Municipality

ThePonce City Hall,in the city ofPonce, Puerto Rico,is the seat of the government for both the city and the surroundingbarriosmaking up the municipality.

Map of allcity municipalities in Slovenia

Amunicipalityis usually a singleadministrative divisionhavingcorporatestatus and powers ofself-governmentorjurisdictionas granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.

The termmunicipalitymay also mean the governing body of a given municipality.A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to aspecial-purpose district.

TheEnglishword is derived fromFrenchmunicipalité,which in turn derives from theLatinmunicipalis,based on the word forsocial contract(municipium), referring originally to the Latin communities that supplied Rome with troops in exchange for their own incorporation into the Roman state (grantingRoman citizenshipto the inhabitants) while permitting the communities to retain their own local governments (a limited autonomy).

A municipality can be any politicaljurisdiction,from a sovereign state such as thePrincipality of Monaco,to a small village such asWest Hampton Dunes, New York.

The territory over which a municipality has jurisdiction may encompass:

• only onepopulated placesuch as a city,town,orvillage
• several such places (e.g., early jurisdictions in theU.S. stateofNew Jersey(1798–1899) astownshipsgoverning several villages,municipalities of Mexico,municipalities of Colombia)
• only parts of such places, sometimesboroughsof acity,such as the 34 municipalities ofSantiago,Chile.

Political powers

Powers of municipalities range from virtual autonomy to complete subordination to thestate.Municipalities may have the right to tax individuals and corporations withincome tax,property tax,andcorporate income tax,but may also receive substantial funding from the state. In someEuropeancountries, such as Germany, municipalities have the constitutional right tosupply public servicesthrough municipally-ownedpublic utility companies.

Terms in various countries

New York Cityas well as its composite fiveboroughsare all municipalities.

1. Manhattan

2. Brooklyn

3. Queens

4. The Bronx

5. Staten Island

Cityortownmunicipalities (red-colored) with other non-town municipalities inFinland(2020)

Municipality

Terms cognate with "municipality", mostly referring to territory or political structure,are Spanishmunicipio(Spain) andmunicipalidad(Chile), Catalanmunicipi,Portuguesemunicípio.

• InBrazil,amunicípiois the local government, recognized by the Brazilian Federal Constitution and established through state constitutions. It is the smallest territorial division holding executive and legislative powers. Since theConstitution of 1988,allmunicípiosare members of the federation. Colloquially, the local population uses the termsmunicipalityandcityinterchangeably, although the constitution defines "city" as the seat of the municipality.

Commune

In many 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 Frenchcommune(France,French-speaking areas of Belgium and Switzerland, French-speaking countries of Africa, e.g.Benin), Italiancomune(Italy), Portuguesecomuna(Angola), Romaniancomună(Romania), and Spanishcomuna(Chile);
• in Germanic languages such as GermanKommune(in political parlance), Swedishkommun(Sweden), Faroesekommuna(Faroe Islands), Norwegian, Danishkommune(Norway,Denmark);
• the more remote cognatesgemeentein Dutch (Netherlands,Dutch-speaking areas of Belgium),Gemengin Luxembourgish (Luxembourg) andGemeindein German (the official term;Germany);
• Finnishkunta(Finland).
• Ukrainianhromada.
• and Polishgmina.

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

Other terms

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

In some countries, the Spanish termayuntamiento,referring to a municipality's administration building, is extended viasynecdocheto denote the municipality itself.InMoldovaandRomania,bothmunicipalities(municipiu;urban administrative units) andcommunes(comună;rural units) exist, and a commune may be part of a municipality.

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

English-speaking

• InAustralia,the termlocal government area(LGA) is used in place of the generic municipality. Here, the "LGA Structure covers only incorporated areas of Australia. Incorporated areas are legally designated parts of states and territories over which incorporated local governing bodies have responsibility."
• InCanada,municipalities are local governments established through provincial and territorial legislation, usually within general municipal statutes.Types ofmunicipalities within Canadaincludecities,district municipalities,municipal districts,municipalities,parishes,rural municipalities,towns,townships,villages,andvillesamong others.The province ofOntariohas different tiers of municipalities, including lower, upper, and single tiers.Types of upper tier municipalities in Ontario include counties and regional municipalities.Nova Scotiaalso has regional municipalities, which include cities, counties, districts, or towns as municipal units.
• InIndia,a municipality (also known asmunicipal council) is an urban local body that administers a city of population 100,000 or more (the criteria varies from state to state). However, there are exceptions to that, as previously municipalities were constituted in urban centers with population over 20,000, so all the urban bodies which were previously classified as municipality were reclassified as municipality even if their population was under 100,000. it interacts directly with the state government, though it is administratively part of thedistrictit is located in. Generally, smaller district cities and bigger towns have a municipality. Municipalities are also a form of local self-government entrusted with some duties and responsibilities, as enshrined in theConstitutional (74th Amendment) Act,1992.
• In theUnited Kingdom,the term was used until theLocal Government Act 1972came into effect in 1974 inEnglandandWales,and until 1975 inScotlandand 1976 inNorthern Ireland,"both for a city or town which is organized for self-government under a municipal corporation, and also for the governing body itself. Such a corporation in Great Britain consists of a head as a mayor or provost, and of superior members, as aldermen and councillors".Since local government reorganisation, the unit in England, Northern Ireland and Wales is known as adistrict,and in Scotland as acouncil area.Adistrictmay be awardedboroughorcitystatus, or can retain itsdistricttitle.
• InJersey,a municipality refers to the honorary officials elected to run each of the 12parishesinto which it is subdivided. This is the highest level of regional government in this jurisdiction.
• InTrinidad and Tobago,"municipality" is usually understood as a city, town, or other local government unit, formed by municipal charter from the state as a municipal corporation. A town may be awarded borough status and, later on, may be upgraded to city status.Chaguanas,San Fernando,Port of Spain,ArimaandPoint Fortinare the 5 current municipalities in Trinidad and Tobago.
• In theUnited States,"municipality" is usually understood as a city, town, village, or other local government unit, formed by municipal charter from the state as a municipal corporation.In a state law context, some U.S. state codes define "municipality" more widely, from the state itself to any political subdivisions given jurisdiction over an area that may include multiple populated places and unpopulated places(see also:Local government in the United States#Municipal governments).

Chinese-speaking

• In thePeople's Republic of China,adirect-administered municipality( thành phố trực thuộc trung ương inpinyin:zhíxiáshì) is a municipality with equal status to aprovince:Beijing Municipality,Chongqing Municipality,Shanghai Municipality,andTianjin Municipality(see also:Direct-administered municipalities of China).
• In theRepublic of China (Taiwan),aspecial municipality( thành phố trực thuộc trung ương inpinyin:zhíxiáshì) is a municipality with equal status to a province:Kaohsiung,New Taipei,Taichung,Tainan,Taipei,andTaoyuan(see also:Special municipality (Taiwan)).

Municipalities by country

Country	Term	Example	Subdivision of	Quantity	Notes	Further reading
Brazil	município	Blumenau,Cuiabá,Maceió,Porto Alegre	a state (estado), which is part of a region (região)	5,570	A municipality usually is divided in the urban part, the city (cidade), and the rural part.	List of municipalities of Brazil
Croatia	Općina	Fužine,_Croatia,Bosiljevo,Klana,Kršan	Županija (county in english)	428	A municipality usually has center village of same name. Exception: Vinodolska općina - center village: Bribir.	Municipalities_of_Croatia
Greece	Deme/Δήμος	Athens,Thessaloniki		332	A municipality usually is divided in Municipal Units and them into Communities.	List of municipalities of Greece
Ireland	bardas, contaeorcomhairle	Baile Átha Cliath	a province (cúige) or a county (contae)	31	A municipality usually has authority of the whole county. In some cases however, authority is reduced to a subdivision of the county for highly populated regions, especially in Dublin (Baile Átha Cliath)	Local governments in the Republic of Ireland
Italy	municipio	Rignano Flaminio	acomunewhich is part of a province (provincia) which is part of a region (regione).	9 for Milan, 15 for Rome	Solely used for subdivisions of largercomuni,especially in Rome;municipioindicates the city hall; in some case, they are joined in mountain communities (comunità montane)	Municipi of Rome,List of municipalities of Italy
India	municipality(nagar palika, or nagar parishad in Hindi)	Darjeeling Municipality English Bazar Municipality			It is an administrative unit that governs a specific urban area, such as a town or city. Municipalities are established under state legislation and operate under the framework of the relevant state municipal acts. Municipalities have their own elected bodies, which typically include a mayor or chairperson and councilors representing different wards or constituencies within the urban area.	Municipal governance in India
Philippines	bayan,munisipyoormunisipalidad	Janiuay	aprovince(lalawiganorprobinsya,except forPateros)	1,488	A municipality is the official name for atownand is divided intobarangays.Municipalities with a larger population and income may become acitythrough acity charter.	Municipalities of the Philippines
Portugal	município	Lisbon,Sintra,Vila Nova de Gaia	18 districts and 2 autonomous regions (AzoresandMadeira)	308	Usually a municipality is named after its largest or historically most important town or city. Municipalities are typically much larger than the city or town after which they are named.	List of municipalities of Portugal
Puerto Rico	municipio	Arecibo	none	78	municipality consists of an urban area (termed a city or town) plus all of its surroundingbarrioscomprising 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.	Municipalities of Puerto Rico
Sweden	kommun	Stockholm Municipality,Gothenburg Municipality,Malmö Municipality,Ale Municipality	aregion(region), the 21 self-governing areas consisting of one or more municipalities) acounty(län), subdivision of the national state into 21 areas administered byCounty administrative boards. Regions and counties often follow the same geographical borders.	290	According to theInstrument of Government,Swedish democracy is realised through a parliamentary form of government and through local selfgovernment. Municipalities are independent of the regions and counties in which they are located. Before 1971, municipalities were incorporated as either cities (stad), market towns (köping) or rural municipalities (landskommun). The city-label is still used for marketing purposes, but lacks legal status and cannot be used in formal governing documents. Forresidentandland registrationpurposes, Sweden is also divided in 2 523districts(distrikt), based on the historicChurch of Swedenparishes of 1999. The districts lack authority, governing body and agency.	Municipalities of Sweden

• In Portuguese language usage, there are two words to distinguish the territory and the administrative organ. When referring to the territory, the wordconcelhois used, when referring to theorgan of State,the wordmunicípiois used. This differentiation is in use in Portugal and some of its former overseas provinces, but it is no longer in use in Brazil, wheremunicípiorefers to the territorial boundaries andprefeiturais its administrative organ.

See also

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

External links

• Elton, Charles Isaac(1884)."Municipality".Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 17 (9th ed.).