Municipalities of Estonia
A
Municipality () 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 (
est:
linnad, sg.
linn) and
rural municipalities, or
parishes (
est:
vallad, sg.
vald). There is no other status distinction between them.
Municipality may contain one or several
populated places. Some urban municipalities are divided into districts (
est:
linnaosad, sg.
linnaosa) with limited self-government, e.g.
Tallinn consists of 8 districts (
Haabersti,
Kesklinn,
Kristiine,
Lasnamäe,
Mustamäe,
Nõmme,
Pirita,
Põhja-Tallinn).
Municipalities are ranging in size from
Tallinn with 400,000 inhabitants to
Ruhnu with as few as 60. 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.
Since October 2005 there are total of 227 municipalities in Estonia, 34 of them are urban and 193 are rural. The municipalities are listed below, by county:
thumb|right|300px|Municipalities of Harju CountyUrban municipalities:Rural municipalities:thumb|right|300px|Municipalities of Hiiu CountyUrban municipality:Rural municipalities:thumb|right|300px|Municipalities of Ida-Viru CountyUrban municipalities:Rural municipalities:thumb|right|300px|Municipalities of Järva CountyUrban municipalities:Rural municipalities:thumb|right|300px|Municipalities of Jõgeva CountyUrban municipalities:Rural municipalities:thumb|right|300px|Municipalities of Lääne CountyUrban municipality:Rural municipalities:thumb|right|300px|Municipalities of Lääne-Viru CountyUrban municipalities:Rural municipalities:thumb|right|300px|Municipalities of Pärnu CountyUrban municipalities:Rural municipalities:thumb|right|300px|Municipalities of Põlva CountyUrban municipality:Rural municipalities:thumb|right|300px|Municipalities of Rapla CountyRural municipalities:thumb|right|300px|Municipalities of Saare CountyUrban municipality:Rural municipalities:thumb|right|300px|Municipalities of Tartu CountyUrban municipalities:Rural municipalities:thumb|right|300px|Municipalities of Valga CountyUrban municipalities:Rural municipalities:thumb|right|300px|Municipalities of Viljandi CountyUrban municipalities:Rural municipalities:thumb|right|300px|Municipalities of Võru CountyUrban municipality:Rural municipalities: Structure of local authorities
In each municipality there is a
local government as well as a
council.
The
council () 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 (), who organises the council’s work and represents the municipality.
The
government () is an executive body formed by the council. It is headed by a mayor ( 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
