Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1899 American Edition.djvu/1050

 11,486

Corfu.

17,918

Zante

. 14,650

42,169

Hermopolis.

17,894

Calamata

. 14,298

37,958

Volo.

16,232

Pyrgos.

. 12,705

21,149

Larissa ,

15,373

Tripolitza

. 10,465

694 GREECE

are not more than 90^000 or 100,000 of distinct Albanian nationality in the whole of Greece. These are scattered in small communities chiefly over Attica ; northwards as far as Thebes ; then across the Isthmus of Corinth, throughout the ancient Argolis, in the southeru districts of Euboea, and a few of the neighbouring isles. On the other hand, there are large numbers of Greeks in the Ottoman Empire, raising the whole Greek nationality to over 8,000,000, as under :— Greece, about 2,200,000; Asia Minor, 2,000,000; Crete, Cyprus, and other Ottoman islands. 400,000; European Turkey, 3,500,000; total 8,100,000.

In 1890 there were 19,899 marriages; 78,226 births; 55,813 deaths; surplus of births, 22,413. There are no more recent figures.

The principal towns are the following, with populations, 1896 : — Athens Pirseus Patras Trikkala.

Religion.

The great majority of the inhabitants of the Kingdom are adherents of the Greek Orthodox Church. Before the census of 1889 there were 1,902,800 belonging to the Greek. Orthodox Church; 14,677 other Christians, mainly Roman Catholics ; 5,792 Jews ; and 24,165 Mohammedans. By the terms of the Constitution of 1864, the Greek Orthodox Church is declared the religion of the State, but com|)lete toleration and liberty of worship is guaranteed to all other sects. Nominally, the Greek clergy owe allegiance to the Patriarch of Constantinople, though he now exercises no governing authority ; he is elected by the votes of the bishops and optimates subject to the Sultan ; his jurisdiction extends over Thrace and other countries, including Bosnia, as well as the greater part of Asia Minor. The real ecclesiastical authorit)', formerly exercised by him in Greece, was anniilled by the resolutions of a National Synod, held at Nauplia in 1833, which vested the government of the Orthodox Church, within the limits of the Kingdom, in a permanent council, calleJ the Holy Synod, consisting of the Metropolitan of Athens and four archbishops and bishops, who must during their yesiv of office reside at the seat of the executive. The Orthodox Church has nine arclibishoj^s and eight Ijishops -in Northern Greece; six archbishops and six bishops in the Peloponnesus ; one archbishop and five bishops in the islands of the Greek Archipelago ; and five archbishops and ten bishops in the Ionian Islands. There are 161 monasteries and nunneries, Avith 2,620 monks and 485 nuns.

Instruction.

All children between the ages of five and twelve years must attend school but the law is not well enforced in country districts. Of the army recruits 30 per cent, are illiterate, and 15 ])er cent, can read only.

There are (1892) 2,745 primary schools, 295 secondary schools ami a uni- versity. The total number of teachers is 3,680, and of pupils, 139,385, of whom 22,100 are females. There are 2 agricultural schools in Greece with, together, 51 pupils. In 1895 an industrial and commercial school, with 40 teachers, was opened at Piraeus to give instruction in the industries relating to wine, spirits, beer, soaj), perfumes, dairy-keeping, cattle and silkworm rearing, and in the duties of commercial clerks. In 1895 the University of Athens had 2,987 students, of whom 967 studied medicine, 1,327 law, 516 philosophy, 51 theology, 124 chemistry. Of the total number 604 Averefrom abroad, chiefly from Turkey.