| Lithuania |
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Lithuania is a country, situated in Northern Europe. It is a member of the United Nations, European Union, Council of Europe and NATO.[1] As of 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, Lithuania was one of the largest countries in Europe and included present-day Belarus, Ukraine, and parts of Poland and Russia.[3] A Soviet Socialist Republic starting in 1940, Lithuania initiated a declaration of independence in 1990, and gained widespread international recognition the following year.[1] The country is divided into three layers of administrative division. 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 division consisted of 44 regions, 12 cities, 80 towns, 19 settlements, and 426 rural districts.[4] The reform of this system was an immediate concern for the new government.[5] 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.[5] The current system of a set of municipalities under 10 counties was codified by 1995.[5] Several changes were made in 2000, resulting in 60 municipalities.[6] Further changes, including a possible increase in the number of municipalities, are still being discussed.[7] Municipal councilors are directly elected every four years.[8] The councilors then elect the municipality's mayor.[8]
The following map shows counties as well as municipalities. Seven city municipalities and three municipalities are marked by numbers.
| Municipality | County | Administrative center[9] | Area[10] | Pop. (2010)[10] | Density (2010)[10] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akmenė district municipality | Šiauliai | Naujoji Akmenė | 844 square kilometres (208,556.94 acres; 325.87 sq mi) | 26,737 | 31.7 |
| Alytus city municipality | Alytus | Alytus | 60 square kilometres (14,826.32 acres; 23.17 sq mi) | 66,841 | 1,671.0 |
| Alytus district municipality | Alytus | Alytus[nb 1] | 1,404 square kilometres (346,935.96 acres; 542.09 sq mi) | 30,691 | 21.9 |
| Anykščiai district municipality | Utena | Anykščiai | 1,765 square kilometres (436,141.00 acres; 681.47 sq mi) | 31,088 | 17.6 |
| Birštonas municipality | Kaunas | Birštonas | 124 square kilometres (30,641.07 acres; 47.88 sq mi) | 5,178 | 41.8 |
| 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 |
| Elektrėnai municipality | Vilnius | Elektrėnai | 509 square kilometres (125,776.64 acres; 196.53 sq mi) | 27,622 | 54.3 |
| Ignalina district municipality | Utena | Ignalina | 1,447 square kilometres (357,561.49 acres; 558.69 sq mi) | 19,374 | 13.4 |
| Jonava district municipality | Kaunas | Jonava | 944 square kilometres (233,267.48 acres; 364.48 sq mi) | 51,401 | 54.5 |
| 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 |
| Kaišiadorys district municipality | Kaunas | Kaišiadorys | 1,087 square kilometres (268,603.55 acres; 419.69 sq mi) | 35,334 | 32.5 |
| 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 |
| Kaunas district municipality | Kaunas | Kaunas[nb 1] | 1,496 square kilometres (369,669.65 acres; 577.61 sq mi) | 90,196 | 60.3 |
| Kazlų Rūda municipality | Marijampolė | Kazlų Rūda | 555 square kilometres (137,143.49 acres; 214.29 sq mi) | 14,189 | 25.6 |
| 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 |
| Klaipėda city municipality | Klaipėda | Klaipėda | 98 square kilometres (24,216.33 acres; 37.84 sq mi) | 182,752 | 1,864.8 |
| Klaipėda district municipality | Klaipėda | Gargždai | 1,336 square kilometres (330,132.79 acres; 515.83 sq mi) | 52,125 | 39.0 |
| Kretinga district municipality | Klaipėda | Kretinga | 989 square kilometres (244,387.22 acres; 381.86 sq mi) | 45,103 | 45.6 |
| Kupiškis district municipality | Panevėžys | Kupiškis | 1,080 square kilometres (266,873.81 acres; 416.99 sq mi) | 22,369 | 20.7 |
| 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 |
| Mažeikiai district municipality | Telšiai | Mažeikiai | 1,220 square kilometres (301,468.57 acres; 471.04 sq mi) | 65,430 | 52.8 |
| Molėtai district municipality | Utena | Molėtai | 1,367 square kilometres (337,793.06 acres; 527.80 sq mi) | 22,475 | 16.4 |
| Neringa municipality | Klaipėda | Nida | 90 square kilometres (22,239.48 acres; 34.75 sq mi) | 3,682 | 40.9 |
| Pagėgiai municipality | Tauragė | Pagėgiai | 537 square kilometres (132,695.59 acres; 207.34 sq mi) | 11,131 | 20.7 |
| Pakruojis district municipality | Šiauliai | Pakruojis | 1,316 square kilometres (325,190.68 acres; 508.11 sq mi) | 26,561 | 20.2 |
| 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 |
| Panevėžys district municipality | Panevėžys | Panevėžys[nb 1] | 2,179 square kilometres (538,442.63 acres; 841.32 sq mi) | 42,449 | 19.5 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Raseiniai district municipality | Kaunas | Raseiniai | 1,573 square kilometres (388,696.77 acres; 607.34 sq mi) | 40,656 | 25.8 |
| Rietavas municipality | Telšiai | Rietavas | 586 square kilometres (144,803.75 acres; 226.26 sq mi) | 9,837 | 16.8 |
| Rokiškis district municipality | Panevėžys | Rokiškis | 1,807 square kilometres (446,519.42 acres; 697.69 sq mi) | 37,815 | 20.9 |
| Skuodas district municipality | Klaipėda | Skuodas | 911 square kilometres (225,113.00 acres; 351.74 sq mi) | 23,123 | 25.4 |
| Šakiai district municipality | Marijampolė | Šakiai | 1,453 square kilometres (359,044.12 acres; 561.01 sq mi) | 35,507 | 24.4 |
| Šalčininkai district municipality | Vilnius | Šalčininkai | 1,491 square kilometres (368,434.12 acres; 575.68 sq mi) | 36,992 | 24.8 |
| 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[nb 1] | 1,807 square kilometres (446,519.42 acres; 697.69 sq mi) | 49,199 | 27.2 |
| Šilalė district municipality | Tauragė | Šilalė | 1,188 square kilometres (293,561.19 acres; 458.69 sq mi) | 29,486 | 24.8 |
| Šilutė district municipality | Klaipėda | Šilutė | 1,706 square kilometres (421,561.78 acres; 658.69 sq mi) | 52,119 | 30.6 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Trakai district municipality | Vilnius | Trakai | 1,208 square kilometres (298,503.30 acres; 466.41 sq mi) | 35,700 | 29.6 |
| Ukmergė district municipality | Vilnius | Ukmergė | 1,395 square kilometres (344,712.01 acres; 538.61 sq mi) | 44,783 | 32.1 |
| Utena district municipality | Utena | Utena | 1,230 square kilometres (303,939.62 acres; 474.91 sq mi) | 46,939 | 38.2 |
| Varėna district municipality | Alytus | Varėna | 2,218 square kilometres (548,079.74 acres; 856.37 sq mi) | 27,604 | 12.4 |
| Vilkaviškis district municipality | Marijampolė | Vilkaviškis | 1,259 square kilometres (311,105.68 acres; 486.10 sq mi) | 47,204 | 37.5 |
| Vilnius city municipality | Vilnius | Vilnius | 401 square kilometres (99,089.26 acres; 154.83 sq mi) | 560,192 | 1,397.0 |
| Vilnius district municipality | Vilnius | Vilnius[nb 1] | 2,129 square kilometres (526,087.36 acres; 822.01 sq mi) | 96,484 | 45.3 |
| Visaginas municipality | Utena | Visaginas | 58 square kilometres (14,332.11 acres; 22.39 sq mi) | 28,335 | 488.5 |
| Zarasai district municipality | Utena | Zarasai | 1,334 square kilometres (329,638.58 acres; 515.06 sq mi) | 19,855 | 14.9 |
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