Administrative divisions of Moldova

Moldova

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Currently, Moldova is divided into 37 first-tier units: 32 districts (Romanian: raioane; see also raions), 3 municipalities (Chişinău, Bălţi, and Bender/Tighina^[1]), one autonomous territorial unit (Gagauzia), and one territorial unit (Transnistria). The final status of the latter has not been settled yet, as the region, such as defined administratively, is not under the control of Moldovan authorities. The cities of Comrat and Tiraspol also have municipality status, but are not among first-tier units of Moldova; they are the seats of Gagauzia, respectively Transnistria. The 32 districts are:

Current administrative divisions of Moldova

Localities

Moldova has a total of 982 incorporated localities (i.e. theoretically 982 mayors and 982 local councils), of which 5 have municipality status, 60 have city status, and 917 villages with commune status. They cover the entire area of the country. Another 699 villages are too small to have a separate administration, and are part of either cities (35 of them), or communes (664). This makes for a total of 1,681 localities of Moldova, all but one of which are inhabited.

The status of Chişinău, Bălţi, and Bender as municipalities and first-level territorial units of the country allows their suburb villages to have, when large enough, own mayor and local council. By contrast, the villages that are administratively part of (some of) the other cities do not retain self-rule.

Note: Areas not under central government control include:

• Transnistria, which with the exception of seven communes (comprising a total of 10 villages) corresponds to the geographic part of Moldova situated to the east of the Dniestr (Romanian: Nistru) river, is de jure a part of Moldova, but in reality it is governed by breakaway authorities. (See also: War of Transnistria.) The city of Dubăsari (administratively in Transnistria, and not in the Dubăsari district), and the six communes (administratively in the Dubăsari district of Moldova), controlled by Chişinău (except the village of Roghi in commune Molovata Nouă, which is controlled by Tiraspol), form the northern part of the security zone.
• Bender/Tighina municipality (the city itself, and the commune Proteagailovca), and three communes (five villages) of Căuşeni district (Gîsca, Chiţcani, and Cremenciug) are de facto controlled by the breakaway regime of Transnistria. Together with one the commune Varniţa of Anenii Noi district and the commune Copanca of Căuşeni district under Moldovan control, these localities form the southern part of the security zone. The city of Bender/Tighina has both a Moldovan police force (mostly symbolic) and a Transnistrian militsiya force (de facto in charge in most instances).

Trivia

• There is a city Mărculeşti, and a different commune Mărculeşti in Moldova, both situated in the Floreşti district
• There is a city Costeşti, Rîşcani district, population 2,247 (with 4 suburb villages population 4,109), the 8th smallest city in Moldova, and a commune (village) Costeşti, Ialoveni district, population 11,128, the 2nd largest village in Moldova
• There is one commune, Cigârleni, Ialoveni district, population 2,411, and 42 villages of sub-commune level (population varying from 1 to 673), with 100% Moldovan (Romanian) population
• Village (hamlet) Ivanovca, commune Natalievca, Făleşti district, population 19, inhabitted by 14 Russians and 5 Ukrainains, is one of the only two localities in Moldova without ethnic Moldovans (Romanians). The other one is village Stălineşti, commune Corestăuţi, Ocniţa district, population 0.
• The smallest entity electing a mayor is commune Salcia, Taraclia district, population 441. It consists of the village Salcia, population 382, and the village Orehovca, population 59.
• The largest number of villages in a Moldavian commune is 6. This is the case for communes Tătărăuca Veche, Soroca district, population 2,203, and Natalievca, Făleşti district, population 2,231. A mayor for 6 localities is also found in the city of Anenii Noi, population 11,463, of which 3,105 in the 5 suburban villages. On the opposite end, 41 of the 65 cities, and over half the villages of Moldova elect a mayor alone.

Previous divisions

Former counties of Moldova. The Chişinău municipality is incorrectly lumped on this map with the Chişinău County, although they were two distinct units.

Between 1998 and February 2003, Moldova was divided into 12 territorial units, including 1 municipality, 1 autonomous territorial unit, 1 territorial unit, and 9 counties (Romanian: judeţe; seats in brackets):

References

External links

• Moldovan Ministry of Local Public Administration
• Law № 764-XV/2001 on the administrative organization of the Republic of Moldova available on Wikisource.
  • Modification 37-XV-14.02.2003
  • Modification 124-XV-18.03.2003
• Moldovan Law 431-XIII from April 19, 1995, Monitorul Oficial al Republicii Moldova, no. 31-32/340, June 9, 1995