Balkan Peninsula) Birth rate: 9.21 births/1,000 population Death rate: 10.7 deaths/1,000 population Net migration rate: 2.32 migrant(s)/1,000 populations Urbanization: urban population: 61% of total population rate of urbanization: 0.6% annual rate of change 9 1.8 INDIA- GREECE RELATIONSHIP Greek-Indian relations are the relations between Greece and India. Greece has an embassy in New Delhi and 3 honorary consulates in Kolkata, Chennai and Mumbai. India has an embassy in Athens. The first contact between both civilization dates back from Alexander the Great’s and King Porus's Battle of the Hydaspes River . In modern time, diplomatic relations between Greece and India were established in May 1950. The new Greek Embassy building in New Delhi was inaugurated on February 6, 2001. 10 List of recent bilateral visits • In December 2000, Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou visited India. • In February 2001, Prime Minister of Greece Kostas Simitis visited India. • In September 2006, Speaker of the Lok Sabha Somnath Chatterjee visited Greece. • In April 2007, President of India Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam made an unofficial visit to Athens. Political relations The most recent high-level visits date from December 2000, when the then Greek Foreign Minister, Mr. Georgios Papandreou, carried out an official visit to India, Nepal, and Bangladesh. In February 2001, the then Prime Minister of Greece, MrKonstantinos Simitis, carried out an official visit to India following an invitation by the then Prime Minister of India H.E. Mr A. Vajpayee. The former Speaker of the Hellenic Parliament Mr. A. Kaklamanis visited India from 15-21 February 2003 and had useful contacts with Indian officials.In 2007, the Minister of Economy and Finance, Mr. G. Alogoskoufis, carried out a visit to India from 7 to 11/2/2007, followed by Deputy Foreign Minister Mr. Petros Doukas (11- 14/11/2007). Economic and trade relations Greece and India have traditionally enjoyed close and amicable relations, and in recent years, there has been a trend towards broader bilateral economic and trade relations. Greek imports from India include cotton, synthetic fibers, fabrics, vehicles, iron, steel and fruit, while Greek exports to India include fibers, fertilizers, organic chemicals, pharmaceutical products, leather goods, metal processing machinery, etc. The Greek Embassy’s Office of Economic and Trade Affairs opened in 2000 in New Delhi, in an effort to promote closer economic cooperation between the two countries. 11 Cultural relations Cultural relations between Greece and India date back some three thousand years.