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 statistical subdivisions within the European Union and each of them serves as the local level of government within its borders. Most counties are named after a major river, while some are named after notable cities within them, such as the county seat.
The earliest organization into județe of the Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia dates back to at least the late 14th century. For most of the time since modern Romania was formed in 1859, the administrative division system has been similar to the French departments one. The system has been changed several times since then, and the number of counties has varied over time, from the 71 județe that existed before World War II to only 39 after 1968. The current format has largely been in place since 1968 as only small changes have been made since then, the last of which was in 1997.
According to a 2011 census data from the National Institute of Statistics, the average population of Romania's 41 counties is about 445,000, with Iași County as the most populous and Covasna County the least. The average county's land area is, with Timiș County the largest and Ilfov County the smallest. The municipality of Bucharest, which has the same administrative level as that of a county, is both more populous and much smaller than any county, with 1,883,425 people and.

History

The earliest organization into județe, and ținuturi, dates back at least to the late 14th century. Inspired from the organization of the late Byzantine Empire, each județ was ruled by a jude, a person officially appointed with administrative and judicial functions. Transylvania was divided into royal counties headed by comes with administrative and judicial functions.
After modern Romania was formed in 1859 through the union of Wallachia and the rump of Moldavia, the administrative division was modernized using the French administrative system as a model, with județ as the basic administrative unit. Aside from the 1950–1968 period, this system has remained in place until today. Since 1864, for each județ there exists a prefect, a subordinate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and representative of the government inside the county; he is also the head of local administration for areas not delegated to local authorities. Until 1948, each județ was further divided into several plăși, each administered by a pretor.
After the adoption of a new Constitution in 1923, the traditional local administrative systems of the newly acquired regions of Transylvania, Bukovina and Bessarabia were made uniform in 1925 with that of the Romanian Old Kingdom. County borders were kept largely intact, with few adjustments, and the total number of counties was raised to 71; this lasted until the beginning of World War II.
In 1938, King Carol II modified the law on the administration of the Romanian territory according to the fascist model. Ten ținuturi were created, ruled by Rezidenți Regali, appointed directly by the Monarch. The ținuturi represented another layer of administration between counties and the country, as the county borders were not erased.
Due to the territorial changes during World War II, this style of administration did not last, and the administration at the județ level was reintroduced after the war. Between 1941 and 1944, Romania administered the territory between the Dniester and Southern Bug rivers known as Transnistria, which consisted of 13 separate counties.
After taking over the administration of the country in 1945, the Communist Party changed the administrative model to that of the Soviet Union in 1950, but changed it back in 1968. Nevertheless, the county borders set then were quite different from those present during the interbellum, as only 39 counties were formed from the 56 remaining after the war.
In 1981, Giurgiu and Călărași were split from Ialomița and the former county of Ilfov, while in 1997, Ilfov County, which had been a dependency of the municipality of Bucharest for nearly two decades, was reinstated. The county borders set in 1968 are still largely in place today, but the functions of different authorities have changed due to administrative reforms in the 1990s.
At present, Romania is divided into 41 counties and one municipality ; these are assigned as the NUTS-3 geocode statistical subdivision scheme of Romania within the European Union. Each of the counties is further divided into cities and communes. The prefect and his administration have executive prerogatives within the county limits, while limited legislative powers are assigned to a County Council elected every four years during local elections. The territorial districts of the Romanian judicial system overlap with county borders, thus avoiding further complication in the separation of powers on the government.

Current list

County
County seat
Name origin

Development
region


Postal code

Area code

NUTS code

Population

Area

 Map
Alba
Alba Iulia
Alba IuliaCenterAB5158RO121342,376
Arad
Arad
county seatWestAR3157RO421430,629
Argeș
Pitești
Argeș RiverSouth-MunteniaAG1148RO311612,431
Bacău
Bacău
county seatNorth-EastBC6034RO211616,168
Bihor
Oradea
Biharia communeNorth-WestBH4159RO111575,398
Bistrița-Năsăud
Bistrița
Bistrița River and Năsăud cityNorth-WestBN4263RO112286,225
Botoșani
Botoșani
county seatNorth-EastBT7131RO212412,626
Brașov
Brașov
county seatCenterBV5068RO122549,217
Brăila
Brăila
county seatSouth-EastBR8139RO221321,212
Bucharest

last name BucurBucharest-IlfovB01–06
1x
RO3211,883,425
Buzău
Buzău
Buzău RiverSouth-EastBZ1238RO222451,069
Caraș-Severin
Reșița
defunct Caraș and Severin CountiesWestCS3255RO422295,579
Călărași
Călărași
county seatSouth-MunteniaCL9142RO312306,691
Cluj
Cluj-Napoca
county seatNorth-WestCJ4064RO113691,106
Constanța
Constanța
county seatSouth-EastCT9041RO223684,082
Covasna
Sfântu Gheorghe
Covasna RiverCenterCV5267RO123210,177
Dâmbovița
Târgoviște
Dâmbovița RiverSouth-MunteniaDB1345RO313518,745
Dolj
Craiova
Jiu RiverSouth-West OlteniaDJ2051RO411660,544
Galați
Galați
county seatSouth-EastGL8036RO224536,167
Giurgiu
Giurgiu
county seatSouth-MunteniaGR0846RO314281,422
Gorj
Târgu Jiu
Jiu RiverSouth-West OlteniaGJ2153RO412341,594
Harghita
Miercurea Ciuc
Harghita MountainsCenterHR5366RO124310,867
Hunedoara
Deva
Hunedoara cityWestHD3354RO423418,565
Ialomița
Slobozia
Ialomița RiverSouth-MunteniaIL9243RO315274,148
Iași
Iași
county seatNorth-EastIS7032RO213772,348
Ilfov
Buftea
Ilfov RiverBucharest-IlfovIF071x
RO322388,738
Maramureș
Baia Mare
Maramureș historical regionNorth-WestMM4362RO114478,659
Mehedinți
Drobeta-Turnu Severin
Mehadia communeSouth-West OlteniaMH2252RO413265,390
Mureș
Târgu Mureș
Mureș RiverCenterMS5465RO125550,846
Neamț
Piatra Neamț
Neamț RiverNorth-EastNT6133RO214470,766
Olt
Slatina
Olt RiverSouth-West OlteniaOT2349RO414436,400
Prahova
Ploiești
Prahova RiverSouth-MunteniaPH1044RO316762,886
Satu Mare
Satu Mare
county seatNorth-WestSM4461RO115344,360
Sălaj
Zalău
Sălaj RiverNorth-WestSJ4560RO116224,384
Sibiu
Sibiu
county seatCenterSB5569RO126397,322
Suceava
Suceava
Suceava RiverNorth-EastSV7230RO215634,810
Teleorman
Alexandria
Teleorman RiverSouth-MunteniaTR1447RO317380,123
Timiș
Timișoara
Timiș RiverWestTM3056RO424683,540
Tulcea
Tulcea
county seatSouth-EastTL8240RO225213,083
Vaslui
Vaslui
Vaslui RiverNorth-EastVS7335RO216395,499
Vâlcea
Râmnicu Vâlcea
medieval county of VîlceaSouth-West OlteniaVL2450RO415371,714
Vrancea
Focșani
medieval county of VranchaSouth-EastVN6237RO226340,310