Greece (Ελλάδα) in Greek and in other languages: 13 regions, exonyms
Greece is Ελλάδα (Elláda) in Greek, officially Ελληνική Δημοκρατία (Hellenic Republic), coded GR, GRC and 300. Below are its 13 regions and Mount Athos in Greek script, and the country's name in more than 90 languages.
Official languagesGreek
Checked
- alpha-2
- GR
- alpha-3
- GRC
- numeric
- 300
Ελληνική ΔημοκρατίαEllinikí Dimokratía
- English
- GreeceHellenic Republic
- Capital
- ΑθήναAthína · Athens
ISO 3166-1, checked 28 October 2026
Greece in other languages: list of exonyms
| Languages | ISO 639-2 | Name | Romanised |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | eng | Greece | same as written |
| Corsican, Galician, Italian, Romanian, Spanish | cos / glg / ita / ron / spa | Grecia | same as written |
| Basque, Romansh | eus / roh | Grezia | same as written |
| Indonesian, Malay | ind / msa | Yunani | same as written |
| Kinyarwanda, Rundi | kin / run | Ubugereki | same as written |
| Afrikaans | afr | Griekeland | same as written |
| Azerbaijani | aze | Yunanıstan | same as written |
| Breton | bre | Gres | same as written |
| Catalan | cat | Grècia | same as written |
| Czech | ces | Řecko | same as written |
| Cornish | cor | Pow Grek | same as written |
| Welsh | cym | Gwlad Groeg | same as written |
| Danish | dan | Grækenland | same as written |
| German | deu | Griechenland | same as written |
| Esperanto | epo | Grekujo | same as written |
| Estonian | est | Kreeka | same as written |
| Faroese | fao | Grikkaland | same as written |
| Finnish | fin | Kreikka | same as written |
| French | fra | Grèce | same as written |
| West Frisian | fry | Grikelân | same as written |
| Scottish Gaelic | gla | a' Ghrèig | same as written |
| Irish | gle | an Ghréig | same as written |
| Croatian | hrv | Grčka | same as written |
| Hungarian | hun | Görögország | same as written |
| Igbo | ibo | Gris | same as written |
| Icelandic | isl | Grikkland | same as written |
| Kurdish | kur | Yûnanîstan, Yunanistan | same as written |
| Latin | lat | Graecia | same as written |
| Latvian | lav | Grieķija | same as written |
| Lithuanian | lit | Graikija | same as written |
| Luxembourgish | ltz | Griicheland | same as written |
| Maltese | mlt | Greċja | same as written |
| Maori | mri | Kirihi | same as written |
| Dutch | nld | Griekenland | same as written |
| Norwegian | nor | Hellas | same as written |
| Northern Sotho | nso | Gerikilane | same as written |
| Papiamentu | pap | Gresia | same as written |
| Polish | pol | Grecja | same as written |
| Portuguese | por | Grécia | same as written |
| Slovak | slk | Grécko | same as written |
| Slovenian | slv | Grčija | same as written |
| Sami | smi | Greika | same as written |
| Samoan | smo | Eleni | same as written |
| Somali | som | Giriigga | same as written |
| Albanian | sqi | Greqi | same as written |
| Sardinian | srd | Greça | same as written |
| Swahili | swa | Ugiriki, Uyunani | same as written |
| Swedish | swe | Grekland | same as written |
| Tagalog | tgl | Gresya | same as written |
| Tongan | ton | Kalisi | same as written |
| Turkmen | tuk | Gresiýa | same as written |
| Turkish | tur | Yunanistan | same as written |
| Uzbek | uzb | Yunoniston, Gretsiya | same as written |
| Vietnamese | vie | Hy Lạp | same as written |
| Zulu | zul | iGirisi | same as written |
| Chechen, Chuvash, Ossetian | che / chv / oss | Греци | Greci |
| Karakalpak, Komi, Russian | kaa / kom / rus | Греция | Grecija |
| Kazakh, Kyrgyz | kaz / kir | Грекия | Grekija |
| Belarusian | bel | Грэцыя | Hrècyja |
| Bulgarian | bul | Гърция | Gŭrcija |
| Kabardian | kbd | Грецие | Grecie |
| Macedonian | mkd | Грција | Grcija |
| Mongolian | mon | Грек улс | Grek uls |
| Serbian | srp | Грчка | Grčka |
| Tajik | tgk | Юнон, Греция | Junon, Grecija |
| Ukrainian | ukr | Греція | Hrecija |
| Arabic | ara | اليونان | al-Yūnān |
| Persian | fas | یونان | Yūnān |
| Uyghur | uig | گرېتسىيه | Gretsiyä |
| Urdu | urd | یونان, گریس | Yūnān, Girīs |
| Dhivehi | div | ގްރީސް | Grīs |
| Amharic | amh | ግሪክ | Grik |
| Hebrew | heb | יוון | Yūwan |
| Yiddish | yid | גריכנלאַנד | Griḫnland |
| Greek | ell | Ελλάδα | Elláda |
| Armenian | hye | Հունաստան | Hounastan |
| Georgian | kat | საბერძნეთი | Saberdzneṭi |
| Hindi | hin | यूनान, ग्रीस | Yūnān, Grīs |
| Tamil | tam | கிரீஸ் | Kirīs |
| Chinese | zho | 希臘 / 希腊 | Xila |
| Japanese | jpn | ギリシャ | Girisha |
| Korean | kor | 그리스 | Geuriseu |
| Burmese | mya | ဂရိ | Gáẏí |
| Thai | tha | กรีซ | Krīs |
Greek itself is listed with its demotic form Ελλάδα. Chinese is given in traditional and simplified characters.
Hellas, Graecia and Yunan: three roots
Greeks call their country Ελλάδα, the demotic form of ancient Ἑλλάς (Hellás), and themselves Έλληνες. Only a few languages took that name: Norwegian Hellas, and through Chinese 希臘 (Xīlà) the Vietnamese Hy Lạp, which is the Sino-Vietnamese reading of the same two characters. English keeps it in the official long form, Hellenic Republic.
Western Europe took its word from Latin. Romans called the Greeks Graeci, after the Graikoi, a people of north-western Greece that Aristotle names; Graecia gave Italian and Spanish Grecia, French Grèce, German Griechenland and Russian Греция. Czech Řecko and Slovak Grécko are the same word in Slavic dress.
The east looked to Ionia, the Greek coast of Asia Minor that Persian rulers met first. Old Persian Yauna became Persian and Arabic یونان / اليونان (Yūnān), Turkish Yunanistan, Hindi यूनान and Indonesian Yunani. Hebrew יוון (Yāwān) goes back to Javan of the Bible, and Armenian Հունաստան has the same Ionian root.
Georgian stands apart with საბერძნეთი (Saberdzneti), the land of the berdzeni, as Georgian calls the Greeks.
Athens in other languages
| Languages | ISO 639-2 | Name | Romanised |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | eng | Athens | same as written |
| German, Norwegian | deu / nor | Athen | same as written |
| Italian, Slovenian | ita / slv | Atene | same as written |
| Portuguese, Spanish | por / spa | Atenas | same as written |
| Azerbaijani | aze | Afina | same as written |
| Catalan | cat | Atenes | same as written |
| Czech | ces | Atény | same as written |
| Esperanto | epo | Ateno | same as written |
| Estonian | est | Atheena | same as written |
| Finnish | fin | Ateena | same as written |
| French | fra | Athènes | same as written |
| Irish | gle | an Ataen | same as written |
| Croatian | hrv | Atena | same as written |
| Hungarian | hun | Athén | same as written |
| Icelandic | isl | Aþena | same as written |
| Latvian | lav | Atēnas | same as written |
| Lithuanian | lit | Atėnai | same as written |
| Maltese | mlt | Ateni | same as written |
| Dutch | nld | Athene | same as written |
| Polish | pol | Ateny | same as written |
| Slovak | slk | Atény | same as written |
| Swedish | swe | Aten | same as written |
| Turkish | tur | Atina | same as written |
| Belarusian | bel | Афіны | Afiny |
| Bulgarian | bul | Атина | Atina |
| Russian | rus | Афины | Afiny |
| Serbian | srp | Атена | Atena |
| Ukrainian | ukr | Афіни | Afiny |
| Arabic | ara | اثينا | Aṯīnā |
| Greek | ell | Αθήνα | Athḗna |
| Chinese | zho | 雅典 | Yadian |
| Japanese | jpn | アテネ | Atene |
| Korean | kor | 아테네 | Atene |
| Burmese | mya | အာသန် | Aṯã |
| Thai | tha | เอเธนส์ |
The 13 regions of Greece and Mount Athos
Greece's first level is the region (περιφέρεια, periféreia). The 13 regions have existed since 1987 and became self-governing on 1 January 2011 under the Kallikratis reform, which replaced the prefectures with regional units. Mount Athos is a self-governed monastic state under Greek sovereignty and has its own ISO code. ISO gave the regions single-letter codes in 2010 and deleted the 51 prefecture codes in 2016.
| ISO 3166-2 | Greek | English | Administrative centre | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Administrative regions περιφέρειες periféreies13 | ||||
| GR-A | Ανατολική Μακεδονία και ΘράκηAnatolikí Makedonía kai Thráki | Eastern Macedonia and Thrace | ΚομοτηνήKomotini | |
| GR-B | Κεντρική ΜακεδονίαKentrikí Makedonía | Central Macedonia | ΘεσσαλονίκηThessaloniki | |
| GR-C | Δυτική ΜακεδονίαDytikí Makedonía | Western Macedonia | ΚοζάνηKozani | |
| GR-D | ΉπειροςÍpeiros | Epirus | ΙωάννιναIoannina | |
| GR-E | ΘεσσαλίαThessalía | Thessaly | ΛάρισαLarissa | |
| GR-F | Ιόνια ΝησιάIonía Nísia | Ionian Islands | ΚέρκυραCorfu | |
| GR-G | Δυτική ΕλλάδαDytikí Elláda | Western Greece | ΠάτραPatras | |
| GR-H | Στερεά ΕλλάδαStereá Elláda | Central Greece | ΛαμίαLamia | |
| GR-I | ΑττικήAttikí | Attica | ΑθήναAthens | |
| GR-J | ΠελοπόννησοςPelopónnisos | Peloponnese | ΤρίποληTripoli | |
| GR-K | Βόρειο ΑιγαίοVóreio Aigaío | North Aegean | ΜυτιλήνηMytilene | |
| GR-L | Νότιο ΑιγαίοNótio Aigaío | South Aegean | ΕρμούποληErmoupoli | |
| GR-M | ΚρήτηKríti | Crete | ΗράκλειοHeraklion | |
| Self-governed part αυτοδιοίκητο τμήμα aftodioíkito tmíma1 | ||||
| GR-69 | Άγιο ΌροςÁgion Óros | Mount Athos | ΚαρυέςKaryes | |
Codes, Greek names and ELOT 743 romanisation: ISO 3166-2:GR as listed on the ISO Online Browsing Platform, read from its English Wikipedia mirror on 28 October 2026. Centres: the seat of each region; Karyes is the administrative centre of Mount Athos.
Greek script, accents and romanisation
Modern Greek has been written in the monotonic system since 1982: one accent mark, the tonos, on the stressed syllable of every word with more than one syllable. The breathings and three accents of the older polytonic system, as in Ἑλλάς, survive in church use and some literary printing. The names in the tables are monotonic.
Two romanisations meet on this page. ISO and the United Nations use ELOT 743, which follows modern pronunciation: Ellinikí Dimokratía, Kríti, Ípeiros. Older scholarly transliteration keeps the ancient letters visible and writes ē for eta, as in Ellēnikḗ Dēmokratía. The same region can therefore appear as Krḗtē and Kríti.
Greek itself had two written norms until the 1976 language law made demotic the official language over katharevousa. The country name moved with it, from Ελλάς to Ελλάδα; Ελλάς survives in formal and historical usage.
The flag has nine blue and white stripes and a white cross on a blue square in the canton, in the proportion 2:3. It became the sole national flag in 1978.
Questions about Greece's names and codes
What is Greece called in Greek?
Ελλάδα (Elláda), older Ελλάς (Ellás). The official name is Ελληνική Δημοκρατία, the Hellenic Republic.
Why do Turkish and Arabic call Greece Yunanistan and al-Yūnān?
Both go back to Ionia, the region of Greek cities on the coast of Asia Minor, through Old Persian Yauna.
What are Greece's ISO codes?
GR, GRC and 300 in ISO 3166-1. ISO 3166-2 codes the regions GR-A to GR-M and Mount Athos GR-69.
How many regions does Greece have?
Thirteen administrative regions plus the self-governed Mount Athos.
Where does the line και σαν πρώτα ανδρειωμένη come from?
From the first stanza of the national anthem, the Hymn to Liberty by Dionysios Solomos: and, brave as before, hail, O hail, Liberty.