Map of the European Union with Lithuania highlighted in green
Location of Lithuania in the European Union
Lithuanian municipalities and elderships map

Lithuania is divided into three layers of administrative divisions. The first-level division consists of 10 counties (Lithuanian: singular – apskritis, plural – apskritys). These are sub-divided into 60 municipalities (Lithuanian: plural – savivaldybės, singular – savivaldybė), which in turn are further sub-divided into over 500 smaller groups, known as elderships (Lithuanian: plural – seniūnijos, singular – seniūnija).

At the end of its tenure as a Soviet Socialist Republic, Lithuania's administrative divisions consisted of 44 regions, 12 cities, 80 towns, 19 settlements, and 426 rural districts.[1] The reform of this system was an immediate concern for the new government.[2] The Constitution of Lithuania, ratified in 1992, delegated the power of establishing future administrative units to the Lithuanian Parliament (Seimas). Accordingly, the Seimas passed two fundamental laws: a 1993 law on government representation and a 1994 law specifying the territorial-administrative units and their boundaries.[2] The current system of a set of municipalities under 10 counties was codified by 1995.[2] Several changes were made in 2000, resulting in 60 municipalities.[3]

Ordinary municipal councilors are elected every four years from electoral lists using proportional representation. The mayor, who is a member of the council, is elected directly by the residents in a majority vote in run-off election.[4] Before 2015, the mayors were elected by the municipal councils.

The largest municipality by population in Lithuania is Vilnius City Municipality with 593,436 residents, home to one fifth (20.7%) of the country's population. The smallest municipality by population is Neringa Municipality with 4,173 (0.1%) residents.[5]

The largest municipality by land area is Varėna District Municipality, which spans 2,216 km2 (856 sq mi), while the smallest is Alytus City Municipality at 40 km2 (15 sq mi).

Powers and functions

Municipalities are established to perform certain functions provided by law. According to the abovementioned Republic of Lithuania Law on Local Self-Government, the functions of municipalities are "functions related to local government, public administration and provision of public services defined by the Constitution and attributed to municipalities by this and other laws". The processes of integration into international organizations - like the EU and NATO - are considered to be important external factors influencing the development of municipal powers in the country. Lithuania, which has become a member of these organizations, has been assigned completely new responsibilities, some of which, naturally, also belonged to municipalities. In the case of EU integration, municipalities have been assigned the necessary information supply to the European Commission, and in the case of integration into NATO, municipalities have had new functions related to security issues.

A map divided into ten sections all filled in with a different colour and further subdivided into subsections

1 – Vilnius City Municipality
2 – Kaunas City Municipality
3 – Klaipėda City Municipality

4 – Panevėžys City Municipality
5 – Šiauliai City Municipality
6 – Alytus City Municipality

7 – Birštonas Municipality
8 – Palanga City Municipality
9 – Visaginas Municipality
10 – Neringa Municipality

Municipalities

Municipality Capital[6] County Region Area[7] Pop. (2022)[7] Density (2022)[7]
A coat of arms depicting orange tools on a white background on the top and an orange sun on a dark green background on the bottom
Akmenė District MunicipalityNaujoji AkmenėŠiauliaiŽemaitija844 km2 (326 sq mi)19,28722.85
A coat of arms depicting orange tools on a white background on the top and an orange sun on a dark green background on the bottom
Alytus City MunicipalityAlytusAlytusDzūkija40 km2 (15 sq mi)51,9681,299.20
A coat of arms depicting three flowers that have red petals, green stalks, and green leaves all sprouting from green earth
Alytus District MunicipalityAlytusAlytusDzūkija1,403 km2 (542 sq mi)25,37318.08
A coat of arms depicting a brown bridge rising up out of a blue body of water into a blue sky with white clouds
Anykščiai District MunicipalityAnykščiaiUtenaAukštaitija1,764 km2 (681 sq mi)22,68312.86
A coat of arms depicting a sea creature with sharp teeth, one protruding bottom tooth, and a blowhole spewing water
Birštonas MunicipalityBirštonasKaunasDzūkija122 km2 (47 sq mi)22,68312.86
A coat of arms depicting a white flag with a black bird on it with a yellow beak and yellow claws all on a yellow background
Biržai District MunicipalityBiržaiPanevėžysAukštaitija1,476 km2 (570 sq mi)22,58015.30
A coat of arms depicting three golden crowns with five spikes protruding from their tops all on a blue background
Druskininkai MunicipalityDruskininkaiAlytusDzūkija453 km2 (175 sq mi)20,05544.27
A coat of arms depicting three yellow, diagonal lines zig-zagging from the bottom left to the top right on a grey background
Elektrėnai MunicipalityElektrėnaiVilniusDzūkija509 km2 (197 sq mi)23,87646.91
A coat of arms depicting three white flowers lined up vertically with four yellow seeds surrounding each all on a blue background
Ignalina District MunicipalityIgnalinaUtenaAukštaitija1,441 km2 (556 sq mi)14,2839.91
A coat of arms depicting a white bird with wings outspread, a red beak, and red feet all on a dark blue background
Jonava District MunicipalityJonavaKaunasAukštaitija943 km2 (364 sq mi)41,30443.80
A coat of arms depicting an angel in full body armour and wings outspread while standing on a green dragon with a twisted tail
Joniškis District MunicipalityJoniškisŠiauliaiAukštaitija1,151 km2 (444 sq mi)20,70817.99
A coat of arms depicting three grey fleurs-de-lis, two directly across from each other at the top and one on the bottom, all on a red background
Jurbarkas District MunicipalityJurbarkasTauragėŽemaitija1,506 km2 (581 sq mi)24,78716.46
A coat of arms depicting four grey horses with red eyes galloping both to the left and to the right all on a black background
Kaišiadorys District MunicipalityKaišiadorysKaunasAukštaitija1,087 km2 (420 sq mi)29,45627.10
A coat of arms depicting a grey castle on a red background on the left and a blue eye in a yellow triangle on the right
Kalvarija MunicipalityKalvarijaMarijampolėSuvalkija440 km2 (170 sq mi)9,92722.56
A coat of arms depicting a white bull with an angry expression and a golden cross protruding from its head all on a red background
Kaunas City MunicipalityKaunasKaunasAukštaitija157 km2 (61 sq mi)301,6871921.57
A coat of arms depicting a grey bull's head with a golden cross protruding from the top all on a red crest on a blue background
Kaunas District MunicipalityKaunasKaunasAukštaitija1,495 km2 (577 sq mi)97,21265.02
A coat of arms depicting six yellow stars in a diagonal line running from the bottom left to the top right all on a black backgroundKazlų Rūda MunicipalityKazlų RūdaMarijampolėSuvalkija555 km2 (214 sq mi)10,93619.70
A coat of arms depicting a black wing attached to a black tallon holding a white horseshoe attached to three yellow spursKėdainiai District MunicipalityKėdainiaiKaunasAukštaitija1,677 km2 (647 sq mi)46,01627.44
A coat of arms depicting a white wheel on a light blue background at the top and three white leaves on a green background at the bottomKelmė District MunicipalityKelmėŠiauliaiŽemaitija1,705 km2 (658 sq mi)25,11214.73
A coat of arms depicting a golden castle with three turrets surrounded with four golden stars all on a red backgroundKlaipėda City MunicipalityKlaipėdaKlaipėdaPrūsija99 km2 (38 sq mi)155,5011570.72
A coat of arms depicting a sword with a gold hilt and a silver blade penetrating a green wreath all on a red backgroundKlaipėda District MunicipalityKlaipėdaKlaipėdaPrūsija1,340 km2 (520 sq mi)61,42545.84
A coat of arms depicting a woman clothed in blue and brown wearing a golden crown and carrying a baby all on a grey backgroundKretinga District MunicipalityKretingaKlaipėdaŽemaitija989 km2 (382 sq mi)37,54437.96
A coat of arms depicting a black, six-pointed star on a golden background on the bottom and grey swirls on a blue background on the topKupiškis District MunicipalityKupiškisPanevėžysAukštaitija1,080 km2 (420 sq mi)16,12914.93
A coat of arms depicting a golden moose with large antlers and a protruding red tongue hovering over three black keysLazdijai District MunicipalityLazdijaiAlytusDzūkija1,306 km2 (504 sq mi)17,75013.59
A coat of arms depicting a man in full body armour riding a brown horse that is trampling a black dragon all on a yellow backgroundMarijampolė MunicipalityMarijampolėMarijampolėSuvalkija755 km2 (292 sq mi)54,47972.16
A coat of arms depicting a golden arrow with a zig-zag in the middle of it pulled back on a golden bow all on a blue backgroundMažeikiai District MunicipalityMažeikiaiTelšiaiŽemaitija1,219 km2 (471 sq mi)51,66842.39
A coat of arms depicting a golden key on a red background at the top and three blue birds on a white background at the bottomMolėtai District MunicipalityMolėtaiUtenaAukštaitija1,367 km2 (528 sq mi)16,84712.32
A coat of arms depicting a white "N" on a blue background at the bottom and a series of black and white shapes at the topNeringa MunicipalityNidaKlaipėdaPrūsija90 km2 (35 sq mi)4,06645.18
A coat of arms depicting a grey bird with a golden eye and wings outstretched holding a golden key all on a green backgroundPagėgiai MunicipalityPagėgiaiTauragėPrūsija536 km2 (207 sq mi)7,20013.43
A coat of arms depicting a yellow windmill on a red crest hovering over a black bridge all on a yellow backgroundPakruojis District MunicipalityPakruojisŠiauliaiAukštaitija1,315 km2 (508 sq mi)18,30313.92
A coat of arms depicting a circle for which the boundary is itself made up of beige circles all under a silver crown on a blue backgroundPalanga City MunicipalityPalangaKlaipėdaŽemaitija79 km2 (31 sq mi)17,484221.32
A coat of arms depicting a red castle with black double doors, two black windows, and one central tower all standing on black groundPanevėžys City MunicipalityPanevėžysPanevėžysAukštaitija50 km2 (19 sq mi)87,7921755.84
A coat of arms depicting two grey sheaves of wheat on a blue background at the top and a red plowshare on a grey background at the bottomPanevėžys District MunicipalityPanevėžysPanevėžysAukštaitija2,177 km2 (841 sq mi)35,27016.20
A coat of arms depicting the black head of a bull with a golden vine entangled in its black horns and a golden ring protruding from its nosePasvalys District MunicipalityPasvalysPanevėžysAukštaitija1,289 km2 (498 sq mi)22,49217.45
A coat of arms depicting the Eye of Providence with a blue iris encapsulated in a golden triangle surrounded in golden rays all on a blue backgroundPlungė District MunicipalityPlungėTelšiaiŽemaitija1,105 km2 (427 sq mi)33,28930.13
A coat of arms depicting a man in full body armour riding a brown horse that is tramplinga green dragon spewing red flames from its mouthPrienai District MunicipalityPrienaiKaunasSuvalkija1,032 km2 (398 sq mi)24,99324.22
A coat of arms depicting a silver horse that is rearing and neighing all on a dark green background bordered by a thin silver lineRadviliškis District MunicipalityRadviliškisŠiauliaiAukštaitija1,634 km2 (631 sq mi)34,50821.12
A coat of arms depicting a golden lynx with black spots, a red tongue, white teeth, and white claws standing on its back paws on green turfRaseiniai District MunicipalityRaseiniaiKaunasŽemaitija1,573 km2 (607 sq mi)30,39519.32
A coat of arms depicting a golden lion holding a silver-bladed sword in its mouth with a golden hilt and standing on green turf all on a blue backgroundRietavas MunicipalityRietavasTelšiaiŽemaitija586 km2 (226 sq mi)7,27612.42
A coat of arms divided into four sections, the top left and bottom right of which are red, the bottom left of which is blue, and the top right of which is goldenRokiškis District MunicipalityRokiškisPanevėžysAukštaitija1,806 km2 (697 sq mi)28,06315.54
A coat of arms depicting a grey castle with three towers topped by crosses with a human head on the front door all on a blue backgroundSkuodas District MunicipalitySkuodasKlaipėdaŽemaitija911 km2 (352 sq mi)15,66817.20
A coat of arms depicting two grey sheaves of wheat on a red background on the left and six black, curved lines on a grey background on the rightŠakiai District MunicipalityŠakiaiMarijampolėSuvalkija1,454 km2 (561 sq mi)26,16317.99
A coat of arms depicting a golden key overlapping a silver key on a blue background at the top and three golden nuts on a red background on the bottomŠalčininkai District MunicipalityŠalčininkaiVilniusDzūkija1,493 km2 (576 sq mi)29,76119.93
A coat of arms depicting a black bear with a silver collar on a red background on the left and a blue eye in a grey triangle on the right
Šiauliai City MunicipalityŠiauliaiŠiauliaiŽemaitija81 km2 (31 sq mi)103,9841283.75
A coat of arms depicting an angry, grey bear with yellow claws and a long, red tongue gripping a yellow axe in its paws all on a blue backgroundŠiauliai District MunicipalityŠiauliaiŠiauliaiŽemaitija1,807 km2 (698 sq mi)40,60522.47
A coat of arms depicting five red leaves in a straight, horizontal row on a grey background at the top and five grey leaves on a red background at the bottomŠilalė District MunicipalityŠilalėTauragėŽemaitija1,188 km2 (459 sq mi)21,41318.02
A coat of arms depicting a grey boat hovering over two partitions of grey water that are themselves hovering over a grey horn all on a green-and-black backgroundŠilutė District MunicipalityŠilutėKlaipėdaPrūsija1,714 km2 (662 sq mi)38,53922.48
A coat of arms depicting a silver-bladed sword with a golden hilt standing erect between the silver antlers of a silver moose headŠirvintos District MunicipalityŠirvintosVilniusAukštaitija906 km2 (350 sq mi)14,88816.43
A coat of arms depicting a silver fish swimming to the right on the top and another fish swimming to the left on the bottom all on a blue backgroundŠvenčionys District MunicipalityŠvenčionysVilniusAukštaitija1,691 km2 (653 sq mi)22,36213.22
A coat of arms depicting a rounded, silver horn hung up by a rounded, silver strap all on a solid red background bordered by a black lineTauragė District MunicipalityTauragėTauragėŽemaitija1,179 km2 (455 sq mi)37,60031.89
A coat of arms depicting a bishop in brown robes with a brown mitre on his head surrounded by a golden halo looking at another manTelšiai District MunicipalityTelšiaiTelšiaiŽemaitija1,439 km2 (556 sq mi)22,36227.36
A coat of arms depicting a man in full body armour holding a white spear in his right hand and a red-and-yellow shield in his left handTrakai District MunicipalityTrakaiVilniusDzūkija1,207 km2 (466 sq mi)33,03227.37
A coat of arms depicting an open book with a red rose on one page and a red bull on the other all hovering over a red heart with a building in the backgroundUkmergė District MunicipalityUkmergėVilniusAukštaitija1,395 km2 (539 sq mi)33,98524.36
A coat of arms depicting a golden horseshoe hovering over a white, 8-point star all on a blue background bordered by a thin, black lineUtena District MunicipalityUtenaUtenaAukštaitija1,230 km2 (470 sq mi)37,49030.48
A coat of arms depicting a golden scarab with wings and legs outstretched flying over six purple flowers all on a blue backgroundVarėna District MunicipalityVarėnaAlytusDzūkija2,216 km2 (856 sq mi)20,6469.32
A coat of arms depicting a large, red fleur-de-lis that has a horizontal symmetry axis all on a blue background bordered by a black lineVilkaviškis District MunicipalityVilkaviškisMarijampolėSuvalkija1,262 km2 (487 sq mi)34,79327.57
A coat of arms depicting a white man with a white cape holding a golden staff and giving a ride to a white, golden-haloed child on his shoulderVilnius City MunicipalityVilniusVilniusDzūkija400 km2 (150 sq mi)576,0101440.03
A coat of arms depicting a man in full body armour riding a black horse and carrying a white spear with a golden blade in his right handVilnius District MunicipalityVilniusVilniusDzūkija2,129 km2 (822 sq mi)99,85646.90
A coat of arms depicting a grey bird with a long, twisting neck, a yellow, pointy beak, and long yellow legs all on a dark blue backgroundVisaginas MunicipalityVisaginasUtenaAukštaitija58 km2 (22 sq mi)19,661338.98
A coat of arms depicting a grey animal with the body of a fish and the head of a deer on a blue background at the top and a sword on the bottomZarasai District MunicipalityZarasaiUtenaAukštaitija1,331 km2 (514 sq mi)14,66511.02

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Municipalities in Lithuania.

Notes and references

Notes
    References
    1. ↑ Conference on Local and Regional Authority Co-operation in the Baltic Sea Area: proceedings, Kaunas, Lithuania, 21-23, April 1999. Council of Europe. January 2000. p. 9. ISBN 978-92-871-4538-3. Retrieved 16 February 2011.
    2. 1 2 3 Jolanta Vaičiūnienė (2008-11-14). "The Administrative–Territorial Reform in Lithuania: History and Today" (PDF). Council of Europe. Retrieved 16 February 2011.
    3. ↑ Local Economic and Employment Development (Program); Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (April 2007). Baltic partnerships: integration, growth and local governance in the Baltic Sea Region. OECD Publishing. p. 75. ISBN 978-92-64-02928-6. Retrieved 23 February 2011.
    4. ↑ "Law on elections to municipal councils". The Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
    5. ↑ "Resident population on 1 July". osp.stat.gov.lt. 2023-08-07.
    6. ↑ Municipality administrative centers and coats of arms are given by Statistics Lithuania in subpages under the Portrait of the Regions of Lithuania; e.g. Alytus town municipality Archived 2011-05-26 at the Wayback Machine.
    7. 1 2 3 "Area (land) at the beginning of the year, Population density at the beginning of the year, Resident population at the beginning of the year". Statistics Lithuania. Retrieved 1 August 2023.

    Sources

    This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.