Administrative and electoral divisions of Iceland

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[edit] Municipalities

There are 98 municipalities in Iceland which govern most local matters like schools, transport and zoning.

[edit] Counties

Main article: Counties of Iceland
The administrative counties of Iceland
The administrative counties of Iceland

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

Main article: Regions of Iceland
The regions of Iceland
The regions of Iceland

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 Coat of Arms 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
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