Greeks

The Greeks or Hellenes (/ˈhɛliːnz/; Greek: Έλληνες, Éllines [ˈelines]) are an ethnic group and nation native to Greece, Cyprus, southern Albania, Anatolia, parts of Italy and Egypt, and to a lesser extent, other countries surrounding the Eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea. They also form a significant diaspora (omogenia), with many Greek communities established around the world.[45]

Greeks
Hellenes

Έλληνες
Total population
c. 14–17 million[1][2]
Regions with significant populations
Greece  9,903,268[3][4] (2011 census)  Cyprus 659,115[5][6][7] (2011 census)
United States	1,279,000–3,000,000a (2016 estimate)[8][9]
Germany	443,000b (2016 estimate)[10]
Australia	424,744 (2021 census)[11]
United Kingdom	345,000–400,000 (2011 estimate)[12]
Canada	271,405c (2016 census)[13]
Albania	200,000 (c. 1990 estimate)[14]
New Zealand	est. 2,478 to 10,000, possibly up to 50,000 [15]
South Africa	138,000 (2011 estimate)[16]
Italy	110,000–200,000d (2013 estimate)[17][18][19]
Egypt	110,000[20][21]
Chile	100,000[22]
Ukraine	91,000 (2011 estimate)[23]
Russia	85,640 (2010 census)[24]
Brazil	50,000e[25]
France	35,000 (2013 estimate)[26]
Belgium	35,000 (2011 estimate)[27]
Argentina	30,000–50,000 (2013 estimate)[28]
Netherlands	28,856 (2021)[29][30]
Bulgaria	1,356 (2011 census)[31] up to 28,500 (estimate)[32]
Uruguay	25,000–28,000 (2011 census)[33]
Sweden	24,736 (2012 census)[34]
Georgia	15,000 (2011 estimate)[35]
Czech Republic	12,000[36]
Kazakhstan	8,846 (2011 estimate)[37]
Switzerland	11,000 (2015 estimate)[38]
Romania	10,000 (2013 estimate)[39]
Uzbekistan	9,500 (2000 estimate)[40]
Austria	5,261[41]
Hungary	4,454 (2016 census)[42]
Turkey	4,000–49,143f[43][44]
Languages
Greek
Religion
Primarily Greek Orthodox Church
a Includes those of ancestral descent. b Includes people with "cultural roots". c Those whose stated ethnic origins included "Greek" among others. The number of those whose stated ethnic origin is solely "Greek" is 145,250. An additional 3,395 Cypriots of undeclared ethnicity live in Canada. dApprox. 60,000 Griko people and 30,000 post WW2 migrants. e "Including descendants". f Including Greek Muslims.

Greek colonies and communities have been historically established on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea, but the Greek people themselves have always been centered on the Aegean and Ionian seas, where the Greek language has been spoken since the Bronze Age.[46][47] Until the early 20th century, Greeks were distributed between the Greek peninsula, the western coast of Asia Minor, the Black Sea coast, Cappadocia in central Anatolia, Egypt, the Balkans, Cyprus, and Constantinople.[47] Many of these regions coincided to a large extent with the borders of the Byzantine Empire of the late 11th century and the Eastern Mediterranean areas of ancient Greek colonization.[48] The cultural centers of the Greeks have included Athens, Thessalonica, Alexandria, Smyrna, and Constantinople at various periods.

In recent times, most ethnic Greeks live within the borders of the modern Greek state or in Cyprus. The Greek genocide and population exchange between Greece and Turkey nearly ended the three millennia-old Greek presence in Asia Minor. Other longstanding Greek populations can be found from southern Italy to the Caucasus and southern Russia and Ukraine and in the Greek diaspora communities in a number of other countries. Today, most Greeks are officially registered as members of the Greek Orthodox Church.[49]

Greeks have greatly influenced and contributed to culture, visual arts, exploration, theatre, literature, philosophy, ethics, politics, architecture, music, mathematics,[50] medicine, science, technology, commerce, cuisine and sports. The Greek language is the oldest written language still in use and its vocabulary has been the basis of many languages, including English as well as international scientific nomenclature. Greek was by far the most widely spoken lingua franca in the Mediterranean world ^[when?] and the New Testament of the Christian Bible was also originally written in Greek.[51][52]