Regions of Slovakia

Since 1949 (except 1990–1996), Slovakia has been divided into a number of kraje (singular kraj; usually translated as "Regions" with capital R).[1] Their number, borders and functions have been changed several times. There are eight regions of Slovakia and they correspond to the EU's NUTS 3 level of local administrative units. Each kraj consists of okresy (counties or districts). There are 79 districts.

Regions of Slovakia
Kraje Slovenska
CategoryUnitary state
LocationSlovak Republic
Number8 Regions
Populations563,591 (Trnava) – 825,022 (Prešov)
Areas2,052.6 km2 (792.5 sq mi) (Bratislava) – 9,454.8 km2 (3,650.5 sq mi) (Banská Bystrica)
Government
  • Region government, National government
Subdivisions
  • District

List

After a period without kraje and without any equivalent (1990–1996), the kraje were reintroduced in 1996. As for administrative division, Slovakia has been subdivided into 8 kraje since 24 July 1996:

Flag Arms Region Capital Population (2022) Area (km2) Density NUTS level 3 Seats

in Regional Council

BratislavaBratislava 664,0002,052.6321.34SK010 50
TrnavaTrnava 556,0004,172.2135.08SK021 40
TrenčínTrenčín 577,0004,501.9130.14SK022 47
NitraNitra 682,0006,343.4106.67SK023 54
ŽilinaŽilina 685,0006,808.4101.54SK031 57
Banská BystricaBanská Bystrica 651,0009,454.868.52SK032 49
PrešovPrešov 831,0008,974.591.92SK041 62
KošiceKošice 795,0006,751.9118.32SK042 57
Total 5,441,000 49.035   111.3 416

Since 2002, Slovakia is divided into 8 samosprávne kraje (self-governing regions), which are called by the Constitution vyššie územné celky (Higher Territorial Units), abbr. VÚC. The territory and borders of the self-governing regions are identical with the territory and borders of the kraje. Therefore, the word "kraj" can be replaced by "VÚC" or "samosprávny kraj" in each case in the above list. The main difference is that organs of samosprávne kraje are self-governing, with an elected chairperson and assembly, while the organs of kraje are appointed by the government.

Name

The term "Region" (Slovak: kraj) should not be confused with:

  • the general (i.e. non-administrative) term "region" (Slovak: región) as it is used for example in the articles List of traditional regions of Slovakia or List of tourism regions of Slovakia
  • the 4 "regions" (Slovak: regióny or oblasti or zoskupenia krajov) that correspond to the NUTS 2 level, i.e. groups of several kraje, used by the Eurostat for statistical purposes. These are:
    • Bratislava SK 01 (Bratislava Region) – comprises only this single kraj
    • Západné Slovensko SK 02 (Western Slovakia) – Trnava, Trenčín and Nitra
    • Stredné Slovensko SK 03 (Central Slovakia) – Žilina and Banská Bystrica
    • Východné Slovensko SK 04 (Eastern Slovakia) – Prešov and Košice

History

Prior to 1949

Historically, Slovakia was not divided into kraje, but into counties (Slovak: župy or stolice). This was the case when present-day Slovakia was part of:

In 1928–1939 (and formally also 1945–1948) Slovakia as a whole formed the administrative unit "Slovak land" (Krajina slovenská) within Czechoslovakia.

24 December 1948/1 January 1949 – 30 June 1960
  • Bratislavský kraj (Bratislava Region)
  • Banskobystrický kraj (Banská Bystrica Region)
  • Košický kraj (Košice Region)
  • Nitriansky kraj (Nitra Region)
  • Prešovský kraj (Prešov Region)
  • Žilinský kraj (Žilina Region)

Each kraj was named after its principal city.

July 1, 1960 – December 19, 1990
  • Stredoslovenský kraj (Central Slovak Region)
  • Východoslovenský kraj (Eastern Slovak Region)
  • Západoslovenský kraj (Western Slovak Region)
  • Bratislava (before March 22, 1968, part of the Západoslovenský kraj, afterwards a partly separate entity; from January 1971 a separate kraj)

Note: The kraje were abolished from July 1, 1969, to December 28, 1970, and reintroduced then.

See also
  • List of traditional regions of Slovakia
  • List of tourism regions of Slovakia
  • Districts of Slovakia
  • Counties of Slovakia
  • Flags of Slovak Regions
  • ISO 3166-2:SK

References
  1. "Regions". Slovakia.com.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.