Over 6,000 municipalities and 14 regions: who runs what in Czechia

Czechia has just under 11 million people (as of 2026; check the Czech Statistical Office) and more than 6,000 municipalities. Many have a few hundred inhabitants and a part-time mayor, and each has its own council, budget and seal. That fragmentation is among the first things a newcomer to Czech administration discovers, usually when a form turns out to belong at one specific office and no other.

The framework

The Constitution recognises self-government at two levels: municipalities (obce) as the basic unit, and higher territorial units, which are the regions (kraje). The regions in their present form date from 2000, when a constitutional act created 14 of them: 13 ordinary regions and the capital. The older layer of districts (okresy) lost its administrative offices in 2003, though the names live on in addresses and statistics.

Self-government means elected bodies decide matters within their competence, own property and run their own budgets. The state supervises only whether they follow the law.

Why there are so many

The patchwork is a legacy of choices made in both directions. During communism many small villages were merged into larger units, often against local wishes. After 1989 many of them demanded and received independence again, which is why the number of municipalities rose sharply in the early 1990s. A village with a few hundred inhabitants therefore has the same legal status as a city, with a council, a budget and a mayor.

Small units are cheap to love and costly to run, so the state added a second layer in practice. The larger municipalities carry out wider state administration for their neighbours, and the smallest rely on a nearby town for a long list of tasks. It is the local expression of a larger rule: self-government is the principle, and delegated state work is the way the system makes it function.

Municipalities

A municipality has an elected council (zastupitelstvo), a smaller executive council (rada) in larger places, and a mayor (starosta). In some cities the mayor is called primátor. Councillors serve four years and choose the mayor from among themselves.

Municipalities look after local roads, street lighting, waste, local schools and nurseries, parks, markets and planning, and in some places social housing. They receive a share of national taxes and the revenue from the local property tax, with the shares set by law (as of 2026; check the Ministry of Finance).

Larger towns may have the status of statutory cities (statutární města) and be divided into city districts with their own elected bodies. Prague, Brno and Ostrava are examples.

Regions

A region has an elected assembly (zastupitelstvo kraje), a council and a governor (hejtman). Regions are responsible for regional roads, secondary schools, regional transport planning, regional social services and regional development, and in some cases hospitals. They also have the right to propose legislation to the Chamber of Deputies.

Regional assemblies are elected every four years, in an autumn vote held on the same weekend as a Senate third. That is separate from the municipal vote, which falls in the other election year.

Local coalitions

Municipal politics repeats the national pattern on a smaller stage. Voters elect councillors by list; the councillors then choose the mayor and, in larger places, the executive council. That means local coalitions are negotiated after the vote, and the person who becomes mayor is not always the head of the list that won the most votes. In small villages the arrangement is informal, and many councils include people with no party affiliation at all. In larger towns and in Prague districts, local branches of national parties sit beside local movements, and the mix can differ sharply from one district to the next.

Council meetings are open to the public, and the agenda and minutes are posted on the municipality's website and noticeboard. For a resident this is the cheapest form of local research: a single meeting shows which projects are about to be funded, which planning applications are contested and who votes how.

Prague's double status

Prague is a municipality, a statutory city and a region at once, under a special law of 2000. The city has an elected assembly, a council and a mayor with the title primátor. Below it sit 57 city districts (městské části), each with its own assembly, council and mayor. The districts handle local matters such as district schools, local greenery, local property and certain permits. The city takes trunk roads, public transport, major planning and citywide services. The city's own arrangements are covered in how Prague is governed.

In practice a Prague resident often deals with two offices: the Magistrate of the Capital City of Prague and the district office. A parking permit, a residence registration, a building permit and a school place can each sit at a different level.

Own powers and delegated powers

Local bodies do two kinds of work. In independent competence (samostatná působnost) they decide for themselves as elected bodies. In delegated competence (přenesená působnost) they carry out state tasks, such as issuing certain permits and trade licences or registering vehicles, under the law and the supervision of the relevant ministry.

The difference matters when something goes wrong. A decision taken in delegated competence is an administrative decision, which can be appealed to a higher authority under the Administrative Procedure Code. A political decision by a council, such as whether to close a street, is challenged by other routes, including supervision by the regional authority and, in some cases, a court.

Larger municipalities (obce s rozšířenou působností) carry out wider state administration on behalf of their smaller neighbours. That is why a villager may have to visit a nearby town for some paperwork.

What the town hall can change

Some of the levers are local. Municipalities may adjust the coefficient applied to the real estate tax within the limits of the law (as of 2026; check the Ministry of Finance), which is why identical flats can face different annual bills in different towns. They decide on local fees, such as for waste or for the use of public space, set priorities for roads and school buildings and approve their own land-use plans. Many of these decisions affect residents more than anything decided in the Chamber.

Other levers are national and cannot be moved locally: immigration rules, income tax rates, the school curriculum and the criminal law. A resident who confuses the two categories will spend months arguing with the wrong body. The rule of thumb is to ask whether the decision concerns a place or a person. Places belong to the town hall and the region; people, in their legal status, belong to the state.

Money

Local budgets draw on shared national taxes, local fees and property tax, state subsidies and EU funds. Revenue shares are set by law and have been revised before, so check the Ministry of Finance for the current rules.

Finding your own offices

Look up your municipality, district and region on the Czech Statistical Office's territorial pages or the public administration portal, and note which office handles your registrations. In Prague, the City of Prague website lists the 57 districts and their offices, which is worth doing before you queue anywhere.

Frequently asked questions

Is Prague a region?

Yes. Prague is a municipality, a statutory city and a region at once, with its own assembly and 57 districts.

Who is the head of a region?

The governor, in Czech hejtman, chosen by the regional assembly.

Why do small villages have mayors?

Every municipality, however small, is a self-governing unit with an elected council and a mayor.