Administrative divisions of Latvia
The current administrative division of Latvia came into force on 1 July 2021. Previous municipal reforms after the restoration of Latvian independence were enacted in 2009 and 1990 (when parishes, which had been abolished during the Soviet occupation, were restored).
On 10 June 2020, the Saeima approved a municipal reform that would reduce the 110 municipalities and nine republic cities to 42 local government units consisting of 35 municipalities (Latvian: novadi, sg. novads) and seven state cities (valstspilsētas, sg. valstspilsēta).[1][2] The municipalities are also further divided into 71 cities/towns (pilsētas, sg. pilsēta) and 512 parishes (pagasti, sg. pagasts; also rural territories).[3]
Legislation and history
The main law regulating the administrative division of Latvia and local governance is the Law on Administrative Territories and Populated Areas of 2020 (Administratīvo teritoriju un apdzīvoto vietu likums).[3]
The main legislature of the municipalities and state cities with independent governments is the Municipal Council or the dome (also 'Council of the Local Government'), which is elected every 5 years and elects the head of the municipality - the Council Chair (m. domes priekšsēdētājs / f. priekšsēdētāja, also 'Chairperson of the Council') from its ranks.[3]
On 1 June 2021, the Constitutional Court of Latvia ruled that the annexation of Varakļāni Municipality to Rēzekne Municipality was unconstitutional. In response, the Saeima decided to preserve the existence of Varakļāni Municipality as a 43rd local government unit until 2025.[4][5] On 30 June 2024 the Saeima decreed that Varakļāni Municipality will be merged into Madona Municipality immediately after the 2025 Latvian local elections.[6][7] Varakļāni Municipality officially ceased to exist on 1 July 2025 with the first session of the new Madona Municipality Council.[8][9]
State cities with independent governments as of 2025
The 2020 law on administrative territories and populated areas designated Ogre and the previous nine republic cities as state cities. It also provided for the promotion of Iecava and Koknese to state city status on 1 July 2021. However, under the same law, only the seven state cities listed in the following table will have local governments which are independent of any municipality.
Of the remaining three state cities, Jēkabpils and Valmiera became part of Jēkabpils Municipality and Valmiera Municipality respectively on 1 July 2021, while Ogre is similarly a part of the Ogre Municipality.[2]
| City name | Population (2025)[10] |
GDP (mil. €), 2022[11] |
GDP per capita (€), 2022[11] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daugavpils | 78,112 | 940 | 11,863 |
| Jelgava | 54,821 | 817 | 14,862 |
| Jūrmala | 51,933 | 477 | 9,341 |
| Liepāja | 67,398 | 1,174 | 17,403 |
| Rēzekne | 26,425 | 409 | 15,411 |
| Riga | 591,882 | 19,261 | 31,583 |
| Ventspils | 32,719 | 489 | 14,773 |
Municipalities as of 2025
As of 7 June 2025, there are 35 municipalities in Latvia:[4][12][8]
See also
References
- ^ "Saeima finally approves major regional reforms". Latvian Public Broadcasting. 11 June 2020. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
- ^ a b c "Law on Administrative Territories and Populated Areas, 2020 version". Likumi. Latvijas Vēstnesis. 22 June 2020. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
- ^ a b c "Law on Administrative Territories and Populated Areas". LIKUMI.LV. Retrieved 2026-03-19.
- ^ a b Upleja, Sanita (1 June 2021). "Varakļāni paliek kā atsevišķs novads; Rēzeknes un Varakļānu novadā vēlēšanas pārceltas (plkst. 16.15)". Delfi (in Latvian). Retrieved 7 June 2021.
- ^ "Law on Administrative Territories and Populated Areas, 2021 version". Likumi. Latvijas Vēstnesis. 1 July 2021. Retrieved 24 December 2021.
- ^ "Varakļāni, Madona municipalities merge". eng.lsm.lv. 2024-07-14. Retrieved 2024-07-07.
- ^ "Varakļānu novads pievienots Madonas novadam". www.delfi.lv (in Latvian). 2024-06-30. Retrieved 2025-07-27.
- ^ a b "Par Madonas novada domes priekšsēdētāju ievēlēts Agris Lungevičs - Madona.lv" [Agris Lungevičs is elected Chairman of Madona Municipality [on its first session after the merge]]. madona.lv (in Latvian). Retrieved 2025-07-27.
- ^ "Law on Administrative Territories and Populated Areas [Transitional Provision 33.7]". LIKUMI.LV (in Latvian). Retrieved 2025-07-27.
- ^ "Population by ethnicity in regions, cities, municipalities, towns, neighbourhoods and densely populated areas at the beginning of year 2012 - 2025". data stat.gov.lv.
- ^ a b "Gross domestic product by region and city (at current prices) 2000–2022". stat.gov.lv.
- ^ a b "Grozījumi Administratīvo teritoriju un apdzīvoto vietu likumā". Likumi (in Latvian). Latvijas Vēstnesis. 2 June 2021. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
- ^ "Population by sex and age group in regions, cities, municipalities, towns, rural territories, neighbourhoods and densely populated areas at the beginning of the year by Sex, Age group, Territorial unit and Time period". Official Statistics Portal.