This Greece map shows the country’s 13 administrative regions and the monastic state of Mount Athos, grouped into 9 traditional geographic regions from Macedonia to Crete. Greece had 10,372,335 residents on 1 January 2025 (ELSTAT), and its capital is Athens, in Attica, home to 36.3% of the population. Click a region to see its capital, population, area, islands and UNESCO sites, or type a town in the search box to find its region. Layers add the 7 decentralized administrations and mainland versus islands.
How to use this map of Greece
Every region on this map of Greece is clickable.
- Explore a region: click or tap one of the nine geographic regions to open its members, population, area, landmarks and food. Switch to the 13 administrative regions to see each one on its own, such as Attica.
- Compare data: use View by to color the map by region, population, density, area, GDP per capita or UNESCO sites. The decentralized administration layer colors the seven state administrations, and the mainland and islands layer shows which of the 74 regional units lie on islands.
- Find a town: type a town or island in the search box to see its region. It answers questions such as which region Santorini, Corfu or Delphi is in.
- Print it: Printables has a labelled map of Greece and a blank map, both in A4.
- Take the data: Export downloads all 14 units as CSV with a citation.
We publish the same kind of map for other countries, including regions of Italy, across the Ionian Sea from the Ionian Islands, and regions of Austria. All of them are listed under country maps. For the continent, see Europe, and for everything we have on the country, Greece.
The 9 geographic regions of Greece
Greek geography books and encyclopedias divide the country into nine traditional regions. They are not governments. They are the older names that residents still use: Macedonia, Thrace, Epirus, Thessaly, Central Greece, the Peloponnese, the Ionian Islands, the Aegean Islands and Crete. Some sources count ten by splitting Attica out of Central Greece. This map follows the nine-region standard and keeps Attica inside Central Greece. Click a column heading to sort.
| Traditional region | Administrative regions | Population | Share of population | Area (km²) | Largest city |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Macedonia | 2 regions and 1 autonomous monastic state | 2,015,975 | 19.4% | 28,636 | Thessaloniki |
| Thrace | 1 region | 565,195 | 5.4% | 14,186 | Alexandroupoli |
| Epirus | 1 region | 324,061 | 3.1% | 9,152 | Ioannina |
| Thessaly | 1 region | 676,040 | 6.5% | 14,050 | Larissa |
| Central Greece and Attica | 2 regions | 4,271,440 | 41.2% | 19,377 | Athens |
| Peloponnese (geographic region) | 2 regions | 1,165,119 | 11.2% | 26,823 | Patras |
| Ionian Islands (geographic region) | 1 region | 198,421 | 1.9% | 2,301 | Corfu |
| Aegean Islands | 2 regions | 534,963 | 5.2% | 9,159 | Rhodes |
| Crete | 1 region | 621,121 | 6.0% | 8,346 | Heraklion |
Central Greece, with Attica, has 4,271,440 people, 41.2% of the country, on 14.7% of its area. Macedonia is next with 2,015,975 (19.4%). Epirus has 3.1% of the population and the Ionian Islands 1.9%.
The regions of Greece one by one
Macedonia (Central Macedonia, Western Macedonia and Mount Athos) has 2,015,975 people and is the largest geographic region by area, from the Pindus to the Aegean. Thessaloniki is its center. The Chalkidiki peninsula, with Mount Athos on its easternmost prong, and Vergina, ancient Aigai, lie here. Western Macedonia is the only landlocked region of Greece.
Thrace is the northeastern corner, between the Nestos and Evros rivers, with Bulgaria to the north and Turkey to the east. On this map it stands for the whole East Macedonia and Thrace region, with 565,195 people. Philippi, a UNESCO site, and the Dadia Forest are here.
Epirus is the mountainous northwest on the Albanian border, with 324,061 people. Ioannina is the seat. The Vikos Gorge and the stone villages of Zagori sit in the Pindus, and the Ionian coast runs from Preveza to Thesprotia.
Thessaly is the main farming plain, drained by the Pineios river, with 676,040 people. Larissa is its seat and Volos its port. It also holds Meteora, the Pelion peninsula and the Sporades islands of Skiathos, Skopelos and Alonnisos.
Central Greece and Attica is the most populous group. Attica alone has 3,764,272 people and the capital. The Central Greece region (507,168) lies north of the Gulf of Corinth and holds Delphi, Mount Parnassus and Euboea, the second-largest Greek island after Crete. Museums across the group are listed in our guide to museums in Greece.
The Peloponnese has 1,165,119 people in two administrative regions, Peloponnese and Western Greece. It holds Mycenae, Epidaurus, Mystras and ancient Olympia, and Patras is its largest city. The Corinth Canal cuts the isthmus, but the peninsula counts as mainland.
The Ionian Islands run from Corfu in the north to Zakynthos in the south, with 198,421 people. The Old Town of Corfu is a UNESCO site. Kythira, an Ionian island in the geographic sense, belongs to Attica.
The Aegean Islands are the North Aegean (Lesbos, Chios, Samos, Ikaria, Lemnos) and the South Aegean (the Cyclades and the Dodecanese), with 534,963 people together. Mykonos, Santorini, Rhodes and Kos are in the South Aegean. Euboea, the Sporades, Thasos and the Saronic islands are not here: they belong to mainland regions.
Crete is the largest Greek island and the southernmost region, with 621,121 people. Heraklion is the seat and largest city. The Minoan Palatial Centres, including Knossos, joined the World Heritage List in 2025.
All 13 regions of Greece and Mount Athos
Greece has 13 administrative regions, called periphereies, plus Mount Athos, which is an autonomous monastic state and not a region. The table lists each with its seat, population, area and number of regional units. Population is the ELSTAT estimate for 1 January 2025. Click a heading to sort, or a region name to open its card on the map.
All 14 administrative regions
| ISO code | Region | Seat | Traditional region | Population | Area (km²) | Regional units | Decentralized administration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GR-I | Attica | Athens | Central Greece and Attica | 3,764,272 | 3,817 | 8 | Attica |
| GR-B | Central Macedonia | Thessaloniki | Macedonia | 1,770,654 | 18,838 | 7 | Macedonia and Thrace |
| GR-A | East Macedonia and Thrace | Komotini | Thrace | 565,195 | 14,186 | 6 | Macedonia and Thrace |
| GR-C | Western Macedonia | Kozani | Macedonia | 243,575 | 9,462 | 4 | Epirus and Western Macedonia |
| GR-D | Epirus | Ioannina | Epirus | 324,061 | 9,152 | 4 | Epirus and Western Macedonia |
| GR-E | Thessaly | Larissa | Thessaly | 676,040 | 14,050 | 5 | Thessaly and Central Greece |
| GR-H | Central Greece | Lamia | Central Greece and Attica | 507,168 | 15,560 | 5 | Thessaly and Central Greece |
| GR-G | Western Greece | Patras | Peloponnese (geographic region) | 635,954 | 11,314 | 3 | Peloponnese, Western Greece and the Ionian |
| GR-J | Peloponnese | Tripoli | Peloponnese (geographic region) | 529,165 | 15,509 | 5 | Peloponnese, Western Greece and the Ionian |
| GR-F | Ionian Islands | Corfu | Ionian Islands (geographic region) | 198,421 | 2,301 | 5 | Peloponnese, Western Greece and the Ionian |
| GR-K | North Aegean | Mytilene | Aegean Islands | 207,927 | 3,848 | 5 | Aegean |
| GR-L | South Aegean | Ermoupoli | Aegean Islands | 327,036 | 5,311 | 13 | Aegean |
| GR-M | Crete | Heraklion | Crete | 621,121 | 8,346 | 4 | Crete |
| GR-69 | Mount Athos | Karyes | Macedonia | 1,746 | 336 | 0 | None |
Greece covers 132,029.9 km² on this map and had 10,372,335 residents at the start of 2025, or 78.6 per km². That is 2.3% fewer than the 10,612,591 on 1 January 2020. Only two regions grew: the North Aegean (3.5%) and Epirus (0.1%). The census of 2021 counted 10,482,487. Attica and Central Macedonia together hold 53.4% of the population.
Capital of Greece and regional capitals
Athens is the capital of Greece and the seat of the Attica Region. The municipality of Athens had 643,452 residents in the 2021 census. The Attica region has 66 municipalities and 3,764,272 people, so the municipality is only a small part of the capital area. Piraeus (168,151), Peristeri (133,630) and Acharnes (108,169) are separate municipalities of Attica. Thessaloniki, the seat of Central Macedonia, is the second-largest municipality in Greece with 319,045, and the urban area around it is larger than the municipality.
In most regions the seat is also the largest municipality. These are the exceptions:
- East Macedonia and Thrace: the seat is Komotini (65,243), but Alexandroupoli (71,751) is larger.
- Central Greece: the seat is Lamia (66,657), but Chalcis (109,256), on Euboea, is larger.
- Peloponnese: the seat is Tripoli (44,165), but Kalamata (72,906) is larger.
- South Aegean: the seat is Ermoupoli on Syros (21,124), but Rhodes (125,113) is larger.
- Mount Athos: the capital is Karyes, a settlement of 135 people. The largest settlement is Vatopedi Monastery (153).
Municipality populations are census 2021 figures. The seats of the other regions are Kozani (Western Macedonia), Ioannina (Epirus), Larissa (Thessaly), Patras (Western Greece), Corfu (Ionian Islands), Mytilene (North Aegean) and Heraklion (Crete). Flying in is covered in airports in Greece.
Does Greece have states or provinces? Prefectures and regional units
Greece has no states and no provinces today. It is a unitary country, and its map has three levels: 13 regions, 74 regional units and 332 municipalities. The regional units replaced the prefectures (nomoi) on 1 January 2011. The provinces (eparchies) were abolished before that. Sources that call the regions “provinces” or “states” are using the English words loosely.
| Tier | Greek name | Status | Number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Region | periphereia | Created 1986 to 1987 (Law 1622/1986); self-governing since 2011 | 13, plus Mount Athos |
| Regional unit | perifereiaki enotita | Replaced the prefectures on 1 January 2011 (Kallikratis, Law 3852/2010) | 74 |
| Municipality | dimos | Redrawn from 325 to 332 on 1 September 2019 (Kleisthenis I) | 332 |
| Prefecture | nomos | Abolished 1 January 2011 | 51 in 2010 |
| Province | eparchia | Abolished after the 2006 local elections | about 148 at the end |
Provinces. There were 139 provinces before the Second World War and about 148 after the Dodecanese joined Greece. They lost their administrative role in 1887, survived for elections and some state services, and were abolished after the 2006 local elections under Law 2539/1997, the Kapodistrias reform. Counts differ by one between sources.
Prefectures. Greece had 51 prefectures in 2010, or 54 if the four prefecture-level administrations of Attica (Athens, East Attica, Piraeus and West Attica) are counted separately. Kallikratis replaced them with 74 regional units. Mainland units mostly follow the old prefecture borders. Island groups such as the Cyclades and the Dodecanese, which had been one prefecture each, were split into several units, which is how the South Aegean now has 13.
Regions. The 13 regions date from 1986 and 1987 but became self-governing authorities with elected governors in 2011. The governors are elected for a term that runs from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2028. Some English-language sources call the regions the second level, because they count the decentralized administrations first.
2026. Law 5314/2026, the Local Government Code, still names 7 decentralized administrations, 13 regions, 74 regional units and 332 municipalities. Kleisthenis I redrew the municipal map on 1 September 2019, from 325 municipalities to 332.
The 7 decentralized administrations
Above the regions sit seven decentralized administrations (apokentromenes dioikiseis). They are state bodies, not local government. Each is led by a coordinator appointed by the government (a general secretary until 2019), and each covers one to three regions. Law 5314/2026 art. 7 lists all seven with their seats. Mount Athos belongs to none: its governor is appointed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Proposals to abolish the administrations come from opposition parties and local-government associations and are not law. The decentralized administration layer maps them.
| Decentralized administration | Seat | Regions | Population, 2025 | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attica | Athens | Attica | 3,764,272 | 36.3% |
| Macedonia and Thrace | Thessaloniki | Central Macedonia, East Macedonia and Thrace | 2,335,849 | 22.5% |
| Peloponnese, Western Greece and the Ionian | Patras | Peloponnese, Western Greece, Ionian Islands | 1,363,540 | 13.1% |
| Thessaly and Central Greece | Larissa | Thessaly, Central Greece | 1,183,208 | 11.4% |
| Crete | Heraklion | Crete | 621,121 | 6.0% |
| Epirus and Western Macedonia | Ioannina | Epirus, Western Macedonia | 567,636 | 5.5% |
| Aegean | Piraeus | North Aegean, South Aegean | 534,963 | 5.2% |
Two seats sit away from their islands: the Aegean administration is in Piraeus, in Attica, and the Ionian Islands answer to Patras on the Peloponnese. The Macedonia and Thrace figure excludes the 1,746 residents of Mount Athos, who are counted separately.
Greek islands map: which region is each island in?
Greece has four regions made up only of islands: the Ionian Islands, the North Aegean, the South Aegean and Crete. They hold 1,354,505 people, 13.1% of the population on 15.0% of the area. Many islands belong to mainland regions instead, which is why the map of Greece and its islands does not match the island-group names. The mainland and islands layer shades all 74 regional units.
| Island or group | Region | Regional unit |
|---|---|---|
| Cyclades (Mykonos, Santorini, Naxos, Paros, Syros, Milos, Tinos, Andros) | South Aegean | One regional unit per main island or group |
| Dodecanese (Rhodes, Kos, Kalymnos, Karpathos) | South Aegean | Rhodes, Kos, Kalymnos, Karpathos-Kasos |
| Lesbos, Chios, Samos, Ikaria, Lemnos | North Aegean | One regional unit each |
| Corfu, Kefalonia, Zakynthos, Lefkada, Ithaca | Ionian Islands | One regional unit each |
| Crete | Crete | Chania, Heraklion, Lasithi, Rethymno |
| Euboea | Central Greece | Euboea |
| Sporades (Skiathos, Skopelos, Alonnisos) | Thessaly | Sporades |
| Thasos | East Macedonia and Thrace | Thasos |
| Samothrace | East Macedonia and Thrace | Evros |
| Salamis, Aegina, Agkistri, Hydra, Poros, Spetses | Attica | Islands |
| Kythira | Attica | Islands |
| Elafonisos | Peloponnese | Laconia |
The rule behind the layer is residents on islands in the 2021 census. A regional unit counts as islands when 99% or more of its residents live on islands and as mainland when under 1% do. Of the 74 regional units, 30 are islands, 41 are mainland and 3 are mixed: Islands (Attica), Evros and Laconia. Counting island residents inside mainland regions, 1,657,009 people, or 15.8% of the census total, live on islands. In Central Greece it is 41.5% of residents, because Euboea is part of the region. The Peloponnese counts as mainland, and Mount Athos, a peninsula, does too.
Traditional regions versus administrative regions
The nine traditional regions and the 13 administrative regions overlap but do not match. Two administrative regions straddle a traditional border, and the map assigns each to the group where most of its residents live.
| Traditional region | Administrative regions | Where they differ |
|---|---|---|
| Macedonia | Central Macedonia, Western Macedonia, Kavala, Drama and Thasos in East Macedonia and Thrace | Mount Athos sits inside it. Serres belongs to Central Macedonia. |
| Thrace | Evros, Xanthi and Rhodope in East Macedonia and Thrace | The administrative region merges Thrace with eastern Macedonia. |
| Epirus | Epirus | Identical. |
| Thessaly | Thessaly | The administrative region adds the Sporades. |
| Central Greece | Central Greece, Attica, Aetolia-Acarnania in Western Greece | Split three ways. Attica is a region of its own. |
| Peloponnese | Peloponnese, Achaea and Elis in Western Greece | Troizinia-Methana, on the peninsula, is in Attica. |
| Ionian Islands | Ionian Islands | Kythira is administered by Attica. |
| Aegean Islands | North Aegean, South Aegean | Euboea, the Sporades, Thasos and the Saronic islands belong to mainland regions. |
| Crete | Crete | Identical. |
East Macedonia and Thrace has 351,211 residents (62.1%) in the Thracian units of Evros, Xanthi and Rhodope and 213,984 (37.9%) in Kavala, with Thasos, and Drama, which are geographic Macedonia. It is grouped with Thrace. Western Greece has 452,234 residents (71.1%) in Achaea and Elis, on the Peloponnese, and 183,720 in Aetolia-Acarnania, on the mainland across the Gulf of Patras. It is grouped with the Peloponnese. Western Greece has no traditional equivalent: it combines the northwest of the peninsula with Aetolia-Acarnania. Figures are for 1 January 2025.
Largest and smallest regions
| Measure | Highest | Lowest |
|---|---|---|
| Area | Central Macedonia, 18,838 km² | Ionian Islands, 2,301 km² (Mount Athos, 335.9 km²) |
| Population | Attica, 3,764,272 | Ionian Islands, 198,421 (Mount Athos, 1,746) |
| Density per km² | Attica, 986.2 | Western Macedonia, 25.7 (Mount Athos, 5.2) |
| GDP per capita, 2024 | Attica, EUR 31,300 | North Aegean, EUR 13,800 |
| Population change, 2020 to 2025 | North Aegean, +3.5% | Western Macedonia, −6.7% |
| Municipalities | Attica, 66 | Ionian Islands and North Aegean, 11 each |
| Regional units | South Aegean, 13 | Western Greece, 3 |
Attica has 36.3% of the population on 2.9% of the area. Central Macedonia is the largest region and covers 14.3% of the country. Central Greece (15,560 km²) and the Peloponnese (15,509 km²) follow. The area layer and the density layer show the contrast: Attica has 986.2 people per km² against 78.6 for the country and 25.7 in Western Macedonia, where the lignite region around Kozani is shrinking fastest.
The national GDP per capita is EUR 22,500. After Attica come the South Aegean (EUR 22,900) and the Ionian Islands (EUR 20,800), both island tourism economies. Eurostat rounds these to the nearest 100, and GDP measures output of businesses based in a region, not what residents earn. For the other end of the scale, see the poorest cities in Greece. The GDP layer maps all 13 regions.
Mount Athos
Mount Athos is an autonomous monastic state on the easternmost of the three prongs of the Chalkidiki peninsula. It is run by twenty monasteries from its capital, Karyes, and women may not enter. Its status is set in Article 105 of the Constitution. It had 1,746 residents in the 2021 census and covers 335.9 km². UNESCO inscribed it in 1988.
ELSTAT and Eurostat count Mount Athos inside Central Macedonia. This map shows it as the fourteenth unit, taken out of Central Macedonia, so Central Macedonia has 1,770,654 residents here against 1,772,400 in the ELSTAT table. The national total does not change. Mount Athos has no regional units, no municipality and no decentralized administration, and its largest settlements are monasteries: Vatopedi (153), Grigoriou (101) and Saint Panteleimon (97) after Karyes.
Tourist regions: Halkidiki, Pelion, Mani, the Cyclades and the rest
Travel sites divide Greece by landscape and island group, not by administrative border. Most of these names are not regions in the legal sense. The table shows approximately where the best-known ones sit on the map.
| Tourist area | Region |
|---|---|
| Halkidiki and Pieria | Central Macedonia |
| Zagori and Vikos Gorge | Epirus |
| Meteora and Pelion | Thessaly |
| Delphi and Mount Parnassus | Central Greece |
| Mani, Mycenae, Epidaurus and Mystras | Peloponnese |
| Saronic islands | Attica |
| Cyclades and Dodecanese | South Aegean |
Two points cause most of the confusion. Olympia and Patras are on the Peloponnese peninsula but in the Western Greece region, and the Saronic islands and Kythira are in Attica. For the language, see languages spoken in Greece and useful phrases for tourists. Santorini is also one of the active volcanoes in Europe.
Which region is it in?
Search a town or island on the map to see its region. These are the places visitors ask about most.
| Place | Regional unit | Region |
|---|---|---|
| Athens | Central Athens | Attica |
| Piraeus | Piraeus | Attica |
| Aegina, Hydra, Spetses | Islands | Attica |
| Kythira | Islands | Attica |
| Thessaloniki | Thessaloniki | Central Macedonia |
| Halkidiki | Chalkidiki | Central Macedonia |
| Thasos | Thasos | East Macedonia and Thrace |
| Ioannina | Ioannina | Epirus |
| Skiathos | Sporades | Thessaly |
| Volos | Magnesia | Thessaly |
| Meteora | Trikala | Thessaly |
| Delphi | Phocis | Central Greece |
| Euboea | Euboea | Central Greece |
| Patras | Achaea | Western Greece |
| Olympia | Elis | Western Greece |
| Mycenae | Argolis | Peloponnese |
| Kalamata | Messenia | Peloponnese |
| Corfu | Corfu | Ionian Islands |
| Zakynthos | Zakynthos | Ionian Islands |
| Lesbos | Lesbos | North Aegean |
| Santorini | Santorini | South Aegean |
| Mykonos | Mykonos | South Aegean |
| Rhodes | Rhodes | South Aegean |
| Heraklion | Heraklion | Crete |
Santorini is in the South Aegean, not the Ionian Islands, and Corfu is in the Ionian Islands, not the Aegean. Hydra and Aegina are in Attica, not the Peloponnese or the Cyclades. Olympia is a Peloponnese site in the geographic sense but lies in the Western Greece region. The search box also accepts Greek forms and old names such as Salonica, Kerkyra, Zante, Cephalonia, Evia and Agion Oros.
Greece and its neighbours
On a map of Greece and surrounding countries, Albania and North Macedonia lie to the north and northwest, Bulgaria to the northeast and Turkey to the east. Epirus and Western Macedonia border Albania, Western Macedonia also borders North Macedonia, and East Macedonia and Thrace borders Bulgaria and Turkey. The North and South Aegean islands lie just off the Turkish coast, and Italy is across the Ionian Sea. The full list is in countries that border Greece, and countries that speak Greek covers the language outside it.
Greece is in the Schengen Area, so days spent there count toward the 90/180 rule in our Schengen calculator.
Municipalities
Greece has 332 municipalities (dimoi) since the 2019 Kleisthenis I reform. Attica has the most with 66, then Central Macedonia (38), the South Aegean (34) and the Peloponnese (26). The Ionian Islands and the North Aegean have 11 each. Mount Athos has none. Many are large units, so a name such as Lesbos or Central Corfu and Diapontia Islands covers a whole island or a large part of one.
The Local Government Code also names municipal units and communities below the municipality. The boundary data holds 6,142 communities. The municipality is an administrative unit, not a city in the everyday sense, so the municipality of Thessaloniki is smaller than its urban area. The search box on the map covers all 332 municipalities. Abandoned villages are listed in ghost towns in Greece.
UNESCO World Heritage sites by region
Greece has 21 UNESCO World Heritage properties: 18 cultural and 3 mixed. The newest are the Minoan Palatial Centres on Crete (2025) and the wider area of Mount Olympus (2026), a serial mixed property. The Minoan property covers Knossos, Phaistos, Malia, Zakros, Zominthos and Kydonia. A property that crosses a regional border counts in every region it touches, so the region lists add up to 24. Bassae is placed in Western Greece because the temple stands in the Elis regional unit, although some lists give the Peloponnese.
| Property | Region | Inscribed |
|---|---|---|
| Temple of Apollo Epicurius at Bassae | Western Greece | 1986 |
| Archaeological Site of Delphi | Central Greece | 1987 |
| Acropolis, Athens | Attica | 1987 |
| Mount Athos | Mount Athos | 1988 |
| Meteora | Thessaly | 1988 |
| Paleochristian and Byzantine Monuments of Thessalonika | Central Macedonia | 1988 |
| Sanctuary of Asklepios at Epidaurus | Peloponnese | 1988 |
| Medieval City of Rhodes | South Aegean | 1988 |
| Archaeological Site of Mystras | Peloponnese | 1989 |
| Archaeological Site of Olympia | Western Greece | 1989 |
| Delos | South Aegean | 1990 |
| Monasteries of Daphni, Hosios Loukas and Nea Moni of Chios | Attica, Central Greece, North Aegean | 1990 |
| Pythagoreion and Heraion of Samos | North Aegean | 1992 |
| Archaeological Site of Aigai (Vergina) | Central Macedonia | 1996 |
| Archaeological Sites of Mycenae and Tiryns | Peloponnese | 1999 |
| Historic Centre (Chora) of Patmos with the Monastery of Saint John and the Cave of the Apocalypse | South Aegean | 1999 |
| Old Town of Corfu | Ionian Islands | 2007 |
| Archaeological Site of Philippi | East Macedonia and Thrace | 2016 |
| Zagori Cultural Landscape | Epirus | 2023 |
| Minoan Palatial Centres | Crete | 2025 |
| The wider area of Mount Olympus | Central Macedonia, Thessaly | 2026 |
Central Macedonia, the Peloponnese and the South Aegean have three each. Attica, Thessaly, Central Greece, Western Greece and the North Aegean have two each, Western Macedonia has none, and the other regions have one. The Daphni, Hosios Loukas and Nea Moni property (three regions) and Olympus (two) account for the overlap. The UNESCO layer counts the sites per region. Our guide to historical places in Greece goes beyond the World Heritage list.
Frequently asked questions
How many regions does Greece have?
Greece has 13 administrative regions, plus Mount Athos, which is an autonomous monastic state. The regions are divided into 74 regional units and 332 municipalities, and seven decentralized administrations sit above them as state bodies. Geographers group the same territory into nine traditional regions, such as Macedonia, Thessaly and Crete.
What is the capital of Greece?
Athens is the capital of Greece. It is also the seat of the Attica Region, which has 3,764,272 residents, 36.3% of the country. The municipality of Athens alone had 643,452 in the 2021 census. Thessaloniki, with 319,045, is the second-largest municipality and the seat of Central Macedonia.
Does Greece have states or provinces?
No. Greece is a unitary country with no states. Its first-level divisions are 13 regions, called periphereies, and it has no provinces today. The old provinces and prefectures were abolished, and the regions are divided into 74 regional units and 332 municipalities.
What were the provinces of Greece, and what replaced them?
Provinces, called eparchies, were districts inside the prefectures, about 148 at the end. They lost their administrative role in 1887, kept electoral functions and were abolished after the 2006 local elections. Municipalities took over their local role, and the prefectures were later replaced by regional units in 2011.
How many prefectures does Greece have?
Greece has no prefectures today. It had 51 until 31 December 2010, or 54 when the four prefecture-level administrations of Attica are counted separately. The 2011 Kallikratis reform replaced them with 74 regional units, which mostly follow the old mainland borders.
Which region are Athens, Santorini, Corfu and Thessaloniki in?
Athens is in Attica, Santorini in the South Aegean, Corfu in the Ionian Islands and Thessaloniki in Central Macedonia. To check any other town or island, type it in the search box above the map. It shows the region and the regional unit.
How do the traditional regions differ from the 13 administrative regions?
There are nine traditional regions and 13 administrative ones. Attica is counted in Central Greece in the traditional scheme. East Macedonia and Thrace combines Thrace with part of Macedonia, and Western Greece joins part of the Peloponnese with Aetolia-Acarnania. Epirus and Crete are the same in both schemes.
Is Mount Athos a region of Greece?
No. Mount Athos is an autonomous monastic state inside Greece, set out in Article 105 of the Constitution. Twenty monasteries run it from Karyes, and its governor is appointed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It had 1,746 residents in 2021 and belongs to no region or decentralized administration.
Which Greek region is the largest, smallest, most populated and least populated?
Central Macedonia is the largest region at 18,838 km², and the Ionian Islands the smallest at 2,301 km². Attica has the most people, 3,764,272, and the Ionian Islands the fewest of the 13 regions, 198,421. Mount Athos is smaller and emptier than all of them.
Which region are the Greek islands in?
It depends on the island group. The Cyclades and Dodecanese are in the South Aegean, Lesbos, Chios and Samos in the North Aegean, Corfu and Kefalonia in the Ionian Islands, and Crete is its own region. Euboea is in Central Greece, the Sporades in Thessaly, and the Saronic islands and Kythira in Attica.
How many UNESCO World Heritage sites does Greece have?
Greece has 21 UNESCO World Heritage properties, 18 cultural and 3 mixed. The newest are the Minoan Palatial Centres on Crete (2025) and the wider area of Mount Olympus (2026). Central Macedonia, the Peloponnese and the South Aegean have three each, and Western Macedonia has none.
Which Greek region has the highest GDP per capita?
Attica has the highest GDP per capita, EUR 31,300 in 2024, followed by the South Aegean at EUR 22,900 and the Ionian Islands at EUR 20,800. The national figure is EUR 22,500. The North Aegean is lowest at EUR 13,800. Eurostat rounds these figures to the nearest 100.
Sources and methodology
- Population: ELSTAT estimates of the permanent population on 1 January 2025 (Greece 10,372,335) and 1 January 2020 (10,612,591, revised series), as carried by Eurostat demo_r_d2jan. ELSTAT’s tables include Mount Athos in Central Macedonia. Here Athos is its own unit, taken out of Central Macedonia at its census count (1,746 in 2021, 1,811 in 2011), because ELSTAT estimates none separately, so its change covers ten years. National totals do not change.
- Census: ELSTAT census 2021, permanent population by settlement with the full hierarchy: 10,482,487 in 13 regions, 74 regional units, 332 municipalities and Mount Athos. Town populations are municipality figures from this file.
- Area: Eurostat reg_area3 (ELSTAT data), whole square kilometers. The 13 regions sum to 131,694 km². Eurostat leaves Mount Athos out, so its 335.9 km² comes from the GISCO LAU 2024 boundary. Other sources differ by up to 0.6% per region. Density divides population by total area.
- GDP per capita: Eurostat nama_10r_2gdp, euro per inhabitant at current prices, 2024, rounded to 100. Mount Athos has no figure.
- Administrative structure: Law 5314/2026 (Local Government Code, Official Gazette A 103/29.06.2026), art. 3 and 7, read on 11 November 2026: seven decentralized administrations, 13 regions, 74 regional units, 332 municipalities. Earlier reforms are Law 1622/1986, Law 2539/1997 and Law 3852/2010. Province and prefecture counts follow Wikipedia and differ by one between pages.
- Geographic regions: the nine-region scheme of Wikipedia’s “Geographic regions of Greece”, with 2021 census sums rebuilt from regional units and municipalities. Where a region straddles two groups it goes to the one with most residents, using the 1 January 2025 prefecture table.
- Mainland and islands: island residents from the 2021 census, counted from whole island regional units plus island municipalities inside other units: Salamis, Agkistri, Aegina, Kythira, Poros, Spetses, Hydra, Samothrace, Elafonisos and the Ammouliani settlement. Islets inside mainland municipalities are ignored.
- World Heritage: UNESCO World Heritage Centre, 21 properties, checked on 11 November 2026. Serial properties are split by region using their component sites.
- Towns and boundaries: boundaries from the GISCO LAU 2024 communities (ELSTAT borders, © EuroGeographics), with the 6,142 communities dissolved to municipalities and regional units. City coordinates are from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0).
- Tourist regions: approximate, drawn from regional tourist-board usage.
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