THE REGION – EN
REGION OF EASTERN MACEDONIA AND THRACE
KAVALA ● DRAMA ● XANTHI ● RODOPI ● EVROS
OUR REGION
Five prefectures, Evros, Rodopi, Xanthi, Drama, and Kavala with two islands, Samothrace and Thassos, located at the top of the map of Greece, where the West meets the East. There, where the national borders are clear, but the gastronomic and intercultural borders continue peacefully their eternal dialogue.
The Region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace is geographically located at the NE end of the country. It includes the Regional Units (R.U.) of Drama, Evros, Kavala, Xanthi, Rodopi, and the islands of Thassos, which is a R.U. but administratively belongs to the prefecture of Kavala and Samothrace, which administratively belongs to the expanded R.U. of Rodopi-Evros. It is the natural border with two countries, Bulgaria, a Balkan country and member of the European Union, and Turkey, a third country, with characteristics of the East, but of great economic interest for the Region. At the same time, its location is of strategic importance, as it is the exit of the Balkan countries to the Aegean Sea.
It is the 4th largest Region among the 13 Regions of the country, covering 11.6% of the total area of the country, with 40% of it corresponding to mountainous areas, with a large proportion percentage of cultivated land, an unequal distribution of population and development and distinct cultural characteristics and identity within its boundaries.
The importance of the agri-food sector of Eastern Macedonia-Thrace is also reflected in the statistics. A quick view reveals that, concerning the 13 Regions of the country, Eastern Macedonia-Thrace ranks:
- 3rd in the area of cultivated land, with the R.U. of Evros ranking 2nd in the whole country
- 3rd in the area of irrigated land
- 3rd in livestock production
- 1st in the quantity and value of catches
- 2nd in the percentage of people employed in the primary sector
EVROS
RODOPI
XANTHI
DRAMA