Administrative regions of Greece

The administrative regions of Greece (Greek: περιφέρειες, romanized: periféries) are the country's thirteen first-level administrative entities, each comprising several second-level units, originally known as prefectures and, since 2011, as regional units.

"Regions of Greece" redirects here. For other uses, see Regions of Greece (disambiguation).
Administrative regions of Greece
Διοικητικές περιφέρειες της Ελλάδας  (Greek)
CategoryUnitary state
LocationHellenic Republic
Number13 Regions
1 Autonomous Region
Populations197,810 (North Aegean) – 3,812,330 (Attica)
Areas2,307 km2 (891 sq mi) (Ionian Islands) – 18,810 km2 (7,260 sq mi) (Central Macedonia)
GovernmentCentral government
Regional governments
Theocratic government (Athos)
SubdivisionsRegional units
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History

The current regions were established in July 1986 (the Presidential Decree officially establishing them was signed in 1987), by decision of the Interior Minister Menios Koutsogiorgas as second-level administrative entities, complementing the prefectures (Law 1622/1986).[1] Before 1986, there was a traditional division into broad historical–geographical regions (γεωγραφικά διαμερίσματα), which, however, was often arbitrary; not all of the pre-1986 traditional historical-geographic regions had official administrative bodies. Although the post-1986 regions were mostly based on the earlier divisions, they are usually smaller and, in a few cases, do not overlap with the traditional definitions: for instance, the region of Western Greece, which had no previous analogue, comprises territory belonging to the Peloponnese peninsula and the traditional region of Central Greece.

As part of a decentralization process inspired by Interior Minister Alekos Papadopoulos, they were accorded more powers in the 1997 Kapodistrias reform of local and regional government. They were transformed into fully separate entities by the 2010 Kallikratis Plan (Law 3852/2010), which entered into effect on 1 January 2011. In the 2011 changes, the government-appointed general secretary (γενικός γραμματέας) was replaced with a popularly elected regional governor (περιφερειάρχης) and a regional council (περιφερειακό συμβούλιο) with 5-year terms. Many powers of the prefectures, which were also abolished or reformed into regional units, were transferred to the region level. The regional organs of the central government were in turn replaced by seven decentralized administrations, which group from one to three regions under a government-appointed general secretary.

List of administrative regions

  1. Attica / Αττική
  2. Central Greece / Στερεά Ελλάδα
  3. Central Macedonia / Κεντρική Μακεδονία
  4. Crete / Κρήτη
  5. Eastern Macedonia and Thrace / Ανατολική Μακεδονία και Θράκη
  6. Epirus / Ήπειρος
  7. Ionian Islands / Ιόνια νησιά
  8. North Aegean / Βόρειο Αιγαίο
  9. Peloponnese / Πελοπόννησος
  10. South Aegean / Νότιο Αιγαίο
  11. Thessaly / Θεσσαλία
  12. Western Greece / Δυτική Ελλάδα
  13. Western Macedonia / Δυτική Μακεδονία
  14. Monastic Republic of Mount Athos / Άγιον Όρος
Map showing modern regions of Greece

Bordering the region of Central Macedonia there is one autonomous region, Mount Athos (Agion Oros, or "Holy Mountain"), an autonomous monastic community under Greek sovereignty. It is located on the easternmost of the three large peninsulas jutting into the Aegean from the Chalkidiki peninsula.

Administrative RegionSeatArea
(km2)		Population
(residents)		Population Density
(residents/km2)		Gross domestic product
(million €)		Per capita gross domestic product
(€)
1AtticaAthens 3,808 3,812,330 1001.11 110,546 28,997
2Central GreeceLamia 15,549 546,870 35.17 10,537 19,007
3Central MacedoniaThessaloniki 18,811 1,874,590 99.66 32,285 16,559
4CreteHeraklion 8,336 621,340 74.54 11,243 18,421
5Eastern Macedonia and ThraceKomotini 14,157 606,170 42.82 9,265 15,272
6EpirusIoannina 9,203 336,650 36.58 5,079 14,221
7Ionian IslandsCorfu 2,307 206,470 89.50 4,130 17,726
8North AegeanMytilene 3,836 197,810 51.57 3,330 16,638
9PeloponneseTripoli 15,490 581,980 37.57 9,809 16,580
10South AegeanErmoupoli 5,286 308,610 58.38 7,646 24,828
11ThessalyLarissa 14,037 730,730 52.06 11,608 15,772
12Western GreecePatras 11,350 680,190 59.93 10,659 14,332
13Western MacedoniaKozani 9,451 282,120 29.85 5,506 18,786
(14)Mount AthosKaryes 336 2,146 6.38 — —

See also

References
  1. Ν.1622/86 «Τοπική Αυτοδιοίκηση - Περιφερειακή Ανάπτυξη - Δημοκρατικός Προγραμματισμός», (ΦΕΚ 92/τ.Α΄/14-7-1986)
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