Eastern Macedonia and Thrace ( el, Ανατολική Μακεδονία και Θράκη, translit=Anatolikí Makedonía ke Thráki, ) is one of the thirteen

administrative regions of Greece Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an administrative officer, administ ...

. It consists of the northeastern parts of the country, comprising the eastern part of the

region 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 ...

of Macedonia along with the region of

Western Thrace Western Thrace or West Thrace ( el, �υτικήΘράκη, '' ytikíThráki'' ; tr, Batı Trakya; bg, Западна/Беломорска Тракия, ''Zapadna/Belomorska Trakiya''), also known as Greek Thrace, is a Geography, geograp ...

, and the islands of

Thasos Thasos or Thassos ( el, Θάσος, ''Thásos'') is a Greek island in the North Aegean Sea. It is the northernmost major Greek island, and 12th largest by area. The island has an area of and a population of about 13,000. It forms a separate re ...

and

Samothrace Samothrace (also known as Samothraki, el, Σαμοθράκη, ) is a Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea. It is a municipality within the Evros regional unit of Thrace. The island is long and is in size and has a population of 2,859 (2011 ...

Administration

Administrative history

The region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace was established in the 1987 administrative reform as the Eastern Macedonia and Thrace Region ( el, Περιφέρεια Ανατολικής Μακεδονίας και Θράκης, translit=Periféria Anatolikís Makedhonías ke Thrákis. With the 2010

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 ...

, its powers and authority were redefined and extended, with the preexisting region in many respects inheriting status and weight of the five now abolished

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 ...

Drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

, Evros,

Kavala Kavala ( el, Καβάλα, ''Kavála'' ) is a city in northern Greece, the principal seaport of eastern Macedonia and the capital of Kavala regional unit. It is situated on the Bay of Kavala, across from the island of Thasos and on the Egnat ...

Rhodope Rhodope may refer to: * Rhodope (mythology), a figure of Greek mythology * Rhodope Mountains, in Bulgaria and Greece * Rhodope (regional unit) Rhodope ( el, Ροδόπη, ''Rodópi'' ) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the reg ...

and

Xanthi Xanthi ( el, Ξάνθη, ''Xánthi'', ) is a city in the region of Western Thrace, northeastern Greece. It is the capital of the Xanthi regional unit of the region of East Macedonia and Thrace. Amphitheatrically built on the foot of Rhodope m ...

. In this special case, the region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace also succeeds the intermediate structure of the two super-prefectures of Drama-Kavala-Xanthi and of Rhodope-Evros into which the five prefectures had been grouped since 1994.

Current status

The capital of the region is

Komotini Komotini ( el, Κομοτηνή, tr, Gümülcine, bg, Комотини) is a city in the region of East Macedonia and Thrace, northeastern Greece. It is the capital of the Rhodope. It was the administrative centre of the Rhodope-Evros super-p ...

, which by population is the fourth largest city, following

Alexandroupolis Alexandroupolis ( el, Αλεξανδρούπολη, ), Alexandroupoli, or Alexandrople is a city in Greece and the capital of the Evros regional unit. It is the largest city in Western Thrace and the region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace. It ...

and

. The region is divided into the Macedonian regional units of

and

and the Thracian regional units of

and Evros, which coincide with the territory of the former prefectures, except for Thasos, which was part of the Kavala prefecture. Unlike the former prefectures, the regional units however have very limited administrative powers. Along with

Central Macedonia Central Macedonia ( el, Κεντρική Μακεδονία, Kentrikí Makedonía, ) is one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece, consisting of the central part of the geographical and historical region of Macedonia. With a populat ...

, the region is supervised by the

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 ...

based at

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 ...

Regional governor

The political post of the Regional governor () was also created in the course of the Kallikratis reform and can be considered the successor of the former prefects. The current governor is Christos Metios, who succeeded in November 2016 deceased Giorgos Pavlidis (

Nea Dimokratia New Democracy (ND; el, Νέα Δημοκρατία, Néa Dimokratía, ) is a liberal-conservative List of political parties in Greece, political party in Greece. In contemporary Politics of Greece, Greek politics, New Democracy has been the mai ...

). Pavlidis was elected in the 2014 regional election, beating the incumbent first-ever regional governor and former Prefect of Rhodopi, (

PASOK The Panhellenic Socialist Movement ( el, Πανελλήνιο Σοσιαλιστικό Κίνημα, Panellínio Sosialistikó Kínima, ), known mostly by its acronym PASOK, (; , ) is a social-democratic political party in Greece. Until 2012, it ...

), elected in the 2010 regional election.

Demographics

The region is home to Greece's main Muslim minority, made up mainly of

Pomaks Pomaks ( bg, Помаци, Pomatsi; el, Πομάκοι, Pomáki; tr, Pomaklar) are Bulgarian-speaking Muslims inhabiting northwestern Turkey, Bulgaria and northeastern Greece. The c. 220,000 strong ethno-confessional minority in Bulgaria is ...

and

Western Thrace Turks Turks of Western Thrace ( tr, , el, Τούρκοι της Δυτικής Θράκης, Toúrkoi tis Dytikís Thrákis) are ethnic Turks who live in Western Thrace, in the province of East Macedonia and Thrace in Northern Greece. According ...

, whose presence dates to the Ottoman period. Unlike the Muslims of Macedonia,

Epirus sq, Epiri rup, Epiru , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Historical region , image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg , map_alt = , map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinri ...

, and elsewhere in

northern Greece Northern Greece ( el, Βόρεια Ελλάδα, Voreia Ellada) is used to refer to the northern parts of Greece, and can have various definitions. Administrative regions of Greece Administrative term The term "Northern Greece" is widely used ...

, they were exempted from the

Greek-Turkish population exchange The 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey ( el, Ἡ Ἀνταλλαγή, I Antallagí, ota, مبادله, Mübâdele, tr, Mübadele) stemmed from the " Convention Concerning the Exchange of Greek and Turkish Populations" signed at ...

following the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne. According to the 1991 census, the Muslim minority numbered around 98,000 people or 29% of the population of

, of which about half were Western Thrace Turks and the rest (35%) Pomaks and Muslim

Romani people The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sig ...

(15%). In the 2014 European elections in Greece, 42,533 people from Eastern Macedonia and Thrace voted for the

Party of Friendship, Equality and Peace The Party of Friendship, Equality and Peace ( el, Κόμμα Ισότητας, Ειρήνης και Φιλίας, abbr. Κ.Ι.Ε.Φ., KIEF; tr, Dostluk-Eşitlik-Barış Partisi, DEBP) is a Greek political party founded to represent the intere ...

, which represents what it regards as the Muslim minority in Greece. These Muslim minority populations are completely distinct from the Ottoman-era

Greek Muslims Greek Muslims, also known as Grecophone Muslims, are Muslims of Greek ethnic origin whose adoption of Islam (and often the Turkish language and identity) dates to the period of Ottoman rule in the southern Balkans. They consist primarily of th ...

, such as the

Vallahades The Vallahades ( el, Βαλαχάδες) or Valaades ( el, Βαλαάδες) were a Muslim Macedonian Greek population who lived along the river Haliacmon in southwest Greek Macedonia, in and around Anaselitsa (modern Neapoli) and Grevena. They n ...

Western Macedonia Western Macedonia ( el, Δυτική Μακεδονία, translit=Ditikí Makedonía, ) is one of the thirteen regions of Greece, consisting of the western part of Macedonia. Located in north-western Greece, it is divided into the regional uni ...

, who were almost entirely expatriated to Turkey as part of the population exchange. The region has shrunk by 46,113 people between 2011 and 2021, experiencing a population loss of 7.6%.

Economy

The

Gross domestic product Gross domestic product (GDP) is a money, monetary Measurement in economics, measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjec ...

(GDP) of the region was 7.2 billion € in 2018, accounting for 3.9% of Greek economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 14,300 € or 48% of the EU27 average in the same year. The GDP per employee was 61% of the EU average. Eastern Macedonia and Thrace is the region in

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 ...

with the second lowest GDP per capita and one of the poorest regions in the EU.

Culture

Major municipalities

* Alexandroúpoli (Αλεξανδρούπολη) - 72,959 people * Xánthi (Ξάνθη) - 70,873 people * Kavála (Καβάλα) - 70,501 people * Komotiní (Κομοτηνή) - 66,919 people * Dráma (Δράμα) - 58,944 people

Major cities and towns

Chrysoupoli Chrysoupoli ( el, Χρυσούπολη, before 1925: Σαπαίοι - ''Sapaioi'' or Σαρή Σαμπάν - ''Sari Saban'') is a town and a former municipality in the Kavala regional unit, East Macedonia and Thrace, Greece. Since the 2011 local ...

Didymoteicho Didymoteicho ( el, Διδυμότειχο, Didymóteicho ) is a city located on the eastern edge of the Evros regional unit of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, in northeastern Greece. It is the seat of the municipality of the same name. The town ...

Eleftheroupoli Eleftheroupoli ( el, Ελευθερούπολη, katharevousa: Ελευθερούπολις - ''Eleftheroupolis'', until 1929 Πράβι - ''Pravi'', bg, Правище; tr, Pravişte) is a town and a former municipality in the Kavala regional u ...

* Feres *

* Kimmeria *

* Nea Orestiada *

Prosotsani Prosotsani ( el, Προσοτσάνη, until 1925: el, Προσωτσάνη - ''Prosotsani'', from 1925 until 1940: el, Πυρσόπολις - ''Pyrsopolis'') is a municipality and town within the municipality located in the western part of the ...

Soufli Soufli ( el, Σουφλί) is a town in the Evros regional unit, Greece, notable for the silk industry that flourished there in the 19th century. The town stands on the eastern slope of the twin hill of Prophet Elias, one of the easternmost spurs ...

References

External links

* {{Authority control Macedonia (Greece) NUTS 2 statistical regions of the European Union States and territories established in 1987 Administrative regions of Greece