Travel

Greece Country Brief

Bilateral Relations

Greece and Australia enjoy a close and constructive relationship based on strong community ties. Large numbers of Greeks migrated to Australia during the 1950s and 1960s; the 2006 Census records 109,989 Greece-born migrants, and 365,147 people of Greek ancestry living in Australia (based on country of birth of parents). Some estimates suggest the Greek community in Australia could be as large as 600,000. The Greek population is concentrated in Melbourne (41 per cent) and Sydney (30 per cent). Melbourne, Sister City to Thessaloniki, has been described as the third largest ‘Greek city’ in the world and is an important overseas centre of Hellenism.

The strong community links between Greece and Australia are a major focus of Australian Government business in Greece, and so, therefore, is the provision of consular services. Each summer there are around 100,000 Australians in Greece, dropping to around 40,000 in the winter months. Many of these are dual nationals. Frequent cultural exchanges take place, often between specific communities in both countries. Several Aegean and Ionian Island communities migrated in large numbers to Australia after World War II (for example, more Kastellorizians and Kytherians live in Australia than on their home islands). Nowadays their descendants are reinvigorating the bilateral relationship through frequent travel back to Greece for holidays, study and work. An enduring historical link has resulted from the involvement of Australian troops in the defence of Greece during World War II. Australian soldiers fought alongside troops from Greece, New Zealand and Britain during the Battle of Crete (May 1941) to defend the island against German invasion. Many were killed and several thousand taken prisoner in a battle that is still commemorated annually.

In 2008, two-way trade including services between Greece and Australia was worth about A$542 million. Australian merchandise exports to Greece totalled A$88 million while goods imported from Greece were worth A$174 million. The main services item was personal travel from Greece to Australia worth A$237 million. Australia's key exports to Greece vary considerably from year to year. Medicaments, coal, and starches, inulin and wheat gluten comprised the majority of Australian exports to Greece in 2008. Australia's main imports from Greece continue to be aluminium, rubber articles, vegetables and cheese and curd products.

After several years of negotiations Australia and Greece signed a Social Security Agreement on 23 May 2007. The Agreement, which assists people in both countries to access age and retirement benefits, commenced on 1 October 2008. About 50,000 people in Australia and Greece are estimated to be able to claim a pension from Australia or Greece.

Educational links between Australia and Greece are still emerging. Modern Greek is taught in many Australian schools and Modern and Classical Greek Studies are available in some Australian universities, but there is little study of Australia and its region undertaken in Greece.

Recent Visits

Political Overview

The current President of Greece, Mr Karolos Papoulias, was sworn in as Greece's sixth President on 12 March 2005, and is serving a five-year term. The President has no powers to initiate legislation and is required to appoint as Prime Minister the leader of the political party with an absolute majority of seats in Parliament. The President must be elected by two-thirds majority or, on the third ballot, by a three-fifths majority. In the event this does not happen, parliament is dissolved and an election is held, whereby the President is elected by a simple majority of members in the new house.

The unicameral parliament consists of 300 members, elected under a system of reinforced proportional representation. Each Parliament is elected for a maximum of four years. In the most recent parliamentary elections (September 2007), the New Democracy party was re-elected with a reduced majority, claiming 152 of the 300 seats in Parliament, and Kostas Karamanlis was sworn in as Prime Minister. The Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) remains the principal opposition party although it won only 102 seats in the 2007 elections, the lowest in its history.

Greece is a member of the European Union and last held the Presidency from January to July 2003. In the June 2004 European Parliament elections, the New Democracy party won 43 per cent of the Greek vote (or 11 out of the 24 Greeks seats). Greek voter participation (63 per cent) in the European Parliament elections was slightly higher than the European average.

The Asia-Pacific region has not historically figured prominently in Greece's foreign policy agenda, which focuses on the European Union, the Balkans and its near neighbours (in particular Cyprus and Turkey). In 2009 Greece holds the chairmanship of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

Greece has a long-established political and cultural relationship with the Republic of Cyprus. Resolution of the Cyprus issue remains a key foreign policy priority of the Greek Government. While the relationship between Greece and Turkey has historically experienced difficulties, in the past few years bilateral cooperation between the two has improved with the establishment of a Greek-Turkish Steering Committee which explores avenues for cooperation in fields such as the economy, trade, tourism, environment, culture and combating crime.

Greece is also keen to establish closer relations with its neighbours in the Balkans. The Government views the Balkans as being of high strategic and economic importance and believes their closer association with the European Union would ensure peace and stability in the region. Balkan states are an important destination for Greek investment.

Economic Overview

Greece has a population of 11.1 million, GDP of US$313.8 billion and an estimated GDP per capita of US$28,152 (2007 estimates). Principal export destinations are Germany, Italy, and Cyprus, while the main import sources are Germany, Italy and Russia (see Greece - Fact Sheet). Economic growth averaged over 4 per cent each year since 2003. The economy is however increasingly affected by the global economic crisis, with the Greek Government now forecasting a reduced growth rate of 1.1 per cent for 2009.

The main engine of the Greek economy is the services sector (75.1 per cent of GDP in 2007) although manufacturing accounts for 21 per cent of GDP. Greece has little heavy industry, with the once substantial shipbuilding industry in decline over recent years. Greece has long had one of the largest registered merchant marine fleets in the world, constituting around 20 per cent of the world fleet in terms of capacity in deadweight tonnage. Agriculture is of major socio-economic importance to Greece (3.7 per cent of GDP in 2007), with approximately 12 per cent of the population employed in the sector. The main agricultural products are sugar, wheat, cotton, tobacco, olives and olive oil. The Greek mining industry, which contributes 0.5 per cent of GDP, has been buoyed in recent years by the growing demand for mining products by China and Northeast Asia, but faces an uncertain future with the effect of the global slowdown. Principal mining products are bentonite, perlite, caustic and deadburned magnesia, alumina, aluminium bauxite, nickel, pumice and marble.

Last updated: 23/03/2009