Slovenia is divided into 212 municipalities (Slovene: občine, singularobčina), of which 12 have urban (metropolitan) status. Municipalities are further divided into local communities and districts. Slovenia has the largest number of first-level administrative divisions of any country.
Overview The municipalities vary considerably in size and population, from the capital Ljubljana with more than 280,000 inhabitants to Hodoš with fewer than 400.
Urban (sometimes also translated as 'civil' or 'city') municipality status is not granted strictly on the basis of population; the smallest urban municipality, Slovenj Gradec, has less than half as many inhabitants as the most populous non-urban municipality, Domžale. Instead, the criterion is whether a municipality serves as a metropolitan center for adjoining municipalities, which Domžale (as a suburb of Ljubljana) does not.
Slovene is the official language in all municipalities. Hungarian is the second official language of three municipalities in Prekmurje: Dobrovnik/Dobronak, Hodoš/Hodos, and Lendava/Lendva. Italian is the second official language of four municipalities (of which one has urban status) in the Slovene Littoral: Ankaran/Ancarano, Izola/Isola, Koper/Capodistria, and Piran/Pirano.
For EU statistical purposes, Slovenian municipalities are classified as "local administrative unit 2" (LAU 2), below the country's 58 administrative units (), which are classified LAU 1.
Subdivisions By municipal statute, a municipality may be divided into krajevna skupnosti (local communities) and assigned certain municipal tasks within the boundaries of the local community such a spatial planning, management of municipally owned property by use of the local community, road construction and maintenance, and other local services. A local community that covers territory in an urban area is called a četrtna skupnost (neighborhood community) or mestna četrt (city district). A local community has a directly elected committee, which elects its own president, secretary and treasurer from amongst its own members.
Names The Slovene names of the municipalities as territorial/administrative units have the word občina 'municipality', followed by a nominative form, usually the seat of the municipality; for example, Občina Ajdovščina 'Municipality of Ajdovščina'. The word občina should be capitalised as Občina when it refers to the official designation of the community or the legal person representing the community, whereas it should be uncapitalised if it is meant as a generic term. For the urban municipalities, the term used is mestna občina (generic name) or Mestna občina (proper name).
List of Slovenian municipalities Slovenia is divided into 212 municipalities, 12 of which have urban status. Those with urban status are bold.