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 (as of 2023)
Possible status	still exist as territorial units
Additional status	LAU 1 statistical regions
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 statutory cities 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), 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 (2023) [4]	Mun.
Prague	Prague	496	1,357,326	1
Central Bohemian Region	Benešov	1,475	102,228	114
	Beroun	704	100,517	85
	Kladno	720	168,708	100
	Kolín	748	107,268	90
	Kutná Hora	917	78,072	88
	Mělník	701	113,100	69
	Mladá Boleslav	1,023	133,876	120
	Nymburk	846	105,463	86
	Prague-East	755	198,312	110
	Prague-West	580	158,235	79
	Příbram	1,563	117,554	120
	Rakovník	896	56,058	83
South Bohemian Region	České Budějovice	1,638	200,426	109
	Český Krumlov	1,614	62,038	46
	Jindřichův Hradec	1,944	90,401	106
	Písek	1,127	72,525	75
	Prachatice	1,377	51,444	65
	Strakonice	1,032	71,571	112
	Tábor	1,326	103,898	110
Plzeň Region	Domažlice	1,052	55,796	76
	Klatovy	1,946	86,853	94
	Plzeň-City	261	201,517	15
	Plzeň-North	1,287	83,069	98
	Plzeň-South	1,068	70,989	99
	Rokycany	657	50,258	68
	Tachov	1,378	56,906	51
Karlovy Vary Region	Cheb	1,046	92,636	40
	Karlovy Vary	1,511	114,995	55
	Sokolov	754	85,964	38
Ústí nad Labem Region	Chomutov	936	124,035	44
	Děčín	909	127,269	52
	Litoměřice	1,032	119,357	105
	Louny	1,121	87,040	70
	Most	467	108,116	26
	Teplice	469	127,681	34
	Ústí nad Labem	405	118,839	23
Liberec Region	Česká Lípa	1,073	103,344	57
	Jablonec nad Nisou	439	92,908	35
	Liberec	989	179,921	59
	Semily	662	73,004	64
Hradec Králové Region	Hradec Králové	892	166,989	104
	Jičín	887	80,578	111
	Náchod	852	110,322	78
	Rychnov nad Kněžnou	982	80,186	80
	Trutnov	1,147	117,192	75
Pardubice Region	Chrudim	993	106,398	108
	Pardubice	880	179,537	112
	Svitavy	1,379	104,576	116
	Ústí nad Orlicí	1,267	138,250	115
Vysočina Region	Havlíčkův Brod	1,265	95,176	120
	Jihlava	1,199	116,041	123
	Pelhřimov	1,290	74,133	120
	Třebíč	1,463	110,393	167
	Žďár nad Sázavou	1,579	119,034	174
South Moravian Region	Blansko	862	110,046	116
	Břeclav	1,038	117,576	63
	Brno-City	230	396,101	1
	Brno-Country	1,499	231,056	187
	Hodonín	1,099	152,119	82
	Vyškov	869	94,274	79
	Znojmo	1,590	116,028	144
Olomouc Region	Jeseník	719	36,991	24
	Olomouc	1,608	237,940	97
	Přerov	854	128,180	105
	Prostějov	777	108,717	97
	Šumperk	1,313	119,974	78
Zlín Region	Kroměříž	796	104,522	79
	Uherské Hradiště	991	141,496	78
	Vsetín	1,131	142,180	59
	Zlín	1,045	192,333	91
Moravian-Silesian Region	Bruntál	1,537	89,834	67
	Frýdek-Místek	1,208	214,669	72
	Karviná	356	242,166	17
	Nový Jičín	882	151,814	54
	Opava	1,116	175,042	77
	Ostrava-City	332	316,149	13

See also

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

References

1. "Změny hranic okresů k 1. 1. 2007". czso.cz (in Czech). Czech Statistical Office . Retrieved 2021-06-02.
2. "Obecně o novém zákonu č. 51/2020 Sb". mvcr.cz (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 2023". Czech Statistical Office. 2023-05-23.