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Municipalities of Lithuania
Second-level administrative division
Second-level administrative division
NOTOC Lithuania is divided into two levels of administrative divisions. The first-level division consists of 60 municipalities (Lithuanian: singular – savivaldybė, plural – savivaldybės), which are further sub-divided into over 500 smaller units, known as elderships (Lithuanian: plural – seniūnijos, singular – seniūnija). For statistical and reporting purposes, municipalities are grouped into 10 counties (Lithuanian: singular – apskritis, plural – apskritys).
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. The reform of this system was an immediate concern for the new government. 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.
Ordinary municipal councilors are elected every four years from electoral lists using proportional representation. The mayor, who used to be a member of the council until 2023, is elected directly by the residents using the two-round system since 2015 reforms. Before then, 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 ({{percentage|593436|2867725 |1}}) of the country's population. The smallest municipality by population is Neringa Municipality with 4,173 ({{percentage|4173|2867725 |1}}) residents.
The largest municipality by land area is Varėna District Municipality, which spans 2216 km2, while the smallest is Alytus City Municipality at 40 km2.
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. Some municipalities are considered
As of 2024, seven
Municipalities
As of January 1, 2024.
| Municipality | Capital | County | Region | Area | Populations | Density | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [[Image:Naujoji Akmenė COA.svg | alt=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 | center | 30px]] | Akmenė District Municipality | Naujoji Akmenė | Šiauliai | Žemaitija | 844 km2 | 19,126 |
| [[Image:Coat of arms of Alytus (Lithuania).svg | alt=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 | center | 30px]] | Alytus City Municipality | Alytus | Alytus | Dzūkija | 40 km2 | 51,351 |
| [[Image:Alytus district COA.svg | alt=A coat of arms depicting three flowers that have red petals, green stalks, and green leaves all sprouting from green earth | center | 30px]] | Alytus District Municipality | Alytus | Alytus | Dzūkija | 1403 km2 | 25,464 |
| [[Image:Anykščiai COA great.svg | alt=A coat of arms depicting a brown bridge rising up out of a blue body of water into a blue sky with white clouds | center | 30px]] | Anykščiai District Municipality | Anykščiai | Utena | Aukštaitija | 1764 km2 | 22,372 |
| [[Image:Birstonas COA.svg | alt=A coat of arms depicting a sea creature with sharp teeth, one protruding bottom tooth, and a blowhole spewing water | center | 30px]] | Birštonas Municipality | Birštonas | Kaunas | Dzūkija | 122 km2 | 4,087 |
| [[Image:Biržai COA.svg | alt=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 | center | 30px]] | Biržai District Municipality | Biržai | Panevėžys | Aukštaitija | 1476 km2 | 22,111 |
| [[Image:Coat of arms of Druskininkai (Lithuania).svg | alt=A coat of arms depicting three golden crowns with five spikes protruding from their tops all on a blue background | center | 30px]] | Druskininkai Municipality | Druskininkai | Alytus | Dzūkija | 453 km2 | 20,103 |
| [[Image:Elektrenai COA.svg | alt=A coat of arms depicting three yellow, diagonal lines zig-zagging from the bottom left to the top right on a grey background | center | 30px]] | Elektrėnai Municipality | Elektrėnai | Vilnius | Dzūkija | 509 km2 | 24,745 |
| [[Image:Coat of arms of Ignalina (Lithuania).svg | alt=A coat of arms depicting three white flowers lined up vertically with four yellow seeds surrounding each all on a blue background | center | 30px]] | Ignalina District Municipality | Ignalina | Utena | Aukštaitija | 1441 km2 | 13,814 |
| [[Image:Coat of arms of Jonava (Lithuania).svg | alt=A coat of arms depicting a white bird with wings outspread, a red beak, and red feet all on a dark blue background | center | 30px]] | Jonava District Municipality | Jonava | Kaunas | Aukštaitija | 943 km2 | 41,489 |
| [[Image:Coat of arms of Joniskis.svg | alt=A coat of arms depicting an angel in full body armour and wings outspread while standing on a green dragon with a twisted tail | center | 30px]] | Joniškis District Municipality | Joniškis | Šiauliai | Aukštaitija | 1151 km2 | 20,289 |
| [[Image:Jurbarkas COA.svg | alt=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 | center | 30px]] | Jurbarkas District Municipality | Jurbarkas | Tauragė | Žemaitija | 1506 km2 | 25,443 |
| [[Image:Kaišiadorys COA.svg | alt=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 | center | 30px]] | Kaišiadorys District Municipality | Kaišiadorys | Kaunas | Aukštaitija | 1087 km2 | 29,062 |
| [[Image:Kalvarija COA great.svg | alt=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 | center | 30px]] | Kalvarija Municipality | Kalvarija | Marijampolė | Suvalkija | 440 km2 | 9,734 |
| [[Image:Coat of arms of Kaunas.svg | alt=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 | center | 30px]] | Kaunas City Municipality | Kaunas | Kaunas | Aukštaitija | 157 km2 | 304,198 |
| [[Image:Kaunas district COA.svg | alt=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 | center | 30px]] | Kaunas District Municipality | Kaunas | Kaunas | Aukštaitija | 1495 km2 | 106,277 |
| [[Image:Coat of arms of Kazlu Ruda (Lithuania).svg | alt=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 background | 30px]] | Kazlų Rūda Municipality | Kazlų Rūda | Marijampolė | Suvalkija | 555 km2 | 10,835 | |
| [[Image:Coat of arms of Kedainiai (Lithuania).svg | alt=A coat of arms depicting a black wing attached to a black tallon holding a white horseshoe attached to three yellow spurs | 30px]] | Kėdainiai District Municipality | Kėdainiai | Kaunas | Aukštaitija | 1677 km2 | 45,923 | |
| [[Image:Kelmes-herbas.svg | alt=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 bottom | 30px]] | Kelmė District Municipality | Kelmė | Šiauliai | Žemaitija | 1705 km2 | 24,347 | |
| [[Image:Klaipeda_City_Arms.svg | alt=A coat of arms depicting a golden castle with three turrets surrounded with four golden stars all on a red background | 30px]] | Klaipėda City Municipality | Klaipėda | Klaipėda | Prūsija | 99 km2 | 159,396 | |
| [[Image:Gargždai COA.svg | alt=A coat of arms depicting a sword with a gold hilt and a silver blade penetrating a green wreath all on a red background | 30px]] | Klaipėda District Municipality | Klaipėda | Klaipėda | Prūsija | 1340 km2 | 67,280 | |
| [[Image:Kretinga COA.svg | alt=A coat of arms depicting a woman clothed in blue and brown wearing a golden crown and carrying a baby all on a grey background | 30px]] | Kretinga District Municipality | Kretinga | Klaipėda | Žemaitija | 989 km2 | 37,433 | |
| [[Image:Kupiškis COA.svg | alt=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 top | 30px]] | Kupiškis District Municipality | Kupiškis | Panevėžys | Aukštaitija | 1080 km2 | 15,765 | |
| [[Image:Lazdijai COA.svg | alt=A coat of arms depicting a golden moose with large antlers and a protruding red tongue hovering over three black keys | 30px]] | Lazdijai District Municipality | Lazdijai | Alytus | Dzūkija | 1306 km2 | 17,201 | |
| [[Image:Marijampole COA.svg | alt=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 background | 30px]] | Marijampolė Municipality | Marijampolė | Marijampolė | Suvalkija | 755 km2 | 54,590 | |
| [[Image:Coat of arms of Mazeikiai (Lithuania).svg | alt=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 background | 30px]] | Mažeikiai District Municipality | Mažeikiai | Telšiai | Žemaitija | 1219 km2 | 51,909 | |
| [[Image:Coat of arms of Moletai (Lithuania).svg | alt=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 bottom | 30px]] | Molėtai District Municipality | Molėtai | Utena | Aukštaitija | 1367 km2 | 16,517 | |
| [[Image:Coat of arms of Neringa (Lithuania).svg | alt=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 top | 30px]] | Neringa Municipality | Nida | Klaipėda | Prūsija | 90 km2 | 4,265 | |
| [[Image:Pagėgiai COA.svg | alt=A coat of arms depicting a grey bird with a golden eye and wings outstretched holding a golden key all on a green background | 30px]] | Pagėgiai Municipality | Pagėgiai | Tauragė | Prūsija | 536 km2 | 7,059 | |
| [[Image:Coat of arms of Pakruojis (Lithuania).svg | alt=A coat of arms depicting a yellow windmill on a red crest hovering over a black bridge all on a yellow background | 30px]] | Pakruojis District Municipality | Pakruojis | Šiauliai | Aukštaitija | 1315 km2 | 17,870 | |
| [[Image:Coat of arms of Palanga (Lithuania).svg | alt=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 background | 30px]] | Palanga City Municipality | Palanga | Klaipėda | Žemaitija | 79 km2 | 18,066 | |
| [[Image:Coat of Arms of Panevezys.svg | alt=A coat of arms depicting a red castle with black double doors, two black windows, and one central tower all standing on black ground | 30px]] | Panevėžys City Municipality | Panevėžys | Panevėžys | Aukštaitija | 50 km2 | 86,599 | |
| [[Image:Panevėžys District COA.svg | alt=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 bottom | 30px]] | Panevėžys District Municipality | Panevėžys | Panevėžys | Aukštaitija | 2177 km2 | 35,378 | |
| [[Image:Pasvalys COA.svg | alt=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 nose | 30px]] | Pasvalys District Municipality | Pasvalys | Panevėžys | Aukštaitija | 1289 km2 | 21,930 | |
| [[Image:Plungė COA.svg | alt=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 background | 30px]] | Plungė District Municipality | Plungė | Telšiai | Žemaitija | 1105 km2 | 33,042 | |
| [[Image:Prienai COA.svg | alt=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 mouth | 30px]] | Prienai District Municipality | Prienai | Kaunas | Suvalkija | 1032 km2 | 24,675 | |
| [[Image:Radviliškis Coat of Arms.svg | alt=A coat of arms depicting a silver horse that is rearing and neighing all on a dark green background bordered by a thin silver line | 30px]] | Radviliškis District Municipality | Radviliškis | Šiauliai | Aukštaitija | 1634 km2 | 34,302 | |
| [[Image:Raseiniai COA.svg | alt=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 turf | 30px]] | Raseiniai District Municipality | Raseiniai | Kaunas | Žemaitija | 1573 km2 | 29,769 | |
| [[Image:Rietavas COA.svg | alt=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 background | 30px]] | Rietavas Municipality | Rietavas | Telšiai | Žemaitija | 586 km2 | 7,115 | |
| [[Image:Rokiškis COA.svg | alt=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 golden | 30px]] | Rokiškis District Municipality | Rokiškis | Panevėžys | Aukštaitija | 1806 km2 | 27,288 | |
| [[Image:Skuodas COA.svg | alt=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 background | 30px]] | Skuodas District Municipality | Skuodas | Klaipėda | Žemaitija | 911 km2 | 15,201 | |
| [[Image:Šakiai COA.svg | alt=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 right | 30px]] | Šakiai District Municipality | Šakiai | Marijampolė | Suvalkija | 1454 km2 | 25,603 | |
| [[Image:LIT VL Šalčininkai CoA.svg | alt=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 bottom | 30px]] | Šalčininkai District Municipality | Šalčininkai | Vilnius | Dzūkija | 1493 km2 | 29,888 | |
| [[Image:Coat of arms of Šiauliai Grand (Lithuania).svg | alt=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 | center | 20px]] | Šiauliai City Municipality | Šiauliai | Šiauliai | Žemaitija | 81 km2 | 110,461 |
| [[Image:Šiauliai district COA.svg | alt=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 background | 30px]] | Šiauliai District Municipality | Šiauliai | Šiauliai | Žemaitija | 1807 km2 | 40,565 | |
| [[Image:Coat of arms of Šilalė.svg | alt=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 bottom | 30px]] | Šilalė District Municipality | Šilalė | Tauragė | Žemaitija | 1188 km2 | 20,861 | |
| [[Image:Coat of arms of Silute (Lithuania).svg | alt=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 background | 30px]] | Šilutė District Municipality | Šilutė | Klaipėda | Prūsija | 1714 km2 | 38,331 | |
| [[Image:Coat of arms of Širvintos (Lithuania).svg | alt=A coat of arms depicting a silver-bladed sword with a golden hilt standing erect between the silver antlers of a silver moose head | 30px]] | Širvintos District Municipality | Širvintos | Vilnius | Aukštaitija | 906 km2 | 14,668 | |
| [[Image:Herb Święcian.svg | alt=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 background | 30px]] | Švenčionys District Municipality | Švenčionys | Vilnius | Aukštaitija | 1691 km2 | 21,795 | |
| [[Image:Coat of arms of Taurage (Lithuania).svg | alt=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 line | 30px]] | Tauragė District Municipality | Tauragė | Tauragė | Žemaitija | 1179 km2 | 37,215 | |
| [[Image:Telšiai COA great.svg | alt=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 man | 30px]] | Telšiai District Municipality | Telšiai | Telšiai | Žemaitija | 1439 km2 | 38,852 | |
| [[Image:Trakai district COA.svg | alt=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 hand | 30px]] | Trakai District Municipality | Trakai | Vilnius | Dzūkija | 1207 km2 | 34,595 | |
| [[Image:Ukmergė COA.svg | alt=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 background | 30px]] | Ukmergė District Municipality | Ukmergė | Vilnius | Aukštaitija | 1395 km2 | 34,023 | |
| [[Image:Coat of arms of Utena (Lithuania).svg | alt=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 line | 30px]] | Utena District Municipality | Utena | Utena | Aukštaitija | 1230 km2 | 39,671 | |
| [[Image:Varėna COA.svg | alt=A coat of arms depicting a golden scarab with wings and legs outstretched flying over six purple flowers all on a blue background | 30px]] | Varėna District Municipality | Varėna | Alytus | Dzūkija | 2216 km2 | 20,082 | |
| [[Image:Vilkaviškis CoA.svg | alt=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 line | 30px]] | Vilkaviškis District Municipality | Vilkaviškis | Marijampolė | Suvalkija | 1262 km2 | 33,906 | |
| [[Image:Grand Coat of arms of Vilnius.svg | alt=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 shoulder | 30px]] | Vilnius City Municipality | Vilnius | Vilnius | Dzūkija | 400 km2 | 602,430 | |
| [[Image:Vilnius district COA.svg | alt=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 hand | 30px]] | Vilnius District Municipality | Vilnius | Vilnius | Dzūkija | 2129 km2 | 106,197 | |
| [[Image:Visaginas COA.svg | alt=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 background | 30px]] | Visaginas Municipality | Visaginas | Utena | Aukštaitija | 58 km2 | 19,584 | |
| [[Image:Coat of arms of Zarasai.svg | alt=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 bottom | 30px]] | Zarasai District Municipality | Zarasai | Utena | Aukštaitija | 1331 km2 | 14,368 |
Sources
References
- (January 2000). "Conference on Local and Regional Authority Co-operation in the Baltic Sea Area: proceedings, Kaunas, Lithuania, 21-23, April 1999". Council of Europe.
- Jolanta Vaičiūnienė. (2008-11-14). "The Administrative–Territorial Reform in Lithuania: History and Today". [[Council of Europe]].
- (April 2007). "Baltic partnerships: integration, growth and local governance in the Baltic Sea Region". OECD Publishing.
- Skėrytė, Jūratė. (14 March 2023). "Apžvalga: naujai išrinktiems merams – didesni įgaliojimai". LRT.
- "Law on elections to municipal councils". The Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania.
- (2023-08-07). "Resident population on 1 July".
- Municipality administrative centers and coats of arms are given by [[Statistics Lithuania]] in subpages under the Portrait of the Regions of Lithuania; e.g. [http://regionai.stat.gov.lt/en/alytaus_apskritis/alytaus_miesto_savivaldybe.html Alytus town municipality] {{Webarchive. link. (2011-05-26 .)
- "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]].
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