Kapodistrias reform

The law, named after 19th-century Greek statesman (Ioannis Kapodistrias), passed the Hellenic Parliament in 1997, and was implemented in 1998.

[2] Before and after the Kapodistrias reform, the difference between municipalities (δήμοι) and communities (κοινότητες) was merely a matter of size.

Municipalities were larger and had a more urban character than communities, which were as small as a single village.

[3] Municipalities and communities varied in population from 745,514 (Athens) to 28 (Gramos, in Kastoria Prefecture) with an average of 10,603.5 and a median of only 4,661.5 (2001 census "real" population, including Agion Oros as one of the municipalities).

The following table illustrates the range: Municipalities and communities varied in land area from 873.552 km2 (Kato Nevrokopi in Drama Prefecture) to 0.800 km2 (Nea Chalkidona in Athens Prefecture), with an average of 127.618 km2 and a median of 105.669 km2.