Administrative and electoral divisions of Iceland
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Contents |
[edit] Municipalities
There are 98 municipalities in Iceland which govern most local matters like schools, transport and zoning.
[edit] Counties
Iceland's 23 counties are for the most part historical divisions. Currently, Iceland is split up among 26 magistrates that represent government in various capacities. Among their duties are local police (except in Reykjavík, where there is a special office of police commissioner) tax collection, declaring bankruptcy and marrying people outside of the church.
[edit] Regions
There are eight regions which are primarily used for statistical purposes; the district court jurisdictions also use an older version of this division.
[edit] Constituencies
Until 2003, the constituencies for the parliament elections were the same as the regions, but by an amendment to the constitution they were changed to the current six constituencies. The change was made in order to balance the weight of different districts of the country since a vote cast in the sparsely populated areas around the country would count much more than a vote cast in the Reykjavík city area. The imbalance between districts has been reduced by the new system, but still exists.
[edit] See also
Regions and Counties of Iceland | ||
---|---|---|
Statistical Region | Traditional County | |
Capital Region: | Kjósarsýsla | |
Southern Peninsula: | Gullbringusýsla | |
Western Region: | Borgarfjarðarsýsla | Dalasýsla |Mýrasýsla | Snæfellsnes- og Hnappadalssýsla | |
Westfjords: | Austur-Barðastrandarsýsla | Norður-Ísafjarðarsýsla | Strandasýsla Vestur-Barðastrandarsýsla | Vestur-Ísafjarðarsýsla |
|
Northwestern Region: | Austur-Húnavatnssýsla | Skagafjarðarsýsla | Vestur-Húnavatnssýsla | |
Northeastern Region: | Eyjafjarðarsýsla | Norður-Þingeyjarsýsla | Suður-Þingeyjarsýsla | |
Eastern Region: | Austur-Skaftafellssýsla | Norður-Múlasýsla | Suður-Múlasýsla | |
Southern Region: | Árnessýsla | Rangárvallasýsla | Vestur-Skaftafellssýsla |