The Ponce City Hall, in the city of Ponce, Puerto Rico, is the seat of the government for both the city and the surrounding barrios making up the municipality.

Map of all city municipalities in Slovenia

A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. It is to be distinguished (usually) from the county, which may encompass rural territory or numerous small communities such as towns, villages and hamlets.

The term municipality may also mean the governing or ruling body of a given municipality.^[1] A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district.

The term is derived from French municipalité and Latin municipalis.^[2] The English word municipality derives from the Latin social contract municipium (derived from a word meaning "duty holders"), referring to the Latin communities that supplied Rome with troops in exchange for their own incorporation into the Roman state (granting Roman citizenship to the inhabitants) while permitting the communities to retain their own local governments (a limited autonomy).

A municipality can be any political jurisdiction from a sovereign state, such as the Principality of Monaco, to a small village, such as West Hampton Dunes, New York.

The territory over which a municipality has jurisdiction may encompass

• only one populated place such as a city, town, or village
• several of such places (e.g., early jurisdictions in the U.S. state of New Jersey (1798–1899) as townships governing several villages, Municipalities of Mexico, Municipalities of Colombia)
• only parts of such places, sometimes boroughs of a city such as the 34 municipalities of Santiago, Chile.^[3]

Political powersadministrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. It is to be distinguished (usually) from the county, which may encompass rural territory or numerous small communities such as towns, villages and hamlets.

The term municipality may also mean the governing or ruling body of a given municipality.^[1] A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district.

The term is derived from French municipalité and Latin municipalis.^[2] The English word municipality derives from the Latin social contract municipium (derived from a word meaning "duty holders"), referring to the Latin communities that supplied Rome with troops in exchange for their own incorporation into the Roman state (granting Roman citizenship to the inhabitants) while permitting the communities to retain their own local governments (a limited autonomy).

A municipality can be any political jurisdiction from a sovereign state, such as the Principality of Monaco, to a small village, such as West Hampton Dunes, New York.

The territory over which a municipality has jurisdiction may encompass

• only one populated place such as a city, town, or village
• several of such places (e.g., early jurisdictions in the U.S. state of New Jers

  The term municipality may also mean the governing or ruling body of a given municipality.[1] A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district.

  The term is derived from French municipalité and Latin municipalis.^[2] The English word municipality derives from the Latin social contract municipium (derived from a word meaning "duty holders"), referring to the Latin communities that supplied Rome with troops in exchange for their own incorporation into the Roman state (granting Roman citizenship to the inhabitants) while permitting the communities to retain their own local governments (a limited autonomy).

  A municipality can be any political jurisdiction from a sovereign state, such as the Principality of Monaco, to a small village, such as West Hampton Dunes, New York.

  The territory over which a municipality has jurisdiction may encompass

  Powers of municipalities range from virtual autonomy to complete subordination to the state. Municipalities may have the right to tax individuals and corporations with income tax, property tax, and corporate income tax, but may also receive substantial funding from the state. In some European countries, such as Germany, municipalities have the constitutional right to supply public services through municipally-owned public utility companies.^[4]

  Terms in various countries

  

  New York City as well as its composite five boroughs are all municipalities.

    1. Manhattan

    2. Brooklyn

    3. Queens

    4. The Bronx

    5. Staten Island

  Municipality

  In a number of countries terms cognate with "commune" are used, referring to the community living in the area and the common interest. These include terms:

  • in Romance languages, such as French commune (France, French-speaking areas of Belgium and Switzerland, French-speaking countries of Africa, e.g. Benin), Italian comune, Romanian comună, and Spanish comuna (Chile);
  • in Germanic languages such as German Kommune (in political parlance), Swedish kommun, Faroese kommuna, Norwegian, Danish kommune;
  • the more remote cognates Gemeente in Dutch, Gemeng in Luxembourgish and Gemeinde in German (the official term);
  • and Polish gmina.

  The same terms may be used for church congregations or parishes, for example in the German and Dutch Protestant churches.

  Other terms

  In Greece, the word Δήμος (demos) is used, also m

  In a number of countries terms cognate with "commune" are used, referring to the community living in the area and the common interest. These include terms:

  • in Romance languages, such as French commune (France, French-speaking areas of B

    The same terms may be used for church congregations or parishes, for example in the German and Dutch Protestant churches.

    Other terms

    In Greece, the word Δήμος (demos) is used, also meaning 'community'; the word is known in English from the compound democracy (rule of the people).

    In some countries, the Spanish term ayuntamiento, referring to a municipality's administration building, is extended via synecdoche to denote the municipality itself.^{[citation needed]} In Moldova and Romania, both municipalities (municipiu; urban administrative units) and communes (comună; rural units) exist, and a commune may be part of a municipality.^{[citation needed]}

    In many countries, comparable entities may exist with various names.

    English-speaking

    • In Australia, the term local government area (LGA) is used in place of the generic municipality. Here, the "LGA Structure covers only incorporated areas of Australia

      In Greece, the word Δήμος (demos) is used, also meaning 'community'; the word is known in English from the compound democracy (rule of the people).

      In some countries, the Spanish term ayuntamiento, referring to a municipality's administration building, is extended via synecdoche to denote the munic

      In some countries, the Spanish term ayuntamiento, referring to a municipality's administration building, is extended via synecdoche to denote the municipality itself.^{[citation needed]} In Moldova and Romania, both municipalities (municipiu; urban administrative units) and communes (comună; rural units) exist, and a commune may be part of a municipality.^{[citation needed]}

      In many countries, comparable entities may exist with various names.

      shārwāli (or shahr-dari)

      Provinces of Afghanistan 204 34 'provincial' municipalities of provincial capitals (shārwāli) and 170 rural or 'district' municipalities (shārwāli uluswāli) www.km.gov.af, dmm.gov.af, idlg.gov.af Albania bashki (urban) or komunë (rural) 61 Municipalities of Albania Algeria baladiyah daïra (district), which is part of a wilaya (province) 1,541 Municipalities of Algeria Andorra parròquia Sant Julià de Lòria 7 Argentina municipalidad Puerto Madryn Provinces of Argentina, in some provinces they are a subdivision of departments 2,100 Smallest administrative division; either a city, town, or township Municipalities of Argentina Australia Local government area Port Stephens Council States and territories of Australia 547 Local government in Australia Austria Gemeinde a state (Bundesland). 1,725 The entire area of Austria is divided into municipalities, with no non-municipal gaps. This leads to some municipalities being very large despite having a small population. Municipality (Austria) Bangladesh Pouroshobha Upazila or subdistrict, which is in turn part of a district 311 Municipalities of Bangladesh Belgium gemeente/commune Montigny-le-Tilleul a province (provincie/province) or of the Brussels-Capital Region 581 The provinces are themselves subdivisions of the Walloon and Flemish Regions which have the authority over the municipalities Municipalities in Belgium Bolivia municipio Arani Municipality province, which is part of a departamento. 327 (2005) Municipalities of Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina općina or opština in Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina : of a canton (kanton). In Republika Srpska, municipality is first order of government after entity government. 144 Municipalities of Bosnia and Herzegovina Brazil município São Paulo (most populous), Borá (least populous) states (estados) 5,570 Smallest administrative subdivision. Not used in the Federal District or the Fernando de Noronha and St. Peter and St. Paul archipelagos, but encompasses all other territories nationwide Municipalities of Brazil Brunei bandaran Bandar Seri Begawan 4 Independent of subdivisions; nevertheless overlap with mukims and villages Municipalities of Brunei Bulgaria Bulgarian: община, Bulgarian: obshtina Aksakovo Municipality an oblast 264 Municipalities of Bulgaria Canada municipality 3,572 Municipality system is similar to that in the United States, however rules vary depending on the province. Lists of municipalities in Canada Cambodia ក្រុង (krong) Phnom Penh 1,446 Chile municipalidad Torres del Paine provinces 346 Specifically the administrative body, while subdivisions are comunas; most municipalities administer one comuna each, but occasional municipalities administer more China 直辖市 Beijing 4 Status equal to a province Municipalities of China Colombia municipio a department (departamento) 1,102 It is also subdivided into Localities and Neighborhoods in urban municipalities and into Corregimientos and Veredas in rural municipalities Municipalities of Colombia Costa Rica Municipalidad Province (Provinces of Costa Rica) Cantones of Costa Rica Croatia općina county (županija) 428 Municipalities of Croatia Czech Republic obec Karlovy Vary a kraj (kraj) 6,254 Denmark kommune Aabenraa Municipality a region 98 Counties (amter) were abandoned in 2007 Municipalities of Denmark Dominican Republic municipio province Municipalities of the Dominican Republic Shichoson
      1,719 Below the prefecture; includes shi (cities), cho (towns), and son (villages) Municipalities of Japan Kenya a municipality is one of four types of local authorities. Nearly 50 major towns are given the municipality status. Latvia singular: novads, plural: novadi Aglonas novads (Aglona Municipality) 110 A municipality normally consists of amalgamated parishes (singular: pagasts, plural: pagasti). Municipalities of Latvia Lebanon a district (Arabic: Qadaa‎) which is part of a Governorate (Region or Province, Arabic: Mouhafazah). Libya the municipality level is that of the Basic People's Congress. Large cities are subdivided. Municipalities of Libya Lithuania savivaldybė Kalvarijos savivaldybė (Kalvarija Municipality) a district (apskritis) and is subdivided into elderates (seniūnija). Municipalities of Lithuania Luxembourg commune (in French); Gemeng, plur. Gemengen

      (in Luxembourgish)

      part of a canton (Luxembourgish: Kantoun) which itself is part of a district 105 are the lowest divisions Malta Kunsill Lokali (Local Council) Valletta Local Council none 68 established 1993, one new council created since then (Mtarfa) Local councils of Malta Mauritius a municipality: The administration of all the main towns in Mauritius is done by the municipality of the respective towns.Most of the towns are found in the district of Plaines Wilhems. The capital city, Port-Louis is managed by the Municipality of Port-Louis, found in the district of Port Louis. The other seven districts are administered by are called district councils. Mexico municipio / delegación Asientos Municipality a state (estado) or the DF 2,466 a borough (delegación) is a subdivision of the Federal District Municipalities of Mexico and boroughs of the Mexican Federal District Moldova municipiu Municipiul Chișinău 32 is a main city or town and surrounding villages ranked by law at this level. Moldova#Administrative divisions Montenegro opština Andrijevica Municipality the country (top-level) Municipalities of Montenegro Nepal Nagarpalika and Gaunpalika Pokhara Provinces of Nepal 276 Municipalities (by Constitution of Nepal, 2015 and amendments thereafter) Nepal has 276 municipalities and 460 rural municipalities or gaunpalikas after federal division of country by Constitution of Nepal 2015. A municipality is a town not large enough in population or infrastructure to qualify as a sub-metropolitan city. List of cities in Nepal Netherlands gemeente a province (provincie) 388 + 3 special municipalities Municipalities in the Netherlands New Zealand a municipality is part of either a "city" (mostly urban) or a "district" (mostly rural). The term "municipality" has become rare in New Zealand since about 1979 and has no legal status. (See territorial authorities of New Zealand.) Nicaragua municipio a department (departamento) or of one of the two Autonomous Regions, North Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region and South Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region. Municipalities of Nicaragua North Macedonia opština Aračinovo Municipality The country (top-level) or the City of Skopje 84 (2004) Current set established in 2004, reduced from 123 created in 1996. Municipalities of North Macedonia Norway kommune Røyken kommune a county (fylke) 356 (2020) Municipalities of Norway Palestinian National Authority 105 municipalities are localities with populations over 4,000 and have 13-15 council members. Municipality (Palestinian Authority) Pakistan of a tehsil/taluka or sub-district of a "district". 149 Local government in Pakistan Paraguay municipalidad a departament (departamento) Peru municipio a province (provincia), which is part of a department (departamento). As of 2002 a department is now called a region (región). is another term for district (distrito) and is the lower-level administrative subdivision. Philippines bayan, munisipyo or munisipalidad a province (lalawigan or probinsya, except for Pateros) 1,488^[15] A municipality is the official name for a town and is divided into barangays. Municipalities with a larger population and income may become a city through a city charter.^[16] Municipalities of the Philippines Poland gmina Gmina Annopol county (powiat). Portugal concelho or município Oeiras District 308 Concelho is a directly elected local area authority generally consisting of a main city or town and surrounding villages, with wide-ranging local administration powers. Apart from the municipality of Corvo, however, municípios are not the smallest administrative unit in Portugal, that being the freguesia (civil parish). For central government purposes, Portuguese municipalities are grouped into districts (distritos). In Portugal, a municipality (município/concelho) is the primary local administrative unit. Although part of a district (distrito) for certain national administrative purposes, the municipality is not subordinate to the district and decentralization is doing away with the districts. A municipality contains one or more freguesias. Municipalities of Portugal Puerto Rico municipio Arecibo none 78 municipality consists of an urban area (termed a city or town) plus all of its surrounding barrios comprising the municipality. It has a popularly elected administration and a municipal mayor. The seat of the municipal government is located in such urban area and serves the entire municipal jurisdiction.^[17][18] Municipalities of Puerto Rico Romania municipiu / oraș / comună Deva County (județ) 103 + 217 + 2856 A municipality (municipiu) is a special status given to cities which fulfill certain criteria related to size, influence and development, as defined by Law no. 351/2001 (on the National Territorial Management Plan). Localities which do not meet the criteria are designated "cities" (orașe) or "communes" (comune). Municipalities of Romania
      Cities of Romania
      Communes of Romania Russia several types of municipalities ("municipal formations") exist; see subdivisions of Russia San Marino there are also eight minor municipalities, castelli. Serbia opština a district (okrug) Slovakia obec district (okres) which is part of a kraj (kraj) 2,891 Slovenia občina region (regija) 212 a municipality (občina) is the primary local administrative unit. There are 212 of them, 11 of which have a special "Urban" status with additional autonomy. Municipalities of Slovenia South Africa district municipalities and metropolitan municipalities are subdivisions of the provinces, and local municipalities are subdivisions of district municipalities. Spain municipio / municipi / concello / udalerria Barcelona, Madrid 8,122 a municipality (municipio) is the primary local administrative unit. It is a part of a province (provincia) for all national administrative purposes. In the Galicia region, the municipalities are called, in Galician language, concellos, and in the Principality of Asturias region, a municipality is called a concejo (in Spanish language) or a conceyu (in Asturian language). In these two regions a municipality contains one or more parroquias (parishes). Muni

      (in Luxembourgish)

      part of a canton (Luxembourgish: Kantoun) which itself is part of a district 105 are the lowest divisions Malta Kunsill Lokali (Local Council) Valletta Local Council none 68 established 1993, one new council created since then (Mtarfa) Local councils of Malta Mauritius a municipality: The administration of all the main towns in Mauritius is done by the municipality of the respective towns.Most of the towns are found in the district of Plaines Wilhems. The capital city, Port-Louis is managed by the Municipality of Port-Louis, found in the district of Port Louis. The other seven districts are administered by are called district councils. Mexico municipio / delegación Asientos Municipality a state (estado) or the DF 2,466 a borough (delegación) is a subdivision of the Federal District Municipalities of Mexico and boroughs of the Mexican Federal District Moldova municipiu Municipiul Chișinău 32 is a main city or town and surrounding villages ranked by law at this level. Moldova#Administrative divisions Montenegro opština Andrijevica Municipality the country (top-level) Municipalities of Montenegro Nepal Nagarp

      Gothenburg Municipality Malmö Municipality Ale Municipality

      County Councils of Sweden (Swedish: landsting) self-governing local authority, covering 21 counties, each comprising one or more of the municipalities. 290 is self-governing according to the Swedish constitution and constitutes local government. Before 1971, a municipality could be called a town (stad), a köping or a rural municipality (landskommun); present municipalities which used to be towns are still commonly called towns. Sweden is also divided in 2 523 districts (Swedish: distrikt) since 1 January 2016.^[19] Municipalities of Sweden Switzerland commune/Gemeinde/comune a canton (canton/Kanton/cantone) and defined by cantonal law. 2,596 Municipalities in Switzerland Thailand thesaban None 1,602 There are three levels of municipalities, and municipalities are not self-governed except for Bangkok and Pattaya. Municipalities introduced in 1935, Bangkok became self-governed in 1972, and Pattaya became self-governed in 1978. Thesaban Turkey belediye Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality il (province) 2,920 is a local government authority and there are two types of municipalities: metropolitan (büyükşehir) municipality, district (alt/ilçe) municipality. Ukraine Ukrainian: громада, hromada Ternopil City hromada Raions of Ukraine 1470 In Ukraine executive power belongs to ispolkom (an executive committee) of the council of hromada. Functions of ispolkom in Kyiv and Sevastopol performs a state administration due to the status of those cities. For other populated places, there are mainly two types of municipalities: urban and rural. Their governing bodies are councils (i.e. miskrada, selyshchna rada or silrada). They are considered the lowest administrative division in the country and better known as the local government. Urban municipalities are more complex and divided into city municipalities (miska hromada) and town municipalities (selyshchna hromada). United Arab Emirates an emirate is defined by the law of the specific emirates. Uruguay municipio 89 Municipalities of Uruguay Venezuela municipio Anaco Municipality a state, as well as a subdivision of the Capital District (estado) Municipalities of Venezuela Vietnam Direct-controlled municipality - Thành phố trực thuộc trung ương Ho Chi Minh City (largest) 5 A direct-controlled municipality (Thành phố trực thuộc trung ương) is a city with equal status to a province Municipalities of Vietnam
      • In Portuguese language usage, there are two words to distinguish the territory and the administrative organ. When referring to the territory, the word concelho is used, when referring to the organ of State, the word município is used. This differentiation is in use in Portugal and some of its former overseas provinces, but it's no longer in use in Brazil.

      See also

      • Council of European Municipalities and Regions
      • Council–manager government
      • Creature of statute
      • Lists of municipalities
      • Mayor–council government
      • Municipal corporation
      • Municipal government

      References

      1. ^ "Municipality". Merriam-Webster.
      2. ^ "municipality definition". Yourdictionary.com.
      3. ^ "Santiago de Chile – Comunas". Mapas de Chile, Castor y Polux Ltda. Archived from the original on 20 September 2019. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
      4. ^ Andersen, Uwe. "Gemeinden/Kommunale Selbstverwaltung | bpb". bpb.de (in German). Retrieved 16 June 2020.
      5. ^ "Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC)". Australian Bureau of Statistics.
      6. ^ "Municipal Government". The Canadian Encyclopedia > Government > Government, General > Municipal Government. Historica Foundation of Canada. 2009. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
      7. ^ ^{a b} "Interim List of Changes to Municipal Boundaries, Status, and Names – From January 2, 2010 to January 1, 2011" (PDF). Statistics Canada. April 2011. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
      8. ^ ^{a b} "List of Ontario Municipalities". Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. 4 July 2011. Archived from the original on 28 February 2013. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
      9. ^ "Municipal Govern