The South Aegean ( el, Περιφέρεια Νοτίου Αιγαίου, translit=Periféria Notíou Eyéou, ) is one of the thirteen
administrative regions of Greece. It consists of the
Cyclades
The Cyclades (; el, Κυκλάδες, ) are an island group in the Aegean Sea, southeast of mainland Greece and a former administrative prefecture of Greece. They are one of the island groups which constitute the Aegean archipelago. The name ...
and
Dodecanese
The Dodecanese (, ; el, Δωδεκάνησα, ''Dodekánisa'' , ) are a group of 15 larger plus 150 smaller Greek islands in the southeastern Aegean Sea and Eastern Mediterranean, off the coast of Turkey's Anatolia, of which 26 are inhabited ...
island groups in the central and southeastern
Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi ( Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans ...
.
Administration
The South Aegean region was established in the 1987 administrative reform. With the 2010
Kallikratis plan, its powers and authority were redefined and extended. Along with 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 ...
region, it is supervised by the Decentralized Administration of the Aegean based at
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 Saro ...
. The capital of the region is situated in
Ermoupoli
Ermoupoli ( el, Ερμούπολη), also known by the formal older name Ermoupolis or Hermoupolis ( el, < "Town of "), is a to ...
on the island of
Syros. The administrative region includes 50 inhabited islands, including the popular tourism destinations of Mykonos, Santorini and Rhodes.
Until the Kallikratis reform, the region consisted of the two
prefectures of the
Cyclades
The Cyclades (; el, Κυκλάδες, ) are an island group in the Aegean Sea, southeast of mainland Greece and a former administrative prefecture of Greece. They are one of the island groups which constitute the Aegean archipelago. The name ...
(capital:
Ermoupoli
Ermoupoli ( el, Ερμούπολη), also known by the formal older name Ermoupolis or Hermoupolis ( el, < "Town of "), is a to ...
) and the
Dodecanese
The Dodecanese (, ; el, Δωδεκάνησα, ''Dodekánisa'' , ) are a group of 15 larger plus 150 smaller Greek islands in the southeastern Aegean Sea and Eastern Mediterranean, off the coast of Turkey's Anatolia, of which 26 are inhabited ...
(capital:
Rhodes
Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the S ...
). Since 1 January 2011 it is divided into 13
regional units, formed around major islands:
*
Andros
*
Kalymnos
Kalymnos ( el, Κάλυμνος) is a Greek island and municipality in the southeastern Aegean Sea. It belongs to the Dodecanese island chain, between the islands of Kos (south, at a distance of ) and Leros (north, at a distance of less than ...
*
Karpathos
Karpathos ( el, Κάρπαθος, ), also Carpathos, is the second largest of the Greek Dodecanese islands, in the southeastern Aegean Sea. Together with the neighboring smaller Saria Island it forms the municipality of Karpathos, which is part of ...
*
Kea-Kythnos
Kea-Kythnos ( el, Περιφερειακή ενότητα Κέας-Κύθνου) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of South Aegean. The regional unit covers the islands of Kea, Kythnos, Makronisos and several smaller ...
*
Kos
*
Milos
*
Mykonos
Mykonos (, ; el, Μύκονος ) is a Greek island, part of the Cyclades, lying between Tinos, Syros, Paros and Naxos. The island has an area of and rises to an elevation of at its highest point. There are 10,134 inhabitants according ...
*
Naxos
*
Paros
*
Rhodes
Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the S ...
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Syros
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Thira (Santorini)
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Tinos
Major communities
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Andros (Άνδρος)
*
Ermoúpoli (Ερμούπολη)
*
Ialysós (Ιαλυσός)
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Kallithéa (Καλλιθέα)
*
Kálymnos (Κάλυμνος)
*
Kárpathos (Κάρπαθος)
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Kos (Κως)
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Léros (Λέρος)
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Milos (Μήλος)
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Mýkonos (Μύκονος)
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Náxos (Νάξος)
*
Páros (Πάρος)
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Petaloúdes (Πεταλούδες)
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Ródos (Ρόδος) (Rhodes in English)
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Santoríni (Σαντορίνη) ''or'' Thíra (Θήρα)
Demographics
The region was the only one in Greece to grow in population between 2011 and 2021, adding a total of 15,527 people (increase of 5%).
It overtook
Epirus and is presently 9th largest region by population in Greece.
Economy
The
Gross domestic product
Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary 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 subjective nature this measure is of ...
(GDP) of the province was 6.4 billion € in 2018, accounting for 3.5% of Greek economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 22,400 € or 74% of the EU27 average in the same year. The GDP per employee was 79% of the EU average. South Aegean is the region in Greece with the second highest GDP per capita.
References
External links
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{{Authority control
NUTS 2 statistical regions of the European Union
States and territories established in 1987
Administrative regions of Greece