General Information

The region remains an important economic center for Greece. Macedonia accounts for the majority of Greece’s agricultural production and is also a major contributor to the country’s industrial and tourism sectors. Central Macedonia is Greece’s fourth-most-popular tourist region and the most popular region that is not an island. It is home to four UNESCO World Heritage sites, including Vergina (Aigai in older times), one of the ancient Macedonian capital cities. Pella, which replaced Aigai as the capital of Macedon in the fourth century BC, is also located in Greek Macedonia.

Since 1987 Macedonia has been divided into three regions. These are Western Macedonia, Central Macedonia, and Eastern Macedonia, which is part of the region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace. These regions are further subdivided into fourteen regional units, which are in turn divided into municipalities or communities (roughly equivalent to British or Australian shires).
They are overseen by the Ministry for the Interior, while the Deputy Minister for Macedonia and Thrace is responsible for the coordination and application of the government’s policies in all three Macedonian regions. Prior to 1987 Macedonia was a single administrative and geographical unit.

Modern Macedonia was established in 1913, in the aftermath of the Treaty of Bucharest which ended the Balkan Wars. It continued as an administrative subdivision of Greece until the administrative reform of 1987, when it was divided into the regions of West Macedonia, Central Macedonia, and part of the region of East Macedonia and Thrace, the latter containing also the whole Greek part of the region of Thrace.

The subdivisions of Macedonia with their capitals are: