Central Greece
Ranks 1st in wind power
Leader in food processing and light manufacturing
The second largest region in terms of land area, Central Greece is home to much of the country’s light industry and has excellent transport links to Greece’s major city and capital, Athens, to its south.
Extending from the high mountains in the centre of the country to the lowlands north of Attica, Central Greece has a diversified geography and economy.
Light manufacturing and food processing facilities dominate economic activity in the sub-region of Boeotia in the southeast, which is also home to the region’s growing investments in renewable energy. In 2019, Central Greece topped the ranks in terms in terms of installed wind energy capacity, totalling 1,311 MW.
In the west of the region, pastoralism supports the local rural economy, but tourism also plays a significant and growing role. The ancient site of Delphi is one of Greece’s most visited archaeological sites, while ski centres near the towns of Arachova and Karpenissi offer winter tourism opportunities particularly for visitors from relatively nearby Athens.
The region is also a producer of food and other primary materials from timber to mineral resources.
Key Facts
Central Greece
Leader in food processing and other light manufacturing
Largest wind power producer in Greece
Home to popular archaeological site of Delphi
Agri-Food
Regional Opportunities
Agri-Food
Energy
Tourism
Home to food processing facilities of leading F&B companies.
The area of Boeotia in the southeast corner of the region of Central Greece is the site of food processing and light manufacturing that, in part, serves the city of Athens some 50 kilometres away. Leading foreign multinationals like Italy’s Barilla, Switzerland’s Nestle and The Coca-Cola Company maintain factories in the area, as do many Greek industrial producers. The area is also a major food producing region that, likewise, serves the Athens market and exports abroad. Further west, in the mountains of Central Greece, pastoralism helps support a local food industry of meats and dairy products.
Learn more about Agri-Food in Greece
Central Greece
In Numbers
Central Greece has been attracting foreign investment in food processing and renewable energy projects, helping to boost growth.
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€8,767 million
GDP in 2018, in current prices
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€15,800
Per capita GDP in 2018, in current prices
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1st
Ranking in Greece in terms of installed wind energy capacity in 2019 (HWEA)
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10.4%
Contribution out of total nights spent in Greece by visitors in hotels and campsites in 2018
Central Greece Demographics
The eastern part of Central Greece has drawn working-age people from the mountains in the west.
Central Greece is the country’s second biggest region in terms of land area (15,561 square kilometres) but only 8th of 13 in terms of population. Since the end of the Second World War, the region has seen a shift in its population with many younger workers abandoning the rural mountains in the west in favour of better opportunities in the cities. Central Greece itself has few metropolitan centres – the biggest city is Lamia with just over 100,000 residents – and none that rank among Greece’s 10 largest.
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555,960
Population (2019)
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5.18%
Share of Greek population (2019)
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23.6%
Tertiary Educational Attainment of population aged between 25-64 (2018)
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36/km2
Population Density (2018)
Sources: Eurostat, Hellenic Statistical Authority, European Commission, Regional Governments, SETE, Enterprise Greece, and HWEA
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