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Municipalities of Lithuania

Lithuania
Coat of arms of Lithuania
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Lithuania

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Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe. It is a member of the United Nations, European Union, Council of Europe and NATO.[1] In 2010, it had a population of approximately 3.3 million, and an area of 65,300 square kilometres (16,135,981.41 acres; 25,212.47 sq mi).[2] In the 14th century, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was one of the largest countries in Europe and included present-day Lithuania, Belarus, most of Ukraine, and parts of Estonia, Latvia, Moldova, Poland, and Russia. As a Soviet Socialist Republic (since 1940), Lithuania initiated its declaration of independence in 1990, and gained international recognition the following year.[1]

The country 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.[3] The reform of this system was an immediate concern for the new government.[4] 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.[4] The current system of a set of municipalities under 10 counties was codified by 1995.[4] Several changes were made in 2000, resulting in 60 municipalities.[5] Further changes, including a possible increase in the number of municipalities, are still being discussed.[6] Municipal councilors are directly elected every four years.[7] The councilors then elect the municipality's mayor.[7]

The following map shows counties as well as municipalities. Seven city municipalities and three municipalities are marked by numbers.

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 County Administrative center[8] Area[9] Pop. (2010)[9] Density (2010)[9]
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 Municipality 		Šiauliai Naujoji Akmenė 844 square kilometres (208,556.94 acres; 325.87 sq mi) 26,737 31.7
A coat of arms depicting a white flower in the middle that has a yellow stamen and green leaves all on a red background
Alytus City Municipality 		Alytus Alytus 60 square kilometres (14,826.32 acres; 23.17 sq mi) 66,841 1,671.0
A coat of arms depicting three flowers that have red petals, green stalks, and green leaves all sprouting from green earth
Alytus District Municipality 		Alytus Alytus[nb 1] 1,404 square kilometres (346,935.96 acres; 542.09 sq mi) 30,691 21.9
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 Municipality 		Utena Anykščiai 1,765 square kilometres (436,141.00 acres; 681.47 sq mi) 31,088 17.6
A coat of arms depicting a sea creature with sharp teeth, one protruding bottom tooth, and a blowhole spewing water
Birštonas Municipality 		Kaunas Birštonas 124 square kilometres (30,641.07 acres; 47.88 sq mi) 5,178 41.8
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 Municipality 		Panevėžys Biržai 1,476 square kilometres (364,727.54 acres; 569.89 sq mi) 32,116 21.8
A coat of arms depicting three golden crowns with five spikes protruding from their tops all on a blue background
Druskininkai Municipality 		Alytus Druskininkai 454 square kilometres (112,185.84 acres; 175.29 sq mi) 24,044 53.0
A coat of arms depicting three yellow, diagonal lines zig-zagging from the bottom left to the top right on a grey background
Elektrėnai Municipality 		Vilnius Elektrėnai 509 square kilometres (125,776.64 acres; 196.53 sq mi) 27,622 54.3
A coat of arms depicting three white flowers lined up vertically with four yellow seeds surrounding each all on a blue background
Ignalina District Municipality 		Utena Ignalina 1,447 square kilometres (357,561.49 acres; 558.69 sq mi) 19,374 13.4
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 Municipality 		Kaunas Jonava 944 square kilometres (233,267.48 acres; 364.48 sq mi) 51,401 54.5
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 Municipality 		Šiauliai Joniškis 1,152 square kilometres (284,665.40 acres; 444.79 sq mi) 29,310 25.4
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 Municipality 		Tauragė Jurbarkas 1,507 square kilometres (372,387.81 acres; 581.86 sq mi) 34,213 22.7
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 Municipality 		Kaunas Kaišiadorys 1,087 square kilometres (268,603.55 acres; 419.69 sq mi) 35,334 32.5
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 Municipality 		Marijampolė Kalvarija 441 square kilometres (108,973.47 acres; 170.27 sq mi) 13,162 29.8
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 Municipality 		Kaunas Kaunas 157 square kilometres (38,795.54 acres; 60.62 sq mi) 348,624 2,220.5
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 Municipality 		Kaunas Kaunas[nb 1] 1,496 square kilometres (369,669.65 acres; 577.61 sq mi) 90,196 60.3
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
Kazlų Rūda Municipality 		Marijampolė Kazlų Rūda 555 square kilometres (137,143.49 acres; 214.29 sq mi) 14,189 25.6
A coat of arms depicting a black wing attached to a black tallon holding a white horseshoe attached to three yellow spurs
Kėdainiai District Municipality 		Kaunas Kėdainiai 1,677 square kilometres (414,395.72 acres; 647.49 sq mi) 61,872 36.9
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
Kelmė District Municipality 		Šiauliai Kelmė 1,705 square kilometres (421,314.68 acres; 658.30 sq mi) 36,801 21.6
A coat of arms depicting a golden castle with three turrets surrounded with four golden stars all on a red background
Klaipėda City Municipality 		Klaipėda Klaipėda 98 square kilometres (24,216.33 acres; 37.84 sq mi) 182,752 1,864.8
A coat of arms depicting a sword with a gold hilt and a silver blade penetrating a green wreath all on a red background
Klaipėda District Municipality 		Klaipėda Gargždai 1,336 square kilometres (330,132.79 acres; 515.83 sq mi) 52,125 39.0
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
Kretinga District Municipality 		Klaipėda Kretinga 989 square kilometres (244,387.22 acres; 381.86 sq mi) 45,103 45.6
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
Kupiškis District Municipality 		Panevėžys Kupiškis 1,080 square kilometres (266,873.81 acres; 416.99 sq mi) 22,369 20.7
A coat of arms depicting a golden moose with large antlers and a protruding red tongue hovering over three black keys
Lazdijai District Municipality 		Alytus Lazdijai 1,309 square kilometres (323,460.94 acres; 505.41 sq mi) 24,246 18.5
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
Marijampolė Municipality 		Marijampolė Marijampolė 755 square kilometres (186,564.56 acres; 291.51 sq mi) 68,303 90.5
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
Mažeikiai District Municipality 		Telšiai Mažeikiai 1,220 square kilometres (301,468.57 acres; 471.04 sq mi) 65,430 52.8
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
Molėtai District Municipality 		Utena Molėtai 1,367 square kilometres (337,793.06 acres; 527.80 sq mi) 22,475 16.4
A coat of arms depicting a white
Neringa Municipality 		Klaipėda Nida 90 square kilometres (22,239.48 acres; 34.75 sq mi) 3,682 40.9
A coat of arms depicting a grey bird with a golden eye and wings outstretched holding a golden key all on a green background
Pagėgiai Municipality 		Tauragė Pagėgiai 537 square kilometres (132,695.59 acres; 207.34 sq mi) 11,131 20.7
A coat of arms depicting a yellow windmill on a red crest hovering over a black bridge all on a yellow background
Pakruojis District Municipality 		Šiauliai Pakruojis 1,316 square kilometres (325,190.68 acres; 508.11 sq mi) 26,561 20.2
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
Palanga City Municipality 		Klaipėda Palanga 79 square kilometres (19,521.33 acres; 30.50 sq mi) 17,645 223.4
A coat of arms depicting a red castle with black double doors, two black windows, and one central tower all standing on black ground
Panevėžys City Municipality 		Panevėžys Panevėžys 50 square kilometres (12,355.27 acres; 19.31 sq mi) 111,959 2,239.2
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
Panevėžys District Municipality 		Panevėžys Panevėžys[nb 1] 2,179 square kilometres (538,442.63 acres; 841.32 sq mi) 42,449 19.5
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
Pasvalys District Municipality 		Panevėžys Pasvalys 1,289 square kilometres (318,518.84 acres; 497.69 sq mi) 31,718 24.6
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
Plungė District Municipality 		Telšiai Plungė 1,105 square kilometres (273,051.45 acres; 426.64 sq mi) 43,044 39.0
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
Prienai District Municipality 		Kaunas Prienai 1,031 square kilometres (254,765.65 acres; 398.07 sq mi) 33,048 32.1
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
Radviliškis District Municipality 		Šiauliai Radviliškis 1,635 square kilometres (404,017.30 acres; 631.28 sq mi) 47,626 29.1
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
Raseiniai District Municipality 		Kaunas Raseiniai 1,573 square kilometres (388,696.77 acres; 607.34 sq mi) 40,656 25.8
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
Rietavas Municipality 		Telšiai Rietavas 586 square kilometres (144,803.75 acres; 226.26 sq mi) 9,837 16.8
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 brown
Rokiškis District Municipality 		Panevėžys Rokiškis 1,807 square kilometres (446,519.42 acres; 697.69 sq mi) 37,815 20.9
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
Skuodas District Municipality 		Klaipėda Skuodas 911 square kilometres (225,113.00 acres; 351.74 sq mi) 23,123 25.4
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
Šakiai District Municipality 		Marijampolė Šakiai 1,453 square kilometres (359,044.12 acres; 561.01 sq mi) 35,507 24.4
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
Šalčininkai District Municipality 		Vilnius Šalčininkai 1,491 square kilometres (368,434.12 acres; 575.68 sq mi) 36,992 24.8
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 Municipality 		Šiauliai Šiauliai 81 square kilometres (20,015.54 acres; 31.27 sq mi) 125,453 1,548.8
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
Šiauliai District Municipality 		Šiauliai Šiauliai[nb 1] 1,807 square kilometres (446,519.42 acres; 697.69 sq mi) 49,199 27.2
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
Šilalė District Municipality 		Tauragė Šilalė 1,188 square kilometres (293,561.19 acres; 458.69 sq mi) 29,486 24.8
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
Šilutė District Municipality 		Klaipėda Šilutė 1,706 square kilometres (421,561.78 acres; 658.69 sq mi) 52,119 30.6
A coat of arms depicting a silver-bladed sword with a golden hilt standing erect between the silver antlers of a silver moose head
Širvintos District Municipality 		Vilnius Širvintos 906 square kilometres (223,877.48 acres; 349.81 sq mi) 18,629 20.6
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
Švenčionys District Municipality 		Vilnius Švenčionys 1,692 square kilometres (418,102.31 acres; 653.28 sq mi) 29,922 17.7
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
Tauragė District Municipality 		Tauragė Tauragė 1,179 square kilometres (291,337.24 acres; 455.21 sq mi) 49,925 42.3
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
Telšiai District Municipality 		Telšiai Telšiai 1,439 square kilometres (355,584.64 acres; 555.60 sq mi) 53,821 37.4
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
Trakai District Municipality 		Vilnius Trakai 1,208 square kilometres (298,503.30 acres; 466.41 sq mi) 35,700 29.6
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
Ukmergė District Municipality 		Vilnius Ukmergė 1,395 square kilometres (344,712.01 acres; 538.61 sq mi) 44,783 32.1
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
Utena District Municipality 		Utena Utena 1,230 square kilometres (303,939.62 acres; 474.91 sq mi) 46,939 38.2
A coat of arms depicting a golden scarab with wings and legs outstretched flying over six purple flowers all on a blue background
Varėna District Municipality 		Alytus Varėna 2,218 square kilometres (548,079.74 acres; 856.37 sq mi) 27,604 12.4
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
Vilkaviškis District Municipality 		Marijampolė Vilkaviškis 1,259 square kilometres (311,105.68 acres; 486.10 sq mi) 47,204 37.5
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
Vilnius City Municipality 		Vilnius Vilnius 401 square kilometres (99,089.26 acres; 154.83 sq mi) 560,192 1,397.0
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
Vilnius District Municipality 		Vilnius Vilnius[nb 1] 2,129 square kilometres (526,087.36 acres; 822.01 sq mi) 96,484 45.3
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
Visaginas Municipality 		Utena Visaginas 58 square kilometres (14,332.11 acres; 22.39 sq mi) 28,335 488.5
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
Zarasai District Municipality 		Utena Zarasai 1,334 square kilometres (329,638.58 acres; 515.06 sq mi) 19,855 14.9

See also

Notes and references

Notes
  1. ^ a b c d e The administrative centers in these municipalities are located outside of the municipality proper.
General
  • "Law on the Territorial Administrative Units and Their Boundaries". Lietuvos Respublikos Seimas. 30 March 2010. Retrieved 28 September 2011. 
Specific
  1. ^ a b "Timeline: Lithuania".  
  2. ^ "Lithuania country profile".  
  3. ^ 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.  
  4. ^ a b c Jolanta Vaičiūnienė (2008-11-14). "The Administrative–Territorial Reform in Lithuania: History and Today" (PDF).  
  5. ^ 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.  
  6. ^ Council of Europe (2007). State of human rights and democracy in Europe. Council of Europe. pp. 269–271.  
  7. ^ a b Miluše Kindlová (2006). Constitutional law of 10 EU member states: the 2004 enlargement. Kluwer. pp. 603–604.  
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ a b c "M3010211: >>>Total area and population by administrative territory".  
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1 Has part of its territory outside Europe. 2 Entirely in Western Asia, but considered European for cultural, political and historical reasons. 3 Partially or entirely in Asia, depending on the definition of the border. 4 Partially recognised.
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