Economy of Greece Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC). The country joined what is now the European Union in 1981. In 2001 Greece adopted the euro as its currency, replacing the Greek drachma at an exchange rate of 340.75 drachmae per euro. Greece is a member of the International Monetary Fund and of the World Trade Organization, and ranked 34th on Ernst & Young's Globalization Index 2011. World War II (1939-1945) devastated the country's economy, but the high levels of economic growth that followed from 1950 to 1980 have been called the Greek economic miracle. From 2000 Greece saw high levels of GDP growth above
20 euro cent coin denomination of the coin from its design, Greece is exempt from this requirement as it uses a non-Latin alphabet. In addition, there are several EU states that have not yet adopted the euro. While some of them have already agreed upon their coin designs, these are not yet minted as it is not known exactly when they will adopt the currency. See enlargement of the Eurozone for expected entry dates of these countries. 20 euro cent coin The 20 euro cent coin (€0.20) has a value of one fifth of a euro and is composed of an alloy called nordic