STEREA ELLADA - Geography and history
Central Greece comprises the five nomí of Viotia, Evia, Evritania, Fthiotida and Fokida. The nomós of Evia is made up of the islands of Evia ? the second largest island in Greece, which is joined to the mainland by the movable bridge over the Strait of Evripos ? and Skiros. The capital of the region is Lamia, and other major towns are Chalkida, Thiva and Livadia. The region has an area of 15 550 km2 and in 1999 had a density of population of 43 inhabitants per km2.
Central Greece is a predominantly mountainous region. 69% of its area is mountainous or semi-mountainous and is given over mainly to agriculture and livestock rearing.
Extensive heavy industry and an underdeveloped infrastructure
The main agricultural products of the region are oil, cotton, cereals and potatoes. The nomí of Evia is one of the country's largest producers of meat and poultry. However, of significance for the future of the primary sector is the abandonment of farmland in the mountain areas, with the population moving to the towns and cities. Another major problem affecting farming productivity is the small size and fragmented nature of the farms.
All branches of industry are represented in the region. The Inofita-Thiva-Chalkida-Lamia axis has one of the largest concentrations of heavy industry in Greece. However, the infrastructure is inadequate, and there are problems of pollution either from industrial effluent or from the mining activities nearly everywhere in the region. The transport network is in need of improvement and the telephone network is incomplete. Tourism in the region is restricted mainly to the summer resorts in the nomós of Evia and in a small area of Fthiotida (Delphi and Parnassos). There is, however, potential for tourism along the coasts and in the fields of medicinal, farm and conference tourism.
Striking imbalances
In Central Greece there are clear distinctions between the areas with a high concentration of industry along the Inofita-Schimatari-Thiva-Chalkida-Lamia axis, the fertile plains of Kopaida and Sperchios, the 'problem' areas comprising the nomí of Evritania and Fokida and the mountainous areas of the other three nomí, and finally the tourist centres of northern and southern Evia, Delphi and Parnassos.
The mountainous areas of Evritania and Fokida are relatively isolated due to the terrain and the inadequacy of the road network.
88% of the inhabitants of Central Greece are concentrated in the nomí of Evia, Viotia and Fthiotida, which account for 74% of the land area of the region. These three nomí also contain all the urban centres of the region ? Thiva, Chalkida, Lamia and Livadia ? which act either as industrial satellites of Athens (Thiva, Chalkida) or as magnets for the population of the mountainous areas (Lamia, Chalkida), while the capitals of the nomí of Evritania (Karpenisi) and Fokida (Amfissa) are semi-urban settlements.
Per-capita GDP in Viotia is above the regional and national averages and is more than double the figure for Evritania.
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