Administrative divisions of Moldova

Moldova is divided administratively into two levels:

First level:
* 32 districts or raions
* 3 municipalities —specifically Chișinău, Bălți, and Bender
* 2 autonomous territorial units: Gagauzia and Left Bank of the Dniester
Second level:
* Villages ; two or more villages can form together a commune
* Sectors
* 10 municipalities
* Cities and towns

Localities

Moldova has a total of 1,682 localities; from these 982 are incorporated, including 53 cities/towns, other 13 cities with municipality status, and 916 rural localities. They cover the entire area of the country. A number of villages are self-governed, while others 700 villages are too small to have a separate administration, and are part of either cities/towns/municipalities or communes. Few localities are inhabited.

Current divisions

In the administrative-territorial structure of Moldova are 898 second-level administrative territorial units.
The status of Chișinău, Bălți, and Tighina as municipalities and first-level territorial units of the country allows their suburb villages to have, when large enough, their own mayor and local council. By contrast, the villages that are administratively part of the other cities do not retain self-rule.

Districts :

Name of district

District seat

President

Area

Population

Density

Towns/
villages

Anenii Noi District.gif.png" />Flag of Anenii Noi District.gif

Areas not under central government control

Transnistria, which with the exception of six communes corresponds to the geographic part of Moldova situated to the east of the Dniestr river, is de jure a part of Moldova, but in fact is governed by breakaway authorities. The city of Dubăsari, and six communes, all controlled by the central authorities, form the northern part of the security zone set at the end of the war.
Tighina municipality, and three communes of Căușeni District are de facto controlled by the breakaway regime of Transnistria. Together with the commune Varnița of Anenii Noi District and the commune Copanca of Căușeni District under Moldovan control, these localities form the southern part of the security zone set at the end of the war. The city of Tighina has both a Moldovan police force and a Transnistrian militsiya force. In Transnistria, Tighina is known as Bender.

Population

The smallest entity electing a mayor is the commune of Salcia, in Taraclia District. It consists of the village of Salcia, population 382, and the village of Orehovca, population 59. The largest entity is the municipality of Chișinău, electing a mayor for 712,218 inhabitants.
The largest number of localities governed by a single commune or city government in Moldova is 6. This is the case for:
* city of Anenii Noi, population 11,463, of which 3,105 in the 5 suburban villages
* commune Copăceni, Sîngerei District, population 3,315
* commune Natalievca, Fălești District, population 2,231
* commune Tătărăuca Veche, Soroca District, population 2,203
There are four or five localities in Moldova with a zero population:
* village Armanca, commune Vasileuți, Rîșcani District
* village Chetrișul Nou, commune Călinești, Fălești District
* village Pelinia, loc. st. c. f., commune Pelinia, Drochia District
* village Stălinești, commune Corestăuți, Ocnița District
Village Ivanovca, commune Natalievca, Fălești District, population 19, inhabited by 14 Russians and 5 Ukrainians, is the only inhabited locality in Moldova without any ethnic Moldovans. On the opposite end, one commune, Cigîrleni, Ialoveni District, population 2,411, and 42 villages of sub-commune level, have a 100% Moldovan population.

Duplicate names

There are 147 settlement names shared by multiple localities in Moldova. Most notable cases includes these:

A town Mărculești, and a different commune Mărculești, both situated in the Florești District
A city Dondușeni, and a different commune Dondușeni, both situated in the Dondușeni District
A city Drochia, and a different commune Drochia, both situated in the Drochia District
A town Costești, in Rîșcani District, with a population of 2,247, the 8th smallest city in Moldova, and a commune Costești, in Ialoveni District, population 11,128, the 2nd largest village in Moldova
A town Cornești, in Ungheni District, and a different village [Cornești (village), Ungheni|Cornești in the same Ungheni District|Ungheni District], and also a village Cornești in Hîncești District
etc.

Regions

The first-level units are grouped into three regions:
Northern Development Region

Central Development Region

Southern Development Region

Previous divisions

Counties (1998-2003)

Between 1998 and February 2003, Moldova was divided into 12 territorial units, including 1 municipality, 1 autonomous territorial unit, 1 territorial unit, and 9 counties :

Chișinău municipality, surrounded by Chișinău county, but different from it
Bălți County
Cahul County
Chișinău County
Edineț County
Lăpușna County
Orhei County
Soroca County
Tighina County (Moldova)
Ungheni County
Găgăuzia, autonomous territorial unit
Left Bank of the Dniester, territorial unit

In October 1999, Taraclia County was split out from the Cahul County; it coincides with the current Taraclia District.

Cities and districts (1991-1998)

Between 1991 and 1998, Moldova was divided into 10 cities and 40 districts:
;Cities

;Districts

2017 expansion

Besides Chișinău, Bălți, Tighina, Comrat, and Tiraspol, on 13 April 2017 eight more became municipalities: Cahul, Ceadîr-Lunga, Edineț, Hîncești, Orhei, Soroca, Strășeni, and Ungheni.