The North Aegean 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 ...

, and the smallest of the thirteen by population. It comprises the islands of the north-eastern

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans and Anatolia, and covers an area of some . In the north, the Aegean is connected to the Marmara Sea, which in turn con ...

, called the North Aegean islands, except for

Thasos Thasos or Thassos (, ''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 380 km2 and a population of about 13,000. It forms a separate regiona ...

and

Samothrace Samothrace (also known as Samothraki; , ) is a Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea. It is a municipality within the Evros regional unit of Thrace. The island is long, in size and has a population of 2,596 (2021 census). Its main industries ...

, which belong to the Greek region of

Eastern Macedonia and Thrace Eastern Macedonia and Thrace ( ; , ) is one of the thirteen Regions of Greece, administrative regions of Greece. It consists of the northeastern parts of the country, comprising the eastern part of the Geographic regions of Greece, region of ...

, and Imbros and

Tenedos Tenedos (, ''Tenedhos''; ), or Bozcaada in Turkish language, Turkish, is an island of Turkey in the northeastern part of the Aegean Sea. Administratively, the island constitutes the Bozcaada, Çanakkale, Bozcaada district of Çanakkale Provinc ...

, which belong to

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Administration

The North Aegean region 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 the Southern Aegean region, it is supervised by the Decentralized Administration of the Aegean based at

Piraeus Piraeus ( ; ; , Ancient: , Katharevousa: ) 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 Gulf in the Ath ...

. The capital of the region is situated in

Mytilene Mytilene (; ) is the capital city, capital of the Greece, Greek island of Lesbos, and its port. It is also the capital and administrative center of the North Aegean Region, and hosts the headquarters of the University of the Aegean. It was fo ...

on the island of

Lesbos Lesbos or Lesvos ( ) is a Greek island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea. It has an area of , with approximately of coastline, making it the third largest island in Greece and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, eighth largest ...

. Until the Kallikratis reform, the region consisted of the three

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 ...

Samos Samos (, also ; , ) is a Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese archipelago, and off the coast of western Turkey, from which it is separated by the Mycale Strait. It is also a separate reg ...

Chios Chios (; , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greece, Greek list of islands of Greece, island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, tenth largest island in the Medi ...

and

. Since 1 January 2011, it has been divided into five regional units:

Ikaria Ikaria, also spelled Icaria (; ), is a Greece, Greek island in the Aegean Sea, 10 nautical miles (19 km) southwest of Samos. Administratively, Ikaria forms a separate municipality within the Ikaria (regional unit), Ikaria regional unit, ...

Lemnos Lemnos ( ) or Limnos ( ) is a Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within the Lemnos (regional unit), Lemnos regional unit, which is part of the North Aegean modern regions of Greece ...

, and

. The total number of islands in the North Aegean region are nine:

, Psara, Oinousses,

Fournoi Korseon Fournoi Korseon (), more commonly simplified as Fournoi (), anciently known as Corsiae or Korsiai (), Corseae or Korseai (Κορσεαί), Corsia or Korsia (Κορσία), and Corassiae (Κορασσίαι), form a complex or archipelago of sm ...

, Agios Efstratios and

Major communities

* Chíos (Χίος) * Kalloní (Καλλονή) * Karlóvasi (Καρλόβασι) * Mýrina (Μύρινα) * Mytilíni (Μυτιλήνη) * Omiroúpoli (Ομηρούπολη) * Pythagóreio (Πυθαγόρειο) * Sámos (Σάμος)

Demographics

The region has shrunk by 5,095 people between 2011 and 2021, experiencing a population loss of 2.6%.

Economy

The region's

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) was €2.5 billion in 2018, accounting for 1.4% of Greek economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was €14,200 or 47% of the EU27 average in the same year. The GDP per employee was 67% of the EU average. North Aegean is the region in Greece with the lowest GDP per capita and one of the poorest regions in the EU.

References

External links

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