Greece is a unicameral democratic republic and a confessional State. The Greek Orthodox Church is the official religion.

President Karolos Papoulias has been in office since 2005. The President is elected by the Parliament and only has power of arbitration. The Prime Minister and Head of Government is Georgios Papandreou, who was elected in October 2009.

Voting is compulsory for citizens aged 18 and over, but they can be exempt for numerous reasons and no fine is imposed for not voting. The local authorities are accused of not registering Roma voters, thus depriving them of the right to vote, alleging reasons connected with the requirement of being resident in the municipality.

The Parliament (Vouli) has 300 members, of whom 288 are elected by universal suffrage and 12 are State Deputies designated by the political parties. Fifty women have a seat in the Vouli, 17.3%, whereas according to the law 30% of candidates should be women. There are three women in the 17-member cabinet.

The judiciary is independent. In the three highest courts, 14 of 61 judges at the Council of State, 28 of 59 judges at the Supreme Administrative Court and three of the 62 judges at the Supreme Court are women.

The international crisis, which began by being financial in nature, subsequently moved to the real economy and has finally erupted into a risk for countries and various political crises. Greece is severely affected.

In May 2010, three people died as a result of the fire caused in a building in the centre of Athens by demonstrators protesting at the austerity measures of the Papandreou government. This is unprecedented in Europe for a long while, with some analysts beginning to question the hard medicine imposed on Greece by both the IMF and the European Union in return for a bailout of 110,000 million euros over three years (cuts in wages and pensions and a brutal increase in indirect taxes). The fiscal consolidation timetable approved by the EU is beginning to be a heavy burden for some countries. If the forecasts published by Brussels are proved correct, nations like Greece or the rest of the Mediterranean countries are faced with a long spell of sacrifices. New Democracy, the party of the previous Prime Minister which was responsible for the collapse of the Greek economy with its manipulation of data and its enormous level of public spending, voted against the cuts. PASOK, the Socialist Party, will have to go it alone (with 160 of the 300 seats in Parliament) through the political attrition of the adjustment, under pressure from the Right and the Left. The present government has undertaken to reduce the public deficit from 13.6% in 2009 to less than 3% in 2014. The Greek debt, over 400 billion euros, represents 115% of its GDP. The austerity measures approved by Parliament in March 2010 include an increase from 19% to 21% in value-added tax, an increase in the taxes on fuel, tobacco and alcohol, substantial wage cuts in the public sector and a pension freeze.

Discrimination on the basis of nationality, race, language or political belief is prohibited, but enforcement of the law is limited. The Greek Orthodox Church is officially recognised as the prevailing religion and the Church has considerable political and economic influence. However, recognition is also extended to other religions. Muslims have official minority status in Thrace. Citizens who are not of the Orthodox faith complain of career limitations. Reports indicate that the security forces harass and abuse Roma and immigrant communities.

The police are also accused of harassment and ill-treatment of homosexuals. Freedom of the press is guaranteed and respected, but there are still some legal limitations on freedom of expression. Radio and television stations express a variety of views.

Trafficking in persons is illegal but Greece continues to be a country of destination and transit for men, women and children trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation and forced labour.

Education is free and compulsory between the ages of 6 and 16. Parents are legally obliged to send their children to school for nine years. This is the minimum length of compulsory education.

Attendance levels are high, except among Roma children. Many Roma children do not go to school or leave at a very early age. Most children complete secondary education. University education is public and free, although there are more applicants than places. Religious instruction is obligatory for Greek Orthodox pupils at primary and secondary schools, although pupils of other religions are not required to take these classes. Whilst Greek Orthodox pupils are receiving religious instruction the other pupils are left unsupervised, and textbooks contain derogatory remarks about religions other than the Greek Orthodox religion. In Thrace, the government finances State-run schools for the Muslim minority. There has been a great deal of criticism of the quality of education at schools for minorities.

Education International affiliates in Greece, the Greek Primary TeachersFederation (DOE) and the Federation of Secondary School Teachers of Greece (OLME), reported in March 2011 that the Greek Ministry of Education had announced the amalgamation of 1,933 establishments which will entail the closure of 1,056 schools, leading to the loss of 3,000 jobs in education and a dramatic lowering of the quality of education in Greece. These changes were decided without any substantial dialogue beforehand with the teachers unions.

A two-year programme begins at the age of four. At this level 3% of education is private. The net enrolment rate (NER) is 68%. There are 10,747 ECE teachers. The pupil/teacher ratio (PTR) is 13:1.

Education is compulsory between the ages of 6 and 14. Primary education starts at the age of five and lasts for six years. The NER is 99% (50% girls). There are 54,599 teachers in primary education. The PTR is 10:1.

Secondary education begins at the age of 12 and lasts 6 years. 36% of secondary students follow technical training courses. The NER is 84%. 83,024 teachers work in secondary education, 39,582 of them in lower secondary and 43,442 in upper secondary. The PTR is 9:1.

561,468 students (51% female) study at tertiary institutions, with a gross enrolment rate of 91%. Foreign students in Greece come from North America and Western Europe (10,256), Central and Eastern Europe (1,412), the Arab States (395), Asia (274), Sub-Saharan Africa (24) and Latin America and the Caribbean (16). At the same time, 49,631 Greek students are studying abroad, particularly in the United Kingdom (22,826), Germany (7,577), Italy (7,159), France (2,288) and the United States (2,126).

Greece has ratified most of the main international agreements with provisions concerning access to education and employment for persons with special needs.

For a Greek child to be included in a special needs programme, including those with dyslexia and attention deficit disorders, he or she must undergo an evaluation at a specialist centre.

Thanks to Community funds, Roma children, children with a disability, children from remote mountain and island areas and incarcerated minors can receive special care. There are welfare benefits and special schools for the disabled but the latter are hampered by a lack of personnel and resources.

Only 5% of public buildings are accessible for persons with disabilities, most of them in Athens. Buildings with special ramps do not have lifts or accessible toilet facilities. The Ombudsman has received complaints from people with disabilities, especially with regard to transport, employment and social security. In 2009 the Ministry of Health and Social Solidarity estimated that there were 180,000 children with disabilities and special educational needs. The teachersunions estimated that only 18,500 of these children attended primary school and only 10% of them would reach secondary school, due to the lack of special education schools or the shortage of appropriate infrastructure.

The law provides for the granting of asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its Protocol of 1967.

According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) , in January 2010 there were 48,201 asylum-seekers and 1,695 refugees legally registered in Greece. But the problem in Greece is aggravated by the fact that the asylum system is still not functioning properly, despite the reform efforts in course. The UNHCR is working with the government on establishing a fair process for evaluation of the claims of asylum-seekers. At present, thousands of asylum-seekers are living in limbo in Greece. In September 2010, the UNHCR described the situation facing migrants and asylum-seekers in Greece as a "humanitarian crisis". There have been no concrete improvements in spite of repeated promises by the government to reform its deficient asylum system, to re-establish the right to appeal, to guarantee humane treatment for migrants and to call the police to account for cases of ill-treatment.

The children of refugees and asylum-seekers are provided with education, but to attend university they must be fluent in Greek. Some NGOs offer help with studies in their mother tongue.

Some citizens identify themselves as Turks, Pumas, Vlachs, Roma, Arvanites, Macedonians or Slavomacedonians. Use of the terms Tourkos and Tourkikos is prohibited in titles of organisations. It is reported that Albanian immigrants suffer social discrimination. A Slavonic dialect is spoken in the north-west of the country. Use of the term generates strong objections. The Roma community continues to face discrimination, such as landlords frequently refusing to rent to Roma or non-Roma parents withdrawing their children from school if Roma children are enrolled. The illiteracy rate among Roma is estimated at some 80%. Roma representatives report that local authorities sometimes refuse to register Roma as residents, resulting in the denial of other services. 90% of Roma are not covered by the social security system because they cannot pay the necessary contributions. Measures are being taken to help the Roma community, such as training for civil servants, police and teachers to increase their awareness of the problems of this community and the production of teaching materials for Roma children. There are two Muslim representatives in Parliament.

Reports do not indicate any restriction on academic freedom and Internet access is not limited.

Women continue to earn less than men and more women than men are trapped in low-income jobs. Few women occupy positions of responsibility in the political, economic and academic fields.

In Greece, women take home three-quarters of what men earn for the same work. Reports published by the EU Statistical Office (Eurostat) show that there are also pay inequalities among higher-income groups, the elderly and the most highly educated. Women in Greece have made significant progress in the academic world and most university graduates are women. But there is still a long way to go before they are on an equal footing with men on the labour market. But although over 50% of university graduates in Greece are females, women represent only 37% of the countrys workforce. According to the centre for planning and economic research (KEPE), the unemployment rate among women is around 15%, more than twice that for men (6.7%).

Greek women have more family responsibilities and do a disproportionate amount of the housework. In fact, studies show that the majority of men spend less time than women doing household chores. Women have much less time in paid employment after the birth of a child.

Violence against women is prohibited but occurs nevertheless. Rape, including rape within marriage, is a criminal offence. The percentage of successful prosecutions is very low, but there are harsher sentences for repeat offenders. According to police statistics, 298 cases of rape or attempted rape were reported in 2009. The General Secretariat for Gender Equality (GSGE), an agency independent of the government, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women and womens non-governmental organisations all report that violence and discrimination are still commonplace. The law provides for prosecution, with no need for a victim to press charges, in cases of domestic violence. Penalties range from two to ten years in prison, depending on the gravity of the offence. The GSGE estimates that only 6% to 10% of victims of domestic violence contact the police and only a small proportion of cases reach the courts. The GSGE, in cooperation with the Ministry for Citizen Protection, trains the police in how to work with victims of domestic violence. In spite of these training efforts, the GSGE reports that the police tend to discourage women from pressing charges, encouraging them to opt for reconciliation instead. The GSGE has an emergency 24-hour telephone line for ill-treated women and the Ministry of Health and Social Solidarity has a direct line providing contact points and psychological counselling for victims.

The law prohibits sexual harassment and provides for sentences of between two months and five years in prison. However, in 2009 the trade unions indicated that reports of sexual harassment were very rare. In its annual survey, the centre for research on gender equality matters reported that most women suffering sexual harassment at the workplace ended up leaving their job without pressing charges.

The government generally respects the reproductive rights of couples and individuals. Contraceptives are available in shops and hospitals and the government also respects the right of couples and individuals freely and responsibly to decide on the number of children that they want. Public hospitals offer free services. According to data compiled by international organisations, the estimated rate of maternal mortality in 2008 was two deaths for every 100,000 live births.

Muslim women in Thrace are subject to Sharia law as interpreted by official imams; their family and property rights are less than those of men. The government recognises Sharia as the law governing family and civil matters within the Muslim minority in Thrace.

In 2009, the UNs independent expert on questions of minorities reported that the situation of women in Roma and Muslim communities was a cause for particular concern. According to the report, Muslim women experience serious inequality in access to education and therefore suffer disproportionately high levels of illiteracy and unemployment.

Prostitution is legal as from the age of 18. Around 20,000 women, most of them foreigners, work as illegal prostitutes. Many are victims of trafficking in human beings.

International and local observers consider that the number of children working has fallen in recent years, but it is likely that the crisis will reverse this trend. Most children begging in the street are Albanian Roma. The minimum age to start work in industry is 15. It is normal for children to work part-time in family businesses. The victims of human trafficking are usually Albanian Roma, who are used for the purpose of sexual exploitation or forced labour. Some Roma parents are accused of selling or hiring out their children to traffickers for a monthly consideration.

The law states that all workers, with the exception of members of the armed forces, have the right to form and join independent trade unions of their choice without prior authorisation or excessive requirements, and workers exercise this right. Approximately 30% of the workforce is unionised. Agricultural workers, most of whom are foreigners, are not unionised. The law allows trade unions to carry out their activities without interference and the government protects this right in practice. The law provides for the right to strike and workers in the private sector and the public corporations exercise this right in practice. The police have the right to organise and demonstrate but not the right to strike. There are some legal restrictions on strikes, including an obligatory four-day waiting period for public sector workers and 24 hours for private sector workers. The law lays down minimum staffing levels during strikes affecting public services. The courts can declare a strike illegal.

Both employees and companies pay compulsory contributions to the unions. Collective bargaining is practised in the private sector and in public corporations. The Education International affiliates in Greece, the Greek Primary Teachers Federation (DOE) and the Federation of Secondary School Teachers of Greece (OLME), took part in the protests against the economic measures adopted by the government as imposed by the IMF and the EU.

Forced or compulsory labour is illegal but exists nonetheless. The minimum wage is set through collective bargaining. The Ministry of Labour ratifies the minimum wage, incorporates it in its laws and regulations and applies it to all workers. The working week is 40 hours maximum in the private sector and 37.5 hours in the public sector.

On 30 November 2009, the office of Moschos Voitsidis, President of the JournalistsUnion of Macedonia and Thrace Daily Newspapers, and the apartment of Panagiotis Nestoridis, Vice-President of the Journalists Healthcare Fund EDOEAP, were the targets of a series of explosions. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the European Federation of Journalists condemned the attacks and demanded an exhaustive investigation. Other journalists and media employees have also recently been victims of acts of violence.

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