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. It is to be distinguished (usually) from the county, which may encompass rural territory or numerous small communities such as towns, villages and hamlets.
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages but smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish them vary considerably between different parts of the world.
A hamlet is a small human settlement. In different jurisdictions and geographies, hamlets may be the size of a town, village or parish, be considered a smaller settlement or subdivision or satellite entity to a larger settlement. The word and concept of a hamlet have roots in the Anglo-Norman settlement of England, where the old French hamlet came to apply to small human settlements. In British geography, a hamlet is considered smaller than a village and distinctly without a church.
Japan has three levels of government: national, prefectural, and municipal. The nation is divided into 47 prefectures. Each prefecture consists of numerous municipalities, with 1,719 in total. There are four types of municipalities in Japan: cities, towns, villages and special wards. In Japanese, this system is known as shikuchōson (市区町村), where each kanji in the word represents one of the four types of municipalities. Some designated cities also have further administrative subdivisions, also known as wards. But, unlike the Special wards of Tokyo, these wards are not municipalities.
According to the Moldovan law on territorial administrative organisation, Moldova is divided administratively into the following administrative territorial units: districts, cities/towns and villages. The administrative territorial organization of Moldova is made on 2 levels:
- villages (communes), sectors and cities/towns (municipalities) constitute the first level,
- districts, Chișinău municipality, Bălți municipality and Bender municipality constitute the second level.
An incorporated town is a town that is a municipal corporation.
The administrative divisions of Nepal are subnational administrative units of Nepal. The first level of country subdivisions of Nepal are the Provinces. Each province is further subdivided into districts, and each district into municipalities and rural municipalities. Before 2015, instead of provinces, Nepal was divided into developmental regions and administrative zones.
The following is a list of lists of the cities, towns and villages of the United States separated by state, territory or district name.
Obec is the Czech and Slovak word for a municipality. The literal meaning of the word is "commune" or "community". It is the smallest administrative unit that is governed by elected representatives. Cities are also municipalities. The council is called "obecní zastupitelstvo/obecné zastupiteľstvo" or "zastupitelstvo města/mestské zastupiteľstvo" or "zastupitelstvo městyse", the office is called "obecní úřad/obecný úrad" or "úřad města/mestský úrad" or "úřad městyse". An obec can have its own flag and coat of arms and is composed of one or more cadastral areas. An obec can have several settlements or parts whether villages or hamlets.
In the United States, the meaning of "village" varies by geographic area and legal jurisdiction. In many areas, "village" is a term, sometimes informal, for a type of administrative division at the local government level. Since the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits the federal government from legislating on local government, the states are free to have political subdivisions called "villages" or not to and to define the word in many ways. Typically, a village is a type of municipality, although it can also be a special district or an unincorporated area. It may or may not be recognized for governmental purposes.
The 28 provinces of Bulgaria are divided into 265 municipalities. Municipalities typically comprise multiple towns, villages and settlements and are governed by a mayor who is elected by popular majority vote for a four-year term, and a municipal council which is elected using proportional representation for a four-year term. The creation of new municipalities requires that they must be created in a territory with a population of at least 6,000 and created around a designated settlement. They must also be named after the settlement that serves as the territory's administrative center, among other criteria.
Gaunpalika or gaupalika is the newly formed lower administrative division in Nepal. The Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development (Nepal) dissolved the existing village development committees and announced the establishment of this new local body. There are currently 460 rural municipalities.
