Following the implementation on 1 January 2011 of the

Kallikratis Plan The Kallikratis Programme ( el, Πρόγραμμα Καλλικράτης, Prógramma Kallikrátis) is the common name of Greek law 3852/2010 of 2010, a major administrative reform in Greece. It brought about the second major reform of the coun ...

, the administrative divisions of Greece consist of two main levels: the

regions In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

and the

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

. In addition, a number of decentralized administrations overseeing the regions exist as part of the Ministry of the Interior, but are not entities of local government. The old

prefectures A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...

were either abolished and divided or transformed into regional units in 2011. The administrative regions are divided into regional units which are further subdivided into

. The Eastern Orthodox monastic community on

Mount Athos Mount Athos (; el, Ἄθως, ) is a mountain in the distal part of the eponymous Athos peninsula and site of an important centre of Eastern Orthodox monasticism in northeastern Greece. The mountain along with the respective part of the penins ...

is an autonomous

self-governing __NOTOC__ Self-governance, self-government, or self-rule is the ability of a person or group to exercise all necessary functions of regulation without intervention from an external authority. It may refer to personal conduct or to any form of ...

entity.

Administrative divisions

Municipalities

The first level of government is constituted by the municipalities (δήμοι, ''dímoi''; sing. δήμος, '' dímos''), which have resulted from merging several former municipalities and communities (themselves the subject of a previous reform with the 1997

Kapodistrias plan Kapodistrias reform ( el, Σχέδιο Καποδίστριας, "Kapodistrias Plan") is the common name of law 2539 of Greece, which reorganised the country's administrative divisions. The law, named after 19th-century Greek statesman Ioannis Kapod ...

). They are run by a mayor (δήμαρχος, '' dímarchos'') and a municipal council (δημοτικό συμβούλιο, ''dimotikó symvoúlio''), elected every 5 years. The municipalities are further subdivided into municipal units (δημοτικές ενότητες, ''dimotikés enótites'') and finally into communities (κοινότητες, ''koinótites''). Although communities have their own councils, their role is purely advisory to the municipal-level government.

Regions

The second level is composed of the regions (περιφέρειες, ''periféreies''; sing. περιφέρεια, ''periféreia''), run by a regional governor (περιφερειάρχης, ''perifereiárchis'') and a regional council (περιφερειακό συμβούλιο, ''perifereiakó symvoúlio''), popularly elected every 5 years. The regions are divided into 74 regional units (περιφερειακές ενότητες, ''perifereiakés enótites''), usually but not always coterminous with the former

. Each regional unit is headed by a vice-regional governor (αντιπεριφερειάρχης, ''antiperifereiárchis''), drawn from the same political block as the regional governor.

Decentralized administrations

The third level is composed of the new decentralized administrations (αποκεντρωμένες διοικήσεις, ''apokentroménes dioikíseis''), comprising two or three regions (except for

Attica Attica ( el, Αττική, Ancient Greek ''Attikḗ'' or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the city of Athens, the capital of Greece and its countryside. It is a peninsula projecting into the Aegean Se ...

and

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...

), run by a government-appointed

general secretary Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

, assisted by an advisory council drawn from the regional governors and the representatives of the municipalities. Kallikratis dioikisi

Decentralized Administration of Attica The Decentralized Administration of Attica ( el, Αποκεντρωμένη Διοίκηση Αττικής) is one of the seven decentralized administrations of Greece, solely consisting of the region of Attica. Its seat is Athens. Formation a ...

, with the capital of

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace The Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace ( el, Αποκεντρωμένη Διοίκηση Μακεδονίας–Θράκης) is one of the seven decentralized administrations of Greece, consisting of the peripheries of Centra ...

, with the capital of

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...

Decentralized Administration of Epirus and Western Macedonia The Decentralized Administration of Epirus and Western Macedonia ( el, Αποκεντρωμένη Διοίκηση Ηπείρου – Δυτικής Μακεδονίας) is one of the seven decentralized administrations of Greece, consisting of ...

, with the capital of Ioannina

Decentralized Administration of Thessaly and Central Greece The Decentralized Administration of Thessaly and Central Greece ( el, Αποκεντρωμένη Διοίκηση Θεσσαλίας – Στερεάς Ελλάδας) is one of the seven decentralized administrations of Greece, consisting of the ...

, with the capital of

Larissa Larissa (; el, Λάρισα, , ) is the capital and largest city of the Thessaly region in Greece. It is the fifth-most populous city in Greece with a population of 144,651 according to the 2011 census. It is also capital of the Larissa regiona ...

Decentralized Administration of Peloponnese, Western Greece and the Ionian The Decentralized Administration of Peloponnese, Western Greece and the Ionian ( el, Αποκεντρωμένη Διοίκηση Πελοποννήσου, Δυτικής Ελλάδας και Ιονίου) is one of the seven decentralized admini ...

, with the capital of

Patras ) , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 = , demographics1_info2 = , timezone1 = EET , utc_offset1 = +2 , ...

Decentralized Administration of the Aegean The Decentralized Administration of the Aegean ( el, Αποκεντρωμένη Διοίκηση Αιγαίου) is one of the seven decentralized administrations of Greece, consisting of the regions of North Aegean and South Aegean. Seated in P ...

, with the capital of

Piraeus Piraeus ( ; el, Πειραιάς ; grc, Πειραιεύς ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens' city centre, along the east coast of the Saronic ...

Decentralized Administration of Crete The Decentralized Administration of Crete ( el, Αποκεντρωμένη Διοίκηση Κρήτης) is one of the seven decentralized administrations of Greece, solely consisting of the region of Crete. Its seat is in Heraklion. Formation ...

, with the capital of

Heraklion Heraklion or Iraklion ( ; el, Ηράκλειο, , ) is the largest city and the administrative capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion regional unit. It is the fourth largest city in Greece with a population of 211,370 (Urban A ...

Monastic community of Mount Athos The monastic community of Mount Athos is an Eastern Orthodox community of monks in Greece, enjoying the status of an autonomous region holding the combined rights of a decentralized administration, a region and a municipality, with its territo ...

(self-governing, excluded from the Kallikratis Plan)

History

From 1 January 2011, in accordance with the

Kallikratis programme The Kallikratis Programme ( el, Πρόγραμμα Καλλικράτης, Prógramma Kallikrátis) is the common name of Greek law 3852/2010 of 2010, a major administrative reform in Greece. It brought about the second major reform of the count ...

, the administrative system of

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

was drastically overhauled. The former system of 13

, 54

and 1033 municipalities and communities was replaced by 7 decentralized administrations, 13 regions and 325 municipalities. From 2019 there are 332 municipalities (

Kleisthenis I Programme Kleisthenis I Programme ( el, Πρόγραμμα Κλεισθένης Ι, Prógramma Kleisthénis I) is the common name of Greek law 4555/2018 of July 2018, a major administrative reform in Greece. It brought about the third major reform of the ...

). The first elections to the restructured Greek local government areas were held between 7 November and 14 November 2010.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Administrative Divisions Of Greece

Administrative divisions

Municipalities

Regions

Decentralized administrations

History

See also

References