Spanish; Castilian: Municipio (pronounced as /es/) and Portuguese: município (pronounced as /pt/) are administrative divisions in several Hispanophone and Lusophone nations, respectively. They are often translated as "municipality". In the English language, a municipality often is defined as relating to a single city or town;[1] however, in Spanish, the term "municipio" may not mean a single city or town, but rather a jurisdiction housing several towns and cities, like a township, county, borough or civil parish.[2] The Italian term "municipalità" refers either to a single city or a group of cities and towns in a township, and "municipio" is used for city subdivisions, but Portuguese usage of the term is almost entirely restricted to a cluster of cities or towns like in a county, township and so forth. However, in Brazil, a Municipio is an independent city & a public corporation with status of Federated Entity.[3]
| Country | Term | Detailed article | Administered by | Comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Angola | Município is used | Municipalities of Angola | |||
| Argentina | Municipio is used | Municipalities of Argentina | According to laws of the provinces | ||
| Bolivia | Municipio is used | Municipalities of Bolivia | Below the provinces | ||
| Brazil | Município is used | Municipalities of Brazil | Município with elected (Prefeito) (mayor) and Vereador (plural: Vereadores) (councilors).They are part of the federation De facto et De jure | ||
| Chile | Comuna is used | Communes of Chile | Municipalidad with elected alcalde (mayor) and councilors | ||
| Colombia | Municipio is used | Municipalities of Colombia | Below departments | ||
| Costa Rica | Municipalidad is used | Municipalities of Costa Rica | Coterminous with the Cantones | ||
| Cuba | Municipio is used | Municipalities of Cuba | |||
| Dominican Republic | Municipio is used | Municipalities of the Dominican Republic | ayuntamiento (elected municipal council) and síndico (mayor) | ||
| Ecuador | Cantón is used | Cantons of Ecuador | Municipio or Municipalidad with elected alcalde (mayor) and concejales (councilors) | Below provinces. Further subdivided into urban and rural parishes. | |
| El Salvador | Municipio is used | Municipalities of El Salvador | Alcalde | Below departments | |
| Guatemala | Municipio is used | Municipalities of Guatemala | Municipalidad | Below departments | |
| Honduras | Municipalidad is used | Municipalities of Honduras | Alcalde | Below departments | |
| Italy | Comune is used; in some parts of Italy the municipio is the building housing the administration of the comune; elsewhere it is simply called comune. A municipalità may be a subdivision of comune | Municipalities of Italy | Consiglio comunale, headed by a sindaco | ||
| Mexico | Municipio is used | Municipalities of Mexico | Ayuntamiento, headed by a municipal president | Below states | |
| Nicaragua | Municipio is used | Municipalities of Nicaragua | Alcalde | Below departments | |
| Paraguay | Municipalidad is used | Municipalities of Paraguay | |||
| Peru | Municipalidad is used | Municipalities of Peru | |||
| Philippines | Municipalidad and Município (Spanish), Munisipalidad, or Munisipyo (Tagalog and Cebuano) | Municipalities of the Philippines | alkalde (informal expression for mayor) and councilors (konsehal, a Spanish loanword alcalde and consejal in local languages) | Below provinces | |
| Portugal | Município is used (also called concelho) | Municipalities of Portugal | Câmara Municipal (executive) and Assembleia Municipal (legislative) | ||
| Puerto Rico | Municipio is used | Municipalities of Puerto Rico | Alcalde and municipal legislature | ||
| Spain | Municipio is used | Municipalities of Spain | Ayuntamiento (municipal corporation) or Concejo abierto, headed by an alcalde | ||
| Uruguay | Municipio is used[4] | Municipalities of Uruguay | Alcaldía (municipal council), headed by an alcalde | ||
| Venezuela | Municipio is used | Municipalities of Venezuela | Consejo Municipal (municipal council) with separately elected alcalde and independent comptroller | Below state |