Albania vs. Greece
Geography
| Albania | Greece | |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and Ionian Sea, between Greece to the south and Montenegro and Kosovo to the north | Southern Europe, bordering the Aegean Sea, Ionian Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea, between Albania and Turkey |
| Geographic coordinates | 41 00 N, 20 00 E | 39 00 N, 22 00 E |
| Map references | Europe | Europe |
| Area | total: 28,748 sq km land: 27,398 sq km water: 1,350 sq km | total: 131,957 sq km land: 130,647 sq km water: 1,310 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | slightly smaller than Alabama |
| Land boundaries | total: 691 km border countries (4): Greece 212 km, Kosovo 112 km, Macedonia 181 km, Montenegro 186 km | total: 1,110 km border countries (4): Albania 212 km, Bulgaria 472 km, Macedonia 234 km, Turkey 192 km |
| Coastline | 362 km | 13,676 km |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation | territorial sea: 6 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
| Climate | mild temperate; cool, cloudy, wet winters; hot, clear, dry summers; interior is cooler and wetter | temperate; mild, wet winters; hot, dry summers |
| Terrain | mostly mountains and hills; small plains along coast | mountainous with ranges extending into the sea as peninsulas or chains of islands |
| Elevation extremes | highest point: Maja e Korabit (Golem Korab) 2,764 m lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m mean elevation: 708 m | highest point: Mount Olympus 2,917 lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m mean elevation: 498 m note: Mount Olympus actually has 52 peaks but its highest point, Mytikas (meaning "nose"), rises to 2,917 meters; in Greek mythology, Olympus' Mytikas peak was the home of the Greek gods |
| Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, coal, bauxite, chromite, copper, iron ore, nickel, salt, timber, hydropower, arable land | lignite, petroleum, iron ore, bauxite, lead, zinc, nickel, magnesite, marble, salt, hydropower potential |
| Land use | agricultural land: 42.8% (2018 est.) arable land: 22.3% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 3% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 17.4% (2018 est.) forest: 28.8% (2018 est.) other: 28.2% (2018 est.) | agricultural land: 63.4% (2018 est.) arable land: 19.7% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 8.9% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 34.8% (2018 est.) forest: 30.5% (2018 est.) other: 6.1% (2018 est.) |
| Irrigated land | 3,537 sq km (2014) | 15,550 sq km (2012) |
| Natural hazards | destructive earthquakes; tsunamis occur along southwestern coast; floods; drought | severe earthquakes volcanism: Santorini (367 m) has been deemed a Decade Volcano by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior, worthy of study due to its explosive history and close proximity to human populations; although there have been very few eruptions in recent centuries, Methana and Nisyros in the Aegean are classified as historically active |
| Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution from industrial and domestic effluents; air pollution from industrial and power plants; loss of biodiversity due to lack of resources for sound environmental management | air pollution; air emissions from transport and electricity power stations; water pollution; degradation of coastal zones; loss of biodiversity in terrestrial and marine ecosystems; increasing municipal and industrial waste |
| Environment - international agreements | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Heavy Metals, Air Pollution-Multi-effect Protocol, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds |
| Geography - note | strategic location along Strait of Otranto (links Adriatic Sea to Ionian Sea and Mediterranean Sea) | strategic location dominating the Aegean Sea and southern approach to Turkish Straits; a peninsular country, possessing an archipelago of about 2,000 islands |
| Total renewable water resources | 30.2 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) | 68.4 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) |
| Population distribution | a fairly even distribution, with somewhat higher concentrations of people in the western and central parts of the country | one-third of the population lives in and around metropolitan Athens; the remainder of the country has moderate population density mixed with sizeable urban clusters |
Source: CIA Factbook
