Municipalities of Lithuania

Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe. It is a member of the United Nations, European Union, Council of Europe and NATO. 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). 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.

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. 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. The current system of a set of municipalities under 10 counties was codified by 1995. Several changes were made in 2000, resulting in 60 municipalities. Further changes, including a possible increase in the number of municipalities, are still being discussed. Municipal councilors are directly elected every four years. The councilors then elect the municipality's mayor.

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

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	Area	Pop. (2010)	Density (2010)
Akmenė District Municipality	Šiauliai	Naujoji Akmenė	844 square kilometres (208,556.94 acres; 325.87 sq mi)	26,737	31.7
30px Alytus City Municipality	Alytus	Alytus	60 square kilometres (14,826.32 acres; 23.17 sq mi)	66,841	1,671.0
30px Alytus District Municipality	Alytus	Alytus	1,404 square kilometres (346,935.96 acres; 542.09 sq mi)	30,691	21.9
30px Anykščiai District Municipality	Utena	Anykščiai	1,765 square kilometres (436,141.00 acres; 681.47 sq mi)	31,088	17.6
30px Birštonas Municipality	Kaunas	Birštonas	124 square kilometres (30,641.07 acres; 47.88 sq mi)	5,178	41.8
30px Biržai District Municipality	Panevėžys	Biržai	1,476 square kilometres (364,727.54 acres; 569.89 sq mi)	32,116	21.8
Druskininkai Municipality	Alytus	Druskininkai	454 square kilometres (112,185.84 acres; 175.29 sq mi)	24,044	53.0
30px Elektrėnai Municipality	Vilnius	Elektrėnai	509 square kilometres (125,776.64 acres; 196.53 sq mi)	27,622	54.3
30px Ignalina District Municipality	Utena	Ignalina	1,447 square kilometres (357,561.49 acres; 558.69 sq mi)	19,374	13.4
30px Jonava District Municipality	Kaunas	Jonava	944 square kilometres (233,267.48 acres; 364.48 sq mi)	51,401	54.5
30px Joniškis District Municipality	Šiauliai	Joniškis	1,152 square kilometres (284,665.40 acres; 444.79 sq mi)	29,310	25.4
Jurbarkas District Municipality	Tauragė	Jurbarkas	1,507 square kilometres (372,387.81 acres; 581.86 sq mi)	34,213	22.7
30px Kaišiadorys District Municipality	Kaunas	Kaišiadorys	1,087 square kilometres (268,603.55 acres; 419.69 sq mi)	35,334	32.5
30px Kalvarija Municipality	Marijampolė	Kalvarija	441 square kilometres (108,973.47 acres; 170.27 sq mi)	13,162	29.8
Kaunas City Municipality	Kaunas	Kaunas	157 square kilometres (38,795.54 acres; 60.62 sq mi)	348,624	2,220.5
30px Kaunas District Municipality	Kaunas	Kaunas	1,496 square kilometres (369,669.65 acres; 577.61 sq mi)	90,196	60.3
30px Kazlų Rūda Municipality	Marijampolė	Kazlų Rūda	555 square kilometres (137,143.49 acres; 214.29 sq mi)	14,189	25.6
30px Kėdainiai District Municipality	Kaunas	Kėdainiai	1,677 square kilometres (414,395.72 acres; 647.49 sq mi)	61,872	36.9
Kelmė District Municipality	Šiauliai	Kelmė	1,705 square kilometres (421,314.68 acres; 658.30 sq mi)	36,801	21.6
30px Klaipėda City Municipality	Klaipėda	Klaipėda	98 square kilometres (24,216.33 acres; 37.84 sq mi)	182,752	1,864.8
30px Klaipėda District Municipality	Klaipėda	Gargždai	1,336 square kilometres (330,132.79 acres; 515.83 sq mi)	52,125	39.0
30px Kretinga District Municipality	Klaipėda	Kretinga	989 square kilometres (244,387.22 acres; 381.86 sq mi)	45,103	45.6
30px Kupiškis District Municipality	Panevėžys	Kupiškis	1,080 square kilometres (266,873.81 acres; 416.99 sq mi)	22,369	20.7
30px Lazdijai District Municipality	Alytus	Lazdijai	1,309 square kilometres (323,460.94 acres; 505.41 sq mi)	24,246	18.5
Marijampolė Municipality	Marijampolė	Marijampolė	755 square kilometres (186,564.56 acres; 291.51 sq mi)	68,303	90.5
30px Mažeikiai District Municipality	Telšiai	Mažeikiai	1,220 square kilometres (301,468.57 acres; 471.04 sq mi)	65,430	52.8
30px Molėtai District Municipality	Utena	Molėtai	1,367 square kilometres (337,793.06 acres; 527.80 sq mi)	22,475	16.4
30px Neringa Municipality	Klaipėda	Nida	90 square kilometres (22,239.48 acres; 34.75 sq mi)	3,682	40.9
30px Pagėgiai Municipality	Tauragė	Pagėgiai	537 square kilometres (132,695.59 acres; 207.34 sq mi)	11,131	20.7
30px Pakruojis District Municipality	Šiauliai	Pakruojis	1,316 square kilometres (325,190.68 acres; 508.11 sq mi)	26,561	20.2
30px Palanga City Municipality	Klaipėda	Palanga	79 square kilometres (19,521.33 acres; 30.50 sq mi)	17,645	223.4
Panevėžys City Municipality	Panevėžys	Panevėžys	50 square kilometres (12,355.27 acres; 19.31 sq mi)	111,959	2,239.2
30px Panevėžys District Municipality	Panevėžys	Panevėžys	2,179 square kilometres (538,442.63 acres; 841.32 sq mi)	42,449	19.5
30px Pasvalys District Municipality	Panevėžys	Pasvalys	1,289 square kilometres (318,518.84 acres; 497.69 sq mi)	31,718	24.6
Plungė District Municipality	Telšiai	Plungė	1,105 square kilometres (273,051.45 acres; 426.64 sq mi)	43,044	39.0
30px Prienai District Municipality	Kaunas	Prienai	1,031 square kilometres (254,765.65 acres; 398.07 sq mi)	33,048	32.1
Radviliškis District Municipality	Šiauliai	Radviliškis	1,635 square kilometres (404,017.30 acres; 631.28 sq mi)	47,626	29.1
30px Raseiniai District Municipality	Kaunas	Raseiniai	1,573 square kilometres (388,696.77 acres; 607.34 sq mi)	40,656	25.8
30px Rietavas Municipality	Telšiai	Rietavas	586 square kilometres (144,803.75 acres; 226.26 sq mi)	9,837	16.8
30px Rokiškis District Municipality	Panevėžys	Rokiškis	1,807 square kilometres (446,519.42 acres; 697.69 sq mi)	37,815	20.9
30px Skuodas District Municipality	Klaipėda	Skuodas	911 square kilometres (225,113.00 acres; 351.74 sq mi)	23,123	25.4
30px Šakiai District Municipality	Marijampolė	Šakiai	1,453 square kilometres (359,044.12 acres; 561.01 sq mi)	35,507	24.4
30px Šalčininkai District Municipality	Vilnius	Šalčininkai	1,491 square kilometres (368,434.12 acres; 575.68 sq mi)	36,992	24.8
30px Šiauliai City Municipality	Šiauliai	Šiauliai	81 square kilometres (20,015.54 acres; 31.27 sq mi)	125,453	1,548.8
Šiauliai District Municipality	Šiauliai	Šiauliai	1,807 square kilometres (446,519.42 acres; 697.69 sq mi)	49,199	27.2
30px Šilalė District Municipality	Tauragė	Šilalė	1,188 square kilometres (293,561.19 acres; 458.69 sq mi)	29,486	24.8
30px Šilutė District Municipality	Klaipėda	Šilutė	1,706 square kilometres (421,561.78 acres; 658.69 sq mi)	52,119	30.6
30px Širvintos District Municipality	Vilnius	Širvintos	906 square kilometres (223,877.48 acres; 349.81 sq mi)	18,629	20.6
Švenčionys District Municipality	Vilnius	Švenčionys	1,692 square kilometres (418,102.31 acres; 653.28 sq mi)	29,922	17.7
30px Tauragė District Municipality	Tauragė	Tauragė	1,179 square kilometres (291,337.24 acres; 455.21 sq mi)	49,925	42.3
Telšiai District Municipality	Telšiai	Telšiai	1,439 square kilometres (355,584.64 acres; 555.60 sq mi)	53,821	37.4
30px Trakai District Municipality	Vilnius	Trakai	1,208 square kilometres (298,503.30 acres; 466.41 sq mi)	35,700	29.6
30px Ukmergė District Municipality	Vilnius	Ukmergė	1,395 square kilometres (344,712.01 acres; 538.61 sq mi)	44,783	32.1
30px Utena District Municipality	Utena	Utena	1,230 square kilometres (303,939.62 acres; 474.91 sq mi)	46,939	38.2
30px Varėna District Municipality	Alytus	Varėna	2,218 square kilometres (548,079.74 acres; 856.37 sq mi)	27,604	12.4
30px Vilkaviškis District Municipality	Marijampolė	Vilkaviškis	1,259 square kilometres (311,105.68 acres; 486.10 sq mi)	47,204	37.5
30px Vilnius City Municipality	Vilnius	Vilnius	401 square kilometres (99,089.26 acres; 154.83 sq mi)	560,192	1,397.0
30px Vilnius District Municipality	Vilnius	Vilnius	2,129 square kilometres (526,087.36 acres; 822.01 sq mi)	96,484	45.3
30px Visaginas Municipality	Utena	Visaginas	58 square kilometres (14,332.11 acres; 22.39 sq mi)	28,335	488.5
30px Zarasai District Municipality	Utena	Zarasai	1,334 square kilometres (329,638.58 acres; 515.06 sq mi)	19,855	14.9

See also

• Administrative divisions of Lithuania
• Counties (Lithuanian: singular – apskritis, plural – apskritys)
• Elderships (or wards) (Lithuanian: plural – seniūnijos, singular – seniūnija).
• Seniūnaitija (sub-eldership)
• Cities (Lithuanian: plural – miestai, singular – miestas)
• Towns (Lithuanian: plural – miesteliai, singular – miestelis)
• List of the most populated municipalities in the Nordic countries

Notes and references

Notes

General

Specific