Northern Greece ( el, Βόρεια Ελλάδα, Voreia Ellada) is used to refer to the northern parts 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 wi ...
, and can have various definitions.
Administrative regions of Greece
Administrative term
The term "Northern Greece" is widely used to refer mainly to the two northern regions of
Macedonia and
(Western) Thrace; thus the
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 metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...
-based
Ministry of Macedonia and Thrace was known as "Ministry for Northern Greece" (Υπουργείο Βορείου Ελλάδος), and previously as the
Governorate-General of Northern Greece (Γενική Διοίκηση Βορείου Ελλάδος), until 1988.
Broader term and NUTS usage
The term ''Lower Greece'' was mentioned in 16th century western correspondence when the region was under Ottoman rule, it included
Northern Epirus and
Western Macedonia.
The term Northern Greece may also, according to context, incorporate the region
Epirus. When Epirus is included, it is broadly coterminous with the "New Lands" (Νέες Χώρες), i.e. the territories added to the
Kingdom of Greece
The Kingdom of Greece ( grc, label= Greek, Βασίλειον τῆς Ἑλλάδος ) was established in 1832 and was the successor state to the First Hellenic Republic. It was internationally recognised by the Treaty of Constantinople, wh ...
after the
Balkan Wars
The Balkan Wars refers to a series of two conflicts that took place in the Balkan States in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan States of Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria declared war upon the Ottoman Empire and def ...
of 1912–13, as opposed to pre-1912 "Old Greece" (Παλαιά Ελλάδα). This distinction survives in the ecclesiastical domain, where the dioceses of the "New Lands" ''de jure'' still adhere to the
Patriarchate of Constantinople, but are ''de facto'' under the
Church of Greece
The Church of Greece ( el, Ἐκκλησία τῆς Ἑλλάδος, Ekklēsía tē̂s Helládos, ), part of the wider Greek Orthodox Church, is one of the autocephalous churches which make up the communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity. It ...
.
Voreia Ellada is also one of the four
Greek NUTS regions, created for statistical purposes by the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...
. Until 2014, it encompassed the four
administrative regions
Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...
Eastern Macedonia and Thrace
Eastern Macedonia and Thrace ( el, Ανατολική Μακεδονία και Θράκη, translit=Anatolikí Makedonía ke Thráki, ) is one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It consists of the northeastern parts of the coun ...
,
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 ...
,
West Macedonia and
Thessaly
Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thes ...
. Coming into effect in January 2015, the Greek NUTS regions were redefined, with Voreia Ellada now encompassing Epirus instead of Thessaly. This NUTS division is not used by Greece for any administrative purposes.
Linguistics
In
linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Ling ...
, Northern Greece refers to the areas where the
Northern Greek dialect is traditionally spoken, encompassing in addition to the previous regions
Central Greece
Continental Greece ( el, Στερεά Ελλάδα, Stereá Elláda; formerly , ''Chérsos Ellás''), colloquially known as Roúmeli (Ρούμελη), is a traditional geographic region of Greece. In English, the area is usually called Central ...
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 ...
, and the
North Aegean
The North Aegean Region ( el, Περιφέρεια Βορείου Αιγαίου, translit=Periféria Voríou Eyéou, ) is one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece, and the smallest of the thirteen by population. It comprises the isl ...
, except
Chios
Chios (; el, Χίος, Chíos , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greek island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. Chios is notable for its exports of mast ...
.
Maps
File:Map Greece expansion 1832-1947-en.svg, Territory evolution of Greece from 1832 to 1947. Land acquired after the Balkan Wars is shown in green (1913), orange (1923) and pink (1947).
File:ChurchInGreece.png, The religious jurisdictions of the Orthodox Church in Greece (in blue). The "New Lands" annexed by Greece after 1913 (in pink, red and purple) remain under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople ( el, Οἰκουμενικὸν Πατριαρχεῖον Κωνσταντινουπόλεως, translit=Oikoumenikón Patriarkhíon Konstantinoupóleos, ; la, Patriarchatus Oecumenicus Constanti ...
.
File:Modern Greek dialects en.svg, Map showing the distribution of major Modern Greek dialect areas.[Based on: Brian Newton: ''The Generative Interpretation of Dialect. A Study of Modern Greek Phonology'', Cambridge 1972, ] The dialect of Northern Epirus (not listed here) belongs to the southern varieties.
Northern Greece statistics
According to 2011
Eurostat
Eurostat ('European Statistical Office'; DG ESTAT) is a Directorate-General of the European Commission located in the Kirchberg, Luxembourg, Kirchberg quarter of Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. Eurostat's main responsibilities are to provide stati ...
data, Voreia Ellada, as defined until 2014, had a total population of 3,590,187 inhabitants.
References
{{coord missing, Greece
NUTS 1 statistical regions of Greece