Greece is a unitary state: its regions have no legislative powers, but run services, EU funds, transport and local development. The current structure dates from the Kallikratis programme, in force since 1 January 2011, which sharply cut the number of municipalities and transformed the old prefectures.
Levels of administration
- Central state, Athens
- 7 decentralised administrations, state offices in the regions
- 13 regions (periferies), with elected governor and council
- 74 regional units, successors of the old prefectures (nomoi)
- 332 municipalities (dimoi), with elected mayor and council
- 74 regional units, successors of the old prefectures (nomoi)
- 13 regions (periferies), with elected governor and council
- 7 decentralised administrations, state offices in the regions
- Mount Athos, autonomous monastic community
The 13 regions
| Region | Capital | Population (2021) |
|---|---|---|
| Attica | Athens | 3,814,000 |
| Central Macedonia | Thessaloniki | 1,796,000 |
| Thessaly | Larissa | 688,000 |
| Western Greece | Patras | 648,000 |
| Crete | Heraklion | 624,000 |
| Eastern Macedonia and Thrace | Komotini | 562,000 |
| Peloponnese | Tripoli | 540,000 |
| Central Greece | Lamia | 508,000 |
| South Aegean | Ermoupoli (Syros) | 328,000 |
| Epirus | Ioannina | 320,000 |
| Western Macedonia | Kozani | 255,000 |
| Ionian Islands | Corfu | 205,000 |
| North Aegean | Mytilene (Lesbos) | 195,000 |
The South Aegean combines the Cyclades and the Dodecanese; the North Aegean includes Lesbos, Chios, Samos, Lemnos, Ikaria and nearby smaller islands; the Sporades belong to Thessaly, Euboea to Central Greece and the Saronic islands to Attica.
Mount Athos
The Mount Athos peninsula in Chalkidiki is an autonomous monastic community under Greek sovereignty, governed by representatives of its twenty monasteries. It is recognised by the Constitution and EU treaties; only men may enter, with a special permit.
A little history
From 1833, under King Otto, Greece was divided into nomoi, prefectures. In 1987 the 13 regions were created as a planning level. In 1997 the Kapodistrias plan merged thousands of small municipalities and communities into about a thousand; in 2011 Kallikratis cut them to 325, later 332 after some splits in 2019, and turned the 51 prefectures into today's regional units under the elected regions.