thumb|280px|South Aegean topographic map
The South Aegean ( ) is one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It consists of the Cyclades and Dodecanese island groups in the central and southeastern Aegean Sea.
Administration
The South Aegean region was established in the 1987 administrative reform. With the 2010 Kallikratis plan, its powers and authority were redefined and extended. Along with the North Aegean region, it is supervised by the Decentralized Administration of the Aegean based at Piraeus. The capital of the region is situated in Ermoupoli on the island of Syros. The administrative region includes 50 inhabited islands, including the popular tourism destinations of Mykonos, Santorini and Rhodes.
Until the Kallikratis reform, the region consisted of the two prefectures of the Cyclades (capital: Ermoupoli) and the Dodecanese (capital: Rhodes). Since 1 January 2011 it is divided into 13 regional units, formed around major islands:
- Andros
- Kalymnos
- Karpathos-Kasos
- Kea-Kythnos
- Kos
- Milos
- Mykonos
- Naxos
- Paros
- Rhodes
- Syros
- Thira (Santorini)
- Tinos
Major communities
- Andros (Άνδρος)
- Ialysós (Ιαλυσός)
- Kallithéa (Καλλιθέα)
- Kálymnos (Κάλυμνος)
- Kárpathos (Κάρπαθος)
- Kos (Κως)
- Léros (Λέρος)
- Milos (Μήλος)
- Mýkonos (Μύκονος)
- Náxos (Νάξος)
- Páros (Πάρος)
- Petaloúdes (Πεταλούδες)
- Ródos (Ρόδος) (Rhodes in English)
- Santoríni (Σαντορίνη) or Thíra (Θήρα)
- Syros (Σύρου) including Ermoúpoli (Ερμούπολη)
Demographics
The region was one in only two in Greece to grow in population between 2011 and 2021 along with Crete, adding a total of 15,527 people (increase of 5%).