Greece - Location, size, and extent

Greece is the southernmost country in the Balkan Peninsula, with a total area of 131,940 sq km (50,942 sq mi); about a fifth of the area is composed of more than 1,400 islands in the Ionian and Aegean seas. Comparatively, the area occupied by Greece is slightly smaller than the state of Alabama. Continental Greece has a length of 940 km (584 mi) N – S and a width of 772 km (480 mi) E – W . It is bounded on the N by Macedonia and Bulgaria, on the NE by Turkey, on the E by the Aegean Sea, on the S by the Mediterranean Sea, on the SW and W by the Ionian Sea, and on the NW by Albania, with a total land boundary length of 1,228 km (763 mi) and a coastline of 13,676 km (8,498 mi). The capital city of Greece, Athens, is located along the country's southern coast.