Districts of the Czech Republic

Districts of the Czech Republic
Also known as: Okresy České republiky
Location	Czech Republic
Found in	Regions of the Czech Republic (13+1)
Created	1960
Abolished	2003 (as administrative units)
Number	76
Subdivisions	Administrative districts of municipalities with extended competence (205)

Districts of the Czech Republic are territorial units, formerly used as second-level administrative divisions of the Czech Republic. After their primary administrative function has been abolished in 2003, they still exist for the activities of specific authorities and as statistical units. Their administrative function was moved to selected municipalities.

Establishment

In 1960, Czechoslovakia was re-divided into districts ( okres , plural okresy), often without regard to traditional division and local relationships. In the area of the Czech Republic, there were 75 districts; the 76th Jeseník District was split from Šumperk District in 1996. Three consisted only of the statutory cities of Brno, Ostrava and Plzeň, which gained the status of districts only in 1971; Ostrava and Plzeň districts were later expanded. The capital city of Prague has a special status, being considered a municipality and region at the same time and not being a part of any district, but ten districts of Prague (obvody) were in some ways equivalent to okres.

Municipalities with extended competence

A reform in effect since January 2003 replaced the districts with 205 Administrative Districts of Municipalities with Extended Competence (abbreviated AD MEC; správní obvody obcí s rozšířenou působností, abbreviated SO ORP), ^[a] also called third-level municipalities, or unofficially "little districts". These municipalities took over most of the administration of the former district authorities. The old districts still exist as territorial units and remain as seats of some of the offices, especially courts, police and archives.

In 2007, the borders of the districts were slightly adjusted and 119 municipalities were moved into different districts. ^[1] In 2021 another reform was made and 18 municipalities were moved between districts or between administrative districts of municipalities with extended competence. ^[2]

After the 2021 reform, borders of AD MECs respect borders of districts, with only exception granted by law being AD MEC of Turnov, which is partly in districts of Semily, Jablonec nad Nisou and Liberec. The reasons are the vastness of this territory and different requirements of the territory's population. ^[2]

Municipalities with commissioned local authority

Administrative districts of municipalities with extended competence are further divided into 393 Administrative Districts of Municipalities with Commissioned Local Authority (abbreviated AD CLA; správní obvody obcí s pověřeným obecním úřadem, abbreviated SO POÚ), also called "second-level municipalities"). A municipality with commissioned local authority is a municipality to which the state delegates part of its powers, but not to the extent that it delegates it to a municipality with extended competence.

Maps of districts

Map of districts (borders as of 2016)

Map of administrative districts of municipalities with extended competences (borders as of 2016)

List of districts

Region	District	Area (km2) [3]	Population (2025) [4]	Mun.
Prague	Prague	496	1,397,880	1
Central Bohemian Region	Benešov	1,475	103,908	114
	Beroun	704	102,562	85
	Kladno	720	171,506	100
	Kolín	748	108,281	90
	Kutná Hora	917	78,565	88
	Mělník	701	114,783	69
	Mladá Boleslav	1,023	137,726	120
	Nymburk	846	107,638	86
	Prague-East	755	204,547	110
	Prague-West	580	161,920	79
	Příbram	1,563	118,285	120
	Rakovník	896	56,494	83
South Bohemian Region	České Budějovice	1,638	202,172	109
	Český Krumlov	1,614	61,655	46
	Jindřichův Hradec	1,944	89,564	106
	Písek	1,127	72,912	75
	Prachatice	1,377	51,061	65
	Strakonice	1,032	71,602	112
	Tábor	1,326	104,261	110
Plzeň Region	Domažlice	1,052	55,914	76
	Klatovy	1,946	86,722	94
	Plzeň-City	261	208,461	15
	Plzeň-North	1,287	83,649	98
	Plzeň-South	1,068	71,728	99
	Rokycany	657	50,796	68
	Tachov	1,378	57,370	51
Karlovy Vary Region	Cheb	1,046	93,536	40
	Karlovy Vary	1,511	114,567	55
	Sokolov	754	85,092	38
Ústí nad Labem Region	Chomutov	936	123,453	44
	Děčín	909	125,790	52
	Litoměřice	1,032	119,104	105
	Louny	1,121	86,723	70
	Most	467	107,536	26
	Teplice	469	127,739	34
	Ústí nad Labem	405	118,011	23
Liberec Region	Česká Lípa	1,073	102,860	57
	Jablonec nad Nisou	439	93,048	35
	Liberec	989	180,955	59
	Semily	662	72,631	64
Hradec Králové Region	Hradec Králové	892	168,901	104
	Jičín	887	80,413	111
	Náchod	852	109,747	78
	Rychnov nad Kněžnou	982	80,808	80
	Trutnov	1,147	116,554	75
Pardubice Region	Chrudim	993	106,659	108
	Pardubice	880	181,213	112
	Svitavy	1,379	104,541	116
	Ústí nad Orlicí	1,267	138,056	115
Vysočina Region	Havlíčkův Brod	1,265	95,877	120
	Jihlava	1,199	118,465	123
	Pelhřimov	1,290	74,218	120
	Třebíč	1,463	110,209	167
	Žďár nad Sázavou	1,579	118,878	174
South Moravian Region	Blansko	862	111,267	116
	Břeclav	1,038	118,084	63
	Brno-City	230	402,739	1
	Brno-Country	1,499	234,615	187
	Hodonín	1,099	150,954	82
	Vyškov	869	95,637	79
	Znojmo	1,590	116,047	144
Olomouc Region	Jeseník	719	36,492	24
	Olomouc	1,608	239,399	97
	Přerov	854	127,286	105
	Prostějov	777	108,923	97
	Šumperk	1,313	119,400	78
Zlín Region	Kroměříž	796	104,130	79
	Uherské Hradiště	991	141,198	78
	Vsetín	1,131	141,645	59
	Zlín	1,045	192,025	91
Moravian-Silesian Region	Bruntál	1,537	88,288	67
	Frýdek-Místek	1,208	213,997	72
	Karviná	356	238,419	17
	Nový Jičín	882	151,331	54
	Opava	1,116	174,423	77
	Ostrava-City	332	316,155	13

See also

• Regions of the Czech Republic
• ISO 3166-2:CZ

Notes

1. often also translated into English as Administrative Districts of Municipalities with Extended Power (AD MEP)

References

1. "Změny hranic okresů k 1. 1. 2007" (in Czech). Czech Statistical Office . Retrieved 2025-05-19.
2. "Obecně o novém zákonu č. 51/2020 Sb" (in Czech). Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic . Retrieved 2021-06-02.
3. "Small Lexicon of Municipalities of the Czech Republic – 2022". Czech Statistical Office. 2022-12-15.
4. "Population of Municipalities – 1 January 2025". Czech Statistical Office. 2025-05-16.