Western Greece Region (, ) is one of the thirteen

administrative regions of Greece The regions of Greece () are the country's thirteen second-level administrative divisions of Greece, administrative entities, counting decentralized administrations of Greece as first-level. Regions are divided into regional units of Greece, reg ...

. It comprises the western part of continental Greece and the northwestern part of the

Peloponnese The Peloponnese ( ), Peloponnesus ( ; , ) or Morea (; ) is a peninsula and geographic region in Southern Greece, and the southernmost region of the Balkans. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridg ...

peninsula. It occupies an area of and its population is, according to the 2011 census, at 679,796 inhabitants. The capital of the Western Greece is

Patras Patras (; ; Katharevousa and ; ) is Greece's List of cities in Greece, third-largest city and the regional capital and largest city of Western Greece, in the northern Peloponnese, west of Athens. The city is built at the foot of Mount Panachaiko ...

, the third-largest-city in the country with a population of about 280,000 inhabitants. The NUTS 2 code for the region of Western Greece is EL63.

Administration

The region of Western Greece was established in the 1987 administrative reform. With the 2010

Kallikratis plan The Kallikratis Programme () 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 country's administrative divisions following the 1997 Kapodistrias reform. ...

, its powers and authority were redefined and extended. Along with

and the

Ionian Islands The Ionian Islands (Modern Greek: , ; Ancient Greek, Katharevousa: , ) are a archipelago, group of islands in the Ionian Sea, west of mainland Greece. They are traditionally called the Heptanese ("Seven Islands"; , ''Heptanēsa'' or , ''Heptanē ...

regions, it is supervised by the Decentralized Administration of Peloponnese, Western Greece and the Ionian Islands based at

. The region is based at

and is divided into three regional units (pre-Kallikratis

prefectures A prefecture (from the Latin word, "''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 inter ...

Aetolia-Acarnania Aetolia-Acarnania (, ''Aitoloakarnanía'', ) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the geographic regions of Greece, geographic region of Central Greece (geographic region), Central Greece and the administrative regions of Greece, ...

in Central Greece and

Achaea Achaea () or Achaia (), sometimes transliterated from Greek language, Greek as Akhaia (, ''Akhaḯa'', ), is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the modern regions of Greece, region of Western Greece and is situated in the northwest ...

and

Elis Elis also known as Ellis or Ilia (, ''Eleia'') is a historic region in the western part of the Peloponnese peninsula of Greece. It is administered as a regional unit of the modern region of Western Greece. Its capital is Pyrgos. Until 2011 it ...

in Peloponnese, which are further subdivided into 19

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

Climate

The region has hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters, typical of a

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

(Csa). Sunny days dominate during the summer months in areas within the beaches and partially cloudy and rainy in the mountains. Snow is very common during the winter in the mountains of Erymanthus,

Panachaiko The Panachaiko (, "Panachaean"), also known as Vodias (Βοδιάς) mainly at the Middle Ages, is a mountain range in Achaea, Peloponnese, Greece. It spans about 20 km in length from north to south, and 15–20 km from east to west. I ...

and

Aroania Aroania () (also known as "Sopoto") is a village and a former Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality in Achaea, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it is part of the municipality Kalavryta, of which it is ...

. Winter average temperatures are around the 10 °C mark throughout the low-lying areas.

Economy

The

Gross domestic product Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the total market value of all the final goods and services produced and rendered in a specific time period by a country or countries. GDP is often used to measure the economic performanc ...

(GDP) of the region was 8.3 billion € in 2018, accounting for 4.5% of Greek economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was €15,200 or 50% of the EU27 average in the same year. The GDP per employee was 65% of the EU average.

Demographics

The region has shrunk by 36,447 people between 2011 and 2021, experiencing a population loss of 5.4%.

Major communities

Agrinio Agrinio (Greek language, Greek: Αγρίνιο, ; Latin: ''Agrinium'') is the largest city of the Aetolia-Acarnania regional units of Greece, regional unit of Greece and its largest municipality, with 89,691 inhabitants (2021) as well as the seco ...

(Αγρίνιο) *

Aigio Aigio, also written as ''Aeghion, Aegion, Aegio, Egio'' (, ; ), is a town and a former Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality in Achaea, West Greece, on the Peloponnese. Since the 2011 local government reform, it is part of the mun ...

(Αίγιο) *

Amaliada Amaliada (, Katharevousa: Ἀμαλιάς, ''Amaliás'') is a town and a former municipality in northwestern Elis, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Ilida, of which it is the seat and a mu ...

(Αμαλιάδα) *

Amfilochia Amfilochia () is a town and a municipality in the northwestern part of Aetolia-Acarnania in Greece, on the site of ancient Amfilochia. Under the Ottoman Empire, it was known as Karvasaras (Καρβασαράς; from ''caravanserai''). Amfilochia ...

(Αμφιλοχία) * Archaia Olympia (Αρχαία Ολυμπία) or Olympia (Ολυμπία) *

Farres Farres () is a former municipality in Achaea, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it is part of the municipality Erymanthos, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 241.848 km2. The munic ...

(Φαρρές) *

Gastouni Gastouni () is a town and a former municipality in Elis, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Pineios, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 59.325&nb ...

(Γαστούνη) *

Kalavryta Kalavryta () is a town and a municipality in the mountainous east-central part of the regional unit of Achaea, Greece. The town is located on the right bank of the river Vouraikos, south of Aigio, southeast of Patras and northwest of Tripoli, G ...

(Καλάβρυτα) *

Kato Achaia Kato Achaia () is a town and a community in Achaea, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality West Achaea, of which it is the seat of administration. The community Kato Achaia consists of the town ...

(Κάτω Αχαΐα) *

Messolonghi Missolonghi or Mesolongi (, ) is a municipality of 32,048 people (according to the 2021 census) in western Greece. The town is the capital of Aetolia-Acarnania regional unit, and the seat of the municipality of Iera Polis Mesolongiou (). Missolon ...

(Μεσολόγγι) *

Nafpaktos Nafpaktos () or Naupactus, is a town and a former municipality in Nafpaktia, Aetolia-Acarnania, West Greece, situated on a bay on the north coast of the Gulf of Corinth, west of the mouth of the river Mornos. It is named for Naupaktos (, Latini ...

(Ναύπακτος) *

(Πάτρα) * Pyrgos (Πύργος) *

Vouprasia Vouprasia () is a former municipality in Elis, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Andravida-Kyllini, of which it is a municipal unit. Its seat of administration was Varda. The municipal unit h ...

(Βουπρασία) *

Zacharo Zacharo () is a town and municipality in western Peloponnese, Greece. Administratively, it belongs to the regional unit of Elis (regional unit), Elis in West Greece. Zacharo is situated on the coast of the Gulf of Kyparissia, a part of the Ionian S ...

(Ζαχάρω)

Gallery

File:Region-of-West-Greece-headquarters.jpg, Region of Western Greece administrative building in Patras, Greece

References

External links

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