# Municipalities of Lithuania

Lithuania is divided into three levels of administrative divisions. The first-level division consists of 10 counties (Lithuanian: singular – apskritis, plural – apskritys). These are sub-divided into 60 municipalities (Lithuanian: plural – savivaldybės, singular – savivaldybė), which in turn are further sub-divided into over 500 smaller groups, known as elderships (Lithuanian: plural – seniūnijos, singular – seniūnija).
At the end of its tenure as a Soviet Socialist Republic, Lithuania's administrative divisions consisted of 44 regions, 12 cities, 80 towns, 19 settlements, and 426 rural districts. The reform of this system was an immediate concern for the new government. The Constitution of Lithuania, ratified in 1992, delegated the power of establishing future administrative units to the Lithuanian Parliament (Seimas). Accordingly, the Seimas passed two fundamental laws: a 1993 law on government representation and a 1994 law specifying the territorial-administrative units and their boundaries. The current system of a set of municipalities under 10 counties was codified by 1995. Several changes were made in 2000, resulting in 60 municipalities.
Ordinary municipal councilors are elected every four years from electoral lists using proportional representation. The mayor, who used to be a member of the council until 2023, is elected directly by the residents using the two-round system since 2015 reforms. Before then, the mayors were elected by the municipal councils.
The largest municipality by population in Lithuania is Vilnius City Municipality with 593,436 residents, home to one fifth (20.7%) of the country's population. The smallest municipality by population is Neringa Municipality with 4,173 (0.1%) residents.
The largest municipality by land area is Varėna District Municipality, which spans 2,216 km$^2$ (856 sq mi), while the smallest is Alytus City Municipality at 40 km$^2$ (15 sq mi).

## Powers and functions

Municipalities are established to perform certain functions provided by law. According to the abovementioned Republic of Lithuania Law on Local Self-Government, the functions of municipalities are "functions related to local government, public administration and provision of public services defined by the Constitution and attributed to municipalities by this and other laws". The processes of integration into international organizations - like the EU and NATO - are considered to be important external factors influencing the development of municipal powers in the country. Lithuania, which has become a member of these organizations, has been assigned completely new responsibilities, some of which, naturally, also belonged to municipalities. In the case of EU integration, municipalities have been assigned the necessary information supply to the European Commission, and in the case of integration into NATO, municipalities have had new functions related to security issues.
| 1 – Vilnius City Municipality 2 – Kaunas City Municipality 3 – Klaipėda City Municipality | 4 – Panevėžys City Municipality 5 – Šiauliai City Municipality 6 – Alytus City Municipality | 7 – Birštonas Municipality 8 – Palanga City Municipality 9 – Visaginas Municipality 10 – Neringa Municipality |

## Municipalities

As of January 1, 2024.
| Municipality | Capital | County | Region | Area | Populations | Density |
| Akmenė District Municipality | Naujoji Akmenė | Šiauliai | Žemaitija | 844 km$^2$ (326 sq mi) | 19,126 | 22.66 |
| Alytus City Municipality | Alytus | Alytus | Dzūkija | 40 km$^2$ (15 sq mi) | 51,351 | 1,284 |
| Alytus District Municipality | Alytus | Alytus | Dzūkija | 1,403 km$^2$ (542 sq mi) | 25,464 | 18.15 |
| Anykščiai District Municipality | Anykščiai | Utena | Aukštaitija | 1,764 km$^2$ (681 sq mi) | 22,372 | 12.68 |
| Birštonas Municipality | Birštonas | Kaunas | Dzūkija | 122 km$^2$ (47 sq mi) | 4,087 | 33.50 |
| Biržai District Municipality | Biržai | Panevėžys | Aukštaitija | 1,476 km$^2$ (570 sq mi) | 22,111 | 14.98 |
| Druskininkai Municipality | Druskininkai | Alytus | Dzūkija | 453 km$^2$ (175 sq mi) | 20,103 | 44.38 |
| Elektrėnai Municipality | Elektrėnai | Vilnius | Dzūkija | 509 km$^2$ (197 sq mi) | 24,745 | 48.61 |
| Ignalina District Municipality | Ignalina | Utena | Aukštaitija | 1,441 km$^2$ (556 sq mi) | 13,814 | 9.59 |
| Jonava District Municipality | Jonava | Kaunas | Aukštaitija | 943 km$^2$ (364 sq mi) | 41,489 | 44.00 |
| Joniškis District Municipality | Joniškis | Šiauliai | Aukštaitija | 1,151 km$^2$ (444 sq mi) | 20,289 | 17.63 |
| Jurbarkas District Municipality | Jurbarkas | Tauragė | Žemaitija | 1,506 km$^2$ (581 sq mi) | 25,443 | 16.89 |
| Kaišiadorys District Municipality | Kaišiadorys | Kaunas | Aukštaitija | 1,087 km$^2$ (420 sq mi) | 29,062 | 26.74 |
| Kalvarija Municipality | Kalvarija | Marijampolė | Suvalkija | 440 km$^2$ (170 sq mi) | 9,734 | 22.12 |
| Kaunas City Municipality | Kaunas | Kaunas | Aukštaitija | 157 km$^2$ (61 sq mi) | 304,198 | 1,938 |
| Kaunas District Municipality | Kaunas | Kaunas | Aukštaitija | 1,495 km$^2$ (577 sq mi) | 106,277 | 71.09 |
| Kazlų Rūda Municipality | Kazlų Rūda | Marijampolė | Suvalkija | 555 km$^2$ (214 sq mi) | 10,835 | 19.52 |
| Kėdainiai District Municipality | Kėdainiai | Kaunas | Aukštaitija | 1,677 km$^2$ (647 sq mi) | 45,923 | 27.38 |
| Kelmė District Municipality | Kelmė | Šiauliai | Žemaitija | 1,705 km$^2$ (658 sq mi) | 24,347 | 14.28 |
| Klaipėda City Municipality | Klaipėda | Klaipėda | Prūsija | 99 km$^2$ (38 sq mi) | 159,396 | 1,610 |
| Klaipėda District Municipality | Klaipėda | Klaipėda | Prūsija | 1,340 km$^2$ (520 sq mi) | 67,280 | 50.21 |
| Kretinga District Municipality | Kretinga | Klaipėda | Žemaitija | 989 km$^2$ (382 sq mi) | 37,433 | 37.85 |
| Kupiškis District Municipality | Kupiškis | Panevėžys | Aukštaitija | 1,080 km$^2$ (420 sq mi) | 15,765 | 14.60 |
| Lazdijai District Municipality | Lazdijai | Alytus | Dzūkija | 1,306 km$^2$ (504 sq mi) | 17,201 | 13.17 |
| Marijampolė Municipality | Marijampolė | Marijampolė | Suvalkija | 755 km$^2$ (292 sq mi) | 54,590 | 72.77 |
| Mažeikiai District Municipality | Mažeikiai | Telšiai | Žemaitija | 1,219 km$^2$ (471 sq mi) | 51,909 | 42.58 |
| Molėtai District Municipality | Molėtai | Utena | Aukštaitija | 1,367 km$^2$ (528 sq mi) | 16,517 | 11.82 |
| Neringa Municipality | Nida | Klaipėda | Prūsija | 90 km$^2$ (35 sq mi) | 4,265 | 47.39 |
| Pagėgiai Municipality | Pagėgiai | Tauragė | Prūsija | 536 km$^2$ (207 sq mi) | 7,059 | 13.17 |
| Pakruojis District Municipality | Pakruojis | Šiauliai | Aukštaitija | 1,315 km$^2$ (508 sq mi) | 17,870 | 13.59 |
| Palanga City Municipality | Palanga | Klaipėda | Žemaitija | 79 km$^2$ (31 sq mi) | 18,066 | 228.7 |
| Panevėžys City Municipality | Panevėžys | Panevėžys | Aukštaitija | 50 km$^2$ (19 sq mi) | 86,599 | 1,732 |
| Panevėžys District Municipality | Panevėžys | Panevėžys | Aukštaitija | 2,177 km$^2$ (841 sq mi) | 35,378 | 16.25 |
| Pasvalys District Municipality | Pasvalys | Panevėžys | Aukštaitija | 1,289 km$^2$ (498 sq mi) | 21,930 | 17.01 |
| Plungė District Municipality | Plungė | Telšiai | Žemaitija | 1,105 km$^2$ (427 sq mi) | 33,042 | 29.90 |
| Prienai District Municipality | Prienai | Kaunas | Suvalkija | 1,032 km$^2$ (398 sq mi) | 24,675 | 23.91 |
| Radviliškis District Municipality | Radviliškis | Šiauliai | Aukštaitija | 1,634 km$^2$ (631 sq mi) | 34,302 | 20.99 |
| Raseiniai District Municipality | Raseiniai | Kaunas | Žemaitija | 1,573 km$^2$ (607 sq mi) | 29,769 | 18.92 |
| Rietavas Municipality | Rietavas | Telšiai | Žemaitija | 586 km$^2$ (226 sq mi) | 7,115 | 12.14 |
| Rokiškis District Municipality | Rokiškis | Panevėžys | Aukštaitija | 1,806 km$^2$ (697 sq mi) | 27,288 | 15.11 |
| Skuodas District Municipality | Skuodas | Klaipėda | Žemaitija | 911 km$^2$ (352 sq mi) | 15,201 | 16.69 |
| Šakiai District Municipality | Šakiai | Marijampolė | Suvalkija | 1,454 km$^2$ (561 sq mi) | 25,603 | 17.61 |
| Šalčininkai District Municipality | Šalčininkai | Vilnius | Dzūkija | 1,493 km$^2$ (576 sq mi) | 29,888 | 20.02 |
| Šiauliai City Municipality | Šiauliai | Šiauliai | Žemaitija | 81 km$^2$ (31 sq mi) | 110,461 | 1,364 |
| Šiauliai District Municipality | Šiauliai | Šiauliai | Žemaitija | 1,807 km$^2$ (698 sq mi) | 40,565 | 22.45 |
| Šilalė District Municipality | Šilalė | Tauragė | Žemaitija | 1,188 km$^2$ (459 sq mi) | 20,861 | 17.56 |
| Šilutė District Municipality | Šilutė | Klaipėda | Prūsija | 1,714 km$^2$ (662 sq mi) | 38,331 | 22.36 |
| Širvintos District Municipality | Širvintos | Vilnius | Aukštaitija | 906 km$^2$ (350 sq mi) | 14,668 | 16.19 |
| Švenčionys District Municipality | Švenčionys | Vilnius | Aukštaitija | 1,691 km$^2$ (653 sq mi) | 21,795 | 12.89 |
| Tauragė District Municipality | Tauragė | Tauragė | Žemaitija | 1,179 km$^2$ (455 sq mi) | 37,215 | 31.56 |
| Telšiai District Municipality | Telšiai | Telšiai | Žemaitija | 1,439 km$^2$ (556 sq mi) | 38,852 | 27.00 |
| Trakai District Municipality | Trakai | Vilnius | Dzūkija | 1,207 km$^2$ (466 sq mi) | 34,595 | 28.66 |
| Ukmergė District Municipality | Ukmergė | Vilnius | Aukštaitija | 1,395 km$^2$ (539 sq mi) | 34,023 | 24.39 |
| Utena District Municipality | Utena | Utena | Aukštaitija | 1,230 km$^2$ (470 sq mi) | 39,671 | 32.25 |
| Varėna District Municipality | Varėna | Alytus | Dzūkija | 2,216 km$^2$ (856 sq mi) | 20,082 | 9.06 |
| Vilkaviškis District Municipality | Vilkaviškis | Marijampolė | Suvalkija | 1,262 km$^2$ (487 sq mi) | 33,906 | 26.87 |
| Vilnius City Municipality | Vilnius | Vilnius | Dzūkija | 400 km$^2$ (150 sq mi) | 602,430 | 1,506 |
| Vilnius District Municipality | Vilnius | Vilnius | Dzūkija | 2,129 km$^2$ (822 sq mi) | 106,197 | 49.88 |
| Visaginas Municipality | Visaginas | Utena | Aukštaitija | 58 km$^2$ (22 sq mi) | 19,584 | 337.7 |
| Zarasai District Municipality | Zarasai | Utena | Aukštaitija | 1,331 km$^2$ (514 sq mi) | 14,368 | 10.79 |