Category Unitary state Number 29 districts | Location Republic of Serbia | |
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Populations 91,754 (Toplica District) – 615 371 (South Bačka) Areas 1,250 km (482 sq mi) (Podunavlje) – 6,100 km (2,370 sq mi) (Zlatibor) Government District government, National government | ||
Districts (Serbian: Окрузи, Okruzi), officially called administrative districts (управни окрузи, upravni okruzi) are the administrative units of Serbia, comprising several municipalities and/or cities each. They are defined by the Government of Serbia's Enactment of 29 January 1992. Districts are regional centers of state authority and they do not have any form of self-government. They run affairs in the name of the Government.
Contents
There are 29 districts in Serbia (7 in Vojvodina, 8 in Šumadija and Western Serbia, 9 in Southern and Eastern Serbia and 5 in Kosovo and Metohija). The only part of Serbia that is not part of any district is the territory of the City of Belgrade which has a special status, very similar to that of a district. Every districts has its seat in the largest city of the district.
Term
The Slavic word okrug (округ) denotes administrative subdivision in some states. Its etymology is similar to the German Kreis, circle (in the meaning of administrative division) (although translated in German as Bezirk): okrug is literally something "encircling". In the subdivisions of Serbia, the term is translated as district, sometimes as county.
Definition
The territorial organisation of Serbia is regulated by the Law on Territorial Organization, adopted by the National Assembly on 29 December 2007. According to the Law, the territorial organization of the republic comprises municipalities and cities, the City of Belgrade with special status, and autonomous provinces. Districts are not mentioned in this law but are defined by the Government of Serbia's Enactment of 29 January 1992. They are defined as the districts as "regional centers of state authority", enacting affairs run by the relevant Ministries.
Serbia is divided into 29 districts (8 in Šumadija and Western Serbia, 9 in Southern and Eastern Serbia, 7 in Vojvodina and 5 in Kosovo and Metohija), plus the City of Belgrade. The City of Belgrade is not part of any district, but has a special status very similar to that of a district.
Districts of Kosovo
Serbian laws treat Kosovo and Metohija as integral part of Serbia (Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija). The Enactment defines five districts on the territory of Kosovo. But, since 1999, Kosovo is under United Nations' administration of UNMIK. In 2000, the UNMIK administration changed territorial organisation on the territory of Kosovo. All five districts were abolished, and seven new districts were created. Serbian government does not recognize this move, and accepts only five pre-2000 districts.
Districts in Kosovo and Metohija
Five of Serbian Districts are on the territory of Kosovo, comprising 28 municipalities and 1 city. In 2000, UNMIK created 7 new districts and 30 municipalities. Serbia does not exercise sovereignty over this polity. For the UNMIK districts and the districts of Kosovo, see Districts of Kosovo. Because the Serbian government has no control over Kosovo since it declared independence, it was not included in Serbia's 2011 census. For current demographic information about Kosovo, see Kosovo's 2011 census.