Municipalities of Estonia

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A municipality (Estonian: omavalitsus, plural omavalitsused) is the smallest administrative subdivision of Estonia. Each municipality is a unit of self-government with its representative and executive bodies. The municipalities in Estonia cover the entire territory of the country.

Municipalities in Estonia are of two types: urban municipalities or towns (linnad, singular linn) and rural municipalities or parishes (vallad, singular vald). There is no other status distinction between them.

Municipality may contain one or several settlements. All urban municipalities plus 6 rural municipalities contain only one settlement. Of the latter six, 5 are so-called "borough-parishes", consisting of one borough, while Ruhnu Parish consists of one village.

Some municipalities are divided into districts. The 8 urban districts (linnaosad, singular linnaosa) of Tallinn have limited self-government, while other urban districts are formed for administrative purposes. Some rural districts (osavallad) have limited self-government, while other types of rural districts do not.

Municipalities range in population from Tallinn with 427,500 inhabitants to Ruhnu with 68.[1] As over two-thirds of the municipalities have a population of under 3,000, many of them have found it advantageous to co-operate in providing services and carrying out administrative functions.

Currently, since 12 December 2014,[2] there are total of 213 municipalities, 30 of which are urban and 183 rural. By county, these are:

Harju County

23 municipalities (6 urban, 17 rural)

Municipalities of Harju County

Urban municipalities:

Rural municipalities:

Hiiu County

4 rural municipalities

Municipalities of Hiiu County

Rural municipalities:

Ida-Viru County

20 municipalities (5 urban, 15 rural)

Municipalities of Ida-Viru County

Urban municipalities:

Rural municipalities:

Järva County

12 municipalities (1 urban, 11 rural)

Municipalities of Järva County

Urban municipalities:

Rural municipalities:

Jõgeva County

13 municipalities (3 urban, 10 rural)

Municipalities of Jõgeva County

Urban municipalities:

Rural municipalities:

Lääne County

10 municipalities (1 urban, 9 rural)

Municipalities of Lääne County

Urban municipality:

Rural municipalities:

Lääne-Viru County

15 municipalities (2 urban, 13 rural)

Municipalities of Lääne-Viru County

Urban municipalities:

Rural municipalities:

Pärnu County

19 municipalities (2 urban, 17 rural)

Municipalities of Pärnu County

Urban municipalities:

Rural municipalities:

Põlva County

13 rural municipalities

Municipalities of Põlva County

Rural municipalities:

Rapla County

10 rural municipalities

Municipalities of Rapla County

Rural municipalities:

Saare County

14 municipalities (1 urban, 13 rural)

Municipalities of Saare County

Urban municipality:

Rural municipalities:

Tartu County

22 municipalities (3 urban, 19 rural)

Municipalities of Tartu County

Urban municipalities:

Rural municipalities:

Valga County

13 municipalities (2 urban, 11 rural)

Municipalities of Valga County

Urban municipalities:

Rural municipalities:

Viljandi County

12 municipalities (3 urban, 9 rural)

Municipalities of Viljandi County

Urban municipalities:

Rural municipalities:

Võru County

13 municipalities (1 urban, 12 rural)

Municipalities of Võru County

Urban municipality:

Rural municipalities:

Structure of local authorities

In each municipality there is a local government as well as a council.

The council (volikogu) is a representative body elected by the residents of a municipality for a term of three years. The members of the council elect a chairman (volikogu esimees), who organises the council’s work and represents the municipality.

The government (valitsus) is an executive body formed by the council. It is headed by a mayor (linnapea in towns, vallavanem in parishes), who is appointed for a four-year term. The mayor cannot be the chairman of the council. Other members of the government are chosen by the mayor with the approval of the council.

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.einst.ee/factsheets/factsheets_uus_kuju/local_government_reform.htm
  2. ↑ "Täna tõmmati esmakordselt lehvima uue Lääne-Saare valla lipp" (in Estonian). ERR. 2014-12-31. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
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