A municipiu (from

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

''municipium''; English:

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

) is a level of administrative subdivision in

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

and

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised state of Transnistri ...

, roughly equivalent to

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

in some

English-speaking countries The following is a list of English-speaking population by country, including information on both native speakers and second-language speakers. List * The European Union is a supranational union composed of 27 member states. The total E ...

. In Romania, this status is given to towns that are large and urbanized; at present, there are 103 ''municipii''. There is no clear benchmark regarding the status of ''municipiu'' even though it applies to localities which have a sizeable population, usually above 15,000, and extensive urban infrastructure. Localities that do not meet these loose guidelines are classified only as towns ('' orașe''), or if they are not urban areas, as communes (''comune''). Cities are governed by a mayor and local council. There are no official administrative subdivisions of cities even though, unofficially, municipalities may be divided into quarters/districts (''cartiere'' in

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania ** Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditiona ...

). The exception to this is

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north o ...

, which has a status similar to that of a county, and is officially subdivided into six administrative sectors. In Moldova, which has thirteen ''municipii'', a 2002 law provides that the status applies of cities that play an important role in the country's economic, social, cultural, scientific, political and administrative life.

Complete list

Romania

† lost status in 1938 Of the seventeen ''municipii'' created in 1925, three are no longer in Romania: Cernăuți, Cetatea Albă, and

Chișinău Chișinău ( , , ), also known as Kishinev (russian: Кишинёв, r=Kishinjóv ), is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Moldova. The city is Moldova's main industrial and commercial center, and is located in the middle of the ...

. Additionally, Bălți became one in 1929; together with Cetatea Albă, it lost the title in 1938.

Cluj ; hu, kincses város) , official_name=Cluj-Napoca , native_name= , image_skyline= , subdivision_type1 = County , subdivision_name1 = Cluj County , subdivision_type2 = Status , subdivision_name2 = County seat , settlement_type = City , ...

and

Oradea Oradea (, , ; german: Großwardein ; hu, Nagyvárad ) is a city in Romania, located in Crișana, a sub-region of Transylvania. The seat of Bihor County, Oradea is one of the most important economic, social and cultural centers in the western par ...

temporarily lost the title in 1940 as a result of the Second Vienna Award, while it was granted to

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

and Tiraspol during the Transnistria Governorate period. The status was not used between 1950 and 1968, so that cities which lost it in 1950 were reassigned it in 1968. The most recent ''municipii'' were created in 2003.

Moldova

Chișinău, Tiraspol, Bălți, and Bender/Tighina have been ''municipii'' continuously since 1995, and Comrat since 1998. Cahul, Edineț, Hîncești, Orhei, Soroca, and Ungheni held the status from 1998 to 2002, and regained it in 2016. Additionally,

Căușeni Căușeni () is a town and the administrative center of Căușeni District, Moldova. Its population at the 2014 census was 15,939, of which 12,056 Moldovans, 1,119 Romanians, 747 Russians, 545 Ukrainians, 204 Bulgarians, 69 Gagauzians, 12 Gyps ...

, Taraclia, Dubăsari, and Rîbnița held the status from 1998 to 2002.

References

{{Authority control Lists of subdivisions of Romania Lists of subdivisions of Moldova Administrative divisions in Europe