2013 Turkish local government reorganisation
The number of Turkish municipalities changed considerably in 2013. According to a statement made by the Turkish Statistical Institute the population of Turkey was 76,667,864 as of 31 December 2013.[1] Majority of this population live in settlements with municipalities. The number of municipalities in Turkey was 2947 in 2009. But in 2013, most of the small town (Turkish: belde) municipalities, were merged to district (Turkish: ilçe) municipaties by the act no 6360 [2] and by 2014 the number sharply decreased to 1394.
Types of municipalities
There are five types of municipalities
Metropolitan municipality
According to law no 6360 metropolitan (Turkish: büyükşehir) municipalities were established in all provinces with a population in excess of 750000.[2] Although traditional municipalities serve to a single settlement, metropolitan municipalities serve to a province (Turkish: il) which means that many settlements as well as rural area are in the service area of the municipality. In each metropolitan municipality there are second level municipalities which are called district (Turkish: ilçe) municipality .
Province capital municipality
In all provinces with a population less than 750000 traditional municipalities serve. The municipality of the province capital (Turkish: il merkezi) serves only to the capital city of the province.
District municipality
There are two types of district (Turkish: ilçe) municipalities. In provinces with a metropolitan municipality, the district municipality is partially a subordinate of the metropolitan municipality. In other provinces all district centers serve in the district center and are independent of the province capital municipality.
Town municipality
There are no town (Turkish: belde) municipalities in provinces with a metropolitan municipality. Because the former town municipalities as well as the villages were merged to district center municipalities. But in other provinces town (small settlements) municipalities continue to exist.
Number of municipalities
According to Erol Tuncer, the number of municipalities in Turkey is 1394 [3]
| Type | Number | Notes | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Metropolitan municipality | 30 | in metropolitan municipality | İstanbul |
| Province capital | 51 | in other provinces | Sivas |
| District municipality | 519 | in metropolitan municipality | Tarsus |
| District municipality | 400 | in other provinces | Gelibolu |
| Town Municipality | 394 | in other provinces | Kozlu |
References
- ↑ Turkish Statistical Institute page (Turkish)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Official gazette (Turkish)
- ↑ Cumhuriyet newspaper 29 March 2014 attachment pg 12