The Mediterranean – a sea surrounded by land

• The Mediterranean Sea covers an approximate area of 2.5 million km² (965,000 sq mi).
• Its average depth is 1,500m (4,920 ft); the deepest recorded point is 5,267m (about 3.27 miles) in the Calypso Deep in the Ionian Sea.
• The coastline extends for 46,000km (28,600 miles).
• Large islands in the Med include Cyprus, Crete, Rhodes, Corfu, Sardinia, Corsica, Sicily and Majorca.
• The name Mediterranean is derived from the Latin mediterraneanus, meaning "inland" or "in the middle of the earth".
• More than 220 million tourists visit the region each year.
• Less than 1% of the Sea is protected.
• Almost 85% of its forests have disappeared.

The Med has a number of major internationally recognized seas within it's vast area. These are:

• Balearic Sea
• Tyrrhenian Sea
• Sea of Sicily
• Libyan Sea
• Aegean Sea
• Cilician Sea