An urbanized area in

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

can gain the status of ''grad'' (which can be translated as town or city as there is no distinction between the two terms in Croatian) if it meets one of the following requirements: # is the center of a county (''županija''), or # has more than 10,000 residents, or # is defined by an exception (where the necessary historical, economic or geographic reasons exist) A city (town) represents an urban, historical, natural, economic and social whole. The suburbs comprising an economic and social whole with the city, connected with it by daily migration movements and daily needs of the population of local significance, may also be included into the composition of a city as unit of local self-government. ''Grad'' (city/town) is the local administrative equivalent of '' općina'' (translated as "

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

"), with the only distinction being that the former usually comprise urban areas whereas the latter commonly consist of a group of

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

s. Both municipalities and city/towns often comprise more than one settlement, as the administrative territory of a ''grad'' may include

suburban A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

villages or

hamlets A hamlet is a human settlement that is smaller than a town or village. This is often simply an informal description of a smaller settlement or possibly a subdivision or satellite entity to a larger settlement. Sometimes a hamlet is defined f ...

near the city/town in question. Settlements (''naselja'') are the third-level spatial units of Croatia, and the smallest unit for which the decennial census data are published by the

Croatian Bureau of Statistics The Croatian Bureau of Statistics ( or DZS) is the Croatian national statistics bureau. History The bureau was formed in 1875 in Austria-Hungary as the ''Zemaljski statistički ured'' for the Kingdom of Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia. In 192 ...

but are not administrative entities, i.e. they are governed by the municipal or city/town council of the local administrative unit they belong to. Croatian cities are administratively subdivided into "

city district A city district, also known as an urban district or neighbourhood, is a designated administrative division that is generally managed by a local government. It is used to divide a city into several administrative units. City districts are used ...

s" (''gradski kotari/gradske četvrti'') and/or "local committees" (''mjesni odbori'') with elected councils. The City of Zagreb, as the capital, not being part of any county, is subdivided into both city districts and local committees. *In December 1992 there were 70 cities and towns and 419 municipalities in Croatia organized into 20

counties A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

(plus the city of Zagreb which is both a city and a county). *In 2001 there were 122 cities and towns (excluding Zagreb) and 423 municipalities. This was the territorial division used for the 2001 census. *In 2006 a revision was made, which listed a total of 127 cities and towns and 429 municipalities in Croatia. This division was used for the 2011 census. *In 2013 the municipality of

Popovača Popovača is a town in Croatia in the Moslavina geographical region. Administratively it is part of the Sisak-Moslavina County. History In the late 19th and early 20th century, Popovača was part of the Bjelovar-Križevci County of the Kingdom of ...

was upgraded to town, bringing the total to 128 cities and towns and 428 municipalities. According to the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

, the city of

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

, as the capital of

, has a special status. As such, Zagreb performs

self-governing Self-governance, self-government, self-sovereignty or self-rule is the ability of a person or group to exercise all necessary functions of regulation without intervention from an external authority. It may refer to personal conduct or to any ...

public affairs of both city and county.The Constitution of the Republic of Croatia (consolidated text) - Croatian Parliament
.Retrieved 5 October 2016.

Tasks and organization

Cities (in English these would be called "towns"), within their self-governing scope of activities, perform the tasks of local significance, which directly fulfil the citizens' needs, and which were not assigned to the state bodies by the Constitution or law, particularly the tasks referring to urban design of settlements and dwelling, zoning and urban planning, communal activities, child care, social welfare, primary health care, personality development and primary education, culture, physical culture and sports, consumers protection, protection and improvement of the natural environment, fire and civil defence, local transport. "Big cities" ("big city" is a Croatian legal term, in English these would be just "cities"), i.e. cities with more than 35,000 inhabitants that are also economic, financial, cultural, public health, scientific or traffic centres and cities that are county seats, in addition to these tasks, are also responsible for tasks regarding public roads maintenance and issuing of building and location permits.

City government

City council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...

(''Gradsko vijeće'') is the representative body of citizens and the body of local self-government. The councillors are elected for a four-year term on the basis of

universal suffrage Universal suffrage or universal franchise ensures the right to vote for as many people bound by a government's laws as possible, as supported by the " one person, one vote" principle. For many, the term universal suffrage assumes the exclusion ...

direct elections Direct election is a system of choosing political officeholders in which the voters directly cast ballots for the persons or political party that they want to see elected. The method by which the winner or winners of a direct election are chosen ...

secret ballot The secret ballot, also known as the Australian ballot, is a voting method in which a voter's identity in an election or a referendum is anonymous. This forestalls attempts to influence the voter by intimidation, blackmailing, and potential vote ...

using

proportional system Proportionality, proportion or proportional may refer to: Mathematics * Proportionality (mathematics), the property of two variables being in a multiplicative relation to a constant * Ratio, of one quantity to another, especially of a part compare ...

with

d'Hondt method The D'Hondt method, also called the Jefferson method or the greatest divisors method, is an apportionment method for allocating seats in parliaments among federal states, or in proportional representation among political parties. It belongs to ...

. The executive head of the city is the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

(''gradonačelnik''), also elected in direct elections by majoritarian vote (

two-round system The two-round system (TRS or 2RS), sometimes called ballotage, top-two runoff, or two-round plurality, is a single-winner electoral system which aims to elect a member who has support of the majority of voters. The two-round system involves one ...

) for a four-year term (together with one or two deputy mayors). The mayor (with the deputy mayor/s) can be recalled by a referendum. City administrative departments and services manage administrative procedures in their areas of jurisdiction. The mayor names heads (principals) of the departments and services, who are chosen on the basis of a public competition.

List of cities and towns

The following is a complete list of all officially designated 128 cities/towns in Croatia, sorted by population according to the 2021 population census. At the time of the 2001 census, there had been 123 cities/towns in the country and four former municipalities were administratively upgraded to towns prior to the 2011 census:

Vodnjan Vodnjan (; or Dignano d'Istria) is a town in Istria County, Croatia, located about 10 kilometers north of the largest city in Istria, Pula-Pola. History According to the legend, it developed out of the association of seven villas which were par ...

(in 2003),

Kutjevo Kutjevo is a town in eastern Croatia. It is located in the Slavonia region, northeast of town of Požega. Climate Since records began in 2002, the highest temperature recorded at the Vidim weather station was , on 22 August 2018. The coldest temp ...

, Otok, and Sveta Nedelja (in 2006). In addition, the table includes data for

, also a former municipality which was re-designated as town in the administrative revision in April 2013. The Municipal column in the table lists total population within the geographical boundary of the local administrative subdivision. This means that the figure often includes other smaller settlements such as villages or

located on the outskirts or near the city/town proper. In contrast, the Town/City proper column lists only population of the city/town proper, without the smaller settlements which administratively belong to the city. Both numbers are given as in some cases the figures may vary dramatically (for example

Velika Gorica Velika Gorica () is the largest and most populous city in Zagreb County, Croatia. According to the 2011 census, the city itself has a population of 31,341, and the municipality has a population of 63,517 inhabitants. Velika Gorica is the centre ...

with nearby settlements has a population of around 61,000 but the town proper has only 30,000 residents). The town of

Kaštela Kaštela () is a town in Dalmatia, Croatia. The town is an agglomeration of seven individual settlements which are administered as a single municipality, with populations individually ranging from 3,000 to 7,000 residents. The town is located no ...

is a unique exception in that it only exists as an administrative unit - it is legally treated as an

agglomeration Agglomeration may refer to: * Urban agglomeration, in standard English * Megalopolis, in Chinese English, as defined in China's ''Standard for basic terminology of urban planning'' (GB/T 50280—98). Also known as "city cluster". * Economies of agg ...

of seven separate settlements with populations ranging from 3,000 to 7,000, none of which is actually called "Kaštela". Its town council is located in

Kaštel Sućurac Kaštel Sućurac () is a Settlement (Croatia), settlement within the town of Kaštela in Dalmatia, Croatia. Kaštel Sućurac is the first of the 7 Kaštels from the East. Patron saint of the town is Saint George (Croatian: ''Sveti Jure''). Histor ...

. Another set of exceptions arises from the special status of the

City of Zagreb A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

, which is considered both a county and a city, and is further subdivided into

city districts A city district, also known as an urban district or neighbourhood, is a designated administrative division that is generally managed by a local government. It is used to divide a city into several administrative units. City districts are used ...

, local committees and settlements. Unlike its other districts, the district of

Sesvete Sesvete () is the easternmost city district of Zagreb, Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwe ...

still has the status of a standalone settlement with a population of about 55,000. This would make it a large city in itself, but it does not have the administrative status of a city.

none, 230px, #3 Rijeka Pula Aerial View

none, 230px, #22 Đakovo Sinj - ca

Sources

* * *

References

External links

* * * From the

World Gazetteer A gazetteer is a geographical dictionary or wikt:directory, directory used in conjunction with a map or atlas.Aurousseau, 61. It typically contains information concerning the geographical makeup, social statistics and physical features of a co ...

: ** **
Zakon o područjima županija, gradova i općina u Republici Hrvatskoj
{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Cities In Croatia *