Please wait while we load your article...

Home > Municipality

Learn more about "Municipality"

Municipality

A '''municipality''' is an administrative entity composed of a clearly defined territory and its population and commonly denotes a city, town, or village, or a small grouping of them. A municipality is typically governed by a mayor and a city council or municipal council. The notion of municipality includes townships but is not restricted to them. A municipality is a general-purpose district, as opposed to a special-purpose district. In most country|countries, a municipality is the smallest administrative subdivision to have its own democracy|democratically election|elected republic|representative leadership. In some countries, municipalities are referred to as "communes" (for example, French ''commune'', Italian ''comune'', Swedish ''kommun'' and Norwegian/Danish ''kommune''). The term derives from the medieval commune. In some countries, especially in the Middle East, the term "municipality" is also used to refer to the municipal administrative building known elsewhere as the town hall or city hall. The largest municipalities can be found in Canada, Greenland and Australia.

Municipalities as lower-level governance structures

- In Albania, a municipality is either part of a city or a province such as The Municipality of Tirana which, in 2005, earned the international prize of "most efficient municipality in Europe."
- In Algeria, a municipality (''Municipalities of Algeria|commune'') is part of a daïra, which is part of a Wilayas of Algeria|wilaya; there are List of communes in Algeria|1,541 communes in Algeria.
- In Argentina, a municipality (municipalidad) is a city, town, or township, which is part of a province. The provinces organize the municipalities in their territories according to their own municipio|municipal regime.
- In Australia, municipalities are subdivisions of a States and territories of Australia|state or territory. (See Local Government Areas in Australia).
- In Austria, a municipality (''Gemeinde'') is part of a district#Austria|district (''Bezirk''), which is in turn part of a States of Austria|state (''Bundesland'').
- In Belgium, a municipality (''Municipalities in Belgium|gemeente/commune'') is either part of a province (''Provinces of regions in Belgium|provincie/province'') or of the Brussels-Capital Region
- In Bolivia, a municipality (''municipio'') is part of a province, which is part of a Department (country subdivision)|departamento.
- In Bosnia and Herzegovina, a municipality (''općina'' or ''opština'') is
- part of a canton (''Cantons of Bosnia and Herzegovina|kanton'')
- a subdivision (grouped in Regions of Republika Srpska|regions)
- In Brazil, a municipality (''município'') is part of a state (''States of Brazil|estado''), and the smallest political-administrative division. The ''Federative Republic of Brazil'' is defined as a Tripartite Federal Republic - that is, the federal government, the states and municipalities are in a co-federation with each other, so there is not a proper federal hierarchy in Brazil. A city (''cidade'') is defined in Brazilian law as the urban seat of a municipality, and a municipality always has the same name as the corresponding city. Brazilian law establishes no difference between cities and towns; all it takes for an urban settlement to be called a "city" is to be the seat of a municipality, and some have a very small population. Except for the Brazilian Federal District|Federal District (the area of the national capital city, Brasília), which has special status and no municipalities, all land in Brazil, even the remotest wilderness areas, is in the territory of some municipality, and hence technically under the jurisdiction of a "city."
- In Bulgaria, a municipality, (Bulgarian language|Bulgarian; община) is the smallest regional administrative division and is part of a province. There are 260 municipalities divided in to 28 provinces in Bulgaria.
- In Canada, a municipality is a city, town, township, district, county, or regional municipality which has been incorporated by statute by the legislatures of the Provinces and territories of Canada|provinces and territories. It is also a specific designation for certain municipalities in Quebec, Nova Scotia and Ontario. Certain areas of Saskatchewan and Manitoba are designated as Rural municipality|rural municipalities, while equivalent areas in Alberta are designated as municipal districts and some in British Columbia are designated as '''district municipalities'''.
- In Chile, a municipality (''municipalidad'') is a legal entity which administers one or more comuna|communes (''comuna'') which are the third-level division of the country. The first division are Regions of Chile|regions which a next divided into Provinces of Chile|provinces (''provincia''). These provinces are next divided into ''comunas'' which are assigned to a municipality for administration. In most cases the municipality and the comuna have the same name, but the constitution permits a single municipality to be responsible for more than one commune.
- In Colombia, a municipality (''municipio'') is part of a Departments of Colombia|department (''departamento''). It also subdivided into Corregimientos and Veredas.
- In Croatia, a municipality (''općina'') is part of a county (''Counties of Croatia|županija'')
- In the Czech Republic, a municipality (''obec'') is part of a kraj (''kraj'')
- In Denmark, a municipality (''Municipalities of Denmark|kommune'') is part of a Regions of Denmark|region. Counties (''Counties of Denmark|amter'') were abandoned in Denmark on January 1, 2007.
- In the Dominican Republic a municipality (''municipio'') is a subdivision of a Provinces of the Dominican Republic|province (see municipalities of the Dominican Republic).
- In Estonia, a municipality (''municipalities of Estonia|omavalitsus'') is the smallest division.
- In Finland, a municipality (''Municipalities of Finland|kunta / kommun'') co-operates with municipalities nearby in a sub-region (''seutukunta / region'') and region (''maakunta / landskap''); a region belongs to a province (''Provinces of Finland|lääni / län'') of the state. A municipality can freely call itself a "city" (''kaupunki / stad'').
- In France, a municipality (''Commune in France|commune'') is part of a department (''département in France|département'') which is part of a region (''région'')
- In Germany, a municipality (''Municipalities in Germany|Gemeinde'') is part of a district (''List of German districts|Kreis''). Larger entities of the same level are called towns (''Stadt''). In less populated regions, municipalities are often put together into collective municipalities (''Municipalities in Germany|Verbandsgemeinde'')
- In Greece, a Municipalities and communities of Greece|municipality is either demoi or koinotetes (demoi with little population) which is then part of a prefecture (''nomos'') and then a larger region known as a peripheries|periphery. Municipalities are third-level administrative divisions and their heads (mayors in demoi, presidents in koinotetes) are appointed via popular vote held every four years.
- In Haiti, a municipality (''commune'') is part of an arrondissement, which is part of a department (''département'').
- In Hungary, a municipality (''települési önkormányzat'') is part of a county (''megye'').
- In India, a municipality is often referred to town. It is neither village nor big city. Usually, a municipality would have 100,000 or more people, but if it exceeds one million, it becomes a corporation.
- In Italy, a ''comune'' is part of a province (''Provinces of Italy|provincia'') which is part of a region (''Regions of Italy|regione''). The term "municipality" is reserved for subdivisions of larger ''comuni'' (in particular, the comune of Rome).
- In Japan, a municipality is the sphere of government within the prefectures, the sub-division of the state.
- In Kenya, a municipality is one of four types of local authorities. Nearly 50 major towns are given the municipality status.
- In Latvia, a rural municipality (''sing.:novads'', ''plur.:novadi'') is part of a district (''sing.:rajons'', ''plur.:rajoni''). A rural municipality normally consists of Amalgamation (politics)|amalgated Civil parish|parishes (''sing.:pagasts'', ''plur.:pagasti''). An urban municipality is called ''rajons''.
- In Lebanon, a municipality is part of a Districts of Lebanon|district () which is part of a Governorate (Region or Province, Arabic: ''Mouhafazah'').
- In Lithuania, a municipality (''savivaldybė'') is a part of a district (''apskritis'') and is subdivided into elderates (''seniūnija'').
- In Luxembourg, communes of Luxembourg|communes are the lowest divisions.
- In Mexico, a municipality (''municipio (Mexico)|municipio'') is a subdivision of a state (States of Mexico|estado) and a borough (''delegación'') is a subdivision of the Federal District (Mexico)|Federal District (see municipalities of Mexico and boroughs of the Mexican Federal District).
- In the Netherlands, a municipality (''Municipalities in the Netherlands|gemeente'') is part of a province (''Provinces of the Netherlands|provincie'').
- Every part of mainland New Zealand is part of either a "city" (mostly urban) or a "district" (mostly rural). The term "municipality" has become rare in New Zealand since about 1979 and has no legal status.
- In Nicaragua, a municipality (''municipio'') is subdivision of a department (''departamento'') or of one of the two Autonomous Regions, Región Autónoma del Atlántico Norte and Región Autónoma del Atlántico Sur.
- In Norway, a municipality (''Municipalities of Norway|kommune'') is part of a county (''Counties of Norway|fylke''). There are 431 municipalities in Norway (2006).
- In the Palestinian National Authority, Municipality (Palestinian Authority)|municipalities are localities with populations over 4,000 and have 13-15 council members. There are 105 municipalities in the PNA.
- In Peru, a municipality (''municipio'') is another term for Districts of Peru|district (''distrito'') and is the lower-level administrative subdivision. It is part of a Provinces of Peru|province (''provincia''), which is part of a Departments of Peru|department (''departamento''). As of 2002 a department is now called a region (región).
- In the Philippines, a municipality (''municipalities of the Philippines|bayan'') is a town with a popularly elected administration including a mayor, and is part of a province (''Provinces of the Philippines|lalawigan'') — except for the independent municipality of Pateros, Metro Manila in the Metro Manila|National Capital Region — and is composed of barangays.
- In Poland, a municipality (''gmina'') is a part of a county (''powiat'').
- In Portugal, a municipality (''município'') is a directly elected local area authority generally consisting of a main city and surrounding villages, with wide-ranging local administration powers. It is also a subdivision of a district for central government purposes(''Districts of Portugal|distritos'').
- In Puerto Rico, a Municipalities of Puerto Rico|municipality (''municipio'') is a town or city with a popularly elected administration, including a mayor.
- In Romania, a municipality (''Municipality in Romania|municipiu'') is a town or a city ranked by law at this level. A communes of Romania|commune is the lowest subdivision of a judeţ.
- In Russia, several types of municipalities ("municipal formations") exist; see subdivisions of Russia#Municipal divisions|subdivisions of Russia
- In Serbia, a municipality (''opština'') is part of a county (''okrug'')
- In Slovakia, a municipality (''obec'') is part of a okres|district (''okres''). There are List of villages and municipalities in Slovakia|2 891 municipalities in the state.
- In South Africa, District municipality (South Africa)|district municipalities and Metropolitan municipality (South Africa)|metropolitan municipalities are subdivisions of the Provinces of South Africa|provinces, and Local municipality (South Africa)|local municipalities are subdivisions of district municipalities.
- In Sweden, a municipality (''Municipalities of Sweden|kommun'') is part of a county (''Counties of Sweden|län'').
- In Switzerland, a municipality (''Municipalities in Switzerland|commune/Gemeinde/comune'') is part of a canton (''Cantons of Switzerland|canton/Kanton/cantone'') and defined by cantonal law.
- In the United Arab Emirates, a municipality is part of an emirate, and is defined by the law of the specific emirates.
- In the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the term "municipality" is rarely used and the municipal level of government used in other countries shares characteristics with (but is not identical to) the civil parish, town, City status in the United Kingdom|city, district, and/or unitary authority, depending on the location. The term "municipal" is used to refer to things pertaining to the government of a town or city.
- In the United States, the entities that have status as a municipality vary from U.S. state|state to state. Cities, towns, boroughs, or villages are common terms for municipalities. Township (United States)|Townships, counties, and parishes are not generally considered to be municipalities, although there are exceptions. In some states, towns have a non-municipal status similar to townships. Likewise, some townships have full municipal status.
- In Venezuela, a municipality (''municipio'') is part of a state, as well as a subdivision of the Venezuelan Capital District|Capital District (''Subdivisions of Venezuela|estado'').

First-level entities and other forms of municipalities

- In the People's Republic of China, a direct-controlled municipality (直辖市 in pinyin: zhíxiáshì) is a city with equal status to a Province (China)|province: Beijing Municipality|Beijing, Tianjin Municipality|Tianjin, Shanghai Municipality|Shanghai, and Chongqing Municipality|Chongqing (see Municipality of China)
- In the Republic of China on Taiwan, a municipality (直轄市 in Wade-Giles: Political divisions of Taiwan|chi-hsia-shih) is a city with equal status to a province: Taipei and Kaohsiung. (see Municipality of China)
- In Jersey, a municipality refers to the honorary officials elected to run each of the 12 Parishes of Jersey|Parishes into which it is subdivided. This is the highest level of regional government in this jurisdiction.
- In Republic of Macedonia|Macedonia, 84 municipalities (Municipalities of the Republic of Macedonia|''opštini''; singular: ''opština'') were established in 2004, reduced from 123 created in 1996.
- In Portugal, a municipality (''Municipalities of Portugal|município''/''Concelhos of Portugal|concelho'') is the primary local administrative unit. Although it is a part of a district (''Districts of Portugal|distrito'') for certain national administrative purposes, the municipality is not subordinate to the district and decentralization is doing away with the districts. A municipality contains one or more ''freguesias''.
- In Puerto Rico, there are no first order administrative divisions, and the municipalities (''Municipalities of Puerto Rico|municipio'') serves as second-order, but first level, administrative divisions.
- In Montenegro, a municipality (''opština'') is the topmost regional division
- Municipalities of Libya, some very large.
- In Slovenia, a municipality (''Municipalities of Slovenia|občina'') is the primary local administrative unit. There are 210 of them, 11 of which have a special "Urban" status with additional autonomy.
- In Spain, a municipality (''municipio'') is the primary local administrative unit. It is a part of a province (''Provinces of Spain|provincia'') for all national administrative purposes. In the Galicia (Spain)|Galicia region, the municipalities are called concellos, and in the Principality of Asturias region, a municipality is called conceyu. In these two regions a municipality contains one or more ''parroquias''.

Related Images

Sources: StartLearningNow, Wikipedia | Usage license: GNU FDL

Welcome to Start Learning Now. Explore to your heart's content, and we hope you enjoy reading the material we have assembled for you here!

Related News

Further Resources


	home lucky pick

Related Resources