Municipalities of Lithuania

Lithuania is divided into three levels 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).

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

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 used to be a member of the council until 2023,[4] is elected directly by the residents using the two-round system since 2015 reforms.[5] 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 (20.7%) of the country's population. The smallest municipality by population is Neringa Municipality with 4,173 (0.1%) residents.[6]

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

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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.  

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

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As of January 1, 2024.[7]

Municipality Capital[8] County Region Area[7] Populations Density
 
Akmenė District Municipality Naujoji Akmenė Šiauliai Žemaitija 844 km2 (326 sq mi) 19,126 22.66
 
Alytus City Municipality Alytus Alytus Dzūkija 40 km2 (15 sq mi) 51,351 1,284
 
Alytus District Municipality Alytus Alytus Dzūkija 1,403 km2 (542 sq mi) 25,464 18.15
 
Anykščiai District Municipality Anykščiai Utena Aukštaitija 1,764 km2 (681 sq mi) 22,372 12.68
 
Birštonas Municipality Birštonas Kaunas Dzūkija 122 km2 (47 sq mi) 4,087 33.50
 
Biržai District Municipality Biržai Panevėžys Aukštaitija 1,476 km2 (570 sq mi) 22,111 14.98
 
Druskininkai Municipality Druskininkai Alytus Dzūkija 453 km2 (175 sq mi) 20,103 44.38
 
Elektrėnai Municipality Elektrėnai Vilnius Dzūkija 509 km2 (197 sq mi) 24,745 48.61
 
Ignalina District Municipality Ignalina Utena Aukštaitija 1,441 km2 (556 sq mi) 13,814 9.59
 
Jonava District Municipality Jonava Kaunas Aukštaitija 943 km2 (364 sq mi) 41,489 44.00
 
Joniškis District Municipality Joniškis Šiauliai Aukštaitija 1,151 km2 (444 sq mi) 20,289 17.63
 
Jurbarkas District Municipality Jurbarkas Tauragė Žemaitija 1,506 km2 (581 sq mi) 25,443 16.89
 
Kaišiadorys District Municipality Kaišiadorys Kaunas Aukštaitija 1,087 km2 (420 sq mi) 29,062 26.74
 
Kalvarija Municipality Kalvarija Marijampolė Suvalkija 440 km2 (170 sq mi) 9,734 22.12
 
Kaunas City Municipality Kaunas Kaunas Aukštaitija 157 km2 (61 sq mi) 304,198 1,938
 
Kaunas District Municipality Kaunas Kaunas Aukštaitija 1,495 km2 (577 sq mi) 106,277 71.09
  Kazlų Rūda Municipality Kazlų Rūda Marijampolė Suvalkija 555 km2 (214 sq mi) 10,835 19.52
  Kėdainiai District Municipality Kėdainiai Kaunas Aukštaitija 1,677 km2 (647 sq mi) 45,923 27.38
  Kelmė District Municipality Kelmė Šiauliai Žemaitija 1,705 km2 (658 sq mi) 24,347 14.28
  Klaipėda City Municipality Klaipėda Klaipėda Prūsija 99 km2 (38 sq mi) 159,396 1,610
  Klaipėda District Municipality Klaipėda Klaipėda Prūsija 1,340 km2 (520 sq mi) 67,280 50.21
  Kretinga District Municipality Kretinga Klaipėda Žemaitija 989 km2 (382 sq mi) 37,433 37.85
  Kupiškis District Municipality Kupiškis Panevėžys Aukštaitija 1,080 km2 (420 sq mi) 15,765 14.60
  Lazdijai District Municipality Lazdijai Alytus Dzūkija 1,306 km2 (504 sq mi) 17,201 13.17
  Marijampolė Municipality Marijampolė Marijampolė Suvalkija 755 km2 (292 sq mi) 54,590 72.77
  Mažeikiai District Municipality Mažeikiai Telšiai Žemaitija 1,219 km2 (471 sq mi) 51,909 42.58
  Molėtai District Municipality Molėtai Utena Aukštaitija 1,367 km2 (528 sq mi) 16,517 11.82
  Neringa Municipality Nida Klaipėda Prūsija 90 km2 (35 sq mi) 4,265 47.39
  Pagėgiai Municipality Pagėgiai Tauragė Prūsija 536 km2 (207 sq mi) 7,059 13.17
  Pakruojis District Municipality Pakruojis Šiauliai Aukštaitija 1,315 km2 (508 sq mi) 17,870 13.59
  Palanga City Municipality Palanga Klaipėda Žemaitija 79 km2 (31 sq mi) 18,066 228.7
  Panevėžys City Municipality Panevėžys Panevėžys Aukštaitija 50 km2 (19 sq mi) 86,599 1,732
  Panevėžys District Municipality Panevėžys Panevėžys Aukštaitija 2,177 km2 (841 sq mi) 35,378 16.25
  Pasvalys District Municipality Pasvalys Panevėžys Aukštaitija 1,289 km2 (498 sq mi) 21,930 17.01
  Plungė District Municipality Plungė Telšiai Žemaitija 1,105 km2 (427 sq mi) 33,042 29.90
  Prienai District Municipality Prienai Kaunas Suvalkija 1,032 km2 (398 sq mi) 24,675 23.91
  Radviliškis District Municipality Radviliškis Šiauliai Aukštaitija 1,634 km2 (631 sq mi) 34,302 20.99
  Raseiniai District Municipality Raseiniai Kaunas Žemaitija 1,573 km2 (607 sq mi) 29,769 18.92
  Rietavas Municipality Rietavas Telšiai Žemaitija 586 km2 (226 sq mi) 7,115 12.14
  Rokiškis District Municipality Rokiškis Panevėžys Aukštaitija 1,806 km2 (697 sq mi) 27,288 15.11
  Skuodas District Municipality Skuodas Klaipėda Žemaitija 911 km2 (352 sq mi) 15,201 16.69
  Šakiai District Municipality Šakiai Marijampolė Suvalkija 1,454 km2 (561 sq mi) 25,603 17.61
  Šalčininkai District Municipality Šalčininkai Vilnius Dzūkija 1,493 km2 (576 sq mi) 29,888 20.02
 
Šiauliai City Municipality Šiauliai Šiauliai Žemaitija 81 km2 (31 sq mi) 110,461 1,364
  Šiauliai District Municipality Šiauliai Šiauliai Žemaitija 1,807 km2 (698 sq mi) 40,565 22.45
  Šilalė District Municipality Šilalė Tauragė Žemaitija 1,188 km2 (459 sq mi) 20,861 17.56
  Šilutė District Municipality Šilutė Klaipėda Prūsija 1,714 km2 (662 sq mi) 38,331 22.36
  Širvintos District Municipality Širvintos Vilnius Aukštaitija 906 km2 (350 sq mi) 14,668 16.19
  Švenčionys District Municipality Švenčionys Vilnius Aukštaitija 1,691 km2 (653 sq mi) 21,795 12.89
  Tauragė District Municipality Tauragė Tauragė Žemaitija 1,179 km2 (455 sq mi) 37,215 31.56
  Telšiai District Municipality Telšiai Telšiai Žemaitija 1,439 km2 (556 sq mi) 38,852 27.00
  Trakai District Municipality Trakai Vilnius Dzūkija 1,207 km2 (466 sq mi) 34,595 28.66
  Ukmergė District Municipality Ukmergė Vilnius Aukštaitija 1,395 km2 (539 sq mi) 34,023 24.39
  Utena District Municipality Utena Utena Aukštaitija 1,230 km2 (470 sq mi) 39,671 32.25
  Varėna District Municipality Varėna Alytus Dzūkija 2,216 km2 (856 sq mi) 20,082 9.06
  Vilkaviškis District Municipality Vilkaviškis Marijampolė Suvalkija 1,262 km2 (487 sq mi) 33,906 26.87
  Vilnius City Municipality Vilnius Vilnius Dzūkija 400 km2 (150 sq mi) 602,430 1,506
  Vilnius District Municipality Vilnius Vilnius Dzūkija 2,129 km2 (822 sq mi) 106,197 49.88
  Visaginas Municipality Visaginas Utena Aukštaitija 58 km2 (22 sq mi) 19,584 337.7
  Zarasai District Municipality Zarasai Utena Aukštaitija 1,331 km2 (514 sq mi) 14,368 10.79

See also

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Notes and references

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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. ^ a b c 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. ^ Skėrytė, Jūratė (14 March 2023). "Apžvalga: naujai išrinktiems merams – didesni įgaliojimai". LRT (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 20 March 2024.
  5. ^ "Law on elections to municipal councils". The Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
  6. ^ "Resident population on 1 July". osp.stat.gov.lt. 2023-08-07.
  7. ^ a b "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 March 2024.
  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 Archived 2011-05-26 at the Wayback Machine.

Sources

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