Administration

Athens became the capital of Greece in 1834, following Nafplion, which was the provisional capital from 1829. The municipality (City) of Athens is also the capital of the Attica region. Athens can refer either to the municipality of Athens, to Greater Athens, or to the entire Athens Urban Area.

Attica region[edit]

Aerial view of greater Athens and the Saronic gulf

The Athens Metropolitan Area, sprawling over 2,928.717 km² (1,131 sq mi), is located within the 3,808 km² (1,470 sq mi) Attica region. The region encompasses the most populated region of Greece, reaching 3,827,624 inhabitants in 2011,^[1] while it is however one of the smallest regions in the country.

The Attica region itself is split into eight regional units, out of which the first four form Greater Athens, while the regional unit of Piraeusforms Greater Piraeus. Together they make up the contiguous built up Athens Urban Area, spanning over 412 km² (159 sq mi).^[57]

• North Athens (Greater Athens, Athens Urban Area)
• West Athens (Greater Athens, Athens Urban Area)
• Central Athens (Greater Athens, Athens Urban Area)
• South Athens (Greater Athens, Athens Urban Area)
• Piraeus (Greater Piraeus, Athens Urban Area)
• East Attica (Athens Metropolitan Area)
• West Attica (Athens Metropolitan Area)
• Attica Islands

Until 2010, the first four regional units above also made up the abolished Athens Prefecture (what is referred to as Greater Athens), which was the most populous of the Prefectures of Greece at the time, accounting for 2,640,701 people (in 2011)^[1] within an area of 361 km² (139 sq mi).^[17]

Municipality (City) of Athens[edit]

The seven districts of the Athens municipality

The municipality (City) of Athens is the most populous in Greece, with a population of 664,046 people (in 2011)^[1] and an area of 38.96 km² (15.04 sq mi),^[16] forming the core of the Athens Urban Area within the Attica Basin. The current mayor of Athens is Giorgos Kaminis. The municipality is divided into seven municipal districts which are mainly used for administrative purposes.

As of the 2001 census, the population for each of the seven municipal districts of Athens is as follows:^[58]

• 1st: 97,570
• 2nd: 110,069
• 3rd: 48,305
• 4th: 87,672
• 5th: 95,234
• 6th: 147,181
• 7th: 159,483

For the Athenians the most popular way of dividing the city proper is through its neighbourhoods such as Pagkrati, Ambelokipi, Exarcheia,Patissia, Ilissia, Petralona, Koukaki and Kypseli, each with its own distinct history and characteristics.

The Athens municipality also forms the core and center of Greater Athens which consists of the Athens municipality and 34 more municipalities, which are divided in the four regional units (North, West, Central and South Athens) mentioned above.

Municipalities of Greater Athens

Central Section: 1. City of Athens 2. Dafni 3. Ilioupoli 4. Vyronas 5. Kaisariani 6. Zografou 7. Galatsi 8. Filadelfeia
West Section: 29. Egaleo 30. Agia Varvara 31. Chaidari 32. Peristeri 33. Petroupoli 34. Ilion 35. Agioi Anargyroi – Kamatero		North Section: 9. Nea Ionia 10. Irakleio 11. Metamorfosi 12. Lykovrysi – Pefki 13. Kifissia 14. Penteli – Melissia 15. Amarousio 16. Vrilissia 17. Ag. Paraskevi 18. Cholargos – Papagou 19. Chalandri 20. Filothei – Psychiko
South Section: 21. Glyfada 22. Elliniko-Argyroupoli 23. Alimos 24. Agios Dimitrios 25. Nea Smyrni 26. Faliro 27. Kallithea 28. Moschato

The municipalities of Greater Athens along with the municipalities within Greater Piraeus (regional unit of Piraeus) form the Athens Urban Area, while the larger metropolitan areaincludes several additional suburbs and towns surrounding the dense urban area of the Greek capital.