Administrative districts of Serbia

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The administrative districts (Template:Langx) of Serbia are deconcentrated coordination units of the central government, established under the 2005 Law on State Administration and implemented through government decrees. They are not administrative divisions, as the administrative divisions of Serbia are constitutionally defined units of self-governance or autonomy, but rather regional operational centers serving ministerial field offices (such as branches of inspection authorities). Each has a territorial remit matching a certain cluster of municipalities and cities (which are constitutionally and statutorily defined administrative divisions).

Originally instituted by a 1992 government decree, there are 29 administrative districts, with the City of Belgrade having similar status.<ref name="facts">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Following the 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence, the districts created by the UNMIK-Administration were adopted by Kosovo. The Serbian government does not recognize these districts.

Territorially, an administrative district is merely a designation of the territorial remit of a given regional centre of state administration, through which the central government exercises its power within a hierarchical structure. In practical and organizational terms, administrative districts are often small field offices coordinating deconcentrated state functions with no independent decision-making authority. Each is headed by a government-appointed functionary-level official titled Head of the Administrative District.

The administrative districts are generally named after historical and geographical regions, though some, such as the Pčinja District and the Nišava District, are named after local rivers. Their areas and populations vary, ranging from the relatively-small Podunavlje District to the much larger Zlatibor District. The term okrug (pl. okruzi) means "circuit" and corresponds (in literal meaning) to {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} in the German language. Prior to a 2006 decree, the administrative districts were named simply districts.

Definition

Administrative districts were first defined by the decree of the Government of Serbia on 29 January 1992, which specified that ministries and other national-level agencies shall conduct their affairs outside their headquarters (i.e. outside the seat of government) via regional offices that they may establish per the designated clusters of municipalities (named only "districts"), also designating the administrative seat of each district ("regional centre of state administration").<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The 2005 Law on Public Administration provided a legal definition of a district, under the term "administrative district".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

An administrative district shall be established for the execution of state administration tasks outside
the headquarters of the state administration authority.Template:Br...Template:BrThe Government shall establish administrative districts by its regulation, by which it shall also determine areas and seats of administrative districts. {{#if:|

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In 2006, the Government enacted the Decree on Administrative Districts, which renamed the districts into administrative districts.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The territorial organisation of Serbia is regulated by the Law on Territorial Organisation, adopted by the National Assembly on 29 December 2007. According to the Law, the territorial organisation of Serbia comprises municipalities and cities, the City of Belgrade with special status, and autonomous provinces.<ref name="law">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Dead link</ref><ref name="Naša Mesta-2020">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Template:Em subject to this law, or even mentioned in it, administrative districts are not territorial organization units. Serbia's territory is not politically subdivided into them, and rather than being further divisible into municipalities, each overlaps with its corresponding cluster of municipalities. As such, administrative districts are not articulations of local governance or autonomy and are purely a mechanism of deconcentration (the weakest form of decentralization), remaining dependent on the central executive branch.<ref name="Naša Mesta-2020" /><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

As extensions of the central government that lack standalone institutional personality, administrative districts do not possess flags or coats of arms distinct from the national symbols of Serbia.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

List of districts

Under the Law on Public Administration, administrative districts are formed by the Government by its Decree on Administrative Districts, which also determines the territory and head office of each administrative district. There are 29 administrative districts in the Republic of Serbia.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

District	Seat	Area in km²	Population	Population per km²	Municipalities and cities	Settlements
Bor District (Borski okrug)	Bor	3,507	101,100	28.8	City of Bor Kladovo Majdanpek Negotin	90
Braničevo District (Braničevski okrug)	Požarevac	3,865	156,367	40.5	City of Požarevac Golubac Kučevo Malo Crniće Petrovac Veliko Gradište Žabari Žagubica	189
Central Banat District (Srednjobanatski okrug)	Zrenjanin	3,256	157,711	48.4	City of Zrenjanin Novi Bečej Nova Crnja Sečanj Žitište	55
Jablanica District (Jablanički okrug)	Leskovac	2,769	184,502	66.6	City of Leskovac Bojnik Crna Trava Lebane Medveđa Vlasotince	336
Kolubara District (Kolubarski okrug)	Valjevo	2,474	154,497	62.4	City of Valjevo Lajkovac Ljig Mionica Osečina Ub	218
Mačva District (Mačvanski okrug)	Šabac	3,268	265,377	81.2	Bogatić City of Šabac City of Loznica Vladimirci Koceljeva Krupanj Ljubovija Mali Zvornik	228
Moravica District (Moravički okrug)	Čačak	3,016	189,281	62.8	City of Čačak Gornji Milanovac Ivanjica Lučani	206
Nišava District (Nišavski okrug)	Niš	2,729	343,950	126.0	City of Niš Aleksinac Doljevac Gadžin Han Merošina Ražanj Svrljig	285
North Bačka District (Severnobački okrug)	Subotica	1,784	160,163	89.8	City of Subotica Bačka Topola Mali Iđoš	45
North Banat District (Severnobanatski okrug)	Kikinda	2,329	117,896	50.6	City of Kikinda Ada Čoka Kanjiža Novi Kneževac Senta	50
Pčinja District (Pčinjski okrug)	Vranje	3,520	193,802	55.1	City of Vranje Bosilegrad Bujanovac Preševo Surdulica Trgovište Vladičin Han	363
Pirot District (Pirotski okrug)	Pirot	2,761	76,700	27.8	City of Pirot Babušnica Bela Palanka Dimitrovgrad	214
Podunavlje District (Podunavski okrug)	Smederevo	1,248	175,573	140.7	City of Smederevo Smederevska Palanka Velika Plana	58
Pomoravlje District (Pomoravski okrug) File:Pomoravski okrug.PNG	Jagodina	2,614	182,047	69.6	City of Jagodina Ćuprija Despotovac Paraćin Rekovac Svilajnac	191
Rasina District (Rasinski okrug) File:Rasinski okrug.PNG	Kruševac	2,667	207,197	77.7	City of Kruševac Aleksandrovac Brus Ćićevac Trstenik Varvarin	296
Raška District (Raški okrug) File:Raški okrug.PNG	Kraljevo	3,918	296,532	75.7	City of Kraljevo City of Novi Pazar Raška Tutin Vrnjačka Banja	359
South Bačka District (Južnobački okrug) File:Južnobački okrug.PNG	Novi Sad	4,016	607,178	151.2	City of Novi Sad Bač Bačka Palanka Bački Petrovac Bečej Beočin Srbobran Sremski Karlovci Temerin Titel Vrbas Žabalj	77
South Banat District (Južnobanatski okrug) File:Južnobanatski okrug.PNG	Pančevo	4,245	260,244	61.3	City of Pančevo City of Vršac Alibunar Bela Crkva Kovin Kovačica Opovo Plandište	94
Srem District (Sremski okrug) File:Sremski okrug.PNG	Sremska Mitrovica	3,486	282,547	81.1	City of Sremska Mitrovica Inđija Irig Pećinci Ruma Stara Pazova Šid	109
Šumadija District (Šumadijski okrug) File:Šumadijski okrug.PNG	Kragujevac	2,387	269,728	113.0	City of Kragujevac Aranđelovac Batočina Knić Lapovo Rača Topola	174
Toplica District (Toplički okrug) File:Toplički okrug.PNG	Prokuplje	2,231	77,341	34.7	City of Prokuplje Blace Kuršumlija Žitorađa	267
West Bačka District (Zapadnobački okrug) File:Zapadnobački okrug.PNG	Sombor	2,420	154,491	63.8	City of Sombor Apatin Kula Odžaci	37
Zaječar District (Zaječarski okrug) File:Zaječarski okrug.PNG	Zaječar	3,623	96,715	26.7	City of Zaječar Boljevac Knjaževac Sokobanja	173
Zlatibor District (Zlatiborski okrug) File:Zlatiborski okrug.PNG	Užice	6,140	254,659	41.5	City of Užice Arilje Bajina Bašta Čajetina Kosjerić Nova Varoš Požega Priboj Prijepolje Sjenica	438
Kosovo District Template:Efn (Kosovski okrug) File:Kosovski okrug.PNG	Priština	3,310	570,835	172.5	Glogovac Kačanik Kosovo Polje Lipljan Obilić Podujevo Priština Štimlje Štrpce Uroševac
Kosovo-Pomoravlje District Template:Efn (Kosovsko-pomoravski okrug) File:Kosovsko-Pomoravski okrug.PNG	Gnjilane	1,389	184,864	133.1	Gnjilane Kosovska Kamenica Novo Brdo Vitina
Kosovska Mitrovica District Template:Efn (Kosovsko-mitrovački okrug) File:Kosovskomitrovički okrug.PNG	Kosovska Mitrovica	2,053	234,262	114.1	Kosovska Mitrovica Leposavić Srbica Vučitrn Zubin Potok Zvečan
Peć District Template:Efn (Pećki okrug) File:Pećki okrug.PNG	Peć	2,459	351,680	143.2	Dečani Đakovica Istok Klina Peć
Prizren District Template:Efn (Prizrenski okrug) File:Prizrenski okrug.PNG	Prizren	2,196	319,330	145.4	Gora Orahovac Prizren Suva Reka