Greek Epirus, like the region as a whole, is rugged and mountainous. It comprises the land of the ancientMolossians andThesprotians,[5] and a small part of the land of theChaonians, the greater part being in SouthernAlbania. It is largely made up of mountainous ridges, part of theDinaric Alps. The region's highest spot is MountSmolikas, at an altitude of 2,637 metres (8,652 ft) above sea level. In the east, thePindus Mountains that form the spine of mainland Greece separate Epirus fromMacedonia andThessaly. Most of Epirus lies on the windward side of the Pindus. The winds from the Ionian Sea offer the region more rainfall than any other part of Greece.
TheVikos-Aoos andPindus National Parks are situated in theIoannina Prefecture of the region. Both areas have a wide range offauna andflora. The climate of Epirus is mainlyalpine. The vegetation is made up mainly of coniferous species. The animal life is especially rich in this area and includes, among other species, bears,wolves, foxes,deer andlynxes.
TheEpirus Region (Περιφέρεια Ηπείρου,Periféria Ipírou), as it is currently defined, was established in the 1987 administrative reform and was divided intoprefectures (νομοί,nomí), which were further subdivided intomunicipalities (δήμοι,dhími).[4]
The administrative division of the Epirus region in municipalities. In shades of yellow, the regional unit ofThesprotia, in red,Ioannina, in blue,Preveza and in green,Arta.
Epirus has few resources and its rugged terrain makes agriculture difficult. Sheep and goatpastoralism has always been an important activity in the region (Epirus provides more than 45% of meat to the Greek market), but there seems to be a decline in recent years.Tobacco is grown around Ioannina, and there is also somefarming andfishing, but most of the area's food must be imported from more fertile regions of Greece. Epirus is home to a number of the country's most famous dairy product brands, which producefeta cheese among others. Another important area of the local economy is tourism, especially eco-tourism. The natural environment of the area, as well as its traditional villages and lifestyle, have made Epirus a tourist attraction.[citation needed]
Thegross domestic product (GDP) of the region was €4.1 billion in 2018, accounting for 2.2% of Greek economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was €14,700 or 49% of the EU27 average in the same year. The GDP per employee was 63% of the EU average. Epirus is the region in Greece with the third lowest GDP per capita and one of the poorest regions in the EU.[9]
Around 320,000 people live in Epirus. According to the 2001 census, it has the lowest population of the 13regions of Greece. This is partly due to the impact of repeated wars in the 20th century as well as massemigration due to adverse economic conditions. The capital and largest city of the region isIoannina, where nearly a third of the population lives. The great majority of the population areGreeks, as well asAromanians andArvanites. The region has shrunk by 17,313 people between 2011 and 2021, experiencing a population loss of 5.1%.[1]
The delineation of the border between Greece and Albania in 1913 left some Albanian-populated villages on the Greek side of the border as well as Greek-populated villages and cities inNorthern Epirus, in present-day Albania. In the past, the coastal region ofThesprotia was also home to aCham Albanian minority, whose number did not exceed 25,000 in the 1940s, alongside the local Greeks.[10] After the war and their expulsion, the Greek census of 1951 counted a total of 127 Muslim Albanian Chams in Epirus, while 44 were counted in 1986 in Thesprotia.[11]
^abΠ.Δ. 51/87 "Καθορισμός των Περιφερειών της Χώρας για το σχεδιασμό κ.λ.π. της Περιφερειακής Ανάπτυξης" (Determination of the Regions of the Country for the planning etc. of the development of the regions,Efimeris tis Kyverniseos ΦΕΚ A 26/06.03.1987
^Winnifrith, T. J.Badlands-Borderland: A History of Southern Albania/Northern Epirus. London: Duckworth Publishers, 2003,ISBN0-7156-3201-9, p. 8. "The Thesprotians lived in the western part of what is now Greek Epirus, the Molossians in the rest of Greek Epirus, and the Chaonians in the southern section of Southern Albania ..."
^Kretsi, Georgia.Ethnologia Balkanica. LIT Verlag Münster. Retrieved27 July 2014.The Chams are understood as members of the Albanian-speaking Muslim "minority" which used to live predominantly in northwestern Greece (Epirus),
^Ktistakis, 1992: pp. 8, 9 (citing Krapsitis V., 1986: Οι Μουσουλμάνοι Τσάμηδες της Θεσπρωτίας (The Muslim Chams of Thesprotia), Athens, 1986, p. 181.
