List of the prefectures of Greece by population

This is a list of the prefectures of Greece

Prefectures of Greece

During the first administrative division of independent Greece in 1833–1836 and then again from 1845 until their abolition with the Kallikratis reform in 2010, the prefectures were the country's main administrative unit...

, in order of descending population (in 2005, except otherwise stated).

Ranking	Prefecture	Population
1	Athens Athens Prefecture The Athens Prefecture was one of the prefectures of Greece. It was part of the Attica region and the Athens-Piraeus super-prefecture. The capital of the prefecture was the city of Athens. After Lefkada Prefecture it was the second-smallest in Greece, but was the most populous and most densely...	2,664,776
2	Thessaloniki Thessaloniki Prefecture Thessaloniki is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the Region of Central Macedonia. Its capital is the city of Thessaloniki. It is the second most populous regional unit in Greece, behind Central Athens.-Geography:...	1,099,598
3	Piraeus Piraeus Prefecture Piraeus Prefecture was one of the prefectures of Greece. It was part of the Attica region and the Athens-Piraeus super-prefecture. The capital of the prefecture was the city of Piraeus...	541,504 (2001)
4	East Attica East Attica East Attica is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Attica. The capital of the regional unit is the town of Pallini. The regional unit covers the eastern part of the agglomeration of Athens, and also the rural area to its east....	403,918 (2001)
5	Achaea Achaea Achaea is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of West Greece. It is situated in the northwestern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. The capital is Patras. The population exceeds 300,000 since 2001.-Geography:...	331,316
6	Heraklion Heraklion Prefecture Heraklion is one of the four regional units of Crete. The capital is the city of Heraklion.-Geography:The regional unit of Heraklion borders on the regional units of Rethymno to the west and Lasithi to the east. Farmlands are situated in the central and the northern parts, at the coast and in...	302,846
7	Larissa Larissa Prefecture Larissa is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Thessaly. Its capital is the city of Larissa. -Geography:...	282,447
8	Aetolia-Acarnania Aetolia-Acarnania Aetolia-Acarnania is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of West Greece. It is located in the western part of Greece; the regional unit is a combination of the geographic regions Aetolia and Acarnania. Its capital is Missolonghi for historical reasons, with its biggest...	223,188
9	Euboea Euboea Euboea is the second largest Greek island in area and population, after Crete. The narrow Euripus Strait separates it from Boeotia in mainland Greece. In general outline it is a long and narrow, seahorse-shaped island; it is about long, and varies in breadth from to...	218,032
10	Magnesia Magnesia Prefecture Magnesia Prefecture was one of the prefectures of Greece. Its capital was Volos. It was established in 1899 from the Larissa Prefecture. The prefecture was disbanded on 1 January 2011 by the Kallikratis programme, and split into the peripheral units of Magnesia and the Sporades.The toponym is...	210,330
11	Serres Serres Prefecture Serres is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the Region of Central Macedonia. Its capital is the town of Serres. The total population reaches just over 200,000.-Geography:...	203,093
12	Dodecanese Dodecanese The Dodecanese are a group of 12 larger plus 150 smaller Greek islands in the Aegean Sea, of which 26 are inhabited. Τhis island group generally defines the eastern limit of the Sea of Crete. They belong to the Southern Sporades island group...	200,452
13	Elis Elis Prefecture Elis or Ilia is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of West Greece. It is situated in the western part of the Peloponnese peninsula. Its capital is Pyrgos.-Geography:...	198,763
14	Phthiotis Phthiotis Phthiotis is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Central Greece. The capital is the city of Lamia. It is bordered by the Malian Gulf to the east, Boeotia in the south, Phocis in the south, Aetolia-Acarnania in the southwest, Evrytania in the west,...	181,383
15	Messinia	180,264
16	Ioannina Ioannina Prefecture Ioannina is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the Epirus region. Its capital is the city of Ioannina. It is the largest regional unit in Epirus, and one of the largest regional units of Greece.-Geography:...	174,607
17	Corinthia Corinthia Corinthia is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Peloponnese. It is situated around the city of Corinth, in the north-eastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula.-Geography:...	159,928
18	Kozani Kozani Prefecture Kozani is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of West Macedonia. Its capital is the city of Kozani.-Geography:Kozani borders the regional units of Kastoria to the west and northwest, Florina to the north, Pella to the northeast, Imathia and Pieria to the east, Larissa ...	156,807
19	Chania Chania Prefecture Chania is one of the four regional units of Crete; it covers the westernmost quarter of the island. Its capital is the city of Chania. Chania borders only one other regional unit: that of Rethymno to the east. The western part of Crete is bounded to the north by the Cretan Sea, and to the west...	156,371
20	West Attica West Attica West Attica is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Attica. The capital of the regional unit is the town of Elefsina. The regional unit covers the western part of the agglomeration of Athens, and the area to its west....	151,612 (2001)
21	Evros Evros Prefecture Evros is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of East Macedonia and Thrace. Its name is derived from the river Evros, which appears to have been a Thracian hydronym. Evros is the northernmost regional unit. It borders Turkey to the east, across the river Evros, and it...	150,580
22	Pella Pella Prefecture Pella is one of the regional units of Greece, in the geographic region of Macedonia. It is part of the Region of Central Macedonia. It is named after the ancient city of Pella, the capital of ancient Macedonia. The capital of Pella is Edessa....	148,190
23	Kavala Kavala Prefecture Kavala is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the of East Macedonia and Thrace. Its capital is the town of Kavala. Kavala regional unit is the easternmost within the geographical region of Macedonia.-Geography:...	147,884
24	Imathia Imathia Prefecture Imathia is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Macedonia. The capital of Imathia is the city of Veroia.-Administration:The regional unit Imathia is subdivided into 3 municipalities...	144,835
25	Trikala Trikala Prefecture Trikala is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Thessaly. Its capital is the town of Trikala. The regional unit includes the town of Kalampaka and the Meteora monastery complex.-Geography:...	137,723
26	Pieria	134,739
27	Boeotia Boeotia Boeotia, also spelled Beotia and Bœotia , is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Greece. It was also a region of ancient Greece. Its capital is Livadeia, the second largest city being Thebes.-Geography:...	130,768
28	Karditsa Karditsa Prefecture Karditsa is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Thessaly. Its name is derived from its capital Karditsa, a small city of approximately 35,000 people.-Geography:...	130,214
29	Cyclades Cyclades The Cyclades is a Greek island group in the Aegean Sea, south-east of the mainland of Greece; and a former administrative prefecture of Greece. They are one of the island groups which constitute the Aegean archipelago. The name refers to the islands around the sacred island of Delos...	119,549
30	Corfu Corfu Corfu is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the second largest of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the edge of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The island is part of the Corfu regional unit, and is administered as a single municipality. The...	113,658
31	Rhodope Rhodope Prefecture Rhodope is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of East Macedonia and Thrace. Its name is derived from the Rhodope Mountains, which cover the northern part of its territory. Together with the regional units Evros and Xanthi, it forms the geographical region of Western...	112,883
32	Lesbos Lesbos Prefecture Lesbos Prefecture was one of the prefectures of Greece. It consisted of three main islands: Lesbos itself, Lemnos, and the smaller island of Agios Efstratios. In 2011 the prefecture was abolished and the territory is now covered by the peripheral units of Lesbos and Lemnos...	110,220
33	Halkidiki	109,587
34	Argolis Argolis Argolis is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Peloponnese. It is situated in the eastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula.-Geography:...	108,636
35	Drama Drama Prefecture Drama is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the Region of East Macedonia and Thrace. Its capital is the town of Drama. The regional unit is the northernmost within the geographical region of Macedonia and the westernmost in the administrative region of East Macedonia and Thrace...	106,371
36	Xanthi Xanthi Prefecture Xanthi is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the Region of East Macedonia and Thrace. The capital is Xanthi. Together with the regional units Rhodope and Evros, it forms the geographical region of Western Thrace.-Geography:...	105,530
37	Laconia Laconia Laconia , also known as Lacedaemonia, is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Peloponnese. It is situated in the southeastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. Its administrative capital is Sparti...	100,871
38	Arcadia Arcadia Arcadia is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Peloponnese. It is situated in the central and eastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. It takes its name from the mythological character Arcas. In Greek mythology, it was the home of the god Pan...	100,611
39	Kilkis Kilkis Prefecture Kilkis is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Macedonia. Its capital is the city of Kilkis.-Geography:The mountains near Kilkis are Paiko to the west, parts of the western part of Kerkini to the northeast and Krousia to the east...	91,828
40	Rethymno Rethymno Prefecture Rethymno is one of the four regional units of Crete, Greece. Its capital is the city of Rethymno. Today its main income is tourism. The countryside is also based economically on agriculture and herding.-Administration:...	86,532
41	Lasithi Lasithi Lasithi is the easternmost regional unit on the island of Crete, to the east of Heraklion. Its capital is Agios Nikolaos, the other major towns being Ierapetra, Sitia and Neapoli. The mountains include the Dikte to the west and the Sitia Mountains to the east...	77,917
42	Arta Arta Prefecture Arta is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the Epirus region. Its capital is the town of Arta.-Geography:The regional unit of Arta is located north of the Ambracian Gulf. The main mountain ranges are the Athamanika in the northeast, the Pindus in the east, and Valtou in the...	77,680
43	Preveza Preveza Prefecture Preveza is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the Epirus region. Its capital is the town of Preveza.-Geography:The regional unit of Preveza is located northwest of the Ambracian Gulf. The Ionian Sea lies to the west. The terrain is mostly hilly. The mountains of Xerovouni are in...	59,600
44	Florina Florina Prefecture Florina is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of West Macedonia. Its capital is the town of Florina.-Geography:Florina borders the regional units of Pella to the east, Kozani to the south and Kastoriá to the southwest...	55,210
45	Chios Chios Chios is the fifth largest of the Greek islands, situated in the Aegean Sea, seven kilometres off the Asia Minor coast. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. The island is noted for its strong merchant shipping community, its unique mastic gum and its medieval villages...	53,817
46	Kastoria Kastoria Prefecture Kastoria is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of West Macedonia. Its capital is the town of Kastoria.-Geography:...	53,584
47	Phocis Phocis Phocis is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Central Greece. It stretches from the western mountainsides of Parnassus on the east to the mountain range of Vardousia on the west, upon the Gulf of Corinth...	49,576
48	Thesprotia Thesprotia Thesprotia is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the Epirus region. Its capital is the town of Igoumenitsa. It is named after the Thesprotians, an ancient Greek tribe that inhabited the region in antiquity.-History:...	46,811
49	Samos Samos Prefecture Samos Prefecture was a prefecture in Greece, consisting of the islands of Samos, Ikaria and the smaller islands of Fournoi Korseon. In 2011 the prefecture was abolished and the territory is now covered by the peripheral units of Samos and Ikaria...	44,114
50	Kefalonia Kefalonia The island of Cephalonia, also known as Kefalonia, Cephallenia, Cephallonia, Kefallinia, or Kefallonia , is the largest of the Ionian Islands in western Greece, with an area of . It is also a separate regional unit of the Ionian Islands region, and the only municipality of the regional unit...	42,088
51	Zakynthos Zakynthos Zakynthos , also Zante, the other form often used in English and in Italian , is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the third largest of the Ionian Islands. It is also a separate regional unit of the Ionian Islands region, and the only municipality of the regional unit. It covers an area of ...	41,472
52	Grevena Grevena Prefecture Grevena is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of West Macedonia. Its capital is the town of Grevena.-Geography:Grevena borders the regional units of Ioannina to the west, Kastoria to the northwest, Kozani to the north and east, Larissa to the southeast and Trikala to...	38,256
53	Evrytania Evrytania Evrytania is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Greece. Its capital is Karpenisi .-Geography:...	34,855
54	Lefkada Lefkada Lefkada, or Leucas or Leucadia , is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea on the west coast of Greece, connected to the mainland by a long causeway and floating bridge. The principal town of the island and seat of the municipality is Lefkada . It is situated on the northern part of the island,...	22,879