GREEK DIASPORA


The 'Greek diaspora' () is a term used to refer to the communities of Greek people living outside of the traditional Greek homelands of modern Greece and Cyprus.
Members of the diaspora can be identified as those who themselves, or whose ancestors, migrated from the Greek homelands.

Contents
History
Ancient Times
7th Century
Modern Times
19th Century
20th Century
Today
Well Known Greeks of the Diaspora
Number of Greeks in all countries
See also
References
External links

History


Ancient Times

In ancient times the trading and colonising activities of the Greek tribes and city states spread people of Greek culture, religion and language around the Mediterranean and Black Sea basins, especially in Sicily, southern Italy, Spain the South of France and the Black sea coasts. Under Alexander the Great's Empire Greek ruling classes were established in the middle east and in Egypt. Under the Roman Empire movement of people spread Greeks across the Empire and in the eastern territories Greek became the lingua franca rather than Latin. The Roman Empire became Christianized in the fourth century AD, and in the Byzantine period practice of the Greek Orthodox form of Christianity became a defining hallmark of Greek identity.
7th Century

In the seventh century Emperor Heraclius adopted Greek as the official language. Greeks continued to live around the Levant, Mediterranean and Black Sea maintaining a Greek identity amongst local populations as traders, officials and settlers. Under the Ottoman Empire these populations generally remained.
Modern Times

19th Century

During and after the Greek War of Independence, Greeks of the Diaspora were important in establishing the fledgling state, raising funds and awareness abroad. Greek merchant families already had contacts in other countries and during the disturbances many set up home around the Mediterranean (notably Marseilles in France, Livorno in Italy, Alexandria in Egypt), Russia (Odessa and St Petersburg), and Britain (London and Liverpool) from where they traded, typically in textiles and grain. Businesses frequently comprised the whole extended family, and with them they brought schools teaching Greek and the Greek Orthodox church. As markets changed and they became more established, some families grew their operations to become shippers, financed through the local Greek community, notably with the aid of the Ralli or Vagliano Brothers. With economic success the Diaspora expanded further across the Levant, North Africa, India and the USA.
After the Treaty of Constantinople the political situation stabilised somewhat, and some of the displaced families moved back to the newly-independant country to become key figures in cultural, educational and political life, especially in Athens. Finance and assistance from overseas were channelled through these family ties, and helped provide institutions such as the National Library, and sent relief after natural disasters.
20th Century

In the twentieth century many Greeks left the traditional homelands for economic reasons resulting in large migrations from Greece and Cyprus to the United States, Great Britain, Australia, Germany and South Africa, especially after the Second World War (1939-45) the Greek Civil War (1946-49) and the Turkish Invasion of Cyprus in 1974.
After the First World War most Greeks living in the territory of modern Turkey were forced or coerced into leaving areas occupied by Greek people since antiquity. Many came to modern Greece, but The Russian Empire (later USSR) was also a major destination.
After the Greek Civil War some left wing activists and their families moved to the Communist Countries of Europe due to the political situation. Hungary even founded a whole new village, Beloiannisz for Greek immigrants. While many immigrants returned later, these countries still have numerous first and second generation Greeks who maintain their traditions.
The Arab Nationalism of President Nasser of Egypt led to the expulsion of a large Greek population from that country in the 1950s. Until that point Alexandria had been an important centre of Greek culture since antiquity, with the business life of the city dominated by Greeks.
With the fall of Communism in eastern Europe and the USSR, numbers of Greeks of the Diaspora whose Greek ancestry was many generations removed, immigrated to modern Greece's urban centres in Athens and Thessaloniki and onto Cyprus. Movements from Georgia were most numerous.
The term 'Pontian Greeks' is used to refer to those who have come from the countries around the Black Sea.

Today


Important centres of the Greek Diaspora today are Chicago USA, London UK, New York USA, Melbourne Australia and Toronto Canada.
The General Secretariat for Greeks Abroad is a dependency of the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and has compiled several studies on the Greeks of the diaspora.
The total number of Greeks living outside Greece and Cyprus today is a contentious issue. Where Census figures are available it shows around 3 million Greeks outside of Greece and Cyprus. Estimates provided by the Council of overseas Greeks {SAE} put the figure at around 7 million worldwide. Integration, intermarriage and loss of the Greek language also influence the definition and self-definition of Greeks of the Diaspora.

Well Known Greeks of the Diaspora


Well known people in the Greek diaspora include:
Queen Cleopatra,
King Attalos,
Antiochius III,
George Averoff,
Arsaki,
Maria Callas,
Jennifer Aniston,
George Michael,
Telly Savalas,
Doménicos Theotokópoulos (El Greco),
Georges Corraface,
Greg Louganis,
John Varvatos,
Elia Kazan,
Constantine Lascaris,
Marcus Musurus,
Yiannis Pharmakis,
Queen Sophia of Spain,
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh,
Peter Andre,
Jake and Dinos Chapman
Sir Alec Issigonis,
Michael Dukakis,
Olympia Dukakis,
Michael Dertouzos,
George Bizos,
Mario Frangoulis,
George Sava,
Spyros Skouras,
Arianna Huffington,
Panayiotis Zavos,
Nicholas Negroponte,
Grigorios S. Kapageridis,
Nik Poulos,
Spiro Agnew,
George Stephanopoulos,
See also:

★ List of Greek Americans

★ List of Greek Australians

★ List of Greek Canadians

★ Greeks in Great Britain
Top 50 countries with the largest Greek populations.

Number of Greeks in all countries


Rank Country Capital Number of ethnic Greeks Main articles
1 Greece Athens 10,744,740 (2001 census) Greeks
2 United States Washington, D.C. 1,213,807 (2000 census) [1] – an estimated 3,000,000 claim Greek descent [2] Greek American
3 Cyprus Nicosia 689,471 (2001 census, in gov. controlled area) Greek Cypriots, Greek Cypriot diaspora
4 Australia Canberra 375,703 (2001 census) [3] – 700,000 (est.) [4] Greek Australian
5 Germany Berlin 354,500 (est.) [5] – 320,000 (2006 est.) [6] Greeks in Germany
6 Canada Ottawa 215,105 (2001 census) [7] – 450,000 (est.)5 Greek Canadians
7 South Africa Pretoria 120,000 (est.) 5 – see also [1] Greeks in South Africa
8 United Kingdom London 112,163 (2001 census) - excludes all British-born Greeks (est. 200,000) [8] Greeks in Great Britain
9 Russia Moscow 97,827 (2002 census) [9] – 150,000 (est.) 5 Greeks in Russia
10 Ukraine Kiev 91,500 (2001 census) [10] – 250,000 (est.) 5 (500,000 - est. 2000) Greeks in Ukraine
11 Albania Tirana 58,785 (1989 census) [11] – 400,000 (est.) [12] Greeks in Albania
12 France Paris 35,000 (est.) [13] 5 Greeks in France
13 Brazil Brasília 25,000 – 30,000 (est.) [14] Greeks in Brazil
14 Belgium Brussels 25,000 (est.) 5 – 35,000 (est.) [15] Greeks in Belgium
15 Argentina Buenos Aires 20,000 (est.) 5 – 30,000 (est.) [16] Greeks in Argentina
16 Italy Rome 20,000 (est.) 5 – 30,000 (est.) [17] Greeks in Italy
17 Georgia Tbilisi 15,166 (2002 census) [18] – 120,000 (est.) 5 Greeks in Georgia
18 Serbia Belgrade 15,000 (est.) [19] Greeks in Serbia
19 Kazakhstan Astana 12,703 (1999 census) [20] – 120,000 (est.) 5 Greeks in Kazakhstan
20 Sweden Stockholm 12,000 – 15,000 (est.) [21] – 20,000 (est.) 5 Greeks in Sweden
21 Uzbekistan Tashkent 9,500 (est.) [22] – 10,000 (est.) 5 Greeks in Uzbekistan
22 Switzerland Bern 8,340 (est.) 5 – 11,000 (est.) [23] Greeks in Switzerland
23 Romania Bucharest 6,513 (2002 census) [24] – 14,000 (est.) 5 Greeks in Romania
24 Austria Vienna 5,000 (est.) [25] – 6,500 (est.) 5 Greeks in Austria
25 Turkey Ankara 5,000 (2006 est.) [26] Greeks in Turkey
26 New Zealand Wellington 4,500 (est.) [27] – 10,000 (est.) 5 Greeks in New Zealand
27 Netherlands Amsterdam 4,000 (est.) 5 – 12,500 (est.) [28] Greeks in the Netherlands
28 Egypt Cairo 3,800 (est.) [29] – 350,000 (1989 est.) [30] Greeks in Egypt
29 Bulgaria Sofia 3,408 (2001 census) [31] – 28,500 [32] Greeks in Bulgaria
30 Czech Republic Prague 3,231 (2001 census) [33] – 7,000 (est.) [34] Greeks in the Czech Republic
31 Moldova Chişinău 3,000 (est.) [35] – 4,000 (est.) 5 Greeks in Moldova
32 Hungary Budapest 2,509 (2001 census) [36] – 6,000 (est.) [37] Greeks in Hungary
33 Lebanon Beirut 1,500 (est.) 5 Greeks in Lebanon
34 Oman Muscat 1,500 (est.) 5 Greeks in Oman
35 Poland Warsaw 1,404 (2002 census) [38] – 4,300 (est.) 5 Greeks in Poland
36 Saudi Arabia Riyadh 1,300 (est.) 5 Greeks in Saudi Arabia
37 Luxembourg Luxembourg 1,200 5 – 2,000 (est.) [39] Greeks in Luxembourg
38 Cameroon Yaoundé 1,200 (est.) [40] Greeks in Cameroon
39 Armenia Yerevan 1,176 (2002 census) [41] – 15,000 (est.) 40 Greeks in Armenia
40 Venezuela Caracas 1,148 (est.) [42] – 2,500 (est.) 40 Greeks in Venezuela
41 Zimbabwe Harare 1,100 (est.) [43] – 4,000 (est.) 40 Greeks in Zimbabwe
42 Uruguay Montevideo 1,000 (est.) 40 – 2,000 (est.) [44] Greeks in Uruguay
43 Chile Santiago 1,000 (est.) 40 – 1,500 (est.) [45] Greeks in Chile
44 Mexico Mexico City 1,000 (est.) [46] 40 Greeks in Mexico
45 Syria Damascus 1,000 (est.) 40 Greeks in Syria
46 Panama Panama City 800 (est.) 40 – 1,000 (est.) [44] Greeks in Panama
47 Zambia Lusaka 700 (est.) 40 Greeks in Zambia
48 Kyrgyzstan Bishkek 650 – 700 (est.) [48] Greeks in Kyrgyzstan
49 Denmark Copenhagen 500 (est.) 40 – 1,000 (est.) [49] Greeks in Denmark
50 Ethiopia Addis Ababa 500 (est.) [50] – 700 (est.) 40 Greeks in Ethiopia
51 FYROM Skopje 422 (2002 census) [51] – 250,000 (1994 est.) [52] Greeks in the FYROM
52 Jordan Amman 400 (est.) 40 – 600 (est.) [53] Greeks in Jordan
53 Norway Oslo 350 (est.) [54] 40 Greeks in Norway
54 Democratic Republic of the Congo (ex. Zaire) Kinshasa 300 (est.) [55] – 5000 (est.) 40 Greeks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
55 Spain Madrid 300 (est.) 40 – 1,500 – 2,000 (est.) [56] Greeks in Spain
56 Bahamas Nassau 300 (est.) 40 Greeks in the Bahamas
57 Nigeria Abuja 300 (est.) [57] 40 Greeks in Nigeria
58 Tanzania Dodoma 300 (est.) 40 Greeks in Tanzania
59 Israel Jerusalem 250 – 300 (est.) [58] – 1,500 (est.) 40 Greeks in Israel
60 Sudan Khartoum 250 (est.) [59] – 700 (est.) 40 Greeks in Sudan
61 Azerbaijan Baku 250 – 300 (est.) [58] Greeks in Azerbaijan
62 Lithuania Vilnius 250 (est.) [61] Greeks in Lithuania
63 Malawi Lilongwe 200 (est.) [62] – 800 (est.) 40 Greeks in Malawi
64 Colombia Bogotá, D.C. 200 (est.) 40 Greeks in Colombia
65 Ireland Dublin 200 (est.) 40 – for further information, see [4] Greeks in Ireland
66 Kenya Nairobi 200 (est.) 40 Greeks in Kenya
67 United Arab Emirates Abu Dhabi 200 (est.) 40 Greeks in the United Arab Emirates
68 Morocco Rabat 180 (est.) [63] Greeks in Morocco
69 Peru Lima 150 (est.) 63 – 350 (est.) [64] Greeks in Peru
70 Portugal Lisbon 150 (est.) 63 – 240 (est.) [65] Greeks in Portugal
71 Botswana Gaborone 150 (est.) 63 Greeks in Botswana
72 Djibouti Djibouti City 150 (est.) 63 Greeks in Djibouti
73 Estonia Tallinn 150 (est.) [66] Greeks in Estonia
74 Finland Helsinki 150 (est.) [67] 63 Greeks in Finland
75 Hong Kong – 150 (est.) 63 Greeks in Hong Kong
76 Kuwait Kuwait City 140 (est.) [68] –150 (est.) 63 Greeks in Kuwait
77 Latvia Riga 100 (est.) [69] – 10,000 (est.) 63 Greeks in Latvia
78 Japan Tokyo 100 (est) 63 – 300 (est.) [70] Greeks in Japan
79 Bolivia La Paz 100 (est.) [71] 63 Greeks in Bolivia
80 People's Republic of China Beijing 100 (est.) [72] Greeks in China
81 Costa Rica San José 80 (est.) 63 Greeks in Costa Rica
82 Indonesia Jakarta 72 (est.) [73] Greeks in Indonesia
83 Papua New Guinea Port Moresby 70 (est.) 63 Greeks in Papua New Guinea
84 Iran Tehran 60 (est.) 63 – 80 (est.) [74] Greeks in Iran
85 Côte d'Ivoire Yamoussoukro 60 (est.) 63 Greeks in Côte d'Ivoire
86 Madagascar Antananarivo 60 (est.) 63 Greeks in Madagascar
87 Slovenia Ljubljana 54 (2002 census) [75] Greeks in Slovenia
88 Croatia Zagreb 50 (est.) [76] Greeks in Croatia
89 Tunisia Tunis 50 (est.) 63 Greeks in Tunisia
90 Senegal Dakar 50 (est.) 63 Greeks in Senegal
91 Central African Republic Bangui 40 (est.) 63 Greeks in the Central African Republic
92 Qatar Doha 40 (est.) 63 Greeks in Qatar
93 Singapore – 40 (est.) [77] Greeks in Singapore
94 Malta Valletta 35 – 40 (est.) [78] Greeks in Malta
95 Cuba Havana 30 (est.) 63 Greeks in Cuba
96 Algeria Algiers 30 (est.) 63 Greeks in Algeria
97 Eritrea Asmara 30 (est.) 63 Greeks in Eritrea
98 Slovakia Bratislava apart from some 80 students currently in Slovakia, there are no more than twenty Greeks, and no form of association [79] Greeks in Slovakia
99 Paraguay Asunción 20 (est.) 63 – 25 (est.) [77] Greeks in Paraguay
100 Chad N'Djamena 20 (est.) 63 Greeks in Chad
101 Ecuador Quito 20 (est.) 63 Greeks in Ecuador
102 Guatemala Guatemala City 20 (est.) 63 Greeks in Guatemala
103 Mozambique Maputo 20 (est.) 63 Greeks in Mozambique
104 Namibia Windhoek 20 (est.) 63 Greeks in Namibia
105 Togo Lomé 20 (est.) 63 Greeks in Togo
106 Republic of the Congo Brazzaville 10 (est.) 63 Greeks in the Republic of the Congo
107 Belarus Minsk ''unknown'' – for further information, see [5] Greeks in Belarus

See also



★ Antiochian Greeks

★ Cappadocian Greek language

★ Church of Greece

★ Cypriot Orthodox Church

★ Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople

★ Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople

★ Greek Byzantine Catholic Church

★ Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria

★ Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch

★ Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem

★ Greek-Calabrian dialect

★ Greeks

★ Griko language

★ Orthodox Church in America

★ Pontic Greeks

References


1. United States of America: 2000 census
2. United States Department of State: Background Note: Greece
3. Community Relations Commission: 2001 census
4. Hellenic Republic: Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Australia: The Greek Community
5. Greeks around the Globe (they are quoting the statistics of the General Secretariat for Greeks Abroad as on October 12, 2004)
6. Germany: Greek population in Germany, by the Federal Republic of Germany (Relations between Greece and Germany)
7. See List of Canadians by ethnicity
8. BBC Special: Born Abroad [2]. This figure includes only Greeks born in Greece (35,007) and Cyprus (77,156). The actual number of Greeks (and especially Greek Cypriots) in the UK is much higher.
9. Norwegian Institute of International Affairs: Centre for Russian Studies: 2002 census
10. State Statistics Committee of Ukraine: 2001 census
11. UNPO: Greek Minority in Albania
12. Country Studies US: Greeks and Other Minorities
13. Hellenic Republic: Ministry of Foreign Affairs: France: The Greek Community
14. Hellenic Republic: Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Brazil: The Greek Community
15. Hellenic Republic: Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Belgium: The Greek Community
16. Hellenic Republic: Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Argentina: The Greek Community
17. Hellenic Republic: Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Italy: The Greek Community
18. Eurominority: Greeks in Georgia
19. Glas Javnosti: Nama su samo Srbi braća
20. Japan External Trade Organization: Institute of Developing Economies: Ethnodemographic situation in Kazakhstan
21. Hellenic Republic: Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Sweden: The Greek Community
22. Central Asia – Caucasus analyst: Greeks in Uzbekistan
23. Hellenic Republic: Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Switzerland: The Greek Community
24. ClubAfaceri: 2002 (Romanian) census
25. Hellenic Republic: Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Austria: The Greek Community
26. "Ethnic Greeks of Istanbul convene", ''Athens News Agency'', 2 July 2006. Additionally, there are 600,000 Greek-speaking people in Turkey according to the Columbia Encyclopedia [3], although this figure will certainly include Turkish-identifying Greek Muslims.
27. Hellenic Republic: Ministry of Foreign Affairs: New Zealand: The Greek Community
28. According to the Netherlands Statistical Service, quoted by: Hellenic Republic: Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Netherlands: The Greek Community
29. Hellenic Republic: Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Egypt: The Greek Community
30. United Nations Human Rights Website – Treaty Bodies Database – Document – Summary Record – Egypt
31. Republic of Bulgaria: National Statistical Institute: 2001 census
32. Hellenic Republic: Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Bulgaria: The Greek Community
33. Office of the Czech Republic Government: Report on the Situation of National Minorities in the Czech Republic in 2001
34. According to the Association of Greek Communities in the Czech Republic quoted by the Office of the Czech Republic Government: Report on the Situation of National Minorities in the Czech Republic in 2001
35. Hellenic Republic: Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Moldova
36. Hungarian Central Statistical Office: 2001 census
37. Eurominority: Greeks in Hungary
38. See Demographics of Poland
39. Hellenic Republic: Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Luxembourg: The Greek Community
40. Greeks around the Globe (they are quoting the statistics of the General Secretariat for Greeks Abroad as on October 12, 2004)
41. National Statistical Service of the Republic of Armenia: 2002 census
42. Hellenic Republic: Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Venezuela: The Greek Community
43. Hellenic Republic: Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Zimbabwe: The Greek Community
44. Hellenic Republic: Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Uruguay: The Greek Community
45. Hellenic Republic: Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Chile: The Greek Community
46. Comunidad Helenica de Mexico: ''The Greek side of Mexico''
47. Hellenic Republic: Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Uruguay: The Greek Community
48. Hellenic Republic: Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Kyrgyzstan: The Greek Community
49. Hellenic Republic: Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Denmark: The Greek Community
50. Hellenic Republic: Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Ethiopia: The Greek Community
51. See Demographics of the Republic of Macedonia
52. Johns Hopkins University Press: Victor Roudometof, ''Nationalism and Identity Politics in the Balkans: Greece and the Macedonian Question''
53. Hellenic Republic: Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Jordan: The Greek Community
54. Hellenic Republic: Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Norway: The Greek Community
55. Hellenic Republic: Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Democratic Republic of Congo: The Greek Community
56. Hellenic Republic: Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Spain: The Greek Community
57. Hellenic Republic: Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Nigeria: The Greek Community
58. Hellenic Republic: Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Azerbaijan: The Greek Community
59. Hellenic Republic: Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Sudan: The Greek Community
60. Hellenic Republic: Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Azerbaijan: The Greek Community
61. Hellenic Republic: Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Lithuania: The Greek Community
62. Hellenic Republic: Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Malawi: The Greek Community
63. Greeks around the Globe (they are quoting the statistics of the General Secretariat for Greeks Abroad as on October 12, 2004)
64. Hellenic Republic: Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Peru: The Greek Community
65. Hellenic Republic: Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Portugal: The Greek Community
66. Estonian Statistical Office: Estonia: The Greek Community
67. Hellenic Republic: Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Finland: The Greek Community
68. Hellenic Republic: Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Kuwait: The Greek Community
69. Hellenic Republic: Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Latvia: The Greek Community
70. Hellenic Republic: Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Japan: The Greek Community
71. Hellenic Republic: Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Bolivia: The Greek Community
72. Hellenic Republic: Ministry of Foreign Affairs: China: The Greek Community
73. Hellenic Republic: Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Indonesia: The Greek Community
74. Hellenic Republic: Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Iran: The Greek Community
75. Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia: Census of population, households and housing 2002
76. Hellenic Republic: Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Croatia: The Greek Community
77. Hellenic Republic: Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Singapore: The Greek Community
78. Hellenic Republic: Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Malta: The Greek Community
79. Hellenic Republic: Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Slovakia
80. Hellenic Republic: Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Singapore: The Greek Community

External links



★ General Secretariat for Greeks Abroad

★ Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs

★ Popular International Greek diaspora blog

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