Animal Info - Greece

Threatened Species, Environmental and Social Data (Mammals, Biodiversity/Ecosystems, Population, Area/Land Use, Protected Lands, Economy, Education), References and Links

Threatened Species

Threatened Species: The following list includes all mammals which occur in Greece and are rated as Critically Endangered (CR), Endangered (EN) or Vulnerable (VU) in the 2004 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals.

Critically Endangered:
- Mediterranean Monk Seal (Monachus monachus).
Endangered:
- European Mink (Mustela lutreola)
Vulnerable:
- Eurasian Otter (Lutra lutra).
- European Squirrel (Spermophilus citellus).
- Geoffroy's Bat (Myotis emarginatus).
- Lesser Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus hipposideros).
- Lesser Mole Rat (Nannospalax leucodon).
- Long-fingered Bat (Myotis capaccinii).
- Mediterranean Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus euryale).
- Mehely's Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus mehelyi).
- Mouse-tailed Dormouse (Myomimus roachi).
- Spiny Mouse (Acomys minous). (Endemic to Greece.)
- Wild Goat (Capra aegagrus).
- Zimmermann's Shrew (Crocidura zimmermanni). (Endemic to Greece.)

Environmental and Social Data

Mammals

Total number of species: 95 (Groombridge & Jenkins 1994)
Number of endemic species: 2 (Groombridge & Jenkins 1994)
Number of threatened species: 1996: 13 (14 % of total species) (IUCN 1996); 2000: 14 (15 % of total species) (IUCN 2000)

Biodiversity/Ecosystems

Greece contains portions of the Southern European Montane Forests and the Mediterranean Shrublands & Woodlands Global 200 Ecoregions (Olson & Dinerstein 1998, Olson & Dinerstein 1999)
Greece contains portions of the Eastern Mediterranean Global Biodiversity Hotspot (Cons. Intl. 1999a)

Population

Population in 1995: 10,456,000 (Natl. Geog. Soc. 1995)
Population density in 1995: 79.2 people/sq km (205.2 people/sq mi) (Natl. Geog. Soc. 1995)
Population in 1998: 10,662,138 (World Almanac 1999)
Average population growth rate, 1980 - 1990: 0.4 % (World Bank 1992)

Area/Land Use

Area: 131,991 sq km (50,962 sq mi) (Natl. Geog. Soc. 1995)
Percentages of primary world ecosystem types:

Other Coastal Aquatic: 26 %
Major Wetland: 3 %
Crop and Settlements: 40 %
Interrupted Woods: 27 %
Major Forests: 3 %

(Groombridge 1992)

Percent of land area classified as the following degree of human disturbance: Low: 0 %; Medium: 14 %; High: 86 % (WRI 1994)

Protected Lands

Area: 1,050 sq km (405 sq mi) (Groombridge 1992)
Percent of land protected: 0.59 % totally protected; 0.2 % partially protected; 0.79 % totally or partially protected (Groombridge 1992)

Economy

Per capita GNP ($ U.S.) (1991): $6,530 (WRI 1994)
Per capita GDP ($ U.S.) (1996): $10,000 (World Almanac 1999)

Education

Percent of females in secondary education (1989): 94 % (World Bank 1992)
Percent adult literacy: Female: 89 % (1990), 76 % (1970); Male: 98 % (1990), 93 % (1970) (WRI 1994)

References and Links

References: Cons. Intl. 1999a, Groombridge 1992, Groombridge & Jenkins 1994, IUCN 1994, IUCN 1996, IUCN 2000, IUCN 2004, Natl. Geog. Soc. 1995, Olson & Dinerstein 1998, Olson & Dinerstein 1999, World Almanac 1999, World Bank 1992, WRI 1994

General Links (After you get to one of these sites, click on the link for Greece): CIA World Factbook, Foreign Embassies of Washington, D.C., Library of Congress - Country Studies, University of Texas - Country Maps, Washington Post - Countries, World Resources Institute - Country Profiles; Links for Greece: WWF/World Wide Fund for Nature - Greece

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Last modified: November 5, 2005;