View source for Former administrative divisions of Romania

The 41 '''[[județ]]e''' ({{langx|en|counties}}) and the [[municipality]] of [[Bucharest]] comprise the official administrative divisions of [[Romania]]. They also represent the [[European Union]]' s [[Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics|NUTS]]-3 [[geocode]] statistical subdivision scheme of Romania.

==Overview==
{{main|Administrative divisions of Romania}}
[[File:RomaniaBorderHistoryAnnimation 1859-2010.gif|thumb|300px|right|Territorial evolution of Romania, 1859-present (animated map).]]
The earliest organization into ''județe'' of the Principalities of [[Wallachia]], respectively ''ținuturi'' of [[Moldavia]], dates back at least to the late 14th century.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.valcea.insse.ro/main.php?lang=fr&pageid=509 |title=Atestari documentare |access-date=2010-01-23 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720210114/http://www.valcea.insse.ro/main.php?lang=fr&pageid=509 |archive-date=2011-07-20 }}</ref> Each ''județ'', respectively ''ținut'', was ruled by a ''jude'', respectively ''[[Burgrave|pârcălab]]'', an officially appointed person who had administrative and judicial functions in a manner inspired from the organization of the late [[Byzantine Empire]]. [[Transylvania]], when it was part of the historic [[Kingdom of Hungary]] (in the Middle Ages), an [[Principality of Transylvania (1571–1711)|independent Principality]] or a [[Habsburg monarchy|Habsburg]] domain (in the modern era until World War I) was divided into [[Comitatus (Kingdom of Hungary)|royal counties]] ([[Latin]]: ''comitatus''), headed by ''comes'' (royal counts) with administrative and judicial functions. The term ''județ'' started to be used in [[Romanian language|Romanian]] as a general term for all administrative divisions since the mid 19th century.
{{Romanian counties map| width=400px |Map=Romania counties blank big.png}}
When modern Romania was formed in 1859 through the [[United Principalities|union of Wallachia and rump Moldavia]], and then extended in 1918 through the [[Union of Transylvania with Romania|union of Transylvania]], as well as [[Bukovina]] and [[Bessarabia]] (parts of Moldavia temporarily acquired by respectively the Habsburgs, 1775–1918, and the [[Russian Empire|Russian Tsars]], 1812–1917), the administrative division was modernized using the [[Departments of France|French departments]] system as model. With the exception of the [[Communist Romania|Communist period]], this system remained in place. A ''[[Prefect (Romania)|prefect]]'' (from the Latin ''[[praefectus]]'') is appointed for each ''județ''. The prefect is the representative of the government in the county and the head of the local administration in the areas not devolved to local authorities. Until 1950, each ''județ'' was divided into a number of ''[[plasă|plăși]]'' (singular ''plasă''), each administered by a ''pretor'' (from the Latin ''[[praetor]]''), appointed by the ''prefect''. Currently, Romania has no NUTS-4 units, the counties being composed directly of [[city|cities]] (with or without [[municipality]] status) and [[Communes of Romania|communes]].

As in all modern democracies, the political power in Romania is divided into three independent branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. The ''prefect'' and his administration have only executive prerogatives. However, the territorial districts of the Romanian judicial system overlap with county borders, thus avoiding further complication. At the same time with local elections (of mayors and councilors for the cities and communes), a County Council (''consiliu județean'') is directly elected for each county, and, since 2008, the President of the County Council is also elected by direct vote. As of now, the legislative powers of county councils are quite reduced, but there are plans for more decentralization. (These plans, however, call for introduction of Regional Councils for the 8 [[Development regions of Romania|development regions]] of the NUTS-2 level.)

==Before World War I==
As of 1872,  [[United Principalities|Romania]] was organized into 33 counties of which 17 were in Wallachia (12 in [[Muntenia]] and 5 in [[Oltenia]]), and 16 were in Moldavia (13 in [[western Moldavia]] and 3 in [[Southern Bessarabia]]: [[Cahul County]], [[Bolgrad County]], [[Ismail County]]).<ref>[http://bmim.muzeulbucurestiului.ro/fisiere/21-Bucuresti-Materiale-de-Istorie-si-Muzeografie-XXI-2007_061.pdf O lucrare enciclopedica despre Romania, aparuta in primii ani de domnie ai lui Carol I] {{in lang|ro}}</ref>

After [[Romanian War of Independence|Independence]], Romania lost Southern Bessarabia and received [[Northern Dobruja]]. The [[Romanian Old Kingdom]] was divided into 32 counties, with the following seats:
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* [[Argeș County]] – [[Pitești]]
* [[Bacău County]] – [[Bacău]]
* [[Botoșani County]] – [[Botoșani]]
* [[Brăila County]] – [[Brăila]]
* [[Buzău County]] – [[Buzău]]
* [[Constanța County]] – [[Constanța]]
** [[Silistra Nouă County]] (1878–1879, merged into Constanța County) – [[Rasova, Constanța|Rasova]]/[[Cernavodă]]/[[Medgidia]]
* [[Covurlui County]] – [[Galați]]
* [[Dâmbovița County]] – [[Târgoviște]]
* [[Dolj County]] – [[Craiova]]
* [[Dorohoi County]] – [[Dorohoi]]
* [[Fălciu County]] – [[Huși]]
* [[Gorj County]] – [[Târgu Jiu]]
* [[Ialomița County]] – [[Călărași]]
* [[Iași County]] – [[Iași]]
* [[Ilfov County]] – [[București]]
* [[Mehedinți County]] – [[Turnu Severin]]
* [[Muscel County]] – [[Câmpulung]]
* [[Neamț County]] – [[Piatra Neamț]]
* [[Olt County]] – [[Slatina, Romania|Slatina]]
* [[Prahova County]] – [[Ploiești]]
* [[Putna County]] – [[Focșani]]
* [[Râmnicu Sărat County]] – [[Râmnicu Sărat]]
* [[Roman County]] – [[Roman, Romania|Roman]]
* [[Romanați County]] – [[Caracal, Romania|Caracal]]
* [[Suceava County]] – [[Fălticeni]]
* [[Tecuci County]] – [[Tecuci]]
* [[Teleorman County]] – [[Turnu Măgurele]]
* [[Tulcea County]] – [[Tulcea]]
* [[Tutova County]] – [[Bârlad]]
* [[Vaslui County]] – [[Vaslui]]
* [[Vâlcea County]] – [[Râmnicu Vâlcea]]
* [[Vlașca County]] – [[Giurgiu]]
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[[File:Romania administrative divisions, 1864.svg|thumb|250px|right|Counties of Romania, 1864–1878]]
[[File:Romania Judete Antebelice (RO).svg|thumb|250px|right|Counties of Romania, 1878–1912]]
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After the [[Second Balkan War]], Romania was awarded the [[Southern Dobruja|southern part of Dobrudja]], between the [[Danube]], [[Rusenski Lom|Beli Lom River]], [[Kamchiya River]], and the [[Black Sea]], which was divided into two counties:
* [[Durostor County]] – [[Silistra]]
* [[Caliacra County]] – [[Bazargic]]

==Interwar Romania==
[[File:Judete 1919-25.png|thumb|250px|right|Administrative organizations of the Kingdom of Romania between 1919 and 1925]]
[[File:Propunere judete si regiuni 1920.png|thumb|right|250px|The original proposal for the administrative unification of interwar Romania ([[Simion Mehedinți]] Commission, 1920) aimed to create 48 counties and 9 regions<ref>https://www.scribd.com/doc/54995655/Organizarea-Administrativ-Teritoriala, pg.94-95</ref>]]
[[File:Romania 1930 counties.500px.svg|thumb|right|250px|The 71 counties of Romania between 1927 and 1938 with their subdivisions (''[[plasă|plăși]]'')]]
Between 1919 and 1925 the specifics of the administrative organization in the new territories were kept. It consisted of about 76 counties or parts of counties.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.statoids.com/uro.html|title = Romania Counties}}</ref> In 1923 Romania adopted a [[1923 Constitution of Romania|new Constitution]], and it unified the traditional administrative systems of Transylvania, Bukovina and Bessarabia with that of the [[Romanian Old Kingdom]]. County borders were kept largely intact, with only a couple minor adjustments. As a result of the 1925 administrative unification law, the territory was divided into 71 counties, 489 districts (''[[plasă|plăși]]'') and 8,879 [[Communes of Romania|communes]].

Some of the 71 ''județe'' still exist today, a number were lost during World War II, and some became defunct. The latter ones are:
* [[Baia County]]{{spaced ndash}}divided between [[Neamț County|Neamț]], [[Suceava County|Suceava]] and [[Iași County|Iași]]
* [[Caraș County]]{{spaced ndash}}merged with Severin to form [[Caraș-Severin County|Caraș-Severin]]
* [[Câmpulung County]]{{spaced ndash}}merged with [[Suceava County|Suceava]]
* [[Ciuc County]]{{spaced ndash}}merged with [[Odorhei County|Odorhei]] and renamed to [[Harghita County|Harghita]]
* [[Covurlui County]]{{spaced ndash}}merged into [[Galați County|Galați]]
* [[Dorohoi County]]{{spaced ndash}}merged with [[Botoșani County|Botoșani]]
* [[Făgăraș County]]{{spaced ndash}}divided between [[Brașov County|Brașov]] and [[Sibiu County|Sibiu]]
* [[Fălciu County]]{{spaced ndash}}merged with [[Vaslui County|Vaslui]]
* [[Ialomița County#Historical county|Ialomița County]]{{spaced ndash}}divided between [[Ialomița County|Ialomița]] and [[Călărași County|Călărași]]
* [[Muscel County]]{{spaced ndash}}merged with [[Argeș County|Argeș]]
* [[Odorhei County]]{{spaced ndash}}merged with [[Ciuc County|Ciuc]] and renamed to [[Harghita County|Harghita]]
* [[Putna County]]{{spaced ndash}}renamed to [[Vrancea County|Vrancea]]
* [[Rădăuți County]]{{spaced ndash}}merged with [[Suceava County|Suceava]]
* [[Râmnicu Sărat County]]{{spaced ndash}}divided between [[Vrancea County|Vrancea]], [[Buzău County|Buzău]] and [[Brăila County|Brăila]]
* [[Roman County]]{{spaced ndash}} merged with [[Neamț County|Neamț]]
* [[Romanați County]]{{spaced ndash}}divided between [[Dolj County|Dolj]] and [[Olt County|Olt]]
* [[Severin County]]{{spaced ndash}}merged with [[Caraș County|Caraș]] to form [[Caraș-Severin County|Caraș-Severin]]
* [[Someș County]]{{spaced ndash}}divided between [[Maramureș County]], [[Cluj County|Cluj]], [[Sălaj County|Sălaj]] and [[Bistrița-Năsăud]]
* [[Târnava Mică County]]{{spaced ndash}}divided between [[Alba County|Alba]], [[Sibiu County|Sibiu]] and [[Mureș County|Mureș]]
* [[Târnava Mare County]]{{spaced ndash}}divided between [[Brașov County|Brașov]], [[Sibiu County|Sibiu]] and [[Mureș County|Mureș]]
* [[Tecuci County]]{{spaced ndash}}divided between [[Galați County|Galați]], [[Bacău County|Bacău]] and [[Vaslui County|Vaslui]]
* [[Timiș-Torontal County]]{{spaced ndash}}renamed to [[Timiș County|Timiș]]
* [[Trei Scaune County]]{{spaced ndash}}renamed to [[Covasna County|Covasna]]
* [[Turda County]]{{spaced ndash}}divided between [[Cluj County|Cluj]] and [[Alba County|Alba]]
* [[Tutova County]]{{spaced ndash}}merged with [[Vaslui County|Vaslui]]
* [[Vlașca County]]{{spaced ndash}}renamed to [[Giurgiu County|Giurgiu]]

=== Ținuturi: 1938–1940<span class="anchor" id="Ținuturi: 1938 - 1940"></span> ===
[[File:Tinuturi Romania.svg|thumb|right|350px| The regions of Romania (August 14, 1938 – September 16, 1940)]]
[[File:Tinuturi_Romania_septembrie_1940.svg|thumb|right|350px|The regions of Romania (September 16–22, 1940)]]
As a part of [[Carol II of Romania|King Carol II]]'s administrative reform of August 14, 1938, 10 regions (''ținuturi'') were created, which each included several of the existing 71 counties. The counties were preserved as administrative units, but most of their responsibilities were transferred to the new regions. Each region was headed by a regional governor (''Rezident Regal''), who supervised the [[Prefect (Romania)|county prefects]], and each region had a regional council. The regional governor was appointed directly by the King.<ref>Administrative Law published in „Monitorul Oficial”, Part 1, Nr. 187 from 14 August 1938</ref>
The aim of the new regions was to connect poorer and richer counties and to break up the historical regions ([[Bessarabia]], [[Bukovina]], [[Transylvania]] etc.). However, the old regionalisms continued under the new brand (e.g. [[Transylvania]]n regionalism in [[Ținutul Mureș]] and [[Bukovina|Bukovinian]] regionalism in [[Ținutul Suceava]]).
The new regions were short-lived: all regions but [[Ținutul Jiu|Ținutul Olt]] and [[Ținutul Timiș]] had lost territory in September 1940, following the cession of [[Bessarabia]] and Northern Bukovina to the USSR, the [[Second Vienna Award]] and the [[Treaty of Craiova]]. After the fall of Carol II's personal regime (the so-called royal dictatorship) on September 6, 1940, the Ținuturi [[Ținutul Timiș|Timiș]], [[Ținutul Mureș|Mureș]], [[Ținutul Mării|Mării]], [[Ținutul Dunării|Dunărea de Jos]], [[Ținutul Prut|Prut]] and [[Ținutul Suceava|Suceava]] were restructured on September 16, 1940.<ref>Decree-Law Nr. 3119 from 13 September 1940, published in „Monitorul Oficial”, Part 1, Nr. 215 from 16 September 1940, p. 5422</ref> All the regions were abolished only a couple of days later, on September 22, 1940.<ref>Decree-Law Nr. 3219 from 21 September 1940, published in „Monitorul Oficial”, Part 1, Nr. 221 from 22 September 1940, pp. 5530-5532</ref><ref>Philippe Henri Blasen: Suceava Region, Upper Land, Greater Bukovina or just Bukovina? Carol II's Administrative Reform in North-Eastern Romania (1938-1940), in: Anuarul Institutului de Istorie 'A. D. Xenopol', supplement, 2015; <br> Philippe Henri Blasen: Terrorisme légionnaire et ordonnances antisémites. La Région Suceava d’octobre 1938 à septembre 1940, in: Archiva Moldaviae 2018.</ref><br>
According to the Official Journal of August 14, 1938, the 10 regions and their capitals were the following:
{|
|-
!Region
!Capital
|-
|[[Ținutul Olt]] (draft version: Ținutul Jiu)
|[[Craiova]]
|-
|[[Ținutul Bucegi]] (draft version: Ținutul Argeș)
|[[Bucharest]]
|-
|[[Ținutul Mării]]
|[[Constanța]]
|-
|[[Ținutul Dunărea de Jos]] (draft version: Ținutul Dunării)
|[[Galați]]
|-
|[[Ținutul Nistru]]
|[[Chișinău]]
|-
|[[Ținutul Prut]]
|[[Iași]]
|-
|[[Ținutul Suceava]]
|[[Cernăuți]]
|-
|[[Ținutul Mureș]]
|[[Alba-Iulia]]
|-
|[[Ținutul Someș]] (draft version: Ținutul Crișuri)
|[[Cluj-Napoca|Cluj]]
|-
|[[Ținutul Timiș]]
|[[Timișoara]]
|}
Several regions had been given other names in the draft version of the Law (mentioned between brackets). All regions were named after rivers, except Ținutul Mării, i.e. the [[Black Sea|(Black) Sea]] Region, and Ținutul Bucegi, called after the [[Bucegi Mountains]].<ref>Philippe Henri Blasen: Suceava Region, Upper Land, Greater Bukovina or just Bukovina? Carol II's Administrative Reform in North-Eastern Romania (1938–1940), in: Anuarul Institutului de Istorie 'A. D. Xenopol', supplement, 2015</ref>

== World War II changes==
{{main|Administrative divisions of the Kingdom of Romania (1941–1944)}}

===Bessarabia===
After the recovery of Bessarabia, the [[Bessarabia Governorate (Romania)|Bessarabia Governorate]] with capital at Chișinău was established in 1941 and existed until 1944. It included the counties of  Bălți, Cetatea Albă, Cahul, [[Chilia County|Chilia]] (newly established), Ismail, Lăpușna, Orhei, Soroca and Tighina.

===Bukovina===
Following the recapture of Northern Bukovina, the [[Bukovina Governorate]] with capital at [[Chernivtsi|Cernăuți]] (Chernivtsi) existed from 1941 to 1944. It included the counties of Câmpulung, Cernăuți, Dorohoi, Hotin, Rădăuți, Storojineț and Suceava.

===Administration of Transnistria (1941–1944)<span class="anchor" id="Administration of Transnistria (1941-44)"></span>===
[[File:ROMANIA MAI 1942.png|thumb|right|300px|Administrative divisions of Romania in 1942]]
This territory was administered by Romania briefly in 1941–1944, when the country was governed by a military dictatorship allied with [[Nazi Germany]]. It consisted of formerly proper Soviet territory between [[Dniester]] and [[Southern Bug]] rivers. Nowadays, most of it is in [[Ukraine]], with small parts in the [[Republic of Moldova]] ([[Transnistria]]). This territory was kept under Romanian military occupation, and was not annexed by Romania. It was divided into 13 counties:
{{columns-list|colwidth=15em|
*Ananiev County
*Balta County
*Berezovca County
*Dubăsari County
*Golta County
*Jugastru County
*Moghilău County
*Oceacov County
*Odesa County
*Ovidiopol County
*Râbnița County
*Tiraspol County
*Tulcin County
}}

===Lost during and after the war===
;To Bulgaria
In 1913, as a result of the [[Second Balkan War]], Romania acquired [[Southern Dobruja]] from [[Bulgaria]], annexing this historical region within Romania's borders. In 1940, Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy forced Romania to return it to Bulgaria (''see [[Treaty of Craiova]]''). Romania did not reclaim this area neither after the end of World War II nor at the fall of communism.  
* [[Caliacra County|Caliacra]] (now [[Dobrich Province]], [[Bulgaria]])
* [[Durostor County|Durostor]] (now [[Silistra Province]], Bulgaria)

;To the Soviet Union
In 1940, Soviet Union [[Soviet occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina|occupied]] [[Bessarabia]], northern [[Bukovina]], and the [[Hertsa region]] (the latter part of [[Dorohoi County]] in a rump Moldavia). Since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, these territories have been part of the newly independent [[Moldova]] and [[Ukraine]].

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'''in Moldova'''
*[[Bălți County (Romania)|Bălți County]]
*[[Cahul County (Romania)|Cahul County]]
*southern half of [[Hotin County]]
*[[Orhei County (Romania)|Orhei County]]
*[[Lăpușna County (Romania)|Lăpușna County]]
*[[Soroca County (Romania)|Soroca County]]
*[[Tighina County (Romania)|Tighina County]]
*a small part of [[Ismail County]]
*a small part of [[Cetatea Albă County]]
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'''in Ukraine'''
*[[Cernăuți County]]
*largest part of [[Cetatea Albă County]]
*[[Hertsa region]] (a small part of [[Dorohoi County]])
*northern half of [[Hotin County]]
*largest part of [[Ismail County]]
*part of [[Rădăuți County]]
*[[Storojineț County]]{{col-end}}

==Communist Romania==
===People's Republic of Romania===
{{See also|Administrative divisions of the People's Republic of Romania}}
In 1951, the [[Romanian Workers' Party]] changed the administrative division of Romania to the [[Subdivisions of the Soviet Union|Soviet model]] (regions and [[raion]]s), but reverted to the county system in 1968, although county borders were quite different from the interwar period. A small adjustment was performed in 1981: former counties of Ilfov and Ialomița were reorganized into the present-day counties of Giurgiu, Călărași, Ialomița and Ilfov.

A new law on the administrative division from September 6, 1950, abolished the 58 remaining counties (as well as the 424 ''plăși'' and the 6,276 urban and rural communes), replacing them with 28 regions composed of 177 raions, 148 cities and 4,052 communes.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110928215621/http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/4461/romania19501952cq8.jpg Harta României cu prima împărțire pe regiuni] (1950&ndash;1952)</ref> In 1952 the number of regions was reduced to 18: [[Arad Region|Arad]], [[Bacău Region|Bacău]], [[Baia Mare Region|Baia Mare]], [[Bârlad Region|Bârlad]], [[București Region|București]], [[Cluj Region|Cluj]], [[Constanța Region|Constanța]], [[Craiova Region|Craiova]], Galați, Hunedoara, Iași, Oradea, Pitești, Ploiești, Stalin, Suceava, Timișoara, and for the first time and autonomous administrative unit based on ethnic criteria, [[Magyar Autonomous Region]] (''Regiunea Autonomă Maghiară'').<ref>[http://www.infopolitic.ro/imagini/documente/1133864495_Constitutia%20RPR%201952.pdf Constituția Republicii Populare Române] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928063604/http://www.infopolitic.ro/imagini/documente/1133864495_Constitutia%20RPR%201952.pdf |date=2007-09-28 }}, 1952, art. 18</ref> In 1956 the regions of Arad and Bârlad were also dismantled.<ref>''Decret nr. 12 cu privire la modificarea Legii nr. 5/1950 pentru raionarea administrativ-economică a teritoriului RPR''. ''Buletinul Oficial al R.P.R.'', nr. 1, 10. ianuarie 1956</ref> In 1960, the Hungarian autonomous unit was renamed to ''Regiunea Mureș-Autonomă Maghiară'' (Mureș-Hungarian Autonomous Region) along with changes in its territory. The final number of regions was 16.
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[[File:Administrative map of Romania, 1950-1952.svg|thumb|left|250px|Regions of Romania between 1950 and 1952]]
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[[File:Administrative map of Romania, 1952-1956.png|thumb|left|250px|Regions of Romania between 1952 and 1956]]
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[[File:Administrative map of Romania, 1960-1968.svg|thumb|left|250px|Regions and raions of Romania between 1964 and 1967]]
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===Socialist Republic of Romania===
In February 1968, the old administrative division of ''județ'' was reinstated. On January 14, 1968, the law proposal included 35 counties. The final result was substantially different from the situation existent before 1950. This included 39 counties, municipality of Bucharest, 236 cities, out of which 47 were municipalities, and 2706 communes comprising 13149 villages.<ref>Giurescu, Constantin C.; Giurescu, Dinu C. - ''Scurtă istorie a românilor'', Editura Științifică și Enciclopedică, București, 1977, pag. 368</ref> There were several reasons for restoring the ''județe''. For one, the [[Nicolae Ceaușescu]] regime wished to distance itself from the Soviet Union, and discarding the Soviet administrative model was a means of achieving that. For another, the regime had a [[National Communism in Romania|nationalist outlook]], and bringing back an old Romanian system fit with the prevailing ideology. Finally, during his first years, Ceaușescu was preoccupied with replacing functionaries named by his predecessor [[Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej]] and creating his own power base; dismissing the regional administrations and naming his own county officials was a step in that process.<ref>{{in lang|ro}} Laurențiu Ungureanu, [http://www.historia.ro/exclusiv_web/general/articol/16-februarie-1968-controversele-ultimei-reorganizari-administrativ-teri "16 februarie 1968. Controversele ultimei reorganizări administrativ-teritoriale"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130328055214/http://www.historia.ro/exclusiv_web/general/articol/16-februarie-1968-controversele-ultimei-reorganizari-administrativ-teri |date=2013-03-28 }}, in ''Historia'', February 2013</ref>
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[[File:PropuneriJudeteRSR1968.png|thumb|left|350px|The original 1968 proposal with 35 counties]]
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[[File:Romania Counties 1930-2008.svg|thumb|left|350px|Current counties imposed over the inter-war counties]]
{{col-end}}

==Current situation==
{{Main|Administrative divisions of Romania}}
In 1981 the [[Ilfov County]] was divided into a so-called "Agricultural Sector" of Ilfov (''Sectorul Agricol Ilfov'') and the newly created [[Giurgiu County]], and [[Călărași County]] was created by detaching the southern part of the [[Ialomița County]]. The county borders introduced in 1968 are largely in place at present, but administrative reforms during the 1990s have devolved the functions of different authorities in line with transition from a totalitarian communist system to a modern democracy. The only territorial adjustment after 1989 occurred in 1995, when [[Ilfov County]] was formed out of the so-called "agricultural sector" of the Municipality of Bucharest (''Sectorul Agricol Ilfov''). With Romania's integration into the European structures, its counties became [[Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics|NUTS]] level 3 divisions of the [[European Union]]. Currently, [[Romania]] is divided into 41 counties and the Municipality of Bucharest.

==Future developments==

As of 2010–2011 there have been several proposals for the administrative reorganization of [[Romania]] made by the presidential commission tasked with the analysis of the current political and constitutional system.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.presidency.ro/static/ordine/CPARPCR/Raport_CPARPCR.pdf|title = Președintele României}}</ref> Most of these recommendations aim for the partial reestablishment of the counties in their pre-1950 form ([[Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics|NUTS III level]]). If this reform were adopted, the counties would be grouped into several regions (9 to 15) based on common historical and economic characteristics ([[Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics|NUTS II level]]). The regions will be in their turn clustered into 4–6 macroregions ([[Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics|NUTS I level]]). Furthermore, a [[Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics|NUTS IV]] level division, called ''[[plasă]]'' or ''canton'', would probably be added in order to meet the [[European Union|EU]] statistical and administrative requirements.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.romanialibera.ro/dosar/a129846-cum-va-arata-harta-romaniei.html |title=Romania libera - stiri iesite din tipar - actualitate, investigatii, politica, cultura, diaspora, video, anunturi de mica publicitate |access-date=2010-03-24 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140523230804/http://www.romanialibera.ro/dosar/a129846-cum-va-arata-harta-romaniei.html |archive-date=2014-05-23 }}</ref>

Another proposal, based on 15 autonomous euro-regions (amongst them one ethnic-based region with a consistent Hungarian majority consisting of the existing [[Mureș County|Mureș]], [[Harghita County|Harghita]] and [[Covasna County|Covasna]] counties) grouped into 5 statistical macroregions ([[Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics|NUTS I]]), was made by the [[Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gandul.info/politica/reorganizare-teritoriala-marca-udmr-15-euroregiuni-15-parlamente-955641 |title=Reorganizare teritorială marca UDMR: 15 euroregiuni cu 15 Parlamente - Gandul |access-date=2010-03-24 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100421045240/http://www.gandul.info/politica/reorganizare-teritoriala-marca-udmr-15-euroregiuni-15-parlamente-955641 |archive-date=2010-04-21 }}</ref>

In 2018, a [[2018 Olt County name referendum|name referendum was held]] in the [[Olt County]] to rename it to "Olt-Romanați County" in memory of the former Romanați County,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.digi24.ro/stiri/actualitate/referendum-special-pentru-300-000-de-romani-1008857|title=Referendum special pentru 300.000 de români|newspaper=[[Digi24]]|date=6 October 2018|language=ro}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://ziaruldeolt.ro/2018/09/19/da-pentru-olt-romanati/|title="DA", pentru Olt-Romanați!|first=Alin|last=Dorobanțu|newspaper=Ziarul de Olt|date=19 September 2018|language=ro}}</ref> but it did not reach the required turnout and therefore failed.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.libertatea.ro/stiri/olt-nu-s-atins-pragul-necesar-pentru-schimbarea-numelui-judetului-2417368|title=Referendumul din Olt a eșuat, deși prezența a fost mai mare decât la referendumul pentru familie|first=Petre|last=Dobrescu|newspaper=[[Libertatea]]|date=7 October 2018|language=ro}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cotidianul.ro/a-picat-si-referendumul-olt-romanati/|title=A picat și referendumul "Olt-Romanați"|newspaper=[[Cotidianul]]|date=8 October 2018|language=ro}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[List of cities in Romania]]
* [[Etymological list of counties of Romania]]
* [[Communes of Romania]]
* [[Municipality in Romania]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://romaniainterbelica.memoria.ro/ Portretul României Interbelice]

{{Historical counties of Romania}}
{{Romania topics}}

[[Category:Counties of Romania| Historical]]
[[Category:Subdivisions of Romania]]
[[Category:Lists of subdivisions of Romania]]
[[Category:Romania history-related lists|Administrative divisions]]
[[Category:Former counties of Romania| ]]