A commune (''comună'' 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, traditional ...
) is the lowest level of
administrative subdivision
Administrative divisions (also administrative units, administrative regions, subnational entities, or constituent states, as well as many similar generic terms) are geographical areas into which a particular independent sovereign state is divi ...
in
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
. There are 2,686 communes in Romania. The commune is the rural subdivision of a
county
A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...
.
Urban area
An urban area is a human settlement with a high population density and an infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas originate through urbanization, and researchers categorize them as cities, towns, conurbations or suburbs. In urbani ...
s, such as towns and cities within a county, are given the status of ''
city
A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...
'' or ''
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality' ...
''.
In principle, a commune can contain any size population, but in practice, when a commune becomes relatively urbanised and exceeds approximately 10,000 residents, it is usually granted city status. Although cities are on the same administrative level as communes, their local governments are structured in a way that gives them more power. Some urban or semi-urban areas of fewer than 10,000 inhabitants have also been given city status.
Each commune is administered by a mayor (''primar'' in Romanian). A commune is made up of one or more villages which do not themselves have an administrative function. Communes, like cities, correspond to the
European Union's level 2
local administrative unit
Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics or NUTS () is a geocode standardization, standard for referencing the administrative divisions of country, countries for statistical purposes. The standard, adopted in 2003, is developed and reg ...
(LAU).
Florești, in
Cluj County
Cluj County () is a county () of Romania, in Transylvania. Its seat is Cluj-Napoca.
Name
In Hungarian language, Hungarian it is known as ''Kolozs megye''. Under the Kingdom of Hungary, a county with an identical name (Kolozs County, ) existed s ...
, is the largest commune in Romania by population, with over 22,000 inhabitants.
Bistra, in
Alba County
Alba County () is a county (județ) of Romania located in the historic region of Transylvania. Its capital is Alba Iulia, a city with a population of 63,536.
Name
"Alba", meaning "white" in Latin and Romanian, is derived from the name of the ...
, is the largest commune in Romania by surface area, covering an area of . Other sources list
Nucșoara, in
Argeș County
Argeș County () is a county (''județ'') of Romania, in Muntenia, with the county seat at Pitești.
Demographics
At the 2021 Romanian census, 2021 census, the county had a population of 569,932 and the population density was . At the 2011 Ro ...
as the largest commune in Romania; this commune covers an area of .
See also
*
Cities of Romania
This is a list of cities and towns in Romania, ordered by population (largest to smallest) according to the Demographic history of Romania, 2002, 2011 and 2021 censuses. For the major cities, average elevation is also given. Cities in bold ar ...
*
Municipalities of Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to the east, and the Black Sea t ...
*
Counties of Romania
A total of 41 counties (), along with the municipality of Bucharest, constitute the official administrative divisions of Romania. They represent the country's NUTS-3 (Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics – Level 3) statistical su ...
References
{{Articles on second-level administrative divisions of European countries
Subdivisions of Romania
Romania 2
Communes, Romania