The island of Crete is divided into 4 prefectures (or "Nomous" in Greek). The above map shows the 4 prefectures and each of their capital cities. The capital of Crete is Heraklion which is also its largest city and port. The main airports and seaports are at Heraklion and Chania. Souda Bay (near Chania) is also home to a large NATO naval base.The populations as at 2005 and size of each prefecture are shown in the table below:
| Prefecture |
Chania |
Rethymno |
Heraklio |
Lasithi |
Total |
| Population |
156,371 |
86,532 |
302,846 |
77,917 |
623,666 |
| Area (sq kms ) |
2,376 |
1,496 |
2,641 |
1,823 |
8,336 |
| Capital city population (Est) |
70,000 |
40,000 |
140,000 |
20,000 |
|
The population of Crete compared to the total population of Greece has been at around 6% over the last 50 years (see table below). There was a fall in population during the peak migration years during the 1960’s but in later years the population has began to grow again.
| Year |
Crete |
Greece |
Proportion |
| 1951 |
462,124 |
7,632,801 |
6.05% |
| 1961 |
483,258 |
8,388,553 |
5.76% |
| 1971 |
456,642 |
8,768,641 |
5.21% |
| 1981 |
502,165 |
9,740,417 |
5.16% |
| 1991 |
536,980 |
10,264,156 |
5.23% |
| 2001 |
603,000 |
10,930,000 |
5.52% |
|
