WEST MACEDONIA

The periphery of West Macedonia is situated in north-western Greece, bordering with the peripheries of Central Macedonia (east), Thessaly (south), Epirus (west), and bounded to the north at the international borders of Greece with the Republic of Macedonia (Bitola region) and Albania (Korçë region).

Although it covers a total surface of 9,451 km² (3,649 sq mi) (7,2% of country’s total), it has a total population of 302,892 inhabitants (2.9% of the country’s total), thus it is a low-density populated Region (32 per km², as compared to the country’s 79.7 relevant figure). This is mainly due to the mountainous nature of the Region, as 82% of the total surface are mountainous and semi-mountainous areas. This is also reflected in the population distribution, as the major part of the population (56%) lives in rural areas. Capital of the periphery is Kozani with 47,451 inhabitants. Other main towns are Ptolemaida (32,775), Grevena (16,704), Florina (14,318) and Kastoria (13,959)