Located in southern Europe, Greece forms an irregular-shaped peninsula in the Mediterranean with two additional large peninsulas projecting from it: the Chalcidice and the Peloponnese. Modern Greece traces its roots to the civilization of Ancient Greece, considered the cradle of Western civilization. As such, it is the birthplace of democracy, Western philosophy, the Olympic Games, Western literature and historiography, political science, major scientific and mathematical principles, and Western drama, including both tragedy and comedy.

Greece is a rugged, mountainous Mediterranean country with thousands of years of history and tradition, which have had significant impact on Western culture. The country is located on the southern tip of the Balkan Peninsula in the southeastern part of Europe. Greece is a true crossroads as the continents of Europe, Asia and Africa meet near the country. Greece shares borders with Bulgaria, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Albania and Turkey and has coastlines on the Mediterranean, Aegean and Ionian Seas. In addition to the mainland of Greece, the country has about 6,000 islands of varying sizes in the Aegean and Ionian Seas. Major industries include tourism, food and tobacco processing, textiles, chemicals, metal products, mining and petroleum.