Administrative divisions of Poland


The administrative division of Poland since 1999 has been based on three levels of subdivision. The territory of Poland is divided into voivodeships ; these are further divided into powiats, and these in turn are divided into gminas. Major cities normally have the status of both gmina and powiat. Poland currently has 16 voivodeships, 380 powiats, and 2,478 gminas.
The current system was introduced pursuant to a series of acts passed by the Polish parliament in 1998, and came into effect on 1 January 1999. Between 1975 and 1998 there had been 49 smaller "voivodeships" and no powiats. The reform created 16 larger voivodeships and reintroduced powiats.
The boundaries of the voivodeships do not always reflect the historical borders of Polish regions. Around half of the Silesian Voivodeship belongs to the historical province of Lesser Poland. Similarly, the area around Radom, which historically is part of Lesser Poland, is located in the Masovian Voivodeship. Also, the Pomeranian Voivodeship includes only the eastern extreme of historical Pomerania, as the western part is in Germany and the eastern border has shifted again and again.

Voivodeships

Poland is currently divided into 16 provinces known as voivodeships. Legally they are called "I tier units". Administrative authority at voivodeship level is shared between a central government-appointed governor, called the voivode, an elected assembly called the sejmik, and an executive board chosen by that assembly. The leader of that executive is called the marszałek.

Powiats

Each voivodeship is divided into a number of smaller entities known as powiats, which are legally "II tier units". The number of powiats per voivodeship ranges from 12 to 42. They include two types of administrative divisions:
  • 314 powiats proper. Land counties have an elected council, which elects an executive board headed by the starosta.
  • 66 cities with powiat status. In city counties the functions of these institutions are performed by the city's own council and directly elected mayor. The administration of such a city functions both as a powiat and a municipality.

Gminas

The "III tier units" are 2477 gminas. A powiat is typically divided into a number of gminas, although the city counties constitute single gminas. A gmina has an elected council as well as a directly elected mayor. A gmina may be classed as:
  • 302 urban municipalities,
  • 642 urban-rural municipalities together with its surrounding villages,
  • 1533 village or rural municipalities. 158 of them are called related or connected municipalities. In this case the rural municipality does not contain a town, but its administration itself is located in a city or a town outside of its territory. 14 of these gminas have their administration located in a city with powiat status, the rest are in urban municipalities. The administrative category of gmina obwarzankowa was introduced in 2013 to deal with the budgetary disparity in the cases, in which the majority of the inhabitants of a rural municipality work in and use the social services of a city or a town nearby, but due to their registered address their taxes are allocated to their rural municipality of residence. In essence the gmina obwarzankowa is a rural territory closely connected to an urban territory and as such the two municipal administrations work in close administrative and budgetary coordination.

Smaller units

Gminas are generally sub-divided into smaller units, called osiedle or dzielnica in towns, and sołectwo in rural areas. However, these units are of lesser importance and are subordinate in status to the gmina.

Historical subdivisions

Polish territory has been subject to significant changes over the course of Polish history. Therefore, the modern Polish administrative division, while on some levels similar to some historical ones, is quite different from others. Historical Polish administrative divisions can be divided into the following periods: