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Subdivisions of Serbia
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The territorial organization of the Republic of Serbia is regulated by the Law on Territorial Organization and Local Self-Government, adopted in the Assembly of Serbia on 24 July 1991. Under the Law, the municipalities, cities and settlements make the bases of the territorial organization.
Serbia is divided into 181 municipalities and 23 cities, which are the basic units of local autonomy. It has one autonomous province (Vojvodina) in the north (with 39 municipalities and 6 cities) and one UN protectorate (Kosovo (UNMIK)) in the south (with 30 municipalities) - the former southern Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija has been transferred since 1999 to the UN administration of UNMIK.
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Encyclopedia
The territorial organization of the Republic of Serbia is regulated by the Law on Territorial Organization and Local Self-Government, adopted in the Assembly of Serbia on 24 July 1991. Under the Law, the municipalities, cities and settlements make the bases of the territorial organization.
Serbia is divided into 181 municipalities and 23 cities, which are the basic units of local autonomy. It has one autonomous province (Vojvodina) in the north (with 39 municipalities and 6 cities) and one UN protectorate (Kosovo (UNMIK)) in the south (with 30 municipalities) - the former southern Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija has been transferred since 1999 to the UN administration of UNMIK. In 2008, the self administered part of Kosovo declared its independence, a move recognized by a minority of countries (most of EU and USA) but not recognized by Serbia or the UN.
The part of Serbia that is outside Vojvodina and Kosovo is called Central Serbia. Central Serbia is not an administrative division (unlike the autonomous province and UN protectorate), and it has no regional government of its own.
In addition, there are 23 cities (gradovi), each having an assembly and budget of its own. The four largest cities, Belgrade, Novi Sad, Nis and Kragujevac comprise several municipalities, divided into "urban" (in the city proper) and "other" (suburban). Competences of cities and their municipalities are divided. Of those, only Novi Sad did not undergo the full transformation, as the newly formed municipality of Petrovaradin exists pretty much only formally; thus, the municipality of Novi Sad is largely equated to city of Novi Sad (and the single largest municipality in the country, with around 300,000 residents).
Municipalities comprise local communities (mesne zajednice), which mostly correspond to settlements (villages) in the rural areas (several small villages can comprise one local community, and large villages can contain several communities). Urban areas are also divided into local communities. Their roles include communication of elected municipal representatives with citizens, organization of citizen initiatives related with public service and communal issues. They are presided with councils (saveti), elected on semi-formal elections, whose members are basically volunteers. Role of local communities is far more important in rural areas; due to proximity to municipal centers, many urban local communities are defunct.
Municipalities are gathered into districts (okruzi), which are regional centers of state authority, but have no assemblies of their own; they present purely administrative divisions, and host various state institutions such as funds, office branches and courts. The Republic of Serbia is divided into 31 districts (17 in Central Serbia, 7 in Vojvodina and 7 in Kosovo), while the city of Belgrade presents a district of its own.
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