HERAKLION 2023
PARTICIPATING N.O.C.s
The MBG will honour with their presence delegations from 26 countries
bordering the Mediterranean Sea in Africa, Asia and Europe.
MAP OF GREECE
greece facts & demographics
| CAPITAL | Athens |
| GOVERMENT TYPE | parliamentary republic |
| CURRENCY | Euro (EUR) |
| TOTAL AREA | 50,949 Square Miles 131,957 Square Kilometers |
| LOCATION | Southern Europe, bordering the Aegean Sea, Ionian Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea, between Albania and Türkiye |
| LANGUAGE | Greek (official) 99%, |
| GDP – real growth rate | -2.3% |
| GDP – per capita (PPP) | $25,600.00 (USD) |
| ETHNIC GROUPS | Greek 93%, other (foreign citizens) 7% note: percents represent citizenship, since Greece does not collect data on ethnicity |
| LANGUAGES | Greek |
| NATIONALITY ADJECTIVE | Greek |
| NATIONALITY NOUN | Greek(s) |
| POPULATION | 10,607,051 |
| POPULATION GROWTH RATE | 0,04% |
| POPULATION IN MAJOR URBAN AREAS | ATHENS (capital) 3.414 million; Thessaloniki 883,000 |
| PREDOMINANT LANGUAGE | Greek (official) 99%, |
| URBAN POPULATION | 61.4% |
HERAKLION 2023
countries facts & demographics
Facts & figures as well as demographics about the 26 participating
National Olympic Committees.
ALBANIA facts
| CAPITAL | Tirana (Tirane) |
| GOVERMENT TYPE | Parliamentary Republic |
| CURRENCY | leke (ALL) |
| TOTAL AREA | 11,100 Square Miles 28,748 Square Kilometers |
| LOCATION | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and the Ionian Sea, between Greece in the south and Montenegro and Kosovo to the north |
| LANGUAGE | Albanian (official – Tosk is the official dialect), Greek |
| GDP – real growth rate | 3.8% |
| GDP – per capita (PPP) | $12,500.00 (USD) |
ALBANIA demographics
| ETHNIC GROUPS | Albanian 95%, Greek 3%, other 2% (Vlach, Roma (Gypsy), Serb, and Macedonian or Bulgarian) |
| LANGUAGES | Albania adopted a Latin script in 1908. Two dialects, Tosk and Gheg are spoken in Albania, but the official language is based on the Tosk dialect. The Albanian language Shqip is descended from Illyrian. |
| NATIONALITY ADJECTIVE | Albanian |
| NATIONALITY NOUN | Albanian(s) |
| POPULATION | 3,074,579 |
| POPULATION GROWTH RATE | 0.29% |
| POPULATION IN MAJOR URBAN AREAS | TIRANA (capital) 419,000 |
| PREDOMINANT LANGUAGE | Albanian (official – Tosk is the official dialect), Greek |
| URBAN POPULATION | 53.4% |
ALGERIA facts
| CAPITAL | Algiers |
| GOVERMENT TYPE | Presidential republic |
| CURRENCY | Algerian dinars (DZD) |
| TOTAL AREA | 919,590 Square Miles 2,381,741 Square Kilometers |
| LOCATION | Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Morocco and Tunisia |
| LANGUAGE | Arabic (official), French, Berber dialects |
| GDP – real growth rate | 1.4% |
| GDP – per capita (PPP) | $15,200.00 (USD) |
ALGERIA demographics
| ETHNIC GROUPS | Arab-Berber 99%, European less than 1% |
| LANGUAGES | Arabic is the official language of Algeria. French was the primary language of business before 1992 but is now only rarely used in the country. Various Berber dialects are spoken in Berber homes and in remote areas but most Berbers also speak Arabic. Arabic speakers constitute 75% of the population, while Berber speakers make up 25% approximately, with French speakers reduced to less than 50,000. |
| NATIONALITY ADJECTIVE | Algerian |
| NATIONALITY NOUN | Algerian(s) |
| POPULATION | 42,972,878 |
| POPULATION GROWTH RATE | 1.9% |
| POPULATION IN MAJOR URBAN AREAS | ALGIERS (capital) 2.916 million; Oran 783,000 |
| PREDOMINANT LANGUAGE | Arabic (official), French, Berber dialects |
| URBAN POPULATION | 73% |
ANDORRA facts
| CAPITAL | Andorra la Vella |
| GOVERMENT TYPE | Parliamentary democracy (since March 1993) that retains its chiefs of state in the form of a co-principality; the two princes are the President of France and Bishop of Seu d’Urgell, Spain, who delegate responsibility to other officials |
| CURRENCY | Euro (EUR) |
| TOTAL AREA | 181 Square Miles 468 Square Kilometers |
| LOCATION | Southwestern Europe, Pyrenees mountains, on the border between France and Spain |
| LANGUAGE | Catalan (official), French, Castilian, Portuguese |
| GDP – real growth rate | -1.6% |
| GDP – per capita (PPP) | $37,200.00 (USD) |
andorra demographics
| ETHNIC GROUPS | Spanish 43%, Andorran 33%, Portuguese 11%, French 7%, other 6% |
| LANGUAGES | Catalan is a modern Romance language, closely related to Occitan (the language spoken in southern France). It uses acute and grave accents (as in é and è), dieresis (as in ï), a mid dot to separate two l, the “ela geminada” l·l, and the “ce trencada” ç. |
| NATIONALITY ADJECTIVE | Andorran |
| NATIONALITY NOUN | Andorran(s) |
| POPULATION | 77,000 |
| POPULATION GROWTH RATE | 0.22% |
| POPULATION IN MAJOR URBAN AREAS | ANDORRA LA VELLA (capital) 23,000 |
| PREDOMINANT LANGUAGE | Catalan (official), French, Castilian, Portuguese |
| URBAN POPULATION | 87.3% |
BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA facts
| CAPITAL | Sarajevo |
| GOVERMENT TYPE | Parliamentary Republic |
| CURRENCY | Konvertibilna markas (BAM) |
| TOTAL AREA | 19,767 Square Miles 51,197 Square Kilometers |
| LOCATION | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and Croatia |
| LANGUAGE | Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian |
| GDP – real growth rate | 3% |
| GDP – per capita (PPP) | $11,000.00 (USD) |
BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA demographics
| ETHNIC GROUPS | Serb 37.1%, Bosniak 48%, Croat 14.3%, other 0.6% (2000) |
| LANGUAGES | The official language is Bosnian, a Slavic language that used to be known as Serbo-Croatian. According to ethnic and political affiliation, Bosnians may speak Serbian, Croatian or Bosnian. At school, both Cyrillic and Latin scripts are taught, which are used in the Federation and Serb Republic. |
| NATIONALITY ADJECTIVE | Bosnian, Herzegovinian |
| NATIONALITY NOUN | Bosnian(s), Herzegovinian(s) |
| POPULATION | 3,835,586 |
| POPULATION GROWTH RATE | -0.1% |
| POPULATION IN MAJOR URBAN AREAS | SARAJEVO (capital) 389,000 |
| PREDOMINANT LANGUAGE | Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian |
| URBAN POPULATION | 48.3% |
CROATIA facts
| CAPITAL | Zagreb |
| GOVERMENT TYPE | parliamentary republic |
| CURRENCY | kuna (HRK) |
| TOTAL AREA | 21,851 Square Miles 56,594 Square Kilometers |
| LOCATION | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea, between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia |
| LANGUAGE | Croatian 96%, other 4% (including Italian, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, and German) |
| GDP – real growth rate | 1.9% |
| GDP – per capita (PPP) | $22,400.00 (USD) |
CROATIA demographics
| ETHNIC GROUPS | Croat 89.6%, Serb 4.5%, Bosniak 0.5%, Hungarian 0.4%, Slovene 0.3%, Czech 0.2%, Roma 0.2%, Albanian 0.1%, Montenegrin 0.1%, others 4.1% |
| LANGUAGES | The Croatian language has thirty letters, each with a distinct sound. |
| NATIONALITY ADJECTIVE | Croatian |
| NATIONALITY NOUN | Croat(s), Croatian(s) |
| POPULATION | 4,227,746 |
| POPULATION GROWTH RATE | -0.11% |
| POPULATION IN MAJOR URBAN AREAS | ZAGREB (capital) 686,000 |
| PREDOMINANT LANGUAGE | Croatian 96%, other 4% (including Italian, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, and German) |
| URBAN POPULATION | 57.8% |
CYPRUS facts
| CAPITAL | Nicosia (Lefkosia/Lefkosa) |
| GOVERMENT TYPE | Republic of Cyprus – presidential democracy; Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (self-declared) – semi-presidential democracy note: a separation of the two main ethnic communities inhabiting the island began following the outbreak of communal strife in 1963; this separation was further solidified when a Greek military-junta-supported coup attempt prompted the Turkish intervention in July 1974 that gave the Turkish Cypriots de facto control in the north; Greek Cypriots control the only internationally recognized government on the island; on 15 November 1983, then Turkish Cypriot “President” Rauf DENKTAS declared independence and the formation of a “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus” (“TRNC”), which is recognized only by Türkiye |
| CURRENCY | Greek Cypriot area: euros (EUR); Turkish Cypriot area: Turkish new lira (YTL) |
| TOTAL AREA | 3,572 Square Miles 9,251 Square Kilometers |
| LOCATION | Middle East, island in the Mediterranean Sea, south of Türkiye |
| LANGUAGE | Greek, Turkish, English |
| GDP – real growth rate | 2.8% |
| GDP – per capita (PPP) | $34,400.00 (USD) |
CYPRUS demographics
| ETHNIC GROUPS | Greek 77%, Turkish 18%, other 5% |
| LANGUAGES | The official languages are Greek and Turkish. In social exchanges, an informal Cypriot dialect is used. |
| NATIONALITY ADJECTIVE | Cypriot |
| NATIONALITY NOUN | Cypriot(s) |
| POPULATION | 1,266,676 |
| POPULATION GROWTH RATE | 1.52% |
| POPULATION IN MAJOR URBAN AREAS | NICOSIA (capital) 253,000 |
| PREDOMINANT LANGUAGE | Greek, Turkish, English |
| URBAN POPULATION | 70.5% |
EGyPT facts
| CAPITAL | Cairo |
| GOVERMENT TYPE | presidential republic |
| CURRENCY | Egyptian pounds (EGP) |
| TOTAL AREA | 386,660 Square Miles 1,001,450 Square Kilometers |
| LOCATION | Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Libya and the Gaza Strip, and the Red Sea north of Sudan, and includes the Asian Sinai Peninsula |
| LANGUAGE | Arabic (official), English and French widely understood by educated classes |
| GDP – real growth rate | 3.8% |
| GDP – per capita (PPP) | $12,100.00 (USD) |
EGyPT demographics
| ETHNIC GROUPS | Egyptian 99.6%, other 0.4% |
| LANGUAGES | Arabic is the official language in Egypt, although English and French are used in business and education. The written language differs from the spoken Egyptian dialect used in daily life. The Cairene dialect is the standard for spoken Egyptian; the people are extremely proud of it. They like to use it for wordplays, jokes, clichés, and riddles. Cairene is therefore both the spoken language and an integral part of Egyptian culture. |
| NATIONALITY ADJECTIVE | Egyptian |
| NATIONALITY NOUN | Egyptian(s) |
| POPULATION | 104,124,440 |
| POPULATION GROWTH RATE | 1.88% |
| POPULATION IN MAJOR URBAN AREAS | CAIRO (capital) 11.169 million; Alexandria 4.494 million |
| PREDOMINANT LANGUAGE | Arabic (official), English and French widely understood by educated classes |
| URBAN POPULATION | 43.5% |
FRANCE facts
| CAPITAL | Paris |
| GOVERMENT TYPE | semi-presidential republic |
| CURRENCY | Euro (EUR) |
| TOTAL AREA | 248,572 Square Miles 643,801 Square Kilometers |
| LOCATION | metropolitan France: Western Europe, bordering the Bay of Biscay and English Channel, between Belgium and Spain, southeast of the UK; bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Italy and Spain French Guiana: Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Brazil and Suriname Guadeloupe: Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Puerto Rico Martinique: Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago Mayotte: Southern Indian Ocean, island in the Mozambique Channel, about half way between northern Madagascar and northern Mozambique Reunion: Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar |
| LANGUAGE | French (official) 100%, rapidly declining regional dialects and languages (Provencal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish) overseas departments: French, Creole patois, Mahorian (a Swahili dialect) |
| GDP – real growth rate | 2.3% |
| GDP – per capita (PPP) | $44,100.00 (USD) |
FRANCE demographics
| ETHNIC GROUPS | Celtic and Latin with Teutonic, Slavic, North African, Indochinese, Basque minorities overseas departments: black, white, mulatto, East Indian, Chinese, Amerindian |
| LANGUAGES | The French government has emphasized the French language so much that almost everyone in France speaks French (99%), despite the different nationalities represented. Even regional dialects have lost their importance in recent years. English is the most common foreign language. |
| NATIONALITY ADJECTIVE | French |
| NATIONALITY NOUN | Frenchman(men), Frenchwoman(women) |
| POPULATION | 67,848,156 |
| POPULATION – NOTE | note: the above figure is for metropolitan France and five overseas regions; the metropolitan France population is 62,814,233 |
| POPULATION GROWTH RATE | 0.47% |
| POPULATION IN MAJOR URBAN AREAS | PARIS (capital) 10.62 million; Marseille-Aix-en-Provence 14,890,100; Lyon 1.488 million; Lille 1.042 million; Nice-Cannes 991,000; Toulouse 933,000 |
| PREDOMINANT LANGUAGE | French (official) 100%, rapidly declining regional dialects and languages (Provencal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish) overseas departments: French, Creole patois, Mahorian (a Swahili dialect) |
| URBAN POPULATION | 85.8% |
ITALY facts
| CAPITAL | Rome |
| GOVERMENT TYPE | parliamentary republic |
| CURRENCY | Euros (EUR) |
| TOTAL AREA | 116,347 Square Miles 301,340 Square Kilometers |
| LOCATION | Southern Europe, a peninsula extending into the central Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia |
| LANGUAGE | Italian (official), German (parts of Trentino-Alto Adige region are predominantly German speaking), French (small French-speaking minority in Valle d’Aosta region), Slovene (Slovene-speaking minority in the Trieste-Gorizia area) |
| GDP – real growth rate | 0.8% |
| GDP – per capita (PPP) | $35,800.00 (USD) |
ITALY demographics
| ETHNIC GROUPS | Italian (includes small clusters of German-, French-, and Slovene-Italians in the north and Albanian-Italians and Greek-Italians in the south) |
| LANGUAGES | Italian is the official language. There are significant French and German-speaking minorities, and Slovene is spoken by some. Many Italians are bilingual. |
| NATIONALITY ADJECTIVE | Italian |
| NATIONALITY NOUN | Italian(s) |
| POPULATION | 62,402,659 |
| POPULATION GROWTH RATE | 0.34% |
| POPULATION IN MAJOR URBAN AREAS | ROME (capital) 3.298 million; Milan 2.909 million; Naples 2.373 million; Turin 1.613 million; Palermo 915,000; Bergamo 784,000 |
| PREDOMINANT LANGUAGE | Italian (official), German (parts of Trentino-Alto Adige region are predominantly German speaking), French (small French-speaking minority in Valle d’Aosta region), Slovene (Slovene-speaking minority in the Trieste-Gorizia area) |
| URBAN POPULATION | 68.4% |
KOSOVO facts
| CAPITAL | Pristina (Prishtine, Prishtina) |
| GOVERMENT TYPE | parliamentary republic |
| CURRENCY | Euro (EUR) |
| TOTAL AREA | 4,203 Square Miles 10,887 Square Kilometers |
| LOCATION | Southeast Europe, between Serbia and Macedonia |
| LANGUAGE | Albanian (official), Serbian (official), Bosnian, Turkish, Roma |
| GDP – real growth rate | 3.2% |
| GDP – per capita (PPP) | $0.00 (USD) |
KOSOVO demographics
| ETHNIC GROUPS | Albanians 88%, Serbs 7%, other 5% (Bosniak, Gorani, Roma, Turk, Ashkali, Egyptian) |
| NATIONALITY ADJECTIVE | Kosovar (Albanian), Kosovski (Serbian) |
| NATIONALITY NOUN | Kosovar (Albanian), Kosovac (Serbian) |
| POPULATION | 1,932,774 |
| PREDOMINANT LANGUAGE | Albanian (official), Serbian (official), Bosnian, Turkish, Roma |
LEBANON facts
| CAPITAL | Beirut |
| GOVERMENT TYPE | parliamentary republic |
| CURRENCY | Lebanes Pouind (LBP) |
| TOTAL AREA | 4,015 Square Miles 10,400 Square Kilometers |
| LOCATION | Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Israel and Syria |
| LANGUAGE | Arabic (official), French, English, Armenian |
| GDP – real growth rate | 2% |
| GDP – per capita (PPP) | $18,600.00 (USD) |
LEBANON demographics
| ETHNIC GROUPS | Arab 95%, Armenian 4%, other 1% |
| NATIONALITY ADJECTIVE | Lebanese |
| NATIONALITY NOUN | Lebanese (singular and plural) |
| POPULATION | 5,469,612 |
| POPULATION GROWTH RATE | -0.04% |
| POPULATION IN MAJOR URBAN AREAS | BEIRUT (capital) 2.022 million |
| PREDOMINANT LANGUAGE | Arabic (official), French, English, Armenian |
| URBAN POPULATION | 87.2% |
LIBYA facts
| CAPITAL | Tripoli (Tarabulus) |
| GOVERMENT TYPE | in transition |
| CURRENCY | Lybian Dinar (LYD) |
| TOTAL AREA | 679,358 Square Miles 1,759,540 Square Kilometers |
| LOCATION | Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt, Tunisia, and Algeria |
| LANGUAGE | Arabic, Italian, English, all are widely understood in the major cities |
| GDP – real growth rate | -6.1% |
| GDP – per capita (PPP) | $15,100.00 (USD) |
LIBYA demographics
| ETHNIC GROUPS | Berber and Arab 97%, Greeks, Maltese, Italians, Egyptians, Pakistanis, Turks, Indians, Tunisians |
| NATIONALITY ADJECTIVE | Libyan |
| NATIONALITY NOUN | Libyan(s) |
| POPULATION | 6,890,535 |
| POPULATION – NOTE | note: immigrants make up just over 12% of the total population, according to UN data |
| POPULATION GROWTH RATE | 4.85% |
| POPULATION IN MAJOR URBAN AREAS | TRIPOLI (capital) 1.127 million |
| PREDOMINANT LANGUAGE | Arabic, Italian, English, all are widely understood in the major cities |
| URBAN POPULATION | 77.7% |
MALTA facts
| CAPITAL | Valletta |
| GOVERMENT TYPE | parliamentary republic |
| CURRENCY | Euro (EUR) |
| TOTAL AREA | 122 Square Miles 316 Square Kilometers |
| LOCATION | Southern Europe, islands in the Mediterranean Sea, south of Sicily (Italy) |
| LANGUAGE | Maltese (official), English (official) |
| GDP – real growth rate | 3.4% |
| GDP – per capita (PPP) | $34,700.00 (USD) |
MALTA demographics
| ETHNIC GROUPS | Maltese (descendants of ancient Carthaginians and Phoenicians, with strong elements of Italian and other Mediterranean stock) |
| LANGUAGES | The Maltese language has a Semitic structure derived from a early form of Arabic. Both Maltese and English are official languages. The written form of Maltese is a Latin script, and it is used in commerce, education and business. However, English is a second language that is taught in school. |
| NATIONALITY ADJECTIVE | Maltese |
| NATIONALITY NOUN | Maltese (singular and plural) |
| POPULATION | 457,267 |
| POPULATION GROWTH RATE | VALLETTA (capital) 198,000 |
| POPULATION IN MAJOR URBAN AREAS | VALLETTA (capital) 198,000 |
| PREDOMINANT LANGUAGE | Maltese (official), English (official) |
| URBAN POPULATION | 94.8% |
MONACO facts
| CAPITAL | Monaco |
| GOVERMENT TYPE | constitutional monarchy |
| CURRENCY | Euro (EUR) |
| TOTAL AREA | 1 Square Miles 2 Square Kilometers |
| LOCATION | Western Europe, bordering the Mediterranean Sea on the southern coast of France, near the border with Italy |
| LANGUAGE | French (official), English, Italian, Monegasque |
| GDP – real growth rate | 9.3% |
| GDP – per capita (PPP) | $78,700.00 (USD) |
MONACO demographics
| ETHNIC GROUPS | French 47%, Monegasque 16%, Italian 16%, other 21% |
| NATIONALITY ADJECTIVE | Monegasque or Monacan |
| NATIONALITY NOUN | Monegasque(s) or Monacan(s) |
| POPULATION | 39,000 |
| POPULATION – NOTE | note: immigrants make up more than 55% of the total population, according to UN data |
| PREDOMINANT LANGUAGE | French (official), English, Italian, Monegasque |
| URBAN POPULATION | 100% |
MODENEGRO facts
| CAPITAL | Podgorica |
| GOVERMENT TYPE | parliamentary republic |
| CURRENCY | Euro (EUR) |
| TOTAL AREA | 5,333 Square Miles 13,812 Square Kilometers |
| LOCATION | Southeastern Europe, between the Adriatic Sea and Serbia |
| LANGUAGE | Serbian (Ijekavian dialect – official) |
| GDP – real growth rate | 3.2% |
| GDP – per capita (PPP) | $15,700.00 (USD) |
MODENEGRO demographics
| ETHNIC GROUPS | Montenegrin 43%, Serbian 32%, Bosniak 8%, Albanian 5%, other (Muslims, Croats, Roma) 12% |
| POPULATION | 609,859 |
| POPULATION GROWTH RATE | -0.56% |
| POPULATION IN MAJOR URBAN AREAS | PODGORICA (capital) 156,000 |
| PREDOMINANT LANGUAGE | Serbian (Ijekavian dialect – official) |
| URBAN POPULATION | 63.3% |
MOROCCO facts
| CAPITAL | Rabat |
| GOVERMENT TYPE | parliamentary constitutional monarchy |
| CURRENCY | Moroccan Dirham (MAD) |
| TOTAL AREA | 172,413 Square Miles 446,550 Square Kilometers |
| LOCATION | Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, between Algeria and Western Sahara |
| LANGUAGE | Arabic (official), Berber dialects, French |
| GDP – real growth rate | 4.9% |
| GDP – per capita (PPP) | $8,300.00 (USD) |
MOROCCO demographics
| ETHNIC GROUPS | Arab-Berber 99.1%, other 0.7%, Jewish 0.2% |
| LANGUAGES | The official language is Arabic, and the Moroccan dialect of Arabic, called Derija, is the most widely spoken tongue. Derija is quite different from the classical Arabic of the Qur’an (koran), the scriptural text of Islam. Berber is the native language of about 35 % of the population, and it also includes several dialects. Other dialects are Rif, Tamazight and Shluh. French is widely spoken, especially in business, government, and higher education. Spanish can still be heard in the north, which was formerly under Spanish control. English is gaining popularity. |
| NATIONALITY ADJECTIVE | Moroccan |
| NATIONALITY NOUN | Moroccan(s) |
| POPULATION | 35,561,654 |
| POPULATION GROWTH RATE | 1.04% |
| POPULATION IN MAJOR URBAN AREAS | Casablanca 3.046 million; RABAT (capital) 1.843 million; Fes 1.088 million; Marrakech 939,000; Tangier 810,000; Agadir 805,000 |
| PREDOMINANT LANGUAGE | Arabic (official), Berber dialects, French |
| URBAN POPULATION | 57% |
NORTH MACEDONIA facts
| CAPITAL | Skopje |
| GOVERMENT TYPE | parliamentary republic |
| CURRENCY | Macedonian Denar (MKD) |
| TOTAL AREA | 9,928 Square Miles 25,713 Square Kilometers |
| LOCATION | Southeastern Europe, north of Greece |
| LANGUAGE | Macedonian 68%, Albanian 25%, Turkish 3%, Serbo-Croatian 2%, other 2% |
| GDP – real growth rate | 3.2% |
| GDP – per capita (PPP) | $14,000.00 (USD) |
NORTH MACEDONIA demographics
| ETHNIC GROUPS | Macedonian 64.2%, Albanian 25.2%, Turkish 3.9%, Roma 2.7%, Serb 1.8%, other 2.2% |
| LANGUAGES | The official language is Macedonian, which is written in a Cyrillic script. Albanian, Turkish, and Serbian are spoken widely. Sixty-seven per cent of the population in Macedonia are Macedonian, 22.9% are Albanian and there are between 2-3% Gypsy and Serb minorities. |
| NATIONALITY ADJECTIVE | Macedonian |
| NATIONALITY NOUN | Macedonian(s) |
| POPULATION | 2,125,971 |
| POPULATION GROWTH RATE | 0.22% |
| POPULATION IN MAJOR URBAN AREAS | SKOPJE (capital) 499,000 |
| PREDOMINANT LANGUAGE | Macedonian 68%, Albanian 25%, Turkish 3%, Serbo-Croatian 2%, other 2% |
| URBAN POPULATION | 59.3% |
PORTUGAL facts
| CAPITAL | Lisbon |
| GOVERMENT TYPE | semi-presidential republic |
| CURRENCY | Euro (EUR) |
| TOTAL AREA | 35,556 Square Miles 92,090 Square Kilometers |
| LOCATION | Southwestern Europe, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Spain |
| LANGUAGE | Portuguese (official), Mirandese (official – but locally used) |
| GDP – real growth rate | 1.6% |
| GDP – per capita (PPP) | $27,800.00 (USD) |
PORTUGAL demographics
| ETHNIC GROUPS | homogeneous Mediterranean stock; citizens of black African descent who immigrated to mainland during decolonization number less than 100,000; since 1990 East Europeans have entered Portugal |
| NATIONALITY ADJECTIVE | Portuguese |
| NATIONALITY NOUN | Portuguese (singular and plural) |
| POPULATION | 10,302,674 |
| POPULATION GROWTH RATE | 0.15% |
| POPULATION IN MAJOR URBAN AREAS | LISBON (capital) 2.843 million; Porto 1.367 million |
| PREDOMINANT LANGUAGE | Portuguese (official), Mirandese (official – but locally used) |
| URBAN POPULATION | 61.1% |
SAN MARINO facts
| CAPITAL | San Marino (city) |
| GOVERMENT TYPE | parliamentary republic |
| CURRENCY | Euro (EUR) |
| TOTAL AREA | 24 Square Miles 61 Square Kilometers |
| LOCATION | Southern Europe, an enclave in central Italy |
| LANGUAGE | Italian |
| GDP – real growth rate | 1% |
| GDP – per capita (PPP) | $62,100.00 (USD) |
SAN MARINO demographics
| ETHNIC GROUPS | Sammarinese, Italian |
| NATIONALITY ADJECTIVE | Sammarinese |
| NATIONALITY NOUN | Sammarinese (singular and plural) |
| POPULATION | 34,232 |
| POPULATION GROWTH RATE | 0.93% |
| PREDOMINANT LANGUAGE | Italian |
| URBAN POPULATION | 94.1% |
SERBIA facts
| CAPITAL | Belgrade (Beograd) |
| GOVERMENT TYPE | parliamentary republic |
| CURRENCY | Serbia Dinar (CSD) |
| TOTAL AREA | 29,913 Square Miles 77,474 Square Kilometers |
| LOCATION | Southeastern Europe, between Macedonia and Hungary |
| LANGUAGE | Serbian 95%, Albanian 5% |
| GDP – real growth rate | 0.5% |
| GDP – per capita (PPP) | $13,600.00 (USD) |
SERBIA demographics
| ETHNIC GROUPS | Serb 62.6%, Albanian 16.5%, Montenegrin 5%, Hungarian 3.3%, other 12.6% |
| NATIONALITY ADJECTIVE | Serbian; Montenegrin |
| NATIONALITY NOUN | Serb(s); Montenegrin(s) |
| POPULATION | 7,012,165 |
| POPULATION – NOTE | note: does not include the population of Kosovo |
| POPULATION GROWTH RATE | -0.46% |
| POPULATION IN MAJOR URBAN AREAS | BELGRADE (capital) 1.135 million |
| PREDOMINANT LANGUAGE | Serbian 95%, Albanian 5% |
| URBAN POPULATION | 56.4% |
SLOVENIA facts
| CAPITAL | Ljubljana |
| GOVERMENT TYPE | parliamentary republic |
| CURRENCY | Euro (EUR) |
| TOTAL AREA | 7,827 Square Miles 20,273 Square Kilometers |
| LOCATION | south Central Europe, Julian Alps between Austria and Croatia |
| LANGUAGE | Slovenian 92%, Serbo-Croatian 6.2%, other 1.8% |
| GDP – real growth rate | 2.3% |
| GDP – per capita (PPP) | $30,900.00 (USD) |
SLOVENIA demographics
| ETHNIC GROUPS | Slovene 92%, Croat 1%, Serb 0.5%, Hungarian 0.4%, Bosniak 0.3%, other 5.8% (1991) |
| LANGUAGES | The official language is Slovene, a Slavic language. The language has a special language construct that indicates two people or things, separate to singular and plural. Slovene uses Roman characters, but excludes q,w,and x. The oldest documents preserved date back to 1000 AD. Slovene resisted the pressure to “Germanize” the language. The next most used language is English. |
| NATIONALITY ADJECTIVE | Slovenian |
| NATIONALITY NOUN | Slovene(s) |
| POPULATION | 2,102,678 |
| POPULATION GROWTH RATE | -0.21% |
| POPULATION IN MAJOR URBAN AREAS | LJUBLJANA (capital) 273,000 |
| PREDOMINANT LANGUAGE | Slovenian 92%, Serbo-Croatian 6.2%, other 1.8% |
| URBAN POPULATION | 49.9% |
SPAIN FACTS
| CAPITAL | Madrid |
| GOVERMENT TYPE | parliamentary constitutional monarchy |
| CURRENCY | Euro (EUR) |
| TOTAL AREA | 195,123 Square Miles 505,370 Square Kilometers |
| LOCATION | Southwestern Europe, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, North Atlantic Ocean, Bay of Biscay, and Pyrenees Mountains; southwest of France |
| LANGUAGE | Castilian Spanish (official) 74%, Catalan 17%, Galician 7%, and Basque 2% note: Catalan is official in Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, and the Valencian Community (where it is known as Valencian); in the northwest corner of Catalonia (Vall d’Aran), Aranese is official along with Catalan; Galician is official in Galicia; Basque is official in the Basque Country |
| GDP – real growth rate | 3.1% |
| GDP – per capita (PPP) | $35,200.00 (USD) |
SPAIN demographics
| ETHNIC GROUPS | composite of Mediterranean and Nordic types |
| NATIONALITY ADJECTIVE | Spanish |
| NATIONALITY NOUN | Spaniard(s) |
| POPULATION | 50,015,792 |
| POPULATION GROWTH RATE | 0.73% |
| POPULATION IN MAJOR URBAN AREAS | MADRID (capital) 6.574 million; Barcelona 5.57 million; Valencia 797,000 |
| PREDOMINANT LANGUAGE | Castilian Spanish (official) 74%, Catalan 17%, Galician 7%, and Basque 2% note: Catalan is official in Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, and the Valencian Community (where it is known as Valencian); in the northwest corner of Catalonia (Vall d’Aran), Aranese is official along with Catalan; Galician is official in Galicia; Basque is official in the Basque Country |
| URBAN POPULATION | 77.4% |
SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC facts
| CAPITAL | Damascus |
| GOVERMENT TYPE | presidential republic; highly authoritarian regime |
| CURRENCY | Syrian Pound (SYP) |
| TOTAL AREA | 71,498 Square Miles 185,180 Square Kilometers |
| LOCATION | Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Lebanon and Türkiye |
| LANGUAGE | Arabic (official); Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian widely understood; French, English somewhat understood |
| GDP – real growth rate | -9.9% |
| GDP – per capita (PPP) | $5,100.00 (USD) |
SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC demographics
| ETHNIC GROUPS | Arab 90.3%, Kurds, Armenians, and other 9.7% |
| NATIONALITY ADJECTIVE | Syrian |
| NATIONALITY NOUN | Syrian(s) |
| POPULATION | 19,398,448 |
| POPULATION – NOTE | note: approximately 20,500 Israeli settlers live in the Golan Heights |
| POPULATION GROWTH RATE | 0.15% |
| POPULATION IN MAJOR URBAN AREAS | Aleppo 3.164 million; DAMASCUS (capital) 2.65 million; Hims 1.369 million; Hamah 933,000 |
| PREDOMINANT LANGUAGE | Arabic (official); Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian widely understood; French, English somewhat understood |
| URBAN POPULATION | 56.1% |
TUNISIA facts
| CAPITAL | Tunis |
| GOVERMENT TYPE | parliamentary republic |
| CURRENCY | Tunisian Dinar (TND) |
| TOTAL AREA | 63,170 Square Miles 163,610 Square Kilometers |
| LOCATION | Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Algeria and Libya |
| LANGUAGE | Arabic (official and one of the languages of commerce), French (commerce) |
| GDP – real growth rate | 1% |
| GDP – per capita (PPP) | $11,600.00 (USD) |
TUNISIA demographics
| ETHNIC GROUPS | Arab 98%, European 1%, Jewish and other 1% |
| NATIONALITY ADJECTIVE | Tunisian |
| NATIONALITY NOUN | Tunisian(s) |
| POPULATION | 11,721,177 |
| POPULATION GROWTH RATE | 0.95% |
| POPULATION IN MAJOR URBAN AREAS | TUNIS (capital) 790,000 |
| PREDOMINANT LANGUAGE | Arabic (official and one of the languages of commerce), French (commerce) |
| URBAN POPULATION | 66.3% |
TÜRKIYE facts
| CAPITAL | Ankara |
| GOVERMENT TYPE | parliamentary republic |
| CURRENCY | Yenmi Turk Lira (TRY) |
| TOTAL AREA | 302,533 Square Miles 783,562 Square Kilometers |
| LOCATION | Southeastern Europe and Southwestern Asia (that portion of Türkiyewest of the Bosporus is geographically part of Europe), bordering the Black Sea, between Bulgaria and Georgia, and bordering the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, between Greece and Syria |
| LANGUAGE | Turkish (official), Kurdish, Arabic, Armenian, Greek |
| GDP – real growth rate | 3% |
| GDP – per capita (PPP) | $20,500.00 (USD) |
TÜRKIYE demographics
| ETHNIC GROUPS | Turkish 80%, Kurdish 20% |
| LANGUAGES | Turkish is the official language of the country. Some people of Kurdish origin speak Kurdish. A small number of people also speak Arabic. English, German and French are spoken as the second language in cities and more often German in small towns. |
| NATIONALITY ADJECTIVE | Turkish |
| NATIONALITY NOUN | Turk(s) |
| POPULATION | 82,017,514 |
| POPULATION GROWTH RATE | 1.16% |
| POPULATION IN MAJOR URBAN AREAS | Istanbul 11.253 million; ANKARA (capital) 4.194 million; Izmir 2.927 million; Bursa 1.713 million; Adana 1.468 million; Gaziantep 1.198 million |
| PREDOMINANT LANGUAGE | Turkish (official), Kurdish, Arabic, Armenian, Greek |
| URBAN POPULATION | 71.5% |
