Districts of the Czech Republic explained

Districts of the Czech Republic
Alt Name:	Okresy České republiky
Territory:	Czech Republic
Upper Unit:	Regions of the Czech Republic (13+1)
Start Date:	1960
End Date:	2003 (as administrative units)
Subdivision1:	Administrative districts of municipalities with extended competence (205)
Current Number:	76
Number Date:	2023

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.

List of districts

Region	District	Area (km^2)^[3]	Population (2024)^[4]
Prague	Prague	496	1,384,732	1
Central Bohemian Region	Benešov	1,475	103,359	114
	Beroun	704	101,748	85
	Kladno	720	170,272	100
	Kolín	748	107,731	90
	Kutná Hora	917	78,431	88
	Mělník	701	114,115	69
	Mladá Boleslav	1,023	136,480	120
	Nymburk	846	106,551	86
	Prague-East	755	202,067	110
	Prague-West	580	160,626	79
	Příbram	1,563	118,150	120
	Rakovník	896	56,410	83
South Bohemian Region	České Budějovice	1,638	201,926	109
	Český Krumlov	1,614	62,072	46
	Jindřichův Hradec	1,944	90,246	106
	Písek	1,127	72,851	75
	Prachatice	1,377	51,474	65
	Strakonice	1,032	71,764	112
	Tábor	1,326	104,172	110
Plzeň Region	Domažlice	1,052	56,120	76
	Klatovy	1,946	87,238	94
	Plzeň-City	261	206,013	15
	Plzeň-North	1,287	83,421	98
	Plzeň-South	1,068	71,593	99
	Rokycany	657	50,804	68
	Tachov	1,378	58,185	51
Karlovy Vary Region	Cheb	1,046	94,224	40
	Karlovy Vary	1,511	115,183	55
	Sokolov	754	85,670	38
Ústí nad Labem Region	Chomutov	936	123,947	44
	Děčín	909	126,534	52
	Litoměřice	1,032	119,486	105
	Louny	1,121	86,899	70
	Most	467	107,952	26
	Teplice	469	127,918	34
	Ústí nad Labem	405	118,433	23
Liberec Region	Česká Lípa	1,073	103,510	57
	Jablonec nad Nisou	439	93,312	35
	Liberec	989	180,809	59
	Semily	662	73,097	64
Hradec Králové Region	Hradec Králové	892	167,901	104
	Jičín	887	80,746	111
	Náchod	852	110,453	78
	Rychnov nad Kněžnou	982	80,884	80
	Trutnov	1,147	116,965	75
Pardubice Region	Chrudim	993	106,616	108
	Pardubice	880	180,888	112
	Svitavy	1,379	104,669	116
	Ústí nad Orlicí	1,267	138,387	115
Vysočina Region	Havlíčkův Brod	1,265	95,858	120
	Jihlava	1,199	117,728	123
	Pelhřimov	1,290	74,575	120
	Třebíč	1,463	110,503	167
	Žďár nad Sázavou	1,579	119,296	174
South Moravian Region	Blansko	862	111,025	116
	Břeclav	1,038	118,828	63
	Brno-City	230	400,566	1
	Brno-Country	1,499	233,529	187
	Hodonín	1,099	151,614	82
	Vyškov	869	95,077	79
	Znojmo	1,590	116,110	144
Olomouc Region	Jeseník	719	36,949	24
	Olomouc	1,608	238,843	97
	Přerov	854	128,304	105
	Prostějov	777	108,930	97
	Šumperk	1,313	119,838	78
Zlín Region	Kroměříž	796	104,410	79
	Uherské Hradiště	991	141,736	78
	Vsetín	1,131	142,301	59
	Zlín	1,045	192,297	91
Moravian-Silesian Region	Bruntál	1,537	89,168	67
	Frýdek-Místek	1,208	214,599	72
	Karviná	356	240,831	17
	Nový Jičín	882	151,781	54
	Opava	1,116	175,239	77
	Ostrava-City	332	317,586	13

See also

• Regions of the Czech Republic

Notes and References

1. Web site: Změny hranic okresů k 1. 1. 2007. czso.cz. Czech Statistical Office. cs. 2021-06-02.
2. Web site: Obecně o novém zákonu č. 51/2020 Sb.. mvcr.cz. Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic. cs. 2021-06-02.
3. Web site: Small Lexicon of Municipalities of the Czech Republic – 2022. Czech Statistical Office. 2022-12-15.
4. Web site: Population of Municipalities – 1 January 2024. Czech Statistical Office. 2024-05-17.