Administrative divisions of Estonia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Estonia is a unitary country with a single-tier local government system. Local affairs are managed autonomously by local governments.

Since administrative reform in 2017, there are in total 79 local governments, including 15 towns and 64 rural municipalities. All municipalities have equal legal status and form part of a county, which is a state administrative unit.[1] Representative body of local authorities is municipal council, elected at general direct elections for a four-year term. The council appoints local government, headed by a mayor. For additional decentralization the local authorities may form municipal districts with limited authority, currently those have been formed in Tallinn and Hiiumaa.[2]

Separately from administrative units there are also settlement units: village, small borough, borough, and town. Generally villages have less than 300, small borough have between 300 and 1000, borough and town have over 1000 inhabitants.[2]

Database which consists of info about Estonian administrative units and settlements, is called EHAK (abbreviation for Estonian Eesti haldus- ja asustusjaotuse klassifikaator).[3]

Counties[edit]

Counties of EstoniaHiiu CountyLääne CountySaare CountyHarju CountyLääne-Viru CountyIda-Viru CountyRapla CountyPärnu CountyJärva CountyViljandi CountyJõgeva CountyTartu CountyValga CountyPõlva CountyVõru County
Counties of Estonia
50 km

Parishes or municipalities[edit]

Administrative divisions of Estonia
Harju County
Hiiu County
Ida-Viru County
Jõgeva County
Järva County
Lääne County
Lääne-Viru County
Põlva County
Pärnu County
Rapla County
Saare County
Tartu County
Valga County
Viljandi County
Võru County

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Pesti, Cerlin; Randma-Liiv, Tiina (April 2018). "Estonia". In Thijs, Nick; Hammerschmid, Gerhard (eds.). Public administration characteristics and performance in EU28. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union. pp. 252–255. doi:10.2767/74735. ISBN 9789279904530. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Local Governments". Estonian Ministry of Finance. 1 November 2019. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  3. ^ "Eesti haldus- ja asustusjaotuse klassifikaator". stat.e. Retrieved 26 January 2023.