Administrative divisions of Albania
Administrative divisions of Albania Ndarja Administrative e Republikës së Shqipërisë (Albanian) | |
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Category | Unitary state |
Location | Albania |
Number | 12 counties 61 municipalities 373 administrative units 2,972 villages |
Populations | Total: 2,845,955 |
Areas | Total: 28,748 km2 (11,100 sq mi) |
Administrative Divisions of Albania |
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The administrative divisions of Albania comprise 12 counties, 61 municipalities, 373 administrative units, and 2,972 villages. Since its 1912 Declaration of Independence, Albania has reorganized its domestic administrative divisions 21 times. Its internal boundaries have been enlarged or subdivided into prefectures, counties, districts, subprefectures, municipalities, communes, neighborhoods or wards, villages, and localities.[1][2][3] The most recent changes were made in 2014 and enacted in 2015.
Main administrative divisions
Counties
The first level of government is constituted by the 12
Municipalities
The second level of government is constituted by the 61 municipalities (bashki/bashkitë). They are run by a mayor (kryebashkiak/kryebashkiaku) and a municipal council (këshill/këshilli bashkiak), elected every 4 years. Before 2015, a bashki was an urban municipality and only covered the jurisdiction of such cities. After 2015, the jurisdiction of the bashki was expanded to cover the nearby rural municipalities.[5][6]
Administrative units
The third level of government is constituted by the 373 ).
History
Ottoman Albania
At the beginning of the 20th century, the territory which now forms Albania was divided among the four separate
) at the village level.Revolutionary Albania
Following the successful
Principality of Albania
Separately, the
An entire chapter of the Organic Statute was devoted to the administrative division of Albania, explicitly preserving Ottoman names and terms. The primary division was into the 7 sanjaks of
The sanjaks were again divided into kaza, each administered by a kaymakam (kajmekam/kajmekami) and his council (këshill/këshilli i kazasë),[22] consisting of three members appointed by law—a secretary, a comptroller, and a director of land taxes—and four members appointed by the local councils and approved by the kaymakam.[23] The kaymakam was responsible for the kaza's finances and public services, including issuing passports,[24] and was required to answer to the sanjak's mutasarrif for a number of issues. The kaza was named and administered from the chief town in its district, headquartered at a city hall (bashki/bashkia).[a] Each municipal council was obliged to hold meetings at the city hall at least once a week.[8]
The kaza were again divided into
Kingdom of Albania
Under
The primary division was into 10 prefectures, each led by a prefect. The secondary division was into subprefectures, of which there were 39 in 1927 and 30 by 1934. The subprefects were nominated by the prefects.[30]
The subprefectures were initially divided into 69 provinces, which oversaw local administration through the chiefs of the 2351 villages.[7] In 1928, urban centers were reorganized as municipalities governed by a mayor and municipal council popularly elected every three years and rural areas were organized as 160 communes.[7]
Occupied Albania
Following the Italian occupation of Albania, the country was organized into 10 prefectures, 30 subprefectures, 23 municipalities, 136 communes, and 2551 villages.[7]
Communist Albania
Following the liberation of Albania in World War II, Albania maintained its 10 prefectures and 61 subprefectures but abolished its municipalities and communes. A census was conducted in September 1945, and Law No. 284 (dated 22 August 1946) reformed the internal administration of the country once again. It maintained the 10 prefectures, reduced the number of subprefectures to 39, and organized local government as localities (lokalitete/lokalitetet). In 1947, the subprefectures were replaced by 2 districts (rrathë/rrathët), with local government divided between towns, villages, and localities.[31] In 1953, Law No. 1707 replaced the prefectures with 10 counties divided into 49 districts and 30 localities. In July 1958, the counties were replaced with 26 districts, including a capital district for Tirana. These districts were divided into 203 localities, which oversaw 39 cities and 2655 villages. Larger cities were further divided into neighborhoods or wards (lagje/lagjet). In 1967, the localities were replaced by "unified villages" (fshatra/fshatrat i bashkuar). By 1968, the 26 districts were divided into 65 cities or urban municipalities (divided into 178 neighborhoods) and 437 unified villages or rural municipalities (divided into 2641 villages). This was largely maintained until the late 1980s. In 1990, the 26 districts were divided into 67 cities (divided into 306 neighborhoods) and 539 unified villages (divided into 2848 villages). The capital Tirana was divided into three regions, each of which was further divided into constituent neighborhoods.[7]
See also
- Counties, municipalities, communes, and villages of Albania
- Districts of Albania
- ISO 3166 codes for Albania
- Prefectures of Albania
- Regions of Albania
Notes
- ^ This is the same word as the current municipalities of Albania but at the time referred only to the central office of local government, which provided municipal services and saw the meetings of the municipal council.
References
Citations
- ^ 61 bashkitë do të drejtohen dhe shërbejnë sipas “modelit 1958”
- ^ "HARTA AD MINIST RATIVE TERRITORIALE E BASHKIVE TË SHQIPËRISË" (PDF). Reformaterritoriale.al. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2017-09-09.
- ^ a b "HARTA AD MINIST RATIVE TERRITORIALE E QARQEVE TË SHQIPËRISË" (PDF). Reformaterritoriale.al. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-09-05. Retrieved 2017-09-09.
- ^ "LIGJ Nr. 8927, date 25.7.2002 : Per Prefektin (Ndryshuar me Ligjin Nr. 49/2012 "Për Organizimin dhe Funksionimin e Gjykatave : Administrative dhe Gjykimin r Mosmarrëveshjeve Administrative"" (PDF). Planifikimi.gov.al. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2017-09-09.
- ^ "HARTA ADMINISTRATIVE TERRITORIALE E BASHKIVE TË SHQIPËRISË" (PDF). Ceshtjetvendore.gov.al. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-06. Retrieved 2017-09-09.
- ^ "STAR 2 – Consolidation of the Territorial and Administrative Reform".
- ^ a b c d e "Reforma Territoriale – Historik". Reformaterritoriale.al. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
- ^ a b c Statuti Organik i Shqipërisë (PDF) (in Albanian).
- ^ "Lo statuto dell'Albania – Prassi Italiana di Diritto Internazionale". www.prassi.cnr.it. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
- ^ Statuti Organik, Ch. VI, §95.
- ^ Statuti Organik, Ch. VI, §96.
- ^ a b Statuti Organik, Ch. VI, §98.
- ^ Clayer 2005, pp. 319, 324, 331.
- ^ Statuti Organik, Ch. VI, §100.
- ^ Statuti Organik, Ch. VI, §110.
- ^ Statuti Organik, Ch. VI, §111.
- ^ Statuti Organik, Ch. VI, §106.
- ^ Statuti Organik, Ch. VI, §101.
- ^ Statuti Organik, Ch. VI, §103.
- ^ Statuti Organik, Ch. VI, §108.
- ^ Statuti Organik, Ch. VI, §104.
- ^ Statuti Organik, Ch. VI, §119.
- ^ Statuti Organik, Ch. VI, §125.
- ^ Statuti Organik, Ch. VI, §123.
- ^ Statuti Organik, Ch. VI, §132.
- ^ Statuti Organik, Ch. VI, §133.
- ^ Statuti Organik, Ch. VI, §134.
- ^ Statuti Organik, Ch. VI, §135.
- ^ Statuti Organik, Ch. VI, §136.
- ^ ""Historia e ndarjes administrative nga Ismail Qemali në '92"". Panorama.com.al. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
- ^ "Historia e ndarjes administrative nga Ismail Qemali në '92". Shtetiweb.org. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
Bibliography
- Clayer, Nathalie (2005). "The Albanian students of the Mekteb-i Mülkiye: Social networks and trends of thought". In Özdalga, Elisabeth (ed.). Late Ottoman Society: The Intellectual Legacy. Routledge. ISBN 9780415341646.